The Magic Continues for a New Generation of Potter Fans (and the old ones are happy too!)

After seven books and eight movies, you'd think that the world is content with how Harry Potter ended but with the release of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" and of course "Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them" (which just grossed P126.42 M in four days!) we know that Muggles just can't get enough of J.K. Rowling's wizarding world. 

Last Halloween I saw a number of folks dressed up as characters from Harry Potter, from kids who were not even born yet when the books came out. (Their parents probably put them up to it but I'm sure that they've come to love the movies as well) to adults who wanted to bring the magic to the work place. Indeed the magic which J.K. Rowling has created for what now seems like generations is surely far from over. 

The cuties clad in Gryffindor colors? Daughters of my former English (and Economics) High School teacher and I can say that Miss Gaye has those #ParentingGoals down right! 

We just saw "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" last week (movie review here) and I tell you it was indeed a reminiscent trip down memory lane as the movie 'read' so much like a "Harry Potter" book. It's on its second week in cinemas now! Make sure to see it!   

The lovely folks from Sky Cable's Digital Marketing went on a "Harry Potter" theme for their Halloween Party. Complete with "Undesirable No.1" posters! 

This little cutie is about to have his first birthday and guess what the theme is? :D

So no, I don't think we have seen the last of that Potter magic and if "Fantastic Beasts" were any indication I think we're still on for more! And as a Potter head I couldn't be happier. 

Indeed, Rowling has helped redefine literature and children's literature as we know it. Now, Harry Potter is a discussion which both adults and children can enjoy. 

Thank you to Miss Gaye and Chie for sharing your photos! 

As if we needed more evidence of Potter love, there is a Harry Potter themed cafe along Maginhawa Street, Nook Cafe. we've been meaning to visit but haven't yet, one of these days for sure! 

Movie Review: "Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them"

Reminisce and Discover: 

"Fantastic Beasts" Brings Us Back To Rowling's Wizarding World. 

Unlike all eight "Harry Potter" films wherein I was able to read the book first before seeing the movie, the case for "Fantastic Beasts" was different. There is a book that you can read but this of course is still the very same text book that  Harry et al use in their years of study at Hogwarts and it reads as such, just like a textbook. 

I have read the book but have yet to write a review about it (I enjoyed it as it had that classic Rowling humor). I have to hand it to J. K. Rowling, who would have thought that you would be able to create an incredible story from what was supposedly just a textbook?! 

So even if you have read the book, like me, it would just be a sort of encyclopedia on different magical creatures, this was of course written by Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) who prefers his "fantastic beasts" over people and hides his (beautiful) eyes under a thick mass of curly soft brown hair. 

The film that shares the same name as the book tells the story of how Newt, after an extensive travel of the world goes to New York in 1926 (70 years before Harry Potter). What Newt thought would be a simple visit turns out to be an adventure he will not easily forget. 

Award Winning actor Eddie Redmayne (OBE) as Newt Scamander. 

The film opens with newspaper clippings (it's 1926!) of the powerful dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald wrecking havoc in Europe and dissapearing without a trace. The whole wizarding community is on the edge with Grindelwald's recent attacks and an unknown threat in New York which could lead to the exposure of wizards and witches. 

As if things couldn't get any more tense, Newt Scamander arrives in New York City with a case full of magical creatures and some of them have escaped! Now an unlikely team, made up of Newt, a good natured No-Maj (Muggle) Jacob Kowalski (who absolutely stole the show), a disgraced (former) Auror, Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterson) and her legilimens (someone who can read minds) quirky Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol - "A Fine Frenzy!") are on a race against time to find Newt's beasts before they are blamed for a series of attacks in New York. 

What starts out as a Pokemon Go Party-err- trying to look for the magical creatures turns out to be more than any of them ever imagined. 

Collin Farrel as Percival Graves

"Fantastic Beasts" was very different from "Harry Potter" in the sense that the setting was different (1920's New York) so there was no school, no "Defense Against The Dark Arts" class, no "Quidditch" so that was definitely something new and refreshing. 

I guess the thing about going into "Fantastic Beasts" is that it could be a little overwhelming in the first few minutes. I have to admit there was pacing problems for me in the first part of the film but the film just brings you right back in Rowling's wizarding world and soon you are caught in the magic. That magic that you have known growing up, the same magic you spent so many hours lost in, seven books, eight movies, a childhood of Rowling's magical world. You are bound to get sentimental and I was. 

What I liked about the film was that it read just like a Harry Potter book, the rising action, the mystery and twist in the end was very satisfying, although how the "antagonist" was "apprehended" was a little underwhelming. 

I will however say that I am completely hooked with the new characters, Redmayne is perfect as Newt, I read somewhere (the book maybe) that Newt is not really fond of people, that he prefers his creatures over them and Redmayne was able to get this across effectively. 

I have to say though that I loved Jacob, every time he's on screen the audience would just laugh, every little twitch of his face just adorable. (More of Jacob please!) and I just loved Queenie, even before I knew that she was played by Alison Sudol who is also known as alternative singer-songwriter "A Fine Frenzy" I've loved her songs for years now! You should really check her out ;) "Almost Lover" and "You Picked Me" are my favorites. 

Sorry, just totally geeking out since my music and movie nerd just had a great cross over! More of Queenie too please! 

Jacob Kowalski (Dan Folger), Newt (Redmayne) and Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterson) 

Despite the pacing problems and the underwhelming wrap up with the antagonists, I'd still watch it again and I am also looking forward to the upcoming films, there is news that Eddie Redmayne won't be the lead in this, which is understandable, given that even the actors did not know about the future films, which is okay, I really, really want to know what happens with those little "easter eggs" they had throughout the movie. 

Some talking points in the movie, don't worry there are no spoilers. 

Newt was expelled from Hogwarts but he was still in his own queer way a hero. Not that I am in favor of leaving school but I appreciated how Rowling made this character a star. Although he was shy around people, he took it upon himself to study these fantastic beasts so that other people could understand them more. He might have not blossomed traditionally in school but he still made his mark, and now all students in Hogwarts read his book and is definitely useful at times. Just ask Hermione. 

Alison Sudol AKA "A Fine Frenzy" as Queenie Goldstein. 

There was a scene where he talks about rescuing a pair of magical creature who is considered the last breeding pair of their kind. They were seen with a baby and I can't help but think of the many endangered species that we have in the planet (also those that have become extinct) all at the hands of man and it made me a little sad as I thought about how greedy mankind really is. I hope that the lesson in the movie is something that kids would pick up on and become aware on the plight of endangered species all over the world. 

The film talks about "suppressing one's nature" which leads to catastrophic consequences and I believe that this is an important talking point, given current events and should also serve as a reminder for us to put away our "persecuting nature" I mean, really it's 2016 already. 

8.5 out of 10. The pacing problem, underwhelming resolution and sometimes Newt was a little hard to understand, not just because of the accent but his shy nature had him whispering and mumbling at times. Maybe seeing it with subtitles would help. 

Grateful that we have more stories coming out, you just can't get enough of a good thing. 

© 2016 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved. 

Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts Publishing Rights © JKR.

Movies: FINAL TRAILER OF “FANTASTIC BEASTS” UNLEASHES THE MAGICAL CREATURES

The titular magical creatures are front and center in the newly released final trailer of Warner Bros. Pictures' much-anticipated adventure “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” which returns fans to the J.K. Rowling's wizarding world of Harry Potter, only this time set in New York during the 1920s.

The trailer may be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNGl4K0o52w&feature=youtu.be.

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is an all-new adventure returning us to the wizarding world created by J.K. Rowling.

Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”) stars in the central role of wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander, under the direction of David Yates, who helmed the last four “Harry Potter” blockbusters.

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” opens in 1926 as Newt Scamander has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident … were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt’s fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” also stars Katherine Waterston (“Steve Jobs”) as Tina; Tony Award winner Dan Fogler (“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”) as Jacob; Alison Sudol (“Transparent”) as Tina’s sister, Queenie; Ezra Miller (“Trainwreck”) as Credence; two-time Oscar nominee Samantha Morton (“In America”) as Mary Lou; Oscar winner Jon Voight (TV’s “Ray Donovan”) as Henry Shaw, Sr.; Ron Perlman (the “Hellboy” films) as Gnarlack; Carmen Ejogo (“Selma”) as Seraphina; Jenn Murray (“Brooklyn”) as Chastity; young newcomer Faith Wood-Blagrove as Modesty; and Colin Farrell (“True Detective”) as Percival Graves.

The film marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, whose beloved “Harry Potter” books were adapted into the top-grossing film franchise of all time. Her script was inspired by the Hogwarts textbook “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” written by her character Newt Scamander.

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” will be shown in 2D and 3D and IMAX on November 17.

Movie News: POTTERMORE UNVEILS NEW WRITING BY J.K. ROWLING ABOUT ILVERMORNY, NORTH AMERICAN SCHOOL OF MAGIC

Calling all Potterheads! 

in the second instalment of Magic in North America, setting the stage for the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Pottermore.com users can now be sorted into Ilvermorny houses

28 June, 2016 – ‘Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,’ the second instalment in a collection of new original writing by J.K. Rowling entitled Magic in North America, will be published today exclusively on pottermore.com. ‘Ilvermorny’ (Ill-ver-morn-ee’) provides a vivid and captivating backstory of the great North American school of magic, founded in the 17th century.

The new writing, and the short video that accompanies it (https://youtu.be/4DCHPvGhRZg), provide a rich background for the upcoming Warner Bros. feature film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which will be released 17 November, 2016 (in the Philippines). The film, which marks J.K. Rowling’s screenwriting debut, is an all-new adventure starring Eddie Redmayne as magizoologist Newt Scamander who arrives in New York in 1926.

The work of fiction begins in Ireland where an orphaned young girl who is a descendant of Hogwarts co-founder Salazar Slytherin, escapes her evil aunt and sets sail on the Mayflower. Landing in Massachusetts with little more than the clothes on her back and a stolen wand, she ventures out on her own, wandering in the wilderness until she encounters several mysterious creatures and discovers she is not the only magical person in the New World. But she will also have to overcome great challenges and face new dangers on her way to establishing what will become the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at the peak of Mount Greylock in Massachusetts.

In addition to publishing the second instalment of Magic in North America today, Pottermore announced that, for the first time ever, users of the website will be able to be sorted into one of the four houses of Ilvermorny. The Ilvermorny Sorting Ceremony consists of questions and answers written by J.K. Rowling. The answers to the questions determine into which Ilvermorny house users will be sorted. The houses are named after the following creatures, which have been described as follows in the writing:

• Horned Serpent; a ‘great horned river serpent with a jewel set into its forehead’

• Pukwudgie; ‘a short, grey-faced, large-eared creature’

• Thunderbird; a creature that ‘can create storms as it flies’

• Wampus; ‘a magical, panther-like creature that is fast, strong and almost impossible to kill’

In March, Pottermore published ‘History of Magic in North America,’ the first instalment of Magic in North America. The writing, which was posted over four consecutive days, took readers into the history of North American witches and wizards.

# # #

About Pottermore

Pottermore, the digital publishing, e-commerce, entertainment and news company from J.K. Rowling, is the global digital publisher of Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World. As the digital heart of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, pottermore.com is dedicated to unlocking the power of imagination. It offers news, features, and articles as well as new and previously unreleased writing by J.K. Rowling.

About J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling is the author of the bestselling Harry Potter series of seven books, published between 1997 and 2007, which have sold over 450 million copies worldwide, are distributed in more than 200 territories and translated into 79 languages, and have been turned into eight blockbuster films. 

She has written three companion volumes in aid of charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in aid of Comic Relief; and The Tales of Beedle the Bard in aid of her children’s charity, Lumos.

In 2012, J.K. Rowling’s digital entertainment and e-commerce company Pottermore was launched, where fans can enjoy her new writing and immerse themselves deeper in the wizarding world.

Her first novel for adult readers, The Casual Vacancy, was published in September 2012 and adapted for TV by the BBC in 2015. Her crime novels, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, were published in 2013 (The Cuckoo’s Calling), 2014 (The Silkworm) and 2015 (Career of Evil), and are to be adapted for a major new television series for BBC One, produced by Brontë Film and Television.

J.K. Rowling’s 2008 Harvard commencement speech was published in 2015 as an illustrated book, Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination, and sold in aid of her charity Lumos and university–wide financial aid at Harvard.

In addition to making her screenwriting debut with the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, J.K. Rowling is currently collaborating on a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two, which will open in London’s West End in the summer of 2016. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a new play by Jack Thorne, based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany.

About Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is an all-new adventure returning us to the wizarding world created by J.K. Rowling. Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) stars in the central role of wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander, under the direction of David Yates (the last four Harry Potter features).

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens in 1926 as Newt Scamander has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident…were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt’s fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them also stars Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Samantha Morton, Jon Voight, Ron Perlman, Carmen Ejogo, Jenn Murray, Faith Wood-Blagrove, and Colin Farrell.

The film marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, whose script was inspired by the Hogwarts textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, written by her character Newt Scamander.

The film reunites a number of people from the Harry Potter features, including producers David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram.

Opening November 17 in the Philippines, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

"Fantastic Beasts" has found it's Newt Scamander in Eddie Redmayne

Academy Award winning actor Eddie Redmayne (The Theory Of Everything) has bigger fish-err- Loch Ness monster to fry as he steps into the shoes of Newt Scamander, the wizarding world's most prominent magizoologist (Magizoology-the study of magical creatures) and author of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them" the next movie from the Harry Potter universe. 

After much speculation, the talented actor will be playing Newt Scamander who after graduating from Hogwarts, joined the Ministry of Magic in the Department for the Regulation & Control of Magical Creatures. It is in his career and travels where he encountered and documented different magical creatures which led him to write the book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them. The book is mentioned in passing in the first Harry Potter book; Harry Potter And The Sorcerrer's Stone. The events in Fantastic Beasts take place 70 years before the adventures of the boy who lived. 

Author J.K. Rowling is a first time screen writer in the project, she is joined by David Yates who directed the last four Potter films and will continue directing responsibilities in Fantastic Beasts. 

It would be interesting to note that the book on which the film is based comes out more as a textbook rather than your traditional fiction book, so making a movie out of that material should be something to look forward to. Although I've always been a Potterhead so it's no question I'll be watching out for this one :) Plus Eddie Redmayne has been a favorite ever since I saw him play Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything. 

You might want to brush up on Chizpurfle, Diricrawl, Erkling, Fwooper and other fantastic beasts by reading the book, you still have time, Warner Bros. has the movie set for a worldwide release in 3D and IMAX on November 18, 2016.