Fantastic Beasts- The Crimes of Grindelwald Movie Review| CarenzaOnBooks

It doesn't feel as though two years ago, I posted my blog post all about the first Fantastic Beasts film. I saw The Crimes of Grindelwald on its UK release date and it's safe to say I have some things to say. This post will be filled with spoilers for both of the movies so far, so if you haven't seen the movies, then I wouldn't recommend that you read this post.

Non-Spoiler Thoughts

Unlike the first Fantastic Beasts movie, I went in with very high expectations. The teaser trailers had been mind-blowing and so I was expecting a lot from this movie. However, once I had seen it, I have to admit I was a tad disappointed. A lot of the things that I loved about the first movie weren't in the sequel. That being said, I still enjoyed it and am very intrigued for the sequel. I plan on making a video all about my problems with this franchise as a few have cropped up since seeing the movie.  

  

Poster Review

I have to say that I do love the branding for this movie. The Deathly Hallows imagery has been very clever, especially in this poster with the Eiffel Tower becoming the Elder Wand within the symbol. Something worth noting is that the "Fantastic Beasts" part of the title is much smaller than it was in the poster of the first movie. This hinted that they are moving away from the beasts aspects of the franchise. 

Like last time, we also have to appreciate how beautiful the screenplay is. Designed by the incredibly talented MinaLima, it is even prettier than the first one.

Plot Overview

In an effort to thwart Grindelwald's plans of raising pure-blood wizards to rule over all non-magical beings, Albus Dumbledore enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.

Taken from Google

At the end of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald was captured in New York with the help of Newt Scamander. But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escapes custody and sets about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings.

In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore enlists Newt, his former Hogwarts student, who agrees to help once again, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.

This second original screenplay from J.K. Rowling, illustrated with stunning line art from MinaLima, expands on earlier events that helped shaped the wizarding world, with some surprising nods to the Harry Potter stories that will delight fans of both the books and films.

Taken from Goodreads 

Character Chat and Opinions

Main Characters
We have to start this section by talking about Newt. Newt is still my favourite character in the FB universe. I feel as though he has grown as a character between the two movies and this was something I was very happy to see. Since the publication of his book, he has become famous, but you can sense that he doesn't want that. Newt's relationship with Tina is adorable. I hope they get together in the next movie because the scene in the French Ministry of Magic was so cute. They're perfect for each other.

Speaking of Tina, I feel as though we didn't see that much of her in this movie and all the things I loved about her from the first movie had gone. That being said, the scene with her and Theseus in the French Ministry of Magic was incredible. Her reaction to Queenie joining Grindelwald was heartbreaking and I really hope they fix their relationship.

Jacob is another character I adore. As the only No-Maj of importance in the movie, I feel as though he is there in part to provide comedy. His character has developed since the first movie, but I can't help but feel he is the comedic release within the movie. His relationship with Queenie was so cute and I was heartbroken when they split up over Grindelwald. I'm not sure if they have a future together anymore, but I really hope they do.

Queenie as a character in this film was one I liked far less than the first movie. In places, she came across as selfish and unkind. These traits in her made it unsurprising that she joined Grindelwald by the end of the movie. I feel as though she doesn't want to kill all the muggles as Grindelwald does, but that she feels that it is the only way she can be with Jacob in a time when magical and non-magical people weren't allowed to be together.

Grindelwald was an interesting new addition to the main cast. I personally found him a much more convincing villain than Voldemort. There were far more layers to him and why he wanted to overtake the Muggles than I thought there would be. I am interested to see where his character goes over the course of the remaining movies. One of his key skills is how good a manipulator he is, as we see with Queenie, he can turn anyone to his side.

Dumbledore, on the other hand, was a character we saw very little of. I feel as though we are going to get to know this new version in the later movies. Jude Law did a fantastic performance as an already existing character. I feel as though we have learnt more about Dumbledore and that there are more layers to his character than before.

Credence was one hundred per cent the central character in this movie. He has developed well between the two movies and it was interesting seeing him as a much stronger individual. I have to say that I disliked his ending in the movie and I found it unbelievable. I will touch upon this later in my review.

Supporting Characters 
With a new movie, comes new supporting characters and I have picked some of my favourites to discuss in this post.

Theseus was a character that I ended up liking. From the trailers, I thought I wouldn't like him, but he's another interesting character. His relationship with Newt progressed really nicely throughout the course of the film. You can see that, even though they are polar opposites, they still care for each other and Theseus will do anything for his little brother. 

Leta was a character I was interested to learn about, but I'm so sad about what happened to her. She was a really well-developed character and her death caught me off guard. Her last line could have been to either Theseus or Newt, but I believe it was to both as they are the only people who really loved her.

Leta's half-brother Kama was another interesting character. Overall, I wasn't sure how I felt about him as he seemed hell-bent on revenge, but he was ultimately a good guy. I feel as though he was there in part for a lot of back story and didn't really have his own fleshed out character.
 
Nagini was a character we knew was going to be involved from the trailers. I think it would have been more effective if they hadn't shown her in the trailers. I personally felt that she was very underused and very much a supporting character. In future movies, I would love to get to know more about her.

Before going to see CoG, I rewatched Fantastic Beasts and Abernathy just seemed like an ordinary wizard. I didn't expect him to join Grindelwald, but it made for some interesting moments in the film.

A lot of people were very excited to see Nicholas Flamel in the film and so was I. I loved that he was this frail old man, but still a very powerful wizard. Hopefully, we'll get to see him some more in future movies.

The Wizarding World
The setting of Paris was by far my favourite setting in the Wizarding World. Personally, I love Paris in general so seeing it in the 1920's and in the magical community was incredible. It was everything I imagined it would be.

Something else I loved was seeing the Ministry of Magic again. It was still familiar from the Harry Potter films, but it had new touches. I loved the bits with the House Elves cleaning the windows as it reminded you of why Newt is trying to change wizard's attitudes towards beasts.

Newt's expanded case was another great addition to this world. The baby Niffler's were incredible. I read an interview with Eddie Redmayne saying that he believed Newt didn't sleep in his house but in the expansion of Newt's case.

Production and Plot 
Ultimately, I found this film enjoyable but felt that the plot was woolly in places. This was definitely setting up for later action in the series and as a film, it suffered from the second instalment slump in my opinion. I also feel as though my excitement was so high that in the end I couldn't help but be let down. A few people have pointed out that half the scenes we saw in various teaser trailers never made it into the movie and therefore moments fans were looking out for, never showed up.

In truth, it was the ending of the film that really swayed me. I feel as though it has gone completely against what JK Rowling has been telling us for the past twenty-one years. The revelation that Credence is a Dumbledore undermines the original Potter stories and I am interested to see how it is fixed in the later movies. I personally do not believe he is Dumbledore's brother as it is impossible for him to be his brother due to Dumbledore's parents being dead many years before Credence was even born.
 
Another issue that I had was that the timelines between the Potter films and these films has been totally medelled with. It is impossible for McGonagall to be a teacher at Hogwarts in 1927 as she isn't born until the late 1930s. Many have suggested that it is her mother, but this is something I don't believe. I think it was a nice attempt at a nod to the Harry Potter series, but it ultimately failed.
 
Something I adored about this film was the beautiful cinematography. As we have established in my last Fantastic Beasts review, I am not a specialist in this field and am terrible at explaining how good it is. The quality is beautiful and it makes me very happy to see these movies improving each time they are released.

Another thing that was great was the special effects. Even though the beasts are not real, as a member of the audience you are convinced that they are 100% real because the CGI is that good. The Nifflers and Picket stole the show and are still my favourite beasts.

The level of detail that the behinds the scenes team put into these films is jaw-dropping. As someone who eventually wants to work in the creative industry as either a script-writer or director, this is something I appreciate immensely. You as a member of the audience are never forced to imagine anything because it is right there in front of you. I would love to wander around these sets and look at every little thing because it truly unbelievable of how detailed they are.

To conclude, I loved this film but I can't deny that it doesn't have it's issues. I feel as though with the last Fantastic Beasts, I went in with no expectations and loved it. With this one, I went in with very high expectations and sadly they weren't met. I think this series is going to continue to get darker and I am interested in seeing how it moves forwards.

Best of Books 2016| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?
Welcome to the first post in a 3 part series called "Best of 2016". I did this last year for 2015 and really enjoyed it, so I thought I would do it again. Just a quick note- while I am writing this, I am very ill, so it may not be as fluent as some of my other posts.

In this post I will be talking about my favourite books that were published in 2016. I have picked 6 books that I love and were published last year. They are in no particular order other than the order I took photos of them.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

 While I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about this book, I loved it. ACOMAF completely hooked me in and I read this beast of a book in 3 days. I loved the pace and the world building of this book. I cannot wait for the sequel A Court of Wings and Ruin to come out in May this year. ACOMAF is one of my most prized books as this copy is a US hardback that Sarah signed and personalized to me. My parents got me this with help of a friend of my dad's who lives in America. You can read my review here.

The next book on my list is the screenplay for the Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them movie. I knew that at least one JK Rowling book would have to make it on to this list and I chose this one over Cursed Child because I preferred it. I was happy that I could read the script of the film and be able to refer to scenes better. I loved that I could see how JK Rowling had written such a good script. You can read my review of the film here.  

Next is a book I don't talk enough about on here and that is Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton. I picked up this book not really knowing what it was about and it was one of the best reading choices I made. Rebel of the Sands is like nothing I've read and I am dying for the sequel Traitor to the Throne to come out this year.

Another book I don't talk about enough is Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin. I bought this on the same trip as Rebel of the Sands and fell in love with it too. I would describe it as a YA version of the Man in the High Castle, which is a book I haven't read but I have watched part of the TV series.  It was so well written and I need to pick up the sequel Blood for Blood, which is already out.

In 2016 I discovered VE Schwab's books and she has become one of my favourite authors. This Savage Song was such an amazing book about what it is to be human. I would highly recommend this. Our Dark Duet, which is the sequel, comes out later this year.

My final choice is Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare. I would have to say that this is my favourite book of 2016. It was so emotional and moving, as well as behind funny. I need the sequel, Lord of Shadows now. You can read my review here.









So that concludes my Best of Books for 2016. Let me know some of your favourite books. The next post in my Best of Series will be going up next Friday.
Love,
Carenza x

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them Movie Review| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?
As I'm sure most of you know, the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie and script came out on November 18th. It's safe to say that the Potterheads went a little bit mad over having a new Harry Potter movie. I went and saw it on the 20th and I have fallen in love with the Fantastic Beasts universe. Like my last movie review, I will split it into sections: Non-Spoiler Thoughts, Poster Review, Outline of the plot, Character Chat and Opinions, which I am going to merge into one section. This post will contain spoilers, so if you have not seen the Movie or read the script, please do not read this post! Go watch the movie and then come and read this.

Non-Spoiler Thoughts

When I saw the trailer for this movie, I had very low standards. I loved the Harry Potter movies and was skeptical that they would be of the same standard. While I was happy to have more in this universe, I felt that turning Fantastic Beasts into a movie was stretching it a bit. Also in my head, Newt was an old man and was from the 1600's not the 1920's. 

But once I had saw the movie, my thoughts changed. I really enjoyed it. I feel as though it's appropriate for all ages. You can watch it if you haven't read the Harry Potter books or seen the movies (which you should!). I found it interesting how it showed the wizarding world in a different era and a different country. I gave it 5/5 stars and am hoping that I can go and see it again.

Poster Review

 I know there is more than one version of the poster, but I would have to say that this is my favourite. It shows Newt (Eddie Redmayne) in the American Ministry of Magic,  the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA). I love the design of MACUSA, it fits very nicely with the 1920's period. It also shows how big and grand America is compared to Britain.

I thought I should show you how pretty the script is. The dust jacket is a matte navy blue with gold details. I love the 1920's style of the gold details (in case you can't tell, I love the 1920's style in general). But under the dust jacket is this super cute detail of a Niffler! I love this so much! I can't put into words how much I love it!
Also, the inside of the book is just as beautiful. To break up the scenes, we have pictures of the different creatures. This is the prettiest script I own.

Plot Overview

The year is 1926, and Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident, were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt's fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.

This summary was taken from Google

J.K. Rowling's screenwriting debut is captured in this exciting hardcover edition of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them screenplay. 

When Magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when his magical case is misplaced and some of Newt's fantastic beasts escape, it spells trouble for everyone…

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, author of the beloved and internationally bestselling Harry Potter books. Featuring a cast of remarkable characters, this is epic, adventure-packed storytelling at its very best. 

Whether an existing fan or new to the wizarding world, this is a perfect addition to any reader's bookshelf.

This summary was taken from Goodreads and is the description for the script.

Character Chat and Opinions

This section is going to be split up into 4 sections which are going to be: Newt and his creatures, Supporting Characters, The Wizarding World and the production and plot- this section will contain spoilers, you have been warned.

Newt and His Creatures

Newt is now one of my favourite characters that J K Rowling has created. I love his enthusiasm for his creatures. It was nice seeing a wizard who had left Hogwarts and getting a sense of the world from an adults perspective. His devotion to his creatures was the main reason I fell for his character. He cared about them and would do anything to protect them. He seemed to be a wizard who cared about creatures more than magic. He also had other great qualities. I liked seeing a wizard who was unafraid to mingle with the muggles (or No-Maj) and wasn't afraid to show them the Wizarding World. It was nice seeing a main character who was a Hufflepuff. I feel as though Hufflepuffs get a bad rep in the fandom. I personally don't see being a Hufflepuff as anything bad, Hufflepuff is often referred to as "the duff house" or "the house for everyone else". I think that being loyal is a good quality and we see that in Newt.

My favourite thing about this film were the creatures. I loved every single one of them. But by far my favourite was the Niffler (I think the whole fandom has fallen for the Niffler). I want every single piece of Niffler Merch I can get my hands on. I loved the wide variety of creatures that Newt had. To me, it was like he had a creature to represent the elements and nature itself. For example, Pickett is part of a tree. The animation of the creatures was beyond amazing and I was blown away by the quality. I also think that almost all the creatures have animals that they are based off. For example, I've seen this a lot on Twitter that Puggles (which are baby Echidnas) are Nifflers, here's a photo to show you the similarity. I'm linking an article from the Express that talks about the similarity between the two creatures.  

Left: A baby Echidna, Right: Niffler 

Newt's case was a truly amazing edition to the film. I guess it's like Hermione's bag in Book 7 and has an undetectable extension charm. It was a really nice way to look after the beasts. I also really liked how Newt had a little house in there so he could be close to his creatures, but also he would just have to jump in and he'd be able to check on the beasts. I really hope they add this set to the Warner Bros Studio Tour as I could spend all day exploring it. 

Supporting Characters

 As you've probably guessed, I love Newt, but I also loved our supporting characters. I'm only going to talk about 3 and they are Jacob Kowalski, Tina Goldstien and Queenie Goldstien.

Jacob Kowalski definitely added the humor to this film (I'm going to talk humor in a separate point). It was nice that they included a No Maj. I loved seeing his awe at the magical world and his eagerness to help his new friends. I love seeing qualities like that in characters. I'm interested to see where his story goes after he lost his memory of the wizarding world. Jacob was played by Dan Fogler.

Tina Goldstien was another character I loved. Her determination to help MACUSA was a really strong part of her character. I loved that she was also really loyal to Newt, her sister Queenie and Credence. I would like to see more of her and learn more about her job in MACUSA. I really liked her relationship with her sister and that you could see she was the big sister.  Tina was played by Katherine Waterston.

Queenie Goldstien also added humor to the film, because of her ability to read peoples minds. She had a way of making characters feel awkward when she saw their thoughts. I liked how she was able to use here ability to help the group when she needed it. My favourite thing about her was her relationship with Jacob. I could sense that they really cared for each other and that she was sad that he lost his memories. Queenie was played by Alison Sudol.

The Wizarding World

Like I said at the start of my review, I loved seeing the Wizarding World in a different time era. It was nice to go into a story and know that the villein wasn't going to be Voldemort. It was nice to visit this world we know so well through the Harry Potter books but in a different era. I really liked how they fitted the theme of World War One in with the Wizarding World. Newt served on the Eastern Front with dragons. It was also interesting seeing how they showed the Wizarding World struggling with the Great Depression. I liked how they were threatened with persecutions from the muggles and how it tied in with what was happening at history at that time. 

I also really loved seeing the Wizarding World in a different country. We've spent so much time in Britain that it was nice seeing the Wizarding Community in America. Although the different eras makes it hard to compare the two at the same time, I loved seeing how the American Magical Community was run. I could sense that MACUSA was very different to the Ministry of Magic. To me it felt a lot stricter but also a lot grander than M.O.M. 

Production and Plot

Like I've already said, I loved the humor in this film. I feel as though it was a lot more humorous than the Harry Potter. There were moments where you were supposed to laugh (the Niffler being caught stealing) and subtle moments ( Jacob). I really liked the humor and I hope we get more humor in the next film (s).

While I am no film expert, I do appreciate good cinematography. The quality of this film was amazing. The animation and special effects were fantastic. The way it was filmed was really nice and it it flowed really well. I just love the quality of this film and I can't put it into words because I'm not a film expert.

I didn't see Credence (Ezra Miller) being the Obscurus (is that how you spell it?). I had expected it to be the little sister, but J K Rowling always has a surprise up her sleeve. I did feel genuinely sorry for his character and I found it odd how Graves (Colin Farrell) was interested in him.

I was shocked by the ending. I didn't see Grindelwald (Johnny Deep) being involved as much as he was. I know we got the announcement that we will see the duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald in this series, but I didn't expect to see him in the first film. I also which he didn't have to replace Graves' character as I really liked Graves. Also, I'm not that bothered by Johnny Deep playing Grindelwald. I know a lot of the fandom were angry when it was announced that Deep was going to be in the franchise, but it doesn't bother me that much.

I'm excited to see where they take the story. At first I was unsure if I wanted 5 Fantastic Beasts movies, but now I know I want more from this era. I really enjoyed it and I can't wait for the next film!

So that concludes my very long review of Fantastic Beasts review, let me know what your thoughts were.
Love,
Carenza x