TheRetroCritic

Based on the popular anime series, Fullmetal Alchemist is a 2017 live-action adaptation from Japan following Alchemist brothers Elric and Alphonse as they encounter a range of powerful enemies and search for the Philosopher's Stone. The film was recently released on Netflix. We first meet the two brothers as children when an alchemy experiment aiming to bring their dead mother back to life goes wrong. Cut to years later and we learn that Alphonse's body somehow vanished after the botched experiment and he now inhabits a knight's empty armour indefinitely, hence the nickname "Fullmetal Alchemist". Unless Elric, who has himself lost limbs, can somehow recover the Philosopher's Stone, he might not be able to ever summon his brother's body back. A big action sequence early on depicts the brothers fighting against a man whom, they believe, is using the Stone nefariously and the scene boasts some big CGI effects, something the film fails to match before it

Because a franchise like Harry Potter is simply too popular to just stop, J.K. Rowling soon delivered Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them , a prequel of sorts following Newt Scamander, a wizard zoologist specialising in the strangest and rarest creatures. Eddie Redmayne is Scamander, the twitchy introvert with a briefcase packed full of "fantastic beasts" who gets stuck in New York after he accidentally switches bags with a wannabe baker. Scamander is then forced to not only recover every loose creature but deal with the stern Magical Congress plus a secret plot to take him down. There's something genuinely refreshing about a prequel that, not only doesn't just copy the original franchise, but expands its universe and introduces us to a new lead character who is very different. The biggest problem with the Harry Potter movies was always Harry himself: passive, bland and seemingly disinterested, he made Neo from the Matrix movies look like he was having the

Here's one it took me a while to finally watch. The idea of Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi as crappy magicians duelling with a Jim Carrey David Blaine parody sounded great but somehow I missed it. Having finally seen it, I'm not entirely sure as to why the film exists but it did have its moments. The film opens on Carrell and Buscemi as kids with the former picking up a boxed magic set presented by a Houdini-style magician (played by Alan Arkin) and developing a passion for that particular occupation. We cut to present day where both friends have partnered up and are now in-house magicians over at some fancy Vegas hotel: they've been doing their act for years and, although they're good at it, it's clearly dated and the arrival of a new stunt-based magician steals their thunder to the point where they're soon separated and out of a job. Oh, and along the way Olivia Wilde shows up. It's a good story with some great characters so the film definitely had

Movies about magicians aren't exactly a prolific bunch. After The Prestige and The Illusionist brought back the notion that this type of movie could be done well, it's been a relatively slow and bare track record for the topic ever since. Then comes Now You See Me , easily one of the most random movies to come out this year so far, with its all-star cast and its silly premise and, after an impressive performance at the box-office, it looks like magic is most definitely back in business. I blame Arrested Development 's fourth season. Speaking of which, this is essentially "Gob Bluth: The Movie" : it takes itself somewhat seriously (as a heist thriller at least) and thinks it's super clever but it's just so ludicrous that chances are it'll generate more lols than genuine, intentional laughs. The film sees Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Jesse Eisenberg and Dave Franco play magicians, each with their own area of expertise, who all meet through a

Pixar's latest has all the makings of a brilliant, picturesque, fantasy epic: stunning visuals, heart, mystery, bears. What more do you need? I'll get to that... This is certainly a departure for Pixar, the studio this time going for a very Disney princess-goes-rogue tale instead of the usual off-beat approach. If anything, Brave is more like a darker, less bright-and-cuddly version of Tangled than a unique creation on a par with Wall-E or Up . Princess Merida is the heroic, red-haired lass and her story basically involves not wanting to be forced into marriage, running away, meeting up with a witch, turning her mother into a bear and trying to fix that very spell. She is understandably pretty whiny and only seems to be happy when riding a horse, shooting arrows randomly and being a bit of a spoilt brat. Her dad's pretty awesome, not just because he's Billy Connolly, but also because he's actually a fun, friendly guy. Unfortunately he is also a bit of a wi