Fantastic Beasts 2: The Crimes of Grindelwald (1 Viewer)

[livefromDC]

I'm a huge Harry Potter fan so naturally I went to go see the movie this weekend. It was good, but I doubt non-diehard fans will enjoy it as much. You need to understand/be interested in a lot of Harry Potter canon to appreciate it. Where "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" is an introduction to the new franchise of movies and could stand on its own, the sequel (which is rumored to be the 2nd in a set of 5 movies) serves to build the story arcs for the movies to come. There wasn't a lot of action and the "beasts" were nearly an afterthought in the whole movie.

However...Zoe Kravitz is insanely hot as the troubled but good intention Leta Lestrange. The close ups and lingering shots of her make it hard not to fall for her.

Over all, I enjoyed the movie...but I'm bias on two accounts .

 

[Sandman]

I really liked the movie. I saw it has 40% from Rotten Tomatoes--I just don't get that. No way that was a bad movie.

I know it is a few movies away, but I can't wait for the Grindewald vs. Dumbledore wizard fight.

 

[Brock Meaux]

I’m not a diehard by any stretch and I really enjoyed it. From the reaction I’ve seen, the opposite is generally more true; that it’s the diehards that aren’t enjoying it as much because it toys with some of the established characters. To that, I'd say "let the story play out." Is it a perfect movie? No. But part of why I'm enjoying the Fantastic Beasts franchise so far is because it is new. We know the broad strokes of where some of these characters end up, but there's a lot of room in this time period to play, and NOBODY knows the twists and turns we're taking to get to the endpoint because there are no books to have read. Some people are having trouble with that. I'm enjoying the ride.

 

[livefromDC]

I really liked the movie. I saw it has 40% from Rotten Tomatoes--I just don't get that. No way that was a bad movie.

I know it is a few movies away, but I can't wait for the Grindewald vs. Dumbledore wizard fight.

Yeah, that's gonna be good! I think this movie guaranteed that the battle is going to be emotionally and physically fought. The ramifications of what happened in Crimes of Grindelwald will definitely have ramifications for Dumbledore.

 

[livefromDC]

I’m not a diehard by any stretch and I really enjoyed it. From the reaction I’ve seen, the opposite is generally more true; that it’s the diehards that aren’t enjoying it as much because it toys with some of the established characters. To that, I'd say "let the story play out." Is it a perfect movie? No. But part of why I'm enjoying the Fantastic Beasts franchise so far is because it is new. We know the broad strokes of where some of these characters end up, but there's a lot of room in this time period to play, and NOBODY knows the twists and turns we're taking to get to the endpoint because there are no books to have read. Some people are having trouble with that. I'm enjoying the ride.

It's kind of like when Star Wars fan boys get upset about new Star Wars movies.

 

[Jeff Miller]

saw it, loved it, would be happy with a Wizarding World movie every even year and a Star Wars movie every odd year.

 

[livefromDC]

Guess we don't have many Fantastic Beasts fans on SR. I just finished the 3rd installation albeit through distracted viewing. I have a lot of things to catch up on so I couldn't give it my undivided attention. There's a lot I liked but a lot that could have been done better. The premise was there, the execution just needed to match it a little better.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Guess we don't have many Fantastic Beasts fans on SR. I just finished the 3rd installation albeit through distracted viewing. I have a lot of things to catch up on so I couldn't give it my undivided attention. There's a lot I liked but a lot that could have been done better. The premise was there, the execution just needed to match it a little better.

Yeah I should like it much more
Not quite sure what the issues are
I think Newt is not compelling enough for a lead - great side character maybe
Baker guy and Queenie don’t quite reach the pathos they need to
Mads is a great replacement tho

Maybe this would have been much better as a tv series

 

[livefromDC]

Yeah I should like it much more
Not quite sure what the issues are
I think Newt is not compelling enough for a lead - great side character maybe
Baker guy and Queenie don’t quite reach the pathos they need to
Mads is a great replacement tho

Maybe this would have been much better as a tv series

Probably. But then I would have been upset with the budget for the "fantastic beasts" that's supposed to be the backdrop if not the feature of all these movies. The magical creatures are supposed to front and center in this series. But so far, I feel like they have been somewhat of an afterthought or shoehorned into the movies. However, they have looked fantastical. Don't know if that happens if it's a tv series but you're probably right.

After all, I've been hoping for a HP reboot as a TV series. I think it's time. The movies were great but they left out so much. Each book literally covers 10 months as the kids go from end of summer, school year, then to the beginning of summer. Perfect for a series! 7 years and the source material is complete (looking at you GoT).

 

[livefromDC]

I thought this write up was spot on.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore Review: Just More Setup

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is another frustrating entry into this series. It feels like 142 minutes of setup where ultimately not much

bleedingcool.com

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Probably. But then I would have been upset with the budget for the "fantastic beasts" that's supposed to be the backdrop if not the feature of all these movies. The magical creatures are supposed to front and center in this series. But so far, I feel like they have been somewhat of an afterthought or shoehorned into the movies. However, they have looked fantastical. Don't know if that happens if it's a tv series but you're probably right.

After all, I've been hoping for a HP reboot as a TV series. I think it's time. The movies were great but they left out so much. Each book literally covers 10 months as the kids go from end of summer, school year, then to the beginning of summer. Perfect for a series! 7 years and the source material is complete (looking at you GoT).

It’s a WB property which means HBO so they ‘could’ do it
And it seems like the kind of title to compete with Disney (unless that’s exactly why they don’t want to push it)

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

I thought this write up was spot on.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore Review: Just More Setup

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is another frustrating entry into this series. It feels like 142 minutes of setup where ultimately not much

bleedingcool.com

I’ve actually been thinking about Harry Potter in terms of Stranger Things
HP movies were so ‘kiddie’ they couldn’t help but mature- so fans welcomed the characters maturing
OTOH Stranger Things was SUCH a monumental hit about puberty aged kids, that fans seem to be struggling with the characters aging

Which now has me thinking about magic as coming of age story (not an original thought, I know) - so maybe the magic is not working as just another adult problem??