Two years ago, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them further expanded the Harry Potter universe, taking a fictional picture book and turning it into the first chapter of a series of prequels featuring Newt Scamander (Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne). The film went on to gross more than $800 million worldwide and stole a Costume Design Oscar from Allied. That film ended with Percival Graves (Colin Farrell), a shady security officer revealing his true form: the evil wizard Grindelwald (Johnny Depp).
Now, Grindelwald has escaped from prison and Dumbledore (Jude Law) has enlisted Newt to hunt him down before he completes his heinous scheme.
Like the previous film, the script is written by J.K. Rowling and directed by David Yates (who's now spent more than a decade in the Wizarding World). In addition to Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler and Alison Sudol are all returning, as is Ezra Miller, even though his character died in the first film. New cast members include Zoe Kravitz (Big Little Lies), Callum Turner (The Only Living Boy in New York) and Jessica Williams (The Daily Show).
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald opens Friday, November 16.
About Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about.
I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague.
Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work.
In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo.
I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.
