Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the second, of a planned 5 part series, the direct sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and prequel to the Harry Potter films. This story follows Gellert Grindelwald, played by Johnny Depp, as he escapes captivity and proceeds to raise an army of pure blood witches in 1927. Newt Scamander, repised by Eddie Redmayne, has to decide if he will sit on the side lines or pick a side as an impending war is near. 

I thought that the plot was very entertaining and engaging. It picked right up where the last one ended. It was full of action, drama and plot twists. The script was well written. There was a scene where Grindelwald was recruiting his army and the words he used were very similar to language used by dictators of the past and present. It was a fascinating way to transition this fantasy into something that can be related to on a very real front.

The CGI, once again, was very well done and the acting from the entire cast was phenomenal. Similar to last time I really enjoyed Redmayne’s quirky, slightly socially awkward Newt. I liked the diversity in the new additions to the cast and thought that they were also great. Zoe Kravits’ beautiful, mysterious, gilt ridden, Leta Lestrange, Jude Law’s young, smart, beloved, calculated yet conflicted Professor Albus Dumbledore and Johnny Depp’s cunning and ruthless Grindelwald.

The only thing I wish was that there was more character development and screen time for Leta. All in all, however, the film was great fun and something I would recommend for all Harry Potter fans. Just be sure to watch Fantastic Beasts 1 first.

Outlaw King

Outlaw King is the story of Robert the Bruce. This historical drama takes place in 14th-century Scotland during the Wars of Scottish Independence. It’s basically the sequel to Bravehart.

The plot was very entertaining and the script was well written. I didn’t know much about this well renowned warrior and king, so it was interesting to see his story on film.

I thought that the cinematography was well done in this movie. The sets, costumes and the locations were all visually appealing and believable for the time period. The action sequences were filmed well, some even as extended single take shots that looked really realistic.

The character development was pretty good throughout the main cast. In regard to the acting, I thought that Chris Pine did okay as the title character. His lack of a Scottish accent was a bit of a distraction though. It would go in and out from time to time but was never quite there. Definitely not even close to the caliber of Mel Gibson’s in Braveheart. In the end, I found the supporting cast to be the ones to really carry this movie and what really brings you in to the story.

Additionally, even though I really enjoyed the story I felt like they rushed the end. There were so many other pieces that they could have told that they missed. Now, I understand that the time line they are trying to cover spanned about 12 years, so I get why, with something that massive, it would be hard to get every little detail in, however it would have been nice to see some more things covered or explained in further depth.

Overall, even with a couple of misses, I’d still say that this was a good film. It was action packed and engaging. I’d definitely recommend checking this one out.