Second Act of JLo’s Career: Back to the Beginning

Now that romantic comedies seem to be making their grand reentry into the theater (including the movies that make fun of the tropes, like Isn’t It Romantic is proclaiming to), it seems like the time was ripe for one of the rom-com queens to start making movies again. But that isn’t necessarily the movie she falls back into, since Second Act isn’t really a rom-com. The title of the movie may be appropriate for Jennifer Lopez’s current place in the film industry – she worked her way up with the rom-coms, took a break to try her hand at serious material, and now is ready for the second half of her career. Sure, she’s banking on the feelings from her first half films in order to get started, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Will Second Act be the classic that her old films are? Maybe not, but it’s a start, and it could be a sign of where film could be heading (as well as an idea of how to do movies without resorting to reboots and sequels).

The Crimes of Grindelwald: The Magical World Walks a Thin Line

Part of the trouble with planning a cinematic universe is running the risk that the films you plan to enhance that universe end up hurting the story more than helping. With the continuation of the Harry Potter universe, told through the eyes of Newt Scamander and his tale of fantastic beasts, the problem may have been announcing a five-movie line-up just from the get go. Though the first film was a relatively decent opener, the second part of the story – The Crimes of Grindelwald – ends up feeling like 2 hours worth of story that barely moves the story along. Not only can the writers not decide which story they want to tell – the story of Grindelwald versus the story of Newt and his creatures – but the characters don’t seem to move forward in any meaningful way, and overall it just seems like the story could have been compressed and put into the next film. Sure, the Harry Potter fans of the world are looking forward to three more movies about the magical universe they know and love, but can those additions at least mean something to the story being told?