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Gareth von Kallenbach (977 KP) rated Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) in Movies

Jun 19, 2019  
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
2016 | Fantasy
9
7.9 (220 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Attempting to continue the phenomenal literary and cinematic successes of the Harry Potter series of books and films is a daunting task for anyone to undertake. Even when series creator J.K. Rowling Rowling is involved, many would shy away from such a monumental taak.

However when you consider the books, movies, and merchandise have become a billion dollar industry and that rabid fans cannot get enough of the word that Rowlings created, it is not surprising that Rowlings and Warner Brothers have created a new cinematic series inspired by a story contained within the original book series.

In “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”, audiences are introduced to Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), who is just embarking on his adventures which will later be turned into books that Harry and his friends will read some seventy years onward.

Set in 1926 New York amongst the secret community of wizards and witches; the film follows the arrival of Newt in America as he has come with a suitcase filled with magical creatures. When a non-magic user named Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), accidentally mistakes the suitcase for his own and unleashes some of the creatures, chaos follows.

The timing of this mishap could not be worse for the magic community as magic users have lived in secret and the arrival of Nate and his creatures threatens to expose them and make a bad situational even worse. Further complicating matters are a series of events that have caused destruction in the city which has given rise to a group who are convinced that witches are amongst them and must be destroyed at all cost.

Being an unregistered magic user; Newt, is soon taken in by an agent in New York named Porpentina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), who herself has fallen out of favor within her community of magic users. In time; Newt is taken into custody by Percival Graves (Collin Farrell), who not only seems to have a disdain for Newt, but is working with a member of the anti-witch group for his own ambitions.

Newt and his friends soon find themselves on the run as they attempt to gather the missing creatures and get to the bottom of a much bigger and more dangerous menace that threatens their community as well as the people of New York. What follows is a journey filled with magic, comedy, and danger that will delight fans.

The film is a pure delight and the Potter magic has continued in this highly-entertaining new series. The cast and characters are very enjoyable and the visual magic is wonderful to behold.

The story is filled with charm and humor but has a few nods to the previous films as well as a few surprises along the way.

I was easily swept up by the madcap adventure and cast that all gave solid performances. Never once did the characters let the dazzling array of visual effects overshadow the fact that this is a character driven story.

Redmayne and Fogler work very well with one another and the innocent fish out of water story that they both embark on makes them easily endearing to the audience.

It will be very interesting to see where the future films will go, but if this one is any indication of what is in store, there is plenty of magic left in this world and I cannot wait to see what comes next.

http://sknr.net/2016/11/15/fantastic-beasts-find/
  
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Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated The Great Shelby Holmes (The Great Shelby Holmes, #1) in Books

Jun 18, 2018  
TG
The Great Shelby Holmes (The Great Shelby Holmes, #1)
Elizabeth Eulberg | 2016
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Great Shelby Holmes by Elizabeth Eulberg was a wonderful story that I enjoyed. At the beginning of the story the reader is introduced to John Watson who recently moved with his mother to 221 Baker Street in Harlem, New York. John's parents recently divorced. John's mom finished her tour of duty as a military doctor and is recovering from a wound she received in Afghanistan. Mrs. Hudson, new landlady, introduced John to the girl, Shelby, who lives in apartment 221B. John is use to moving around and making friends easily as a military brat but this is the first non-Army post. John's mom selected an apartment to move to in order to be near her new john and a great school for John.

School has not started yet and John does not know anyone or his way around the neighborhood. However, with Shelby as his guide, John learns his way around town soon. He discovered that Shelby knows everyone in their area. Shelby is a talented child who solves mysteries around the neighborhood, but this is an annoyance to Detective Lestrade for the NYPD. John and Shelby friendship causes the reader to be pulled into the story. I could not turn the pages fast enough to find out the answers to my questions and the mysteries.

I give this book a 4 out 5 stars.

I received this book from Bloomsbury USA Children's Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.