Craxi at the Movies: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

This is BIG year for me... I went to not 1 but 2 movies in the theaters. I probably haven't done that in over 10 years. Since I was turning 37, I wanted to go see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them -- the latest Harry Potter movie. Danielle and Erin agreed to go with me.

Before I tell you about the movie I, better tell you that we went to the theater by my house which I've not been there since they remodeled it. I will be going to Marcus Valley Grand Cinema for all my future movie outings. They have the Dream Loungers which makes watching a movie so much more comfortable. After further research so does Hollywood Theater and it really depends on which theater your movie is shown in. I think all the theaters need to be upgraded to the Dream Loungers.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was original written as Harry Potter textbook/companion book to the Harry Potter books. J.K. Rowlings turned it into a screenplay set 70 years before Harry was at Hogwarts. Instead of being set in London, it's set in NYC. Newt Scammander comes to America to release on of his beasts in the wilds of Arizona. Before that can even happen, his beasts escape and another terrifying beast is on the loose in the city. He is accused of setting the terrifying beast on the city and is sentenced to death. Without giving too much away, I let you know that the world is righted again and no executions take place.

Besides Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, this has to be my favorite Harry Potter movie and Harry isn't even in it. It was funny yet serious. I laughed out loud at several parts. Besides knowing it was based on the Harry Potter textbook with the same name, I really didn't know much about the movie going into it. I thought it might have followed the Harry Potter books in a way but it really didn't. Even if you didn't read any of the books or see any of the previous movies, you would have been able to follow the plot. It had very few references to the series and made a great stand-alone film. It was much better than expected. I really liked that a Muggle or No-Maj (Non-magic people) had an important part in the movie and that he ended up helping the wizarding world.

My only gripe was that I felt jipped at the end. I felt that it just ended with 2 characters recognizing each other and really should have expanded on that a bit more. A kiss would have been nice. However, I think I'm the only that felt this way. Either way it was a great movie with great characters. This one will be bought for sure.

Now I'm off to find myself of Niffler...