This movie is very good I loved it so much.

_Crossing_ is NOT a slick film, and no way it should ever be. This beautiful piece of work is ostensibly a story about down and out orphans, trans folks, and prostitutes. But it's not. At it's very core, Crossing is about 2 lost souls in search of themselves. Kudos to Levan Akin for couching such an incredibly rich subtext inside a script of contemporary issues, and doing it so well.
I'm giving this movie a 9, not just for the story, but also for the absolutely incredible job of Mzia Arabuli, and novice Lucas Kankava who rose up to her level in nearly every scene with her.

There's something entirely plausible about the performance from Mzia Arabuli in this poignant drama. She is the retired school teacher "Lia" who is determined to track down her niece now that her sister has recently died. She lives in Georgia, likes a drink or two, and thinks that "Tekla" has fled to neighbouring Turkey where she is able to live her life more freely. She is trans - and that's not a situation encouraged at home! "Lia" hasn't a word of Turkish, though, so she agrees to take local wide boy "Achi" (Lucas Kankava) with her as a sort of guide-cum-translator. The seedier side of Istanbul beckons for both of them, but what chance of tracking down one person in a city of millions? Fortunately, the young man can't sleep one night and goes out to explore. He makes some new friends and these friends lead them to newly qualified lawyer "Evrim" (Deniz Dumanli) who promises to try to help... Now it would have been very easy for auteur Levan Akin to do this the A+B=C way, but he doesn't. He doesn't make the film about the search for "Tekla" so much as about a search by this woman to find herself, to reignite her sense of purpose and to to put into perspective issues that drive families apart leaving everyone bereft of affection and understanding. It's that role that Arabuli plays with an honesty that really works. There's an almost maternal chemistry between her and the young "Achi" and as they search, we see a city that really is a potpourri of just about every aspect of humanity - some friendly, so less so. I found this to be quite an effective film about live-and-let-live in a city where poverty and wealth exist side by side and where there appears to be a largely prevailing degree of tolerance and, to an extent, generosity of spirit. It's hopeful but not unrealistic, and proof that there's plenty of life in the old girl yet!

Oh, what an amazing movie! There's absolutely nothing negative to say about it. If you do find fault, you must lack heart. That's my opinion!
The storyline was truly fantastic, portraying the challenges faced by a family going from a life of luxury to near homelessness. They left one country for another, only to be mistreated upon arrival in the United States. It's heartbreaking to think this happens in real life, and knowing it's based on a true story adds a deeper layer of sadness.
The protagonist's health deteriorated as he endured hardships, ultimately reaching a breaking point. Despite their struggles, the family never lost faith. The mother, a strong and resilient character, held them together.
Throughout the film, I was captivated and emotional, shedding tears at every turn of events. It wasn't just my sensitivity; the movie struck a chord deep within, evoking both sorrow for the family's plight and joy as they began to find their footing.
The message of hard work, dedication, faith, and resilience leading to stability resonated strongly. Witnessing the family's struggles and the small miracles that sustained them was emotionally gripping. It's a film that everyone should watch.
Don't miss out on this incredible movie. Experience it on the big screen as it was meant to be seen. It's a powerful and moving story that deserves to be shared and appreciated.

The Smallbone family live a comfortable life, paid for by the music promotional skills of dad David (Joel Smallbone - real life son) but when a tour he backs to the hilt goes a bit wonky, they find themselves broke. Nobody in Australia will employ him, so he heads to Nashville on the promise of a new opportunity. This is where I was glad he wasn't promoting me. He sells up, then drags his wife (Daisy Betts) and family of six children (with another on the way) all that way only for it to fall through at the last minute. He causes all this upheaval and uncertainty for his family without making sure he had a contract before he left? Hmmm - maybe he won't be troubling the brains trust? Anyway, reduced to sleeping on the floor of their rented home and eking out a living doing odd jobs, gardening and cleaning the toilets for their fairly wealthy neighbours, they manage to get by - until Christmas looms. The kids have expectations and the parents are skint. A chance meeting with one of their new friends (Candace Cameron Bure) in a supermarket might provide a solution to that, indeed to a great many of their problems - but he has pride, and that now proves to be quite an obstacle not just for him, but to the potential career of his daughter Rebecca (Kirrilee Berger) who can hold a tune but can find no way of exploiting it - despite the obvious options on their doorstep. Underpinned by their profound Christian faith, they have no lack of optimism but they just need the lucky break! It's a biopic of sorts so no jeopardy, just a journey - and one that I found pretty unremarkable. The wooden as a washboard Lucas Black - sporting way, way, too much beard - makes the occasional appearance as their wealthy, song-writing, friend but the rest of the acting is pretty mediocre as the drama takes a rather traditionally daytime and sentimentally charged approach to family drama tinged with religion and luck (good or bad). Quite what it's doing in a cinema is anyone's guess - I saw it by myself, and after about twenty minutes, I felt it belonged on the television, with lots of soft focus and rousing strings.

Hats have to come off here to Eddie Redmayne. I reckon he must have spent virtually all of the filming days staring at a green screen reacting to CGI. That's my problem with this. Though set in a fantasy world, there's nothing remotely authentic about it. Not his "Newt Scamander" character, nor the constantly changing scenarios that are busily trying to engage our eyes without bothering with our brains. "Newt" arrives from Britain into the USA with a magical suitcase full of creatures that is the target of the dastardly "Grindelwald" (a few fleeting appearances from Johnny Depp). When it is stolen and some of the beasties escape, it looks like a bad time to be insuring the properties of New York's Fifth Avenue and with all hell breaking loose, "Newt" and his new muggle friend "Jacob" (Dan Fogler) to round them all up and thwart a plan that will bring the wizarding world to the brink chaos. There's no denying that the film looks great, with astonishing attention to detail and an impressive imagination behind the design of mystical creatures and their animated visual effects. The thing has no soul, though. Unlike with her earlier "Potter" characters, JK Rowling hasn't really created anyone here about whom I really cared. There are some fun critters - the curious platypus and their own mini version of "Groot", but Redmayne just seems to be rushing around reacting all the time, without us really getting to know him or much about his mission. Colin Farrell, Ezra Miller and Depp suffer likewise, with little effort put into imbuing them with much persona. Even the magic itself seems sterile and derivative. It's not terrible, it's more a sort of "so what" that you just know will spawn loads of predicable sequels and "Newt" and "Grindelwald" square up for a battle royal.

Remarkably lacklustre for a film involving magical creatures.
'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' underwhelmed me, in short. At no moment across the 130 or so minute run time was I ever invested or drawn into the story or the characters. I didn't feel any good performances from the cast either. Dan Fogler sticks out in my memory most, though the rest are forgettable.
The special effects are also not to the level I was expecting; that's not to say that they are bad and I'm not certain what I was indeed anticipating from them, but I just found 'em to be meh - nothing blew me away. Which is a vibe that I got from the whole film unfortunately.
Hopefully 'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald' does more for me.

**Well, everything's in the title itself, you watch it only to confirm.**
I don't want to be so negative like the film critics, but this is a big disappointment for me watching being a film fanatic. I don't think anyone who loved 'Harry Potter' film series would thumb this new beginning. This is not like 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' from the same universe, but different trilogies. I was excited for something like that, as a concept wise, for the fresh tale from from the fresh characters in the same universe. I don't know about the book version, but the film did not click for me.
It had a bunch of nice characters, and to set in the Harry Potter universe, really it should have been a masterpiece. The major drawback was the story. There's nothing to appreciate the screenplay. It's about some creatures from the magical world got out in the human world, just like 'Jumanji'. So our hero struggles to recapture them. Meanwhile, some others too involved in and the reason will be revealed in the final stage.
Nice casting and great visuals. I won't point out its director's fault, because he has done his duty very well. He's also will be the man behind the rest of the sequels. I think it deserved the Oscars for the costume design. Not a bad film, particularly for the kids. Comparing it with the Harry Potter franchise makes it a worst film, but independently it is an okay film. So the initiation was average, but I'm still expecting the follow ups to be much better.
_5/10_

Personally I found this movie to be 2+ hours of excellent entertainment. This is one of these movies where I simply cannot understand how people can give one and two star ratings stating that it is garbage etc. I do not get what these people expected? Maybe they just have to complain? The original Harry Potter books are very much books for children or young adults and so is this movie. It is a highly entertaining story in a magical universe with some adventure, some suspense and a lot of humor.
The magic and the magical animals are quite cool. The pocket universe (or whatever they are called in the Harry Potter world) is simply gorgeous and cool. The story is not really much to write home about but it does not have to be. This is a magical movie where the magical atmosphere is what makes the movie. It is a good enough story involving a bit of suspense, action, friendship, bad guys, quite some humor and, of course, a lot of magic. More importantly perhaps, the story is not overly stupid nor does is try to peddle crappy SJW nonsense messages about gender or diversity nor climate. This movie delivers where it counts as far as I am concerned. It is entertaining, plain and simple.
If I should endeavor try to find something to complain about it would probably be that the lead character was fairly bland. He did not really have much charisma. That and the fact that I never really understood which, despicable (presumably) acts the main opponent, Grindelwald, had actually committed before the events of the movie.
On the whole I enjoyed the movie a lot and although it is perhaps not the absolutely best movie I have ever seen but it still deserves a top rating.

I must say I was expecting to like it, and I really liked it despite the few generic moments throughout the film.
Can watch again/10.

Struggles desperately to be three movies at once: One about Pokemon, one about proto-Voldemort and one (uncharacteristically dark story) about child abuse. But none of these three movies are bad movies so _Fantastic Beasts_ gets a pass from me.
I was particularly fond of the degree to which it tied into the Harry Potter world at large. There were moments were I went “Oh Harry’s used that same spell before!” or characters that fitted naturally into the narrative being mentioned, as opposed to getting all _Agents of SHIELD_ season 1 on us, and awkwardly name-dropping something from the other films every 5 minutes, just in case we forgot, which was what I was afraid it might do.
End result, _Fantastic Beasts_ is a flawed film that I was still very happy to have watched, and exceeded my expectations.
_Final rating:★★★ - I personally recommend you give it a go._

The greatest part about this is Toby Maguire's acting. He made everything so much more believable that it was hard not to be engrossed in the movie.

Sam Raimi sure knows how to make a good superhero film. He was able to give so much depth to Spider-Man, a hero we only know from comic books.

To sum it up, this is the first Spider-Man film with everything leveled up.

It's amazing how they were able to balance action and human element in this movie.

It's not a surprise that this is considered one of the most successful superhero movies ever made.

This film is one of the reasons why 2002 was a great time to be alive!

You know a film is good when you're able to quote something from it. "With great power, comes great responsibility"

Man, that scene with Uncle Ben broke my heart big time! Made me even think of my life choices.

Definitely made the list of greatest comic book adaptations.

Lot of respect for Tobey Maguire for doing well on this one. He didn't do well in his previous films but he was able to do justice to Spider Man on this one.

Was, still is, and will forever be one of my favorite childhood superhero movies!

Truly one of the most successful superheroes ever made!

It's 2019 and I still get chills every time I watch this film!

You can take your Tom Holland and Andrew Garfield with you. Tobey Maguire is the best Spider-Man of all time and no amount of CGI can change that!

Films from the 2000s really are way different from the ones we have now. I wish all origin stories could be as good as this one.

I keep telling people that this is the real Spider-Man and I will always stand by that. Tobey Maguire the real MVP!

This is one of the few films that you can watch when you're bored and still be excited about what's going to happen (even though you've watched it over and over already and you've memorized almost all of the lines).

So many Spiderman movies out there but this will always be the original. Though the other ones have better CGI and maybe action sequences, none can match the plot this one has.

Sam Raimi's Spider-Man captures the spirit of the comic book hero and it's still one of my all time favourite superhero movies. It lays out the perfect blueprint for a superhero origin story that I love revisiting every year or so. I've always been able to relate to Peter Parker growing up. Tobey Maguire and Co. delivered a great interpretation of the characters in a way that still can not be matched.