WB's 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' original script by J.K. Rowling - Part 1

[Blitzkrieg]

Nope my screening was in Bercy actually.

Oh, I was watching the London premiere and the emcee was talking about the Le Grand Rex in Paris, where fans gathered to watch the premiere.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

http://www.punchdrunkcritics.com/2016/11/review-fantastic-beasts-and-where-to.html

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first of what will be five movies when all is finished, shows that Rowling's Potterverse has a limitless potential for growth. There are so many wonderful characters and concepts introduced that any one of them could branch out into something new and spectacular. While we know where Rowling plans to take Newt's adventures next, we have no earthly idea what else her incredible imagination will come up with. Whatever it is I'm in for the ride. Just let me pack my suitcase.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

http://time.com/4570315/fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them-movie-review/

The clear anti-Fascist sentiment of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them—a picture that’s arriving just as the U.S. faces a seismic political shift—should make it feel like the movie of the moment. But it’s not really a movie for any particular moment. While this Harry Potter spinoff features some charming and occasionally dazzling special effects—and was adapted by J.K. Rowling herself, using her 2001 faux-textbook of the same name as a jumping-off point—in the end it really is only dragon food, a product conceived to deliver more, more, more of something that audiences are hungry for.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/sc-fantastic-beasts-mov-rev-1115-20161115-column.html

Potter fans will likely enjoy this first of a planned quintet of "Fantastic Beasts" outings; newcomers open to a certain, dutiful amount of expository world-building and narrative throat-clearing should get their money's worth, too.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/entertainment/ent-columns-blogs/lawrence-toppman/article115067258.html

J.K. Rowling apparently intends to be the George Lucas of the ’10s and ’20s: A check of the Internet Movie Data Base reveals five (five) spinoffs of the Harry Potter saga in the new “Fantastic Beasts” series. Thank goodness, then, that the first “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” has spirit, whimsy, excitement and pathos.

 

[JKKS085]

Oh, I was watching the London premiere and the emcee was talking about the Le Grand Rex in Paris, where fans gathered to watch the premiere.

Yeah maybe I should have went there because my crowd was pretty meh.
It's just that the theater I picked was closer to work so I was able to get their early and reserve the best seats.
But yeah the fan events at Le Grand Rex are usually plain awesome. They even did a Harry Potter Marathon last month (and they hosted a Back to the Future event last year as well).

 

[terry78]

I consider this movie probably the Phantom Menace of the prequels. The real deal is focusing on Dumbledore and Grindelwald.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

http://www.screendaily.com/reviews/fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them-review/5111269.article?blocktitle=LATEST-FILM-NEWS&contentID=40562

Solidly extending the Harry Potter franchise to a different era with new characters, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them starts slowly before finding its groove, delivering sufficient spectacle alongside a little emotion.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/movies/billgoodykoontz/2016/11/15/fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them-review-eddie-redmayne/93911254/

It’s all quite intricate and entertaining and terrific to look at. The “Fantastic” of the title might be stretching things a bit, but it doesn’t miss the mark by much. Better still, it makes you look forward to, and not dread, the next installment — and that’s real magic.

 

[Sleiek]

Got my IMAX tickets, does anyone know if they have scenes that switch aspect ratio?

 

[Alex Murphy]

Got my IMAX tickets, does anyone know if they have scenes that switch aspect ratio?

I hope not. I hate when that happens.

 

[Octoberist]

Got my IMAX tickets, does anyone know if they have scenes that switch aspect ratio?

No they won't.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

https://www.buzzfeed.com/alisonwillmore/how-harry-potter-and-walt-disney-hold-up-against-trump-anxie?utm_term=.wwn3B2X6OO#.hkDWdq0gee

These themes have pings of present-day resonance — in terms of extremism, of expressing sexuality, and of prejudice — without pushing too hard at the parallels, and they end up making the film more of a consolation rather than less. Which is something that Moana, in all of its sometimes numbing pleasantness, misses out on — it’s not a lack of pain that allows escapist entertainment to take you away from harsher realities for a second, it’s how that pain is handled. Comfort level: Surprisingly High

 

[Blitzkrieg]

http://www.susangranger.com/?p=9265

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is an engaging, enchanted 8, a fun-filled return to the wizarding world.

http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them-jk-rowling-s-tale-is-a-magical-delight-1.2869229

Spin-off Season begins with the latest attention-hungry satellite of the Planet Potter. Like that upcoming Star Wars thing, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has kicked up a few suspicions involving deceased horses and their unnecessary pummelling.

Stand down the cynicism. It gives us pleasure to relate that – for the casual devotee anyway – David Yates’s film proves to be more coherent and emotionally grounded than any of the Harry Potter episodes.

The beasts are here, the Potter lore is here, but what sets this apart is its fantastic visuals, well-drawn characters and brilliant performances

 

[Sleiek]

I hope not. I hate when that happens.

If the whole movie is fixed at 1.42:1, that would be better. But movies can't afford to do that. But I do love whenever it switches to 1.42:1, it is more immersive. Sometimes I notice the change, sometimes I don't.

No they won't.

That sucks.

 

[Alex Murphy]

If the whole movie is fixed at 1.42:1, that would be better. But movies can't afford to do that. But I do love whenever it switches to 1.42:1, it is more immersive. Sometimes I notice the change, sometimes I don't.



That sucks.

I always notice an aspect ratio change, and it always irritates me.

 

[lime]

Just got my press pass for the movie's Bulgarian premier on Friday!

I. CAN'T. WAIT!

 

[Blitzkrieg]

https://thefilmstage.com/reviews/review-fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them-is-missing-the-magic-of-harry-potter/

David Yates, a veteran of the HP films, might actually be devolving as a director. Wizard battles are worse than ever, still consisting of little beyond plain white energy blasts getting volleyed back and forth. And the dialogue scenes are even worse. Fantastic Beasts has a distracting tendency to pause just a little too long between each line, making it seem like the characters always feel extremely awkward about talking. If this is what can be expected of the franchise, there’s little to hope for. Just play Pokémon Go instead.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

^^ Finally a top critic gives FB a rotten review.

 

[kedrell]

Down to 88% now.

 

[kedrell]

I've never liked this franchise mainly due to the protagonists having always been children. But I am kinda curious about this one since they've now solved that problem. Still have the other problem of not being able to take this type of magic seriously in any sense that I can feel dread when the main characters are in peril. Example: When I saw the Hogwarts bombardment-by-sparkly-wands scene in the last HP movie I just wanted to laugh and imagine that this is akin to their Saving Private Ryan/storming the beach moment(Look out! They's attacking us with GLITTER!) I was just immediately struck by the thought: "How can anybody take this seriously?" I dunno, I was well into my adult years by the time Rowling published her first HP book so I've never connected to this material...#notpartofmychildhood. But we'll see on Friday if that can change.

 

[Marvolo]

David Yates, a veteran of the HP films, might actually be devolving as a director. Wizard battles are worse than ever, still consisting of little beyond plain white energy blasts getting volleyed back and forth. And the dialogue scenes are even worse. Fantastic Beasts has a distracting tendency to pause just a little too long between each line, making it seem like the characters always feel extremely awkward about talking. If this is what can be expected of the franchise, there’s little to hope for. Just play Pokémon Go instead.

https://thefilmstage.com/reviews/review-fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them-is-missing-the-magic-of-harry-potter/

So much white. No color.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

So much white. No color.

In the Yates movies, outside of the Dumbledore battle, how many times have we seen something outside of energy be hurled at each other? And looking at the trailer, there is a lot more of that. Even though we know spells should look different.

 

[jmc]

I just came back from seeing it, and I honestly have no idea why this film is getting the praise it is. It is one of the most frustrating film experiences I've seen this year. The characters are boring, the editing is all over the place, the plot never seems to have any real focus, and worst of all it assumes you know what's going on. Fantastic Beasts feels like I've been thrown into the middle chapter of a trilogy.

I don't pretend to be an expert in Harry Potter, but I know enough to say the Potter films never felt like they were talking over the audiences head, and at the very least there were a bunch of interesting characters throughout the series. The characters in this film are just flat out uninteresting.

And maybe it's just me being used to the Britishness of the Potter series, but there's something about magic in America which doesn't seem to quite fit. I can't explain it any other way than it just doesn't feel right. There are some interesting concepts but it all seems lost in a plot that doesn't really have a solid foundation, the first act alone is as frustrating a movie going experience as you can get.

Overall, maybe this appeals to the diehard Potter fans, but for a casual like me the story and characters are a poor mans version of the films that came before. I can appreciate them trying something new with the property, but the execution is way off. Perhaps things will improve in the follow up films but as a first outing this is sorely underdeveloped.

6/10.

 

[Marvolo]

In the Yates movies, outside of the Dumbledore battle, how many times have we seen something outside of energy be hurled at each other? And looking at the trailer, there is a lot more of that. Even though we know spells should look different.

Spells are energy. And Yates uses colors and not just in the Dumbledore duel. We see different colored shield spells, a water shield spell, fire spells, blues, reds, green, ropes, chains etc. And yes we see spells that arent bright and colorful. How should it look?

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Spells are energy. And Yates uses colors and not just in the Dumbledore duel. We see different colored shield spells, a water shield spell, fire spells, blues, reds, green, ropes, chains etc. And yes we see spells that arent bright and colorful. How should it look?

Marv, you have read the books right? Because a lot of the spells aren't energy based. I want to say most are simply the action based around the proper casting of the spell.

That is one of the major problem, no one actually saying the name of the spells. It got less and less. So it just became, point the wand, energy comes out. No specific wand flicks, no name of the spell, no distinct look. He also had this problem of making the same spell look different. The killing Curse is different depending on who does it.

 

[Reek]

well the name of the spells got less and less because they got older and better... they mention it in the books that once you get good enough you don't have to say the spells... I don't recall dumbledore ever saying any.