FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM REVIEW

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM REVIEW

Confusing but Intriguing

 

Story:

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 named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, the escape of some of Newt's fantastic beasts, and a dangerous wizard, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.

Positives:

The cinematography is definitely top class. Special mention needs to go out to Philippe Rousselot for his superb visuals. They completely take the movie to a new level and make you actually feel that you are part of the movie. The second half of the movie completely changes the tone and keeps you hooked. The movie becomes intriguing and captivating because of the second half. It is fair to say that the second half lifts the movie up on its shoulders. The story is another bonus. It has so much depth that you are unintentionally hooked. Lot of comedy is generated in the movie which is a fresh breath in times of confusion.

Eddie Reymane is good. His expressions perfectly suit the role of Newt Scamander. However, his expressions are a bit stone-faced in expressive scenes. Dan Fogler is definitely the star of the movie. His expressions as the innocent Kowalski steal the show, and you can’t help but think that he is going to go places. He is just wonderful in the emotional and funny scenes. Katherine Waterson is expressive and is tailor made for a role like this.  Collin Farrell performs his role nicely. Ezra Miller shows his talent in the role of a pained teenager. Johnny Depp makes a short cameo as the dark wizard.  

Negatives:

One of the biggest drawbacks is the confusion. Three stories are run at the same time which leaves you kind of flabbergasted. The entire first half has no point and is very, very confusing. Looks like the director put his entire focus on the second half. I actually lost interest in the movie until the second half hooked me in. The first half is boring with irrelevant scenes and a whole lot of confusion. The story also plays a part in this. It has so much depth that it can lead to a lot of confusion in the proceedings. However, you still are somehow hooked to the movie.

One thing that needs a mention is the dialogues. Eddie Reymane is the main character and has so many dialogues, but along with his stone-faced expressions, he also mutters half of his dialogues, which are hard to understand. Alison Sudel, or Queenie Goldstein, has no point in the story except to serve as another wizard and the love interest of Kowalski. Colin Farrell did well, but his role is not powerful enough as the main villain.

Another thing is the visual effects. They are definitely below par. In a time where movies like Doctor Strange and Arrival are releasing, the visuals need to be top notch. Sadly, for a movie that is based on visual effects, they are not good enough as the average movie-goer can see the blemishes of the visual effects.

Other Departments:

There are no songs in the movie, but the background score by James Newton Howard is top notch and play a major part in the presentation of the movie. As mentioned, cinematography by Philippe Rousselot is a major positive in the movie. Editing is okay, but the movie is a bit lengthy. Some scenes should have been easily cut out. Production values are top notch as expected from HeyDay films and Warner Bros.

Coming to the story by J.K. Rowling, it is definitely deep, but maybe too deep for this subject. However, the director did a good job in the handling. He(being the director) put too much emphasis on the second half, leaving the first half very boring and bland. But the emphasis put on the second half is worth it, as it is very racy and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

If I had to rate the first and second half, I would rate the first half as 2/5. But the second half, I would rate as 4.5/5. This says a lot about the movie.

Final Verdict:

Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them leaves a horrible first impression, but you leave the theater with a smile. Positives are the second half, few performances, cinematography, and the intrigue factor. Negatives are first half, confusion, few pointless characters and scenes, and visuals. But despite the negatives, the second half leaves so much of an impact that you want to watch the movie more than once.

Rating: 3.25/5

Conclusion: Start the movie bored, end the movie fascinated!!!

PUNE SUPERGIANTS REVIEW

VIVO IPL 2016
Rising Pune Supergiants
7th in the IPL

                      M.S. Dhoni's Superigants did not fare well at all this year, failing in one too many aspects.

Rising Pune Supergiants   14 matches  5 wins   9 losses  0 washouts 10 points  Run Rate-0.015


Overview:
Everybody knows Rising Pune Supergiants had the capacity to win the IPL. Star players like Rahane, Ashwin, Dhoni, Pietersen, and Perera could have easily carried the team forward to the title. But, despite all the hype, the Supergiants could not build on a strong start and became the first team to be eliminated from the Vivo IPL.
            In close encounters, the Supergiants faltered away. Although the Supergiants finished so low, their run rate was barely in the negatives, because they could not finish a few close encounters. And, like adding salt on a wound, their injury list grew literally day by day. Some of their strong players such as Faf du Plessis, Kevin Pietersen, and Steven Smith were taken out by injuries. Their replacements, Usman Khawaja and George Bailey couldn't exactly bring the same feeling to the Supergiants.
           There were a few silver linings. Steven Smith scored the only century of the season, and him and du Plessis were in fantastic form. Adam Zampa proved himself as possibly the next Shane Warne, and Dinda rediscovered his mojo with fiery pace and pinpoint death bowling. Mitchell Marsh was probably the allrounder they needed, with his beautiful pace and zippy batting. Rahane was probably the only batsmen throughout the season who scored consistently, and M Ashwin was outstandingly good. However, many times Supergiant's bowling and batting didn't click at the same time, which is needed for a consistent team.


Superb Performers:

Ajinkya Rahane: Literally the soul of the Supergiant's opening duo. he scored and scored on like a run machine. Many times, he lifted the batting failures up, and helped them post a good score. If he got a bit of support at the other end, he would have been unstoppable.

Ashok Dinda: Pumped up the bowling with his fiery pace and awesome yorkers. Batsmen who would have creamed him a season ago found it hard to play shots against him. One can safely say he is back in form again.


Low Performers:

Ishant Sharma: Supergiant's third most expensive buy at the auction could not perform well at all. He sometimes took wickets, but his length was random and his lines wayward. He could not trouble the batsmen as much as he used to. He needs to rediscover his mojo, or this could be a hard year for them.

Thisara Perera: He started off well, with 3 wickets and a quick 34(13). However, his wicket taking abilities were overshadowed by his horrible lengths. Batsmen found his lack of pace easily hittable, and Perera struggled against beautiful pinpoint death bowling by teams. He needs to practice better lines and hitting the ball cleaner.

M.S. Dhoni: Barring a few scores, a half century, nice captaincy, and amazing wicketkeeping, M.S. Dhoni could not live up to the fan's expectations. He clearly cannot hit the ball as good as he used to, and is trusting himself too much. His 8 of 20 against Knight Riders highlighted his struggling batting. He needs to think of a plan to deal with superb death bowlers before it is too late.


Suprise Packages:

Adam Zampa: This Australian leggie made a huge explosion into the IPL. With 15 wickets in just 6 matches, he completely terrorized the batsmen with his spin and accuracy. Adam Zampa is definitely a spinner people should watch out for. People have already started calling him "The Next Shane Warne".

M Ashwin: Supergiants second most expensive buy performed well this year. His accuracy, slight spin, and awesome lengths highlighted the success this lad would have in the future. He started faltering, but still kept taking wickets at regular intervals.


Why Didn't They Play?

Ravichandran Ashwin: Although this star spinner played in all of the Supergiants matches, he was rarely bowled out and had little work to do. Dhoni stooped trusting Ashwin because of his flight and okay line, and it showed. He tried batting, where he didn't fare too good either. Made some futile impacts with some good spells at the end, but the question still remains: Why wasn't he bowled out?

 Ishwar Pandey: This fast bowler is a really good asset to any team. So why didn't he play? He has troubled the batsmen even when they are in good form. It wouldn't have hurt Dhoni to use him when they were knocked out. He would have probably been a silver lining.

Peter Handscomb: This lad has proved himself as a vital asset to the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League. That being said, he was dropped after one failure with the Supergiants and wasn  replaced promptly by George Bailey. While it was a risk to play a lad who is getting used to Indian conditions for the first time, they could have played him in some dead rubbers.


How can they improve next season?
Supergiants have the players. They have the elements needed to win the IPL. But Captain Cool needs to make sure of three things. He needs to make sure the batting and bowling both are good in one match. He also needs to devise a plan to counter this new skill of death bowling, and how his team can finish close matches positively. Lastly, he needs to use his star players more. If he can fulfill all these requirements, Supergiants can prove themselves as a real, big Supergiant in the IPL.