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Hara05 (11 KP) rated Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) in Movies
Jul 1, 2019
The Wizarding World Needs To Be Left Alone
I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. I fell in love as soon as I opened the first book back in 1997 and I've compiled a very extensive, mostly useless knowledge base on the subject.
I put up with the first Fantastic Beasts film for two reasons: I was craving some Potter magic and the 'beasts' were adorable, fascinating and comical. The first film has enough magic, enough fun and enough humour to allow me to enjoy it but Crimes of Grindelwald? Nah. Just Nah.
I can't help but feel completely rinsed by this film. It breaks away from canon, turning a world I've devoted so much time too onto its head. It tells us that everything we have learned, everything we've spent our money and time on, is basically wrong. I haven't been a fan of Rowling dishes out new pieces of information here and there as if she has always known them - just be honest with us and tell us that time has made you think of these things or see things in a different light. She's still an intelligent, creative woman - she doesn't need to keep trying to prove it.
Crimes of Grindelwald just isn't as magical, as innovative or as creative as the Harry Potter series and the viewer can't help but feel that the writers are clutching at straws in order to attempt to build another franchise. They rely too heavily on people's love for the Wizarding World and don't actually offer us much more, or anything of value with this film. It's convoluted, clichéd and at times, predictable. It uses characters so wonderfully fleshed out in the previous film and completely changes who they are in a simple two minute, completely random scene. It feels as if there is no direction to these films, as if Crimes of Grindelwald is a different entity, split from Fantastic Beasts but shoved under that arch in order to make a buck.
I was truly so disappointed with this movie. I felt let down by Rowling and the filmmakers because I've been so loyal to this franchise and I wanted this new installment to be wonderful. I wanted to feel nostalgic and engrossed when I watched this but instead, I was picking out holes in the storyline and pointing out errors. This is not what we expect from what is essentially, a Harry Potter film.
We have three more of these films to get through. I just hope they up their game and are more tolerable than Crimes of Grindelwald.
I put up with the first Fantastic Beasts film for two reasons: I was craving some Potter magic and the 'beasts' were adorable, fascinating and comical. The first film has enough magic, enough fun and enough humour to allow me to enjoy it but Crimes of Grindelwald? Nah. Just Nah.
I can't help but feel completely rinsed by this film. It breaks away from canon, turning a world I've devoted so much time too onto its head. It tells us that everything we have learned, everything we've spent our money and time on, is basically wrong. I haven't been a fan of Rowling dishes out new pieces of information here and there as if she has always known them - just be honest with us and tell us that time has made you think of these things or see things in a different light. She's still an intelligent, creative woman - she doesn't need to keep trying to prove it.
Crimes of Grindelwald just isn't as magical, as innovative or as creative as the Harry Potter series and the viewer can't help but feel that the writers are clutching at straws in order to attempt to build another franchise. They rely too heavily on people's love for the Wizarding World and don't actually offer us much more, or anything of value with this film. It's convoluted, clichéd and at times, predictable. It uses characters so wonderfully fleshed out in the previous film and completely changes who they are in a simple two minute, completely random scene. It feels as if there is no direction to these films, as if Crimes of Grindelwald is a different entity, split from Fantastic Beasts but shoved under that arch in order to make a buck.
I was truly so disappointed with this movie. I felt let down by Rowling and the filmmakers because I've been so loyal to this franchise and I wanted this new installment to be wonderful. I wanted to feel nostalgic and engrossed when I watched this but instead, I was picking out holes in the storyline and pointing out errors. This is not what we expect from what is essentially, a Harry Potter film.
We have three more of these films to get through. I just hope they up their game and are more tolerable than Crimes of Grindelwald.
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated IA: Initiate in Books
Nov 15, 2019
Naz seems like a normal boy. Both his parents have died and the only family he has is his younger sister Meri. Moving from foster home to foster home in the ghetto for the disadvantaged called the Exclave, earning spare money running errands for local shopkeepers.
But Naz is not a normal boy. He can remember nothing before waking up in hospital three years previously following the car crash in which his father died. And he hears voices in his head, or rather one voice which seems familiar although he does not recognise it.
Following an apparently random act of gang violence on the way to his his first day at high school, his life begins to change and he starts to question exactly who he is and what makes him the way he is.
Told from Naz's point of view the reader is drawn into his tale of discovery as he goes about is every day life of school and afterwards in the Exclave. Naz is a very likeable character, concerned for the safety of his sister above all else and suspicious of strangers. He is clever and quick witted but doesn't really use his talents, drifting through school and life in general with the minimum of effort, generally happy with his lot until he is forced to re-evaluate his life as events unfold around him.
The story is paced well with periods of Naz leading his life and going to school, which is made interesting by his observations on everything around him, interspersed with things that Naz does or sees, or that other people say and do, that really make the reader realise that there is 'something else' going on, a bigger picture that Naz is unable to put together, although he gets glimpses. There are also chapters at the start of each section describing a lecture given by Naz's father which adds some more clues.
The ideas here are certainly interesting - this is science fiction of a subtle kind, where only the edges of Naz's life are visible to both him and us, with outsiders often recognising that there is more to him, more that he can achieve. The supporting cast works well, from the hard-pressed merchants fighting the big multiple chain stores to the menacing gang members and other more eccentric inhabitants of the Exclave.
Overall a fascinating and thought provoking read, with plenty of questions left to draw the reader to the next in the series.
But Naz is not a normal boy. He can remember nothing before waking up in hospital three years previously following the car crash in which his father died. And he hears voices in his head, or rather one voice which seems familiar although he does not recognise it.
Following an apparently random act of gang violence on the way to his his first day at high school, his life begins to change and he starts to question exactly who he is and what makes him the way he is.
Told from Naz's point of view the reader is drawn into his tale of discovery as he goes about is every day life of school and afterwards in the Exclave. Naz is a very likeable character, concerned for the safety of his sister above all else and suspicious of strangers. He is clever and quick witted but doesn't really use his talents, drifting through school and life in general with the minimum of effort, generally happy with his lot until he is forced to re-evaluate his life as events unfold around him.
The story is paced well with periods of Naz leading his life and going to school, which is made interesting by his observations on everything around him, interspersed with things that Naz does or sees, or that other people say and do, that really make the reader realise that there is 'something else' going on, a bigger picture that Naz is unable to put together, although he gets glimpses. There are also chapters at the start of each section describing a lecture given by Naz's father which adds some more clues.
The ideas here are certainly interesting - this is science fiction of a subtle kind, where only the edges of Naz's life are visible to both him and us, with outsiders often recognising that there is more to him, more that he can achieve. The supporting cast works well, from the hard-pressed merchants fighting the big multiple chain stores to the menacing gang members and other more eccentric inhabitants of the Exclave.
Overall a fascinating and thought provoking read, with plenty of questions left to draw the reader to the next in the series.
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020) in Movies
Feb 8, 2020 (Updated Feb 12, 2020)
SWING BATTER BATTER BATTER!
Birds Of Prey is yet another win for the DC universe and a huge step up from one of the most hated films of all time Suicide Squad. Right off the bat Birds Of Prey is an absolute blast and what you will notice immediately is just the sheer amount of explosive energy it has has to offer. Its this energy that constantly gives you the feeling of being on a rollar coaster travelling through a circus of pure amusement, the visuals are loud, the colour pallet is striking and vibrant, the sound is immersive/atmospheric and the soundtrack brings everything together beautify using old classic songs that have been remixed with a modern day kick which help to really give the film pace. Fight scenes are really fun, violent and also well choreographed with a nice crunch to all the impacts too. Infact fights do all feel very John Wick inspired becoming more of a beautifully synchronised dance routine flowing perfectly like the ice skating scenes from itonya rather than using messy quick cuts. BOP also seemingly borrows from Deadpool too as far as plot, humour and mature content go but im happy to report it works really well and manages to feel much more at home/gritty and adult here and less forced/childish than it is in Deadpool in my opinion. Margot robbie shines as Harley Quinn even more so than she did in suicide squad, she really has got this character down to a T now and its so so satisfying to see her own the screen as her again as she struggles to find her independence and make a name for herself. Ewan Mcgregor is also magnificent in a part that he clearly enjoyed playing beacuse boy was he entertaining as hell as a guy thats almost an obsessive man child whose only feared and powerul because of his status and money. Hes also unpredictable with a spoilt brat like temper and the way the film shifts in tone when he becomes angry can be chilling especially when its mixed with such savage and brutal violence. Plot is fairly basic and not the most intresting but that doesnt matter here because the movie holds its own with the constant thrills/variety it provides and just like a looney tunes carton its such pure addictive madness that it will suck you right in and leave you with a chelsea smile from ear to ear. Possibly the most enjoyable and visually awsome comic book adaptations yet well worth seeing.
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