Thoughts on Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) and Strangers on a Train (1951) (Double Review)

So a bit over a week ago, I saw Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018).

And it was...decent?

I guess you could call me a fan of Harry Potter. I've read the books and I've seen the movies, and I like them. I think they're generally well-written and generally well-produced. This applies to the previous movie, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and I really liked that movie. I liked this movie too, but it had some obvious problems. Which made sense in retrospect considering the relatively low scores on sites like Rotten Tomatoes.

I think a lot of its problems can be attributed to this movie's writing. It was generally alright, but it had some really glaring problems that could probably have been fixed with a quick review. There were some things carried over from the previous movie that had half-hearted explanations that could probably have had way better explanations. Character progression, especially with one in particular, was not very good. There needed to be more time spent on it.

I also think this movie series could be better if it focused on the whole magizoology part of it. It's called Fantastic Beasts. We saw a bit of that here, and it could have fit better if it mostly stuck to that, but it's going the whole Grindelwald route, and these two things just don't fit together very well.

And then there's the whole Nagini thing. It only really makes sense if you're familiar with the rest of the Harry Potter series, but it's just a bad idea. I like JK Rowling's writings with the seven main books, but she's had some dumb ideas, like this.

It's not totally bad, though, and in fact I still liked it. The effects and music were good like usual, and I liked the one main new magical creature, though I wished there were more, as like I said, this is called Fantastic Beasts.

I thought the main plot was interesting enough and the action was well done. It's pretty easy to appreciate that, and I liked seeing it.

The characters were good for the most part. Newt the protagonist was particularly interesting because he's not a typical hero, and has some interesting character traits that make him stick out (side note: this is why I like his character better than Harry Potter himself). I especially liked his relationship with his brother Theseus, who is completely different to him. It shows how different they are, but how much they really care for each other, especially at the end of the movie. The only kind of bad spot is Tina, who is pretty bland and doesn't have much going for her, like in the last movie. She's just boring.

The acting was all pretty good too. I think Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore was particularly good; he was different from what we're used to but he seemed like Albus Dumbledore anyway.

I like this movie. I do. I just don't know if I can call it a particularly good movie. The problems with the writing are too big to ignore, and that's a real shame. A lot of the rest of the movie is really well done. I'd like to like it better, but I can't give it higher than a five out of ten, so a five out of ten is what it will get.

This past Thursday, though, I saw Strangers on a Train (1951).

And it was very good.

I especially loved the camera in this movie, especially with one scene where a murder is taking place; it's reflected through glasses that have fallen on the ground. It's pretty inventive.

But the plot is what's really engaging. It goes places you don't exactly expect, and as weird as it might seem from the beginning, it makes sense and keeps you interested. There are a couple of things that happen that don't exactly seem completely plausible, but it's not too distracting.

The acting is also really good. There aren't any big name actors but it still seemed natural. It sounded real.

The music was also good. Not only did it fit the movie, but it wasn't overbearing. After some thinking, the score of Spellbound (1945), while good, was just too much at times. This is better, I'd say.

I can't really think of much else to say. The movie is really good and I think a lot of people would find it interesting, and I'd give it an eight out of ten.