These fantastic films will rock you
Eddie Redmayne reprises his role as Newt Scamander in the newest installment of the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise, which comes out on Friday.
The wizarding world is back, so ready your wallets.
The second installment of the “Fantastic Beasts” chronology, “Crimes of Grindelwald” comes out on Friday.
In this sequel, the notorious villain, Grindelwald, is rising in power and is planning to take over the muggle world with his army of pure-blooded wizards.
The storyline will pick up right where it left off, taking place only a couple monthsafter the action of the rst lm,“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”
Newt Scamander, employee of the wizard government andprotagonist of the rst lm,returns to the screen as Albus Dumbledore calls on him tohelp ght Grindelwald.
It appears Newt’s friends from the last adventure, the muggle Jacob and witch sis- ters Tina and Queenie, will be returning with him.
Unlike the rst lm, its se- quel will have Newt traveling outside of New York to Paris and London. The trailer even teases scenes that take place at the beloved Hogwarts castle.
The movie will have a star-studded cast, with Eddie Redmayne and Ezra Miller returning to their roles as Newt Scamander and the orphan wizard, Credence Barebone, as well as Johnny Depp after his identity as Grindelwald was revealed in “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”
Jude Law will also be intro- duced in the upcoming install- ment, playing a young-adult version of Dumbledore.
Based on a casting call asking for younger versions of Newt Scamander, Leta Lestrange, Gellert Grindelwald, and Dumbledore, we may be seeing younger versions ofthem in the form of ashbacks,according to Pottermore.com.
Harry Potter fans will also be
happy to hear that the character, Nicolas Flamel, the creator of the sorcerer’s stone, will be making an appearance in this movie. We know he will be played by Brontis Jodorows- ky, but his role in the story is currently unknown.
Fans just know the basics of the storyline for now, but a few plot points have been teased at in trailers and clips. There appears to be a wizard circusinvolved in this lm. What thiscircus entails has not yet been revealed in trailers.
Fans will see for themselves when it comes out on Friday.
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“Bohemian Rhapsody” is a whirlwind of inspiration, music and emotions.
The lm, released Nov. 2,tells the story of the band Queen, mainly their lead singer, Freddie Mercury.
The story begins the day Mercury met his band mates and chronicles their rise to fame, the creation of their greatest hits, the eventual splitting of the band, and Mercury’s battle with AIDS.
Mercury is played by Rami Malek, who does an amazing job of portraying both the ec-
centric and the troubled sides of the lead singer’s personality as he deals with fame and rocky relationships.
The most interesting parts ofthe lm were the scenes in whichthe band was producing a new song together. The excitement and creative genius in those moments is captivating, View- ers feel like they’re transported back in time with the band.
The concert scenes are also fun, with extravagant per- formances and huge crowds, although they were sometimes dragged on for a few minutes too long.
The lm gives us an interest- ing look at Mercury’s romantic involvement through the years, namely with a woman named Mary Austin.
The depiction of his relation- ships was slightly unsatisfying, as much of the movie’s focus was on his time with Austin, who ends up becoming just a close friend when Mercury comes out as bisexual.
His long-time male partner, Jim Hutton, however, is given a few scenes at the end and otherwise not discussed in thelm, which was disappointing.
The other aspect of the movie that was lacking was the representation of Mercury’s band mates.
Although this movie mainly focuses on Mercury, it was also about the band.
Unfortunately his friendships within Queen were not wholly represented because the other band members’characters were never developed.
While there are a few adjust- ments to the story’s timeline from how it actually happened, one of the most interesting parts about this movie was that it was based on factual events.
Throughout the lm, viewerslearn some fun little known facts about Mercury: For example, his vocal range was so large because he had four extra teeth which expanded his mouth for better sound.
He also had a love for cats, which are his only friends at some points in the movie. He owned as many as 10 at once.
Mercury’s real name was Farrokh Bulsara, but he legally changed it to something moretting.
Overall, this was a great movie and I highly recommend it.
Michelle Nguyen is a senior at Cal High and is features editor for the Californian Newspaper. She’s also the publicist for Cal High Interact, Interact...
