Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Movie Review

When a fan of successful series of movies walks into the theater for the next chapter in the story, there is hope that this new film lives up the reputation of its predecessors. But sometimes, that hope springs eternal.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald hit theaters this weekend. At the beginning of the film, Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) has escaped from the authorities. His ideal world is one where wizards rule and non-magical humans are second class citizens. He needs Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller) to see his plan to completion, but Credence has other goals. It’s up to Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) and Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) with help on the back end from Dumbledore (Jude Law) to stop Grindelwald and find Credence.

Other reviews of this film have been tepid. While the film suffers from sequel-itis, in terms of other sequels, it could be a lot worse. I especially appreciated the ending. It answered the major question of the narrative, while leaving enough narrative strings for the next film.

I recommend it.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is presently in theaters. 

 

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There is a Silver Lining: Thoughts On The Stacey Abrams & Andrew Gillum Losses

After more than a week of speculation and recounting, the votes in Georgia and Florida are in. Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum lost their respective gubernatorial races to Brian Kemp and Ron DeSantis.

Is it disheartening? Of course. Does it make me feel angry and frustrated that the men who won the elections are just another version of the same old politician? Yes. Especially given that Brian Kemp was Secretary Of State and was in charge of the elections while he was running for governor.

But the way I see it, there is a silver lining in spite of the results. There are flaws in our electoral process, but until the flaws are exposed, they cannot be fixed. Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum, in spite of their losses, have given hope to those who want to run for office, but are not the traditional candidate. The door has been opened and it will never close again. Women, citizens of color and members of the LGBTQ community now know that they can run for office and can create the diverse America that many of us know is possible.