When Practical Magic came out in 1998, it was a box office flop with mixed critical reviews, but over time it became a cult classic, beloved for its cozy atmosphere, great soundtrack, and story that emphasizes the power of relationships between women. I was doubtful that the highly anticipated s equel could match the vibes of the original, but I went in with an open mind. As you may remember from Practical Magic, the Owens women are under a generations-long curse which dictates that any man they love dies an untimely death. As the sequel opens, we learn that after losing her second husband, Sally Owens (Sandra Bullock) swore off magic, and her last spell was erasing any memory of it for her daughters, Antonia (Maisie Williams) and Kylie (Joey King). But now Kylie is in love, and her boyfriend Gideon (Xolo Maridueña) is in trouble. Can Sally, Gillian (Nicole Kidman), and Aunts Jet (Dianne Wiest) and Franny (Stockard Channing) finally break the curse? Maybe the best part of Practical Magic 2 is how much fun the cast seems to be having together. Nicole Kidman appears especially happy to return as Gillian, and it was delightful to watch her as the adventurous, sassy sister after so many years of her playing more severe characters. Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest are delightful together. Joey King effortlessly slots into this feminine world. These moments of joy, however, are largely drowned out by a lack of character development and an uneven plot. The film relies heavily on the audience’s previous knowledge of the characters as a shorthand into their lives, but their personal growth in the film is stunted or absent. The daughters are especially underdeveloped. Joey King acts her heart out in a thinly developed role, and Antonia has so little to do in the movie that I wonder if her family ever bothered to fill her in on the curse. The men aren’t great either. As Dr. Ian Wright, an expert in witchcraft enlisted to help Sally and Gilly, Lee Pace is plenty charming, but his dialogue is so corny I literally booed him at one point. Solly McLeod plays a local “expert,” Tom Lockland, in a performance leagues behind any of his scene partners. He’s supposed to be a bad guy, but it’s hard to take that seriously. Then there’s how polished the film looks. It’s Practical Magic optimized for an era of influencers and Instagram. The house is mostly the same, but it’s had a glow-up and looks more like a set. The clothes are more expensive. The lighting is worse. The aesthetics and the magic are amplified in a way that reminded me of Harry Potter. I loved how homey the first film was: the garden and houseplants, full cupboards, affordable fashion, and spells as simple as making your teaspoon stir by itself. In this film, the scale is bigger and more expensive, and the atmosphere suffers as a result. Practical Magic 2 is enjoyable enough for anyone who wants to return to the aunts’ cozy, witchy home. There are moments of high-quality fan service and some exciting scenes along the way, but the film lacks any of the lived-in aesthetic and intense chemistry that made the original so magical. Practical Magic 2, in theaters now, was directed by Susanne Bier and written by Akiva Goldsman and Georgia Pritchett, based on The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman. It runs 130 minutes and is rated PG-13. If feminine, witchy energy is not what you want this weekend, you might check out Fuze, now streaming on Max. In this movie, what appears to be an unexploded WWII bomb is found on a construction site, and a police team led by Chief Superintendent Zuzana Greenfield (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) rushes to evacuate the area and clear the bomb, with help from military explosives expert Major Will Tranter (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Meanwhile, a crew, including Will Karalis (Theo James) and X (Sam Worthington), uses the commotion as cover to rob a nearby bank. But, as the story escalates, nothing and no one are what they first appear to be. At first, Fuze feels like a good short story. The film tosses you into the midst of the action and has the two plots weave around each other. The characters are not well-developed, but at a tight 90-minutes, I thought maybe the story would deliver enough mystery to compensate. That did not happen. Instead, the story moved through twist after twist, like the writers made it up as they went. I found myself wondering in the middle of the story who exactly I was supposed to be rooting for. The screenplay gives a last-second answer, tying it all in a neat little bow, and I wanted to rewrite the script so that we had all that info at the top, letting us in on the inner workings of the characters and double-crosses from the jump. Fuze is fun and has some exciting scenes, but the screenplay tries to give the audience twists when it should have given us something to care about. Fuze was written by Ben Hopkins and directed by David Mackenzie. It runs 98 minutes and is rated R. ...read more read less