I still do, but an earlier incarnation of me was absolutely crazy about it. By the time I got into it, the first four books were already out, and thank Christmas they were, because I don't know if one could have sustained me. I checked the mail for my invitation to Hogwarts. It never came.
Of course, nowadays we know that Americans don't go to Hogwarts. Instead, they go to Ilvermorny, a North American wizarding school that was revealed by J.K. Rowling much more recently. I'm somewhat terrified that I missed my chance because I was looking for the wrong thing.
Anyway, so voracious was younger me that any scrap of text relating to Harry Potter was snapped up quicker than you can say "golden snitch." And it was through that obsession that I came across a curious thing.
I'm honestly not sure how well-known it was at the time, but as a show of support for the major UK-based charity Comic Relief, J.K. Rowling wrote two smaller books, meant to be in-universe textbooks of the wizarding world (and one of them even had notes scribbled in it by Harry, Ron, and Hermione.) One of these was titled Quidditch Through the Ages.
The other one, the far more interesting one, the only one I finished (multiple times,) was Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (2016)
Blogtober Qualifications: Magic, magical creatures, the 1920s, CG Ron Perlman
No, we're not technically talking about Harry Potter today, but just stay tuned for that. *wink wink*
Now, you may wonder how you take a piece of of literature that is meant to be a textbook and turn it into a magical, exciting, fantasy action movie with multiple slated sequels.
Well, the decision they made in this case was to create an original story about the in-universe author of that textbook has a big, epic adventure in 1920s New York.
Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is a British wizard who has just arrived in New York, carrying with him a magical briefcase full of contraband magical creatures. Newt is a sort of student of magical creatures, as he's made it his life's work to learn about them and protect them, with the eventual plan of writing the titular book.
He's also really bad at keeping a low profile. As such, before too long he has drawn the attention of Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston,) a local witch that works for MACUSA (the body of government that oversees wizard affairs in America.) He has also unintentionally involved Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), a down-on-his-luck no-maj (American term for muggle, non-magic person) who just wants to be a baker. Before too long, we're introduced to Tina's sister Queenie (Alison Sudol), and the four team up... eventually.
Why? Because some of Newt's creatures have gotten loose... and something is tearing New York apart.
Okay, so before I get into the review, I just want to say that my fingers are apparently incapable of typing the word "beasts" first try, so if a few "beats" slip in here and there, I apologize.
Where to start? Honestly there's not a whole lot I can say about this movie without spoiling some of the bigger twists and turns, and there are a fair few of them. I know the movie's been out for a bit by now, but I want to avoid as many spoilers as possible, so I'll be speaking very generally.
First the actors.
I get the feeling Eddie Redmayne thought he was playing the Eleventh Doctor. That's not a slight against him or his ability. In fact I'd say he does a great job, it's just a feeling I couldn't quite shake. It's a role unlike anything I've personally seen him in, and he was convincing enough that I had stopped jokingly singing "Empty Chairs" within the first few minutes. I started up again during the end credits, though.
We've had a pretty strong streak this month with our lead actresses not being given much to do, and that sort of holds true here. Tina Goldstein is definitely likable, in spite of seeming initially unapproachable. It's just unfortunate that so many other things going on kind of overshadow her. We're told she's a former auror (wizard cop,) and it's honestly the "former" part isn't all that surprising, since she doesn't always seem to approach a situation in the most logical way. Still, I'd like to see more of her, particularly if she's given more good moments.
Jacob Kowalski is pretty great. It gets a little old with everything needing to be explained to him, since it's pretty obvious that he's being used as a surrogate for the audience (the ones that aren't Harry Potter fans, I guess), but the character himself is pretty great. I'm going to give a minor spoiler here, but it's honestly something you'll see coming from a mile away. Jacob is a bigger guy, on the chubby side, and he is out of his element, but after he gets used to the fact that things are going to be weird, he handles everything pretty well. He steps up and gets tough a few times, a normal guy using his fists (and feet) to handle magical things he didn't even know existed a week ago. And best of all, he even gets the girl. And it doesn't feel like the movie is throwing him a bone, but rather that he has genuinely earned the friendship and affection of those around him. As a bigger guy myself, I just really appreciated that.
Queenie also doesn't do too much, although she's sweet and likable throughout. She also gets a moment or two of taking charge of a situation, showing that there's more to her than sugar. Overall pretty good.
Colin Farrell is also here, doing what he does best: playing a person of authority that you're not sure if you're supposed to trust or not.
So those are the actors, but how is the story? Well, there is a lot going on here, almost too much at times. I wouldn't necessarily cut the movie any shorter, but I do feel like at least one plotline could be dropped altogether without losing that much, but it's also possible that that storyline will be followed up on in later movies.
Going back to what I said about Eddie Redmayne, the main plot actually feels like an extended episode of modern Doctor Who, with Newt being the Doctor and Jacob his companion. Again, this isn't a bad thing, I enjoyed most of it quite a bit. There were times where I felt it slowed down a bit, but not enough to bother me overmuch.
There's also a storyline involving an overbearing matron woman (Samantha Morton) and her attempts to root out the evil witches she believes are hiding in the city. The main reason I bring it up is because there are a few parts of her story that genuinely reminded me of an old 70s demonic possession movie, akin to Rosemary's Baby or similar things.
All in all, I enjoyed myself quite a bit. It's nice to go back to the Harry Potter world. It was a huge part of my life when I was younger, and I'm happy that I haven't seen the last of it. I'm pretty interested to see the approach they take with the sequels.
I've also still got my fingers crossed that I'll be hearing from Ilvermorny.
Tomorrow we take a stroll away from the beaten path and take a look at something a little more obscure. It's apparently a true story, maybe? I'm honestly not quite sure.
Until next time!
Current interests:
Listening - Rush: Hemispheres (1978)
Playing - Culdcept Revolt (2017)
Reading - Hellboy: The Bride of Hell and Others (2011)
Watching - Thunderbirds Are Go! (2015)
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