Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

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Hi everyone!  I think I have turned a corner since breaking my arm.  I just haven’t felt comfortable typing reviews (even though we have seen movies every weekend as usual).  My arms is getting to the point where I have a better range of motion, and typing is not as much of a chore as it was – so here comes my first review since The Batman on March 7!  This is the third Fantastic Beasts movie out of what is supposed to be five.  I was charmed by the first one, didn’t like the second one at all, and thought this one was better, but not great.  When the movies stick with Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, who roams the world looking for fantastic creatures, the movie is enjoyable.  Also, Dan Fogler as the muggle baker Jacob Kowalski is a scene stealer and lights up every scene he is in.  But the rest of the movie is missing something and that is saying a lot when other characters are played by some great actors, namely Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore and Mads Mickkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald.  The plot, involves Grindelwald, who is manipulating people and events to seize control of the wizarding world and ultimately begin a war to destroy all muggles.  There is also a secret Dumbledore child, a cute animal called a quilin (looks like a tiny deer), a bunch of look alike suitcases,  and a new method of traveling by the pages of a book.  This whole Fantastic Beasts franchise doesn’t seem to contain the spark, or whatever you call it, that the original Harry Potter books had in abundance.  Maybe it misses the comradeship and trust of the Hogwarts students and their teachers. Maybe it’s that the plot lines are more murky and even somewhat disconnected and harder to follow. It just lacks that something special that the Potter saga has. Even so, if you liked the first movie, I think you will like this one too.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

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I am a big fan of the first Fantastic Beasts movie.  First of all, Eddie Redmayne is delightful as Newt Scamander, the wrangler par excellence of all kinds of unusual and delightful creatures.  The romance between Queenie and Jacob Kowlaski was fresh and just plain cute.  There were a number of interesting subplots and the viewer could actually follow the story line. But I did not enjoy this movie as much as the previous one, and it has to do with the things I love about the first one.  This time around, Newt is not in search of fantastic creatures.  He still has the lovable Bowtruckle with him and the Niffler; and we do see a few visually resplendant creatures, but all too briefly.  Queenie is seen to act in very inexplicable ways; such as putting a love charm on Jacob, who she knew was already in love with her in the first movie!  That whole scene seems forced and unnecessary.  On top of that, Queenie and Jacob have very little to do – they spend alot of time just acting as window dressing.  They are almost lost in the convoluted and rather confusing plot.  Gellert Grindelwald escapes his imprisonment in a rather cliched “bad guy changes places with an apparent good guy” way, and procedes to look for Credence Barbones, who we were introduced to in the first movie.  Grindelwald isn’t the only one searching for him – so is everyone from young Dumbledore (a waste of Jude Law)  to Leta Lestrange to Newt.  Why the interest?  Credence is thought to be a very important person named in an ancient prophecy.  There is a very shocking revelation about Credence at the end of the movie; but it is a murky, disjointed road getting there.  Johnny Depp as Grindelwald is not that menacing. In fact, his performance is sort of bland. The introduction of  Credence’s family tree and how he orginally got to the U.S. makes absolutely no sense.  On the other hand, the visual effects are stupendous.  I especially enjoyed Newt’s ride on a truly fantastic creature, the bucket portkey and any time Jacob Kowalski is on the screen.  I understand that this movie is setting up the next one, but I could have done with a little less set up and a little more heart.  All in all, If you liked the first movie, you will really need to see this one, to be ready for the third  if nothing else.  Let’s just hope that one is a little more interesting!

FANTASTIC BEASTS and Where to Find Them

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Harry Potter fans are in for a treat with this movie!  I saw Fantastic Beasts today in 3D and I would highly recommend you do the same if you can.  The  creatures are everything I expected them to be, magical, colorful, imaginative and cute.  Eddie Redmayne is delightful as shy, nerdy Newt Scamander who collects magical animals from all over the world and keeps them in a very roomy satchel.  The surprise to me though was non-mag ( American word for muggles) baker Jacob Kowalski, played by Dan Fogler, who accidentally gets involved in some classic wrong suitcase shenanigans.  There is a dark side to this movie in the form of Colin Farrell and a child who is trying to suppress his/her magical side with tragic results.  There is also a budding romance that I hope gets explored in the next movie (I believe a total of 5 are planned).  SMALL SPOILER ALERT:  I do want to give you a heads up on a fun cameo.  I  think without this heads up you might miss him – I only spotted this famous actor because I read about his cameo on line.  Anyway, see if you can spot Johnny Depp —  let me know if you do.