Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

Does anyone else think perfume adverts are more than a little ridiculous? Perhaps now 4DX screens are becoming a thing they have a place in the world, but has anyone really ever paid much attention to these ads? You’re probably actually wondering what the hell perfume has to do with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. 

Well, at the cinema the other night, right before the featured trailers aired, an advert of sorts was played for what looked like a period drama movie or TV show starring Domhnall Gleeson (AKA General Hux, AKA my favourite grumpy space ginger). I got so excited I did a little dance in my seat, until I realised it was an advert for Burberry perfume. What. The. Frick?! NOT COOL Burberry, not cool. Although I might buy your aftershave for my husband now...damnit. It works.

Anyway! Harry Potter fans will be aware of the book on every Hogwarts first year’s required reading list, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Who’d have thought all these years later it would be adapted into not one, but 5 movies?! I wish I could go back and tell 12 year old me. This movie is the story of the author of said book, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) who travels to New York in 1926 to release one of his beasts back into the wild where he/she belongs. Whilst there, several creatures (including the ever adorable Niffler) escape from Newt’s magical suitcase.

Newt gets himself into trouble for involving a no-maj (American muggle) called Kowalski (Dan Fogler) and then not wiping his memory, so gets himself caught by disgraced Auror Tina (Katherine Waterson). Amidst all this, a dark wizard called Gellert Grindelwald is on the loose, an anti-magic cult is throwing their weight around, and a rather dapper Colin Farrell is hunting down a talented young witch. Got it? I sure all hell don’t, there’s so much going on!

Let me first say though how wonderful it is to return to the wizarding world of Harry Potter. The sheer excitement at hearing that familiar music with the Warner Brothers logo was enough to make me cry (for the second or third time that night, after so many Christmas adverts), and there are plenty of references for the hardcore fans to spot. Eddie Redmayne is the perfect choice for Newt, confident in his abilities and passionate in his subject, but terribly awkward at the same time. It’s the first time I’ve ever really loved him on screen.

The beasts themselves are indeed fantastic. The Niffler is the real show stealer, but all the creatures we are shown either bring laughs or a feeling of awe. It’s a lot of CGI to have thrown around, but it works. Almost the entire supporting cast were new to me, but their characters were played so well and even ones that have a high risk of being annoying (I’m looking at you, Queenie) were actually incredibly likeable.

Where this movie falls down is largely the messy plot. Considering this franchise is going to be dragged out into 5 movies, there was too much packed into the first installment. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I would have been happy for the entire first movie to be an introduction to Newt and Co, chasing down the beasts across New York. Save the dark wizard stuff for movie number 2! Who is the target audience, anyway? This was far too dark for young children, but the plot was far too obvious for the older fans. It’s a shame.

I’ll always be happy for more Harry Potter movies, but I’d have liked them to go down the Star Wars route with a collection of one offs instead. Let’s have Fantastic Beasts, then how about a movie for Hagrid and how he got kicked out of Hogwarts? A Marauder’s movie would be amazing too! There are so many stories that could be expanded, without the need of dragging them out.

Describe Yourself in 3 Fictional Characters

A few weeks ago, our Twitter feed and my own personal Facebook feed was full of these ‘Describe Yourself in 3 Fictional Characters’ posts. Now, I take my lists seriously, and so whilst making sure I chose my 3 characters perfectly, I kind of missed the boat. This isn’t going round anymore. But perhaps you missed it, too? Either way, I need a break from terrorising myself with horror movies, and this seemed like a great chance.

Originally, all 3 of my picks were from TV Shows. It wasn’t deliberate, but when you dedicate years to a TV series you really get to know the characters and empathise with them, but I wanted to give myself at least one pick from movies. So, here we go!

Liz Lemon, 30 Rock

Have you ever watched a show and just felt the need to point at a particular character and shout ‘that’s me!’ over and over again? Man, I don’t know how anyone puts up with me when 30 Rock is on the TV. I’m not a girly girl in the slightest, I’m far happier in my joggers at home with a big bag of snacks on a Saturday night than out clubbing in high heels. I have no idea what I’m doing with my life half of the time, I tend to just stumble into everything. In fact, I could really do with a Jack Donaghy in my life to mentor me. Liz Lemon, you are my spirit animal!

Hermione Granger, Harry Potter

Yeah, I kind of cheated here considering how many Harry Potter movies there are. Hermione Granger is the character that everyone else thinks I’m most like. My brother still tags me in things on Facebook on a regular basis. I’d like to think it’s because everything thinks I’m pretty and intelligent, but deep down I know it’s because I’m a complete teacher’s pet, I’m bossy, and I like to correct people on the correct way to say things. Not that my grammar and spelling is perfect of course, but I want to scream when I see someone type ‘could of’ instead of ‘could have’. And you know, it’s levi-O-sa, not levios-A.

Winston Bishop, New Girl

I know, I’m not a man, trust me, but I have such a connection to Winston! To me, New Girl feels like the new age of Friends, where everyone can relate to at least one of the characters (I’m Monica apparently, as much as I’d like to be a Phoebe). Winston has that never ending optimism that I try to channel as much as I can, and hey, it turns out that there is someone out there who loves cats and bubble baths just as much as me! 

National Love Your Pet Day: The Best Pets in Movies

Hello pet lovers! Did you know that today, 20th February, is National Love Your Pet Day? I’ve had pets all of my life, and when I moved out of my parents house two and a half years ago to live with my fiance, the house wasn’t a place I could call home without pets around. Thankfully, just 6 months after moving in, we agreed to get two kittens to liven up the place. Well, they certainly aren’t kittens anymore!  Here is where me and Allie are soooo different, I don't like animals, I have no desire to have a pet and I have an irrational fear of dogs (this makes most dog lovers hate me!) and don't even get me started on farm animals!!

Meet our cats, Sherlock and Loki (also known as furr babies, fluff bums, buttholes, and other endearing terms) Most of the time we call them Sherly-Bum and Loki-Moo. I have no idea why. Our vets actually think Sherlock is a lady cat named Shirley now. Whoops.  I have to admit, I don't mind these pair, even when I go home from movie night covered in cat hair!

Anyway, before I drift dramatically off course, let's bring this back to something movie related. In the spirit of National Love Your Pet Day, I wanted to share some of the best pets in movies. Let me know in the comments section which pets you’d include!

I was never a dog lover until my parents got a Cockapoo 8 years ago. In fact, I was scared of him for the first week they had him. Now, I can’t actually pass a dog without saying hello! My point is, I watched Marley & Me (2008) before they got him, and so I wasn’t expecting the gut wrenching heartache this movie caused me. I’ve never been able to re-watch it! I really want to, because I can remember how funny it was, but I can’t go through that ending again. I am in the same boat, being terrified of dogs I assumed I wouldn't be affected by a sad dog movie, man was I wrong, I sobbed my little heart out!

Now, when I said ‘best’ pets, I didn’t mean well behaved. In fact, this statement stands for any cats picked. Lets face it, as much as we love our feline friends, the feeling isn’t always mutual, as much as we like to think so. Ulysses, the cat in Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) that Llewyn accidently locks out brings a lot of comedic relief to the movie, and I can only imagine what it must have been like filming those subway scenes!

In The Voices (2014), Ryan Reynolds hears voices. Specifically, the voices of his dog Bosco and his cat Mr Whiskers. It’s quite a grim horror/comedy, but a lot of the laughs come from these 2 pets. Bosco is very much a typical dog, telling his owner how much he loves him and pestering him to go on a dog walk, and well, I really shouldn’t repeat any of Mr Whiskers’ lines, but he gets grouchy when his food his late. When I say grouchy, I mean sweary!

Moving into animated territory, The Croods (2013) features 2 adorable pets. There’s Douglas, a cross between a crocodile and a puppy, who meets an unfortunate fate when doing ‘rollover’ tricks on a cliff edge (don’t panic, he’s okay) and the amazingly fluffy Chunky, a huge cross between a macaw and a sabre-toothed tiger amazingly enough. He starts out as one of the movie’s biggest villains, but as it turns out, who’s actually a big softy, and he joins the disjointed Croods family.  I was so sad when Douglas rolled over, I really thought he was a goner!

If Marley & Me made you cry, wait till you see the trailer for Max (2015). Max served his owner in the US Marines in Afghanistan but is left with PTSD after a terrible accident. It’s decided Max needs to be put down due to his aggressive outbursts, but he responds well to his owner’s brother Justin who takes him in and attempts to rehabilitate him. It’s actually a very different movie from Marley & Me, but a perfect family movie.  Oh my gosh, I thought nothing of watching this and then I spent the first 40 minutes crying and the last 40 minutes angry that they turned a really good concept into a terrible Disney action movie!

You’ll see more of Alien (1979) on this blog in a few days, as it was our February choice for the Blind Spot Series! With it so fresh in my mind, I couldn’t disclude Jonesy from this list. Every work space, be it office or spaceship, should have a cat I think, but perhaps not during a crisis. You can guarantee that cat will hide in the smallest space possible, ready to scare the living daylights out of you. He’s so cute, though.  That cat.......

Feast (2014) is a beautiful 6 minute Disney short shown before Big Hero 6. It tells a love story through the eyes of the dog, Winston, who is used to his male owner feeding him all sorts of junk food (which real-life doggies should definitely not eat!). When his owner falls in love with a vegan waitress, Winston’s diet changes dramatically, and I’m still not sure how a 6 minute animation about a dog and food made me cry so much!  I forgot all about this, I loved it!  I felt so sorry for him when he had to eat rubbish healthy food, its exactly how I feel every January when I start the obligatory New Year diet....

Cats are known to be extremely choosy in who they show affection for, and this couldn’t be truer in The Hunger Games series. Primrose’s cat Buttercup thinks the world of Prim, but can’t stand Katniss, often hissing at her. I suppose Katniss did threaten to drown her in a bucket, so the feeling is mutual. As distressing as the final half hour of Mockingjay: Part 2 was, the reunion of Katniss and Buttercup killed me a little on the inside. The book destroyed me. Sob!  This is an example of an animal that I was not at all bothered about, I couldn't care less who she liked or didn't like and I could have happily not had her included at all.  Reading this back, it seems a little harsh but still true!

I could pick all sorts of pets from the Harry Potter series! Scabbers, Crookshanks, Mrs Norris...the list is endless. But for now, let me focus on Hedwig, Harry’s first pet, a snowy owl gifted to Harry by Hagrid for his 11th Birthday, and his initiation to the wizarding world. Hedwig was one of the smartest creatures around, delivering letters all over the world, and craftily nipping Harry on the hand when she didn’t receive enough reward for her work. 

Thursday Movie Picks: Teachers

Hellooo. Allie here, remember me? I kind of disappeared for a long time. I’m back now, I promise! Whilst I’m still kicking myself into gear I thought now would be a great time to jump back on the Thursday Movie Picks wagon, what with it being Thursday and all that.

Thursday Movie Picks is hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves. Each week brings a new theme, and each week we all pick 3 movies that fit the theme. This week is Teachers, which is very fitting as all the kids are heading back to school. Is summer really over already?

My first pick is a movie I haven’t seen in years, but I’ve seen it so many times I remember it clearly. Plus, any time I hear the song ‘On My Way’ I start thinking about pancakes. Anyway, there are a number of teachers in Matilda, but the one on my mind is Head Teacher Mrs Trunchbull. She was the worst! I think we all saw our own Head Teachers that way though. The scene with her and Bruce Bogtrotter will forever be etched in my mind, and chocolate fudge cake never tasted the same after I watched Matilda.

Moving on to something a little more obscure, my second pick is Starter for 10. It’s so conventionally British it’s almost cringey, but it was an entertaining watch. James McAvoy joins his University’s University Challenge team, schooled by the leader, Benedict Cumberbatch, who takes on a teacher’s role for his team. Only he’s a bit of a jerk, and gets a well deserved fist in the face. Even I laughed at that part!

I realise I’ve picked 2 terrible teachers so far, so for my third choice, let me pick my favourite movie teacher of all time, Professor Lupin, played by David Thewlis. Okay, so Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban isn’t a movie about a teacher, but it’s filled with teachers! Professor Lupin in my opinion is/was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and his bond with Harry was one of my favourite things about the whole film.

Thursday Movie Picks: Movies Adapted from a Young Adult Novel

I’ve so got this guys. If you’re not familiar with the Thursday Movie Picks, it’s an amazing thing hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves. Each week brings a new theme, and all you need to do is pick 3 movies that fit the bill to discuss. I now carry a little printout with the upcoming themes so I can make a note every time I get a brainwave, which isn’t often.

This week it’s Movies Adapted from a Young Adult Novel. I’ve read many, although not all when I was actually a young adult! Let’s start with the obvious…

Okay, so this might just be the most un-inspired choice ever. But the Harry Potter books were my whole childhood, and just when I thought I had finished growing up with the books, I got to carry on growing up with the movies. I was just a kid when I saw the first movie in the cinema, and I went on dates to see the last 2, with a guy who I’m getting married to next year!

It was only recently that I learnt Freaky Friday was based on a book, and I know this isn’t the original, but it’s the version I’ve seen! Admittedly, I’ve never read the book, but I think I can get the gist of it. Perhaps Freaky Friday isn’t the best movie in the world, but the idea of it has sparked many a spin-off, including one of my guilty pleasures, The Change-Up.

This may be pushing it a little, Bridge to Terabithia is actually based on a children’s book, but the nature of the story is quite dark and I certainly wouldn’t want to read it to a young child. The movie itself split opinions in my household, I thought it was a masterpiece but my mother and brother declared it dull and depressing. Each to their own I guess!

I thought I would throw my two pennies (cents if your not in the UK) in here, i hope you don't mind Allie :-) Personally my three would have to be:

The Hunger Games (2012 - )

I LOVED these books, like couldn't put them down loved them. I've read them all twice and will happily read them again when the mood strikes. I was worried when I heard they were making the movies but for once I was not disappointed. Jennifer Lawrence is brilliant and the film comes really close to the book less a few creative differences, I can't wait for the next instalment!

The Fault in our Stars (2014)

This book was utterly engrossing, I read the whole thing in a few hours (and cried publicly in an airport!!), the movie really did it justice. I cried....a lot but again it was really close to the book (apart from a few niggly parts but nothing too dramatic). I haven't been able to bring myself to watch or read this again because I know whats going to happen I start crying at the beginning!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

Probably the first film with Emma Watson in where I didn't think 'oooh look Hermione Granger' - I haven't read the book (in fact I didn't even know there was a book until I did a bit of research for this) but I may do now I know it exists. I have to admit this movie is not overly memorable, I can't actually remember the storyline but I do remember really enjoying it and recommending it to people to watch so it must have been good.

My Hometown Blogathon

The lovely Caz at Let's Go To The Movies is hosting her first Blogathon right now, and she's come up with a brilliant idea. Everyone who takes part is going to put a film/TV/theatre orientated post about their hometown. It's going to be so interesting to read everyone's posts! I had very little knowledge about my own hometown on this subject before drafting this post, so it'll be insightful to read the others.

Jenna lives in Birmingham, and I live in a little town just outside it, although I've worked in the city centre for the last 5 years so I would say it counts! We may not have the likes of Brad Pitt roaming our streets on the weekend or the film crew for the next Transformers film closing our roads off for shooting, but we do have a few cool links.

Does the name Julie Walters ring any bells? She played Molly Weasley in the Harry Potter series. Julie was born in Birmingham in 1950, and got kicked out of grammar school for bad behavior! She went on to train as a nurse at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital before leaving to study English and Drama at what is now known as Manchester Metropolitan University. In 2009, Julie received a star in Birmingham's walk of stars on its famous 'Golden Mile', Broad Street.

I'm not sure how many of our BBC programmes are popular across the pond (apart from Sherlock and Dr Who!) so you may not have even heard of this before, but BBC's Peaky Blinders is set and filmed in Birmingham. It's a historical drama based on a criminal gang in the late 19th century. Apparently, they got their name, Peaky Blinders, from the disturbing fact that they sewed razor blades into their flat caps to use as a weapon.

If you haven't heard of the TV Show itself, you've probably heard of its main actor, Cillian Murphy. Tom Hardy has also recently joined the cast for Season 2. Since writing this I learnt that Season 1 aired on the US version of Netflix on 30th September 2014, and Season 2 will launch later in November.

I'd just like to give a mention to the Cineworld Broad Street cinema too. It's not my local but Jenna & I have seen a few films there together. It's also been home to a few premieres, namely Tom Hardy's fairly recent film, Locke, Peaky Blinders Season 2 and if I remember correctly, Dr Seuss' The Lorax.

This looked really interesting so I thought I would do a little research myself. 

The man who played R2D2, Kenny Baker was actually born in Birmingham in 1934.  Kenny is one of only 2 actors who have starred in ALL six Star Wars movies (so far!).

I personally live about 10 minutes walk from Sarehole Mill which after moving to Birmingham in 1896 was a haunt for JRR Tolkien and his brother.  Many of these areas including Moseley Bog were inspiration for The Shire and Hobbiton in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit - New Zealand pfft, they should have filmed in Hall Green, Birmingham!!

Lastly (but might be pushing it a little bit) Birmingham is in the Midlands and I found out that Superman IV, that was supposed to be set in New York was actually filmed in Milton Keynes which is also in the Midlands.  Apparently, due to budget constraints after the first 3 films they didn't have the spend to film in New York.  Supposedly, if you watch the film you never see the top of the buildings because Milton Keynes doesn't have skyscrapers.  The UN building that is used in the film is actually Milton Keynes train station.

I hope this is somewhat interesting to read, but it's certainly been interesting to research my own local area in terms of the film and TV business! Thanks again for hosting this blogathon Caz, we've loved taking part. 

Thursday Movie Picks #8: Movies Set Locally

The creative Wanderer at Wandering through the Shelves has been running a blogging series for a while now called Thursday Movie Picks which, funnily enough, takes place every Thursday. I've been meaning for weeks now to take part but this week is finally my time. Today's theme is Movies Set Locally.

Now, I live in a little town a few miles away from Birmingham in the UK, so as you can imagine, there aren't many blockbuster movies set down the road from my house. Not that I've watched at least! However, I'm going to stay as local as I can for my 3 choices.

Nativity! (2009) starring the wonderful Martin Freeman rapidly became one of my favourite Christmas movies. Even the sequel, starring David Tennant was great. Even better, Nativity! was filmed and set in Coventry, which genuinely is in my local area, just the other side of Birmingham.

Much more recently, Locke (2013) was released, starring Tom Hardy. It's a brilliant film which entails Ivan Locke driving home from his construction job in Birmingham, and I've actually reviewed it here. Funnily enough, the première took place a 5 minute walk from my place of work, and I'm still kicking myself now for not just turning up.

I realise I'm pushing it now, but the Harry Potter movies were set in the UK, and some of the sets in particular aren't that far from where I live. About 9 years ago I visited Oxford (just over an hour on the train) to see the great hall at Christ Church College, and the library and infirmary at Bodleian Library.

Hopefully this won't be my first and last contribution to this fantastic series, and I look forward to taking part in the upcoming themes. Thanks to Wanderer for hosting!

Top 10 Film Quotes (Allie)

Me and Jenna are planning a lot of 'Top 10' lists for this blog, in fact, we even have a list of the different lists we want to do! We're starting off with Film Quotes. Now, this was a lot harder to write than I thought it would be. The films themselves were easy, these are some of my favourites. The problem was chosing a single quote, for a couple of these I had up to 5 quotes each!

Anyway, I whittled them down, and here is my Top 10...

10. "It's your job to know these things." The Change-Up (2011)

Okay, so not the most memorable moment from this film, but I use this quote so much now I actually had to try and remember where it came from. Sadly I couldn't find a clip of it, so have this funny moment below instead.



9. "To the windows, to the walls..." The Proposal (2009) 

Oh man...this scene! Excuse me for not typing out the whole quote. One of my favourite guilty pleasure films, and I could watch this clip for days and never get bored of it.



8. "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!" Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

This was one of the films that I had 5 quotes noted down for. I wish I could just quote you the whole film! If you've never seen any of the Monty Python films (I'm looking at you Jenna) then you'll either love or hate them. Me and my Dad will watch these and cry from laughter, whereas my Mum just doesn't get it at all.




7. "You hear that? It's the winds of change..." Monsters Inc (2001)

Again, maybe not the most memorable quote from this film, but me and my brother, 13 years later, still quote it all the time and find it hilarious. Plus, Randall is my fave!



6. "I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you." Taken (2008)

Oh man, hasn't this got to be one of the greatest quotes of all time? Liam Neeson is just such a badass, and that voice could put the fear of God into anyone!



5. "Remember that you were loved by me, and you made my life a happy one. And there's no tragedy in that." Third Star (2010)

Not a film many people will have even heard of, but I watched it on one of my Benedict Cumberbatch binges. This whole film was a giant kick in the feelings, and I'll remember this quote forever. If you fancy watching the film, don't watch the clip below. It's more of a fan-made compilation, and filled with spoilers.



4. "Who's...the...moosiest moose we know? Marty Moose!" National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

My childhood film! In fact, my whole family's childhood film...I can't even remember how many times we all watched it but from my little brother, to my parents, to my aunt and uncle, to my grandparents, we all know every word to this song. Should I be bragging about that?



3. "Stop breaking the law a$$hole!" Liar Liar (1997)

I love this film so much. In fact, I love Jim Carrey so much! This is another of my favourite films from when I was younger, and I was torn between this quote or the moment he made an origami goose in the courtroom, which I think was actually a blooper at the end?



2. "Now if you two don't mind, I'm going to bed, before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed, or worse, expelled." Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)

Harry Potter just had to make it into this list somewhere of course. The problem is, there's a whole lot of films in that series and a scroll full of quotes to choose from! My family always told me I was just like Hermione though (insulted?) so I had to go with my favourite quote from her.



1. " When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around." Love Actually (2003)

Here it is! I've had quite a few funny quotes in my top 10 so I had to finish on something beautiful didn't I? I watch this film every year and I love it more every time I watch it.



So there you have it, my Top 10 quotes. How many are your favourites too? Which quotes would you include in your Top 10?