Movie Review: Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them

THERE ARE SOME SPOILERS IN THE REVIEW.

Hello readers,

I am back after many weeks and hopefully all of you are well. Today I decided to write out my delayed and most anticipated review on Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them. I wanted to write out a review last week, but I was hold back by my personal problems and time constraint. Last week was a tough week and so does few days, hence this review was overdue.

Starring Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them is a film based on J.K. Rowling's debut screenplay. I mentioned debut screenplay in case people choose to dispute the fact when Rowling herself confirmed that this film is based on her original screenplay.

Loosely titled based on Harry Potter universe's textbook of the same name, Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them is a story of an introverted magizoologist who travelled to New York in 1926 to pursue his own intriguing business (he has fascination for creatures and beasts). While he pursue his own business, Scamander found himself in a difficult position when his suitcase had been mistakenly taken and hence supposedly created chaos which could endanger both Wizarding and No-Maj (American term for Muggles) community.

Although Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them focuses on Scamander and the other people where time is precious and the creatures could have been endangered, the film brought more desserts to the table. Any Potter fans would be excited with all the familiar magic, terms and the way wizarding community work. This also included to the extend of having to introduced the then powerful wizard, Gellert Grindalward, who interestingly plays an important role in Albus Dumbledore's life. Knowing the reference of Grindalward, the relations between Wizarding and No-Maj Community and the laws run in America make Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them very enjoyable and also enlighten my young self who used to watch all Potter films in the Summer.

I truly loved the characters in Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them, especially Jacob Kowalski and Newt Scamander. I loved the chemistry between these two fellows and they certainly brought me laughters and tears throughout the film. Although I have seen Redmayne acting in several films (including his panned performance as Balem in Jupiter Ascending), I felt he was born to play Newt Scamander and because of that, it has already topped the list of my favourite characters in a fictional universe. This was evident during a scene where Scamander did a mating dance at the Central Park Zoo, so naturally done and it was seriously adorable not to ignore. With the addition of Dan Fogler's Jacob Kowalski, it makes the whole film more relatable and hilarious, never have I been so hyped about the characters in a film.

The setting of Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them was captivating and beautifully crafted. Taking place in the Roaring Twenties and also United States of America, anyone who catches all Harry Potter films, will be able to see the contrast between United Kingdom and United States. While the world looked brilliantly gorgeous and mesmerising, you can't helped but to notice the tension between Wizarding and No-Maj community. The tension in US is much considerably stronger than in UK and in fact, looking at the fighting styles, I would say that the American wizards aren't really well trained and equipped to fight. They are easily defeated and hence the evil tend to get the upper hand. Since we don't get to see the characters really mingling outside and only inside, for me, it was hard to distinguish the era took place. To me, the whole setting seemed quite modern instead of 1920s.

Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them is a film I wished was longer than it supposed to be. I wished I could watch more interactions between Newt Scamander and the other three people. I wished there were few more creatures involved in the fighting, although it was cool to see Swooping Evil releasing from Scamander. For Rowling to have the first screenplay written, it was pretty neat and the story flowed out well. The story was simply flawless and the plot twist was unexpected. The casting for almost all characters were perfect, especially I couldn't agree more that Eddie Redmayne was born to play Newt Scamander and it was something refreshing from his previous other roles (David Yates stated Redmayne was the first and only choice for the role!)

In conclusion, Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them was an appetiser before the main course which would only served two years later. Having Grindalward and also briefly introducing Newt's early life, I am very much anticipated to rejoin the wizarding world and hope to see more creatures in that brown suitcase. In a meantime, do grab your ticket and enter the wizarding world, enlightened the patronus in you (after five years). ;)

Ratings: 8/10

P.S. How can I resist the Niffler? Also, look out for a surprise cameo!

Read More

TV Series Review: The Crown

THERE ARE SOME SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Hello readers,

The highly anticipated Netflix series, The Crown was released last Friday and all episodes can be streamed straight away. Since the series is the second most expensive drama made by Netflix, many people were having high hope for the series to turned out well. From lavishing costumes, props and even the settings in the Great Britain, The Crown managed to paid off the gamble well, especially with strong cast and brilliant storytelling.

Starring Clare Foy as Queen Elizabeth II, The Crown chronicles the life of Her Majesty as she ascended the throne at the age of 25 after her father, King George VI passed away. As the series continued, there are political rivalries, romances and even personal intrigues which would stand in Elizabeth's path, testing her endurance and also pleasing both public and the internal of The Crown.

Firstly, I would like to give praise to the cast, especially Foy as Queen Elizabeth II. I was sold the moment she entered the screen and even more so when she was sworn in as the Queen in Episode Two after King George VI suddenly passed away in his sleep. While Foy managed to capture the elegance and grace including how she waved to the crowd and giving speeches, she also managed to show us that the struggles she had in both public and personal lives as she tried to do anything in her own will to stand firm to her own decision. While Matt Smith as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, provides a lighter comedic performance to brightened up the serious drama, it is no doubt Jared Harris as the King George VI managed to make The Crown even more engaging. Somewhat similar to Colin Firth's Oscar winning performance in The King's Speech, Harris managed to bring us a saddened king and father who was already suffering not only his stuttering but a serious illness which he knew very well that someday his daughter would have to take over. In both first and second episodes, Harris's captivating performance was already enough to make me take a pity on his character and like almost all the people in the series when he died, I wept for the character as well.

Secondly, although I only watched up to six episodes, I would like to applaud how organised the series is. Each episode lasts for an hour or so and yet at the same time, each ends with a wonderful, clean cut cliff-hanger and excitement, leaving us as audience an understandable summary even if you never caught or pay close attention at the beginning. Each episode is named after a character in the series who happened to used the word in his or her conversation and to certain extent, the series has already been hinting us what is to come for Her Majesty and her loved ones and even in The Crown. Thus, kudos to the creator and writer, Peter Morgan for managing to cover one or two topics into an episode, leaving us not having our head bombarded with many plots at one go.

Lastly, The Crown as I mentioned earlier, managed to paid off with their effort especially in the lavishing costumes (if I am not wrong, there are an estimated total of 350 costumes in this season) and the settings. This can be seen from the scene when Elizabeth and Philip got married at the Westminster Abbey. Thousands of people gathered to watch the union, the decors hanging proudly and so many more, even the camera zooming out to show the whole setting making us very involved in the wedding, just like how the people of that era felt. Very magical, breathtaking and delightful.

In conclusion, The Crown is a joy and such privilege to watch, especially the long wait since early this year. As a long awaited series by Netflix, I do urge you to give this series a watch this month. Unlike other Netflix series, I would say that The Crown though it was a long awaited one, it did not leave me disappointed and as the series goes on, I am even more hooked onto the series, waiting for what would come for Queen Elizabeth II as she deals with the eye of The Crown, Royal Family and even the public. Good news is, The Crown has already been commissioned for a Series Two even before the premiere last week and the episodes streaming. Better yet, the series is said to have at least six seasons, so I am looking forward to how it would continue as the years passed and the character development of the outstanding cast, especially Foy's young Queen Elizabeth II.

Ratings: 8/10 

Read More