I love the wizarding world of Harry Potter so I was a little apprehensive of Fantastic Beasts but I was also quite excited because I read the ‘book’, which is more of a beast dictionary, and it’s lack of narrative means that the film had nothing to live up to. Long story short,  I loved it. Although it was pointed out to me that the film would actually make no sense if you had no prior knowledge of Harry Potter because they don’t really establish any context. Luckily, I do have a vast array of knowledge so I slipped right back into JK Rowling’s wonderful world.

Since I was so excited for the film I decided to make the trip more special and take the longer walk to check out the independent Dominion Cinema rather than the regular ol’ chain and it is actually the cutest little place ever. It is like a vintage old school picture house and you get to sit on sofas (which recline!!), it’s like combining the comfort of chilling in your living room with the screen size and quality of the cinema. Definitely worth the 20 minute walk in the freezing cold.

Can we first talk about how amazingly beautiful the visuals are in Fantastic Beasts, whoever does the design and all the CGI is incredible. I liked that the US version of the Ministry of Magic was grand but distinct from the UK. It was all 20’s art deco and stunning. Plus all of those beasts were designed so well – I particularly enjoyed the demiguise and the niffler, little cuties.

Eddie Redmayne may just be the cutest human in all film and television, I don’t think I will ever be able to dislike anything that he is in. He was such an adorable Newt Scamander and is so talented at playing the bashful, awkward, shy guy. It makes my Hufflepuff heart glad that he is being represented and is so lovable because we’re often under-represented. I also really liked Queenie Goldstein she was so cute and I loved her relationship with Kowalski, they were so sweet.

Although it was no Harry Potter, it was still very enjoyable and I would 10/10 recommend.