The Fireside

  I was initially quite skeptical about the Fantastic Beasts franchise. It took a later trailer (the final one, I believe?) for me to actually get interested. I've reviewed the first two films, but recently I've seen the latest title, The Secrets of Dumbledore . I'll give that a review, then break down why I believe the the franchise (not Harry Potter, not Wizarding World, just the Fantastic Beasts films) aren't quite working. The film picks up some time after The Crimes of Grindelwald . Because it's been a few years (for both the audience, as well as in the chronology of the films) we get somewhat-reintroduced to the characters, and brief recaps here and there as we catch up with familiar faces. Nothing from The Crimes of Grindelwald is flat-out 'retconned' per se, but all the multiple story angles and elements are somewhat down-played. The primary focus of the film is of Dumbledore (played very well by Jude Law) and Grindelwald (played by Mads Mikkelsen,...

The House Editions of Order of the Phoenix , 5 out of 7 in the Harry Potter series, will be published on June 11 . As was tradition before, the houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. The hardbacks will have a block dustjacket, while the paperbacks will be coloured according to house. I got officially sorted into Slytherin, so my post is in regards to the hardback Slytherin edition. Here is the official synopsis: "Let the magic of J.K. Rowling's classic Harry Potter series transport you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This Slytherin House Edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix celebrates the noble character of the Hogwarts house famed for its pride, ambition and cunning. Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts is packed with more great Slytherin moments and characters, including Harry's eventful Occlumency lessons with Severus Snape and the inauspicious arrival of Professor Dolores Umbridge . Each Slytherin House Editi...

Today The Crimes of Grindelwald is out on blu-ray and 4K, and the set includes an extended cut. Don't bother with the extended cut portion of the set. The extended cut is not on a disc . Which is pretty freaking stupid, considering that the product is physical media. To get the extended cut, they give you a code to redeem it ! It's not even on a disc, even though you're buying a disc! THAT is lazy and stupid, I think. I watched the extended cut, the added stuff does nothing to further the story or offer background info, character development... I wasn't expecting stuff like The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings level of difference, but the new scenes are 20 seconds - 2 minutes long each. We're talking less than what was added to extended version of the first Hobbit movie. Not only did they drop the ball on how to access that version of the film, but I would like to add the following points: 1) the opening title where you see the name of the movie, in the movi...