I recently watched The Ballad of Billy Scruggs and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.  Strangely, both the films left me disappointed in varying degrees.

Joel and Ethan Coen are back with a new film The Ballad of Billy Scruggs – a Netflix original. I was really looking forward watching their new  film where the Coen brothers pay homage to the Western genre of American films. The film has an impressive cast of stars from Brendan Glesson, Liam Nesson, Tyne Daly, Tim Blake Nelson, Zoe Kazan, Tim Waits and others. I was disappointed with the The Ballad of Billy Scruggs.

The Ballad of Billy Scruggs is a melange of six tall tales set in the western frontier towns of USA.  I was hooked  by the first story about the singing cowboy Buster Scruggs played by Tim Blake Nelson. Something rare happened halfway through a Coen brothers film – I lost interest and was wondering how the brothers wrote, directed and edited this film. They had a great idea but somehow it did not work for me. Perhaps they should have considered each story as a half-hour TV episode on Netflix.

There is divided opinion about The Ballad of Billy Scruggs – some liked the film, while others liked the film but had reservations. If you are a fan of Coen brothers you will most likely watch the film.

The Ballad of Billy Scruggs is available on Netflix.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Director David Yates new film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is written by J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame. The film is a sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I went to see the film expecting to enjoy it, but came away disappointed and confused by the storyline. What is worse is that I nodded off to sleep half-way through the film, which is a very rare occurrence for me. Usually, I will sit wide-eyed and watch a picture in a cinema hall even if the film is dull and stodgy in parts. Guess Fantastic Beast: The Crimes of Grindwald transported me to noddy land. The film will appeal to you if you are a die-hard JK Rowling fan or a huge fan of Eddie Redmayne or Johnny Depp.

Fantastic Beast: The Crimes of Grindwald  released on Nov 16, 2108 in the US.