Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them Review

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them Review

It feels so good to be back to the world of Harry Potter. 

‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’ is an exciting film that gives us a new adventure in the world of JK Rowling, who wrote the script. The film is packed with chases, mysteries, fights, and lots different and creative looking creatures. Like the other Harry Potter films, it makes me want to leave the world I am in now and go into the wizarding world. Even though the film does not tell us a lot new information about the Harry Potter universe it is still a welcomed edition to the Harry Potter film series.

 

The story takes place in 1926, about 70 years before the Sorcerer of Stone, and centers on a wizard named Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), who nurtures a collection of creatures to show that they are not dangerous to the wizarding world. One day when he is visiting New York the creatures get lose because of a mishap with a nonwizard, or muggle/No-Maj, named Jacob (Dan Fogler). 

Now it is up to Newt and Jacob to find the creatures before chaos ensues, with some help from fellow wizards Tina (Katherine Waterston) and Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol). At the same time, there seems to be a conspiracy involving Percival Graves (Colin Farrell). He is one of the directors at The Magical Congress of the United States and is trying to find something called an Obscurus for power. 

What stands out about this movie the most is even though it is a prequel, it does not rely on the past eight Harry Potter films. Usually, in prequels, there would be a bunch of references and callbacks to the films before it and this would distract from the main story. The biggest examples would be the Star Wars prequels and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. However in ‘Fantastic Beasts’, there aren't many call backs to the other Harry Potter films so I feel the film stands on its own.

One of the best elements of the movie is the performance. Eddie Redmayne is very likable as someone who is very naive but is also hiding something significant. I also enjoyed Dan Fogler as Jacob as he is both the comic relief of the film and our eyes through the film since he is a regular guy learning about the wizarding world as we are. Katherine Waterston is also great at playing the person who is the most focused and Alison Sudol is great at playing the sister who is alway upbeat. Colin Farell is also as good as usual, playing the obvious villain who is hiding behind the scenes.

I really enjoyed the creatures who are creatively designed and they each have their own personality. The creatures are designed like different animals except with a distant abnormal feature like a rhino with lava in his nose or a giant eagle. They even have their own personalities. There is a creature called a bowtruckle that is anti-social and there is a creature called a niffler, that looks like a mole, that like anything shiny like gold.

However the biggest issue with the film is with the story structure and the pacing. The films main focus is on the story on capturing the beasts but at the same time, it wants to focus on this subplot involving Percival Graves trying to find the Obscurus with a boy named Credence (Ezra Miller). Even though I liked the story line involving the beasts, I felt the story line involving Percival Graves and Credence was rushed. So when we do get to the climax of the film there is less weight to the situation.  

I also felt a lack the character development in the film. Other than Jacob, it does not seem like the characters really go through a character arc. Newt is the same as he was at the beginning of the movie, and whenever it seems like we about to learn more about Newt it only gives us hints. Since this film is going to be the first in a series of five ‘Fantastic Beasts’ films I do sometimes get the feel that this film is a set up for the next five movies. 

What ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’ wants to do is bring the audience back into the Harry Potter Universe and set us up for a new series of films. While there are a few bumps, I feel that the movie succeeds. It is fun, exciting, and is full of surprises. I would recommend this film to Harry Potter and non-Harry Potter fans, as I feel the movie does not rely on the other films as I said before. I think that the real magic of the film.

Grade: B+

Trolls Review

Trolls Review

"Trolls" is a fun and vibrant film that will put a smile on your face. The film is like a sugar rush with the colorful sceneries and characters and upbeat contemporary songs. Even though the film is based on the troll toy line, the film is able to tell a cohesive story even with some logic leaps. While it is not great, Trolls still an enjoyable time.

The story is about a troll named Poppy (Anna Kendrick) who, along with every other troll, is incredibly happy and energetic. The exception is Branch (Justin Timberlake) who is  always in a negative mood and is alway afraid that they will get attacked by the Bergens, a group of monsters who can only be happy by eating a troll. However, one day, when the trolls are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their escape from the Bergens, they are attacked and some trolls are captured by a Bergen name Chef (Christine Baranski). So now it is up to Poppy and Branch to rescue them before they are eaten. 

The best element of the film is the animation. The backgrounds are very creative and the character designs look nice as well. I also really like the textures of the characters and backgrounds that have a woolen feeling to them like a toy play set. The color palate is also very bright and multicolored like Candy Crush. However, the animation shines most in the musical scenes with elaborate set pieces and energetic dance sequences. 

The voice cast is also a lot of fun. Anna Kendrick is very likable as Poppy as you buy her as a character who is both happy and optimistic. Justin Timberlake is also pretty solid at playing a grump who is always negative, even though he seems a bit miscast. Christopher Mintz-Plasse was perfectly cast as King Gristle Jr., the spoiled and lazy king of the Bergens. Christine Baranski also stands out as Chef, whoo is the evil mastermind behind the scenes. We also get performances from Zooey Deschanel as a Bergen maid named Bridget, Russell Brand, James Corden, Gwen Stefani, and John Cleese. 

I even liked the songs. The film mostly does covers of other songs like “September” and “Sound of Silence”, and is produced in the upbeat style of Glee. There are some original songs like “Hair Up” and “Can't Stop the Feeling”, which will never leave your head. Also, I think the best scene in the movie is when Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick sing “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper.

However, the biggest issue with the film is the film's simplicity. Because all the characters do not have much of a personality outside of their one personality there is a lack of real emotional depth. Also, because the story is so basic and predictable there is a lack of real suspense. 

The film also at times also has a hard time of finding the right note when the tone is dramatic. There is a scene in which Branch talks about how his grandma died and it is done in an incredibly over the top way with “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler. Instead of the scene being an emotional moment, it comes across as unintentionally funny. There is also a subplot about Bridget having a crush on King Gristle Jr., which I did not care about since it is pretty underdeveloped and I don't care about either of the characters. 

Some elements of the story are also a bit of a stretch even though the story is mostly cohesive. The idea that Bergens have to eat trolls to be happy is a very out of left field and does not really make any sense. It seems like the filmmaker really struggled to put a story together around troll dolls so they randomly came up with this concept.

Even though I like the songs I really felt a lot of the songs where out of place since the lyrics are not in the context of the movie. It works in a movie like Pulp Fiction but when you have characters randomly bursting into song and singing covers, it’s really distracting. Also, there were some very odd song choices like Mo Money Mo Problems and Clint Eastwood by the Gorillaz, which isn't even that popular. 

"Trolls" is obvious aimed more for kids in elementary school than a college student like me. It’s very upbeat, simple, and has a nice message about being happy and optimistic. However, I still had a good time watching it. If you want to see a film with real emotional depth and dark themes, this is not for you. If you want to see a film that is bright and happy, give it a watch.

Grade: B-