Movie Review

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them can't find magic of Potter series

The Harry Potter series, both in book and movie form, proved so immensely popular that it was inevitable that the stories would be continued in some shape or form. What few expected was that it would come courtesy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a movie based on a slim companion “textbook” J.K. Rowling published in 2001.

Since the book was merely a compendium of magical animals cataloged by fictitious author Newt Scamander, the story needed to be fleshed out just a bit. Written by Rowling herself and directed by Potter vet David Yates, the film presents Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) as he arrives in New York from England for a secretive trip. Unfortunately, a few of the less-than-obedient creatures he keeps in his magical suitcase scuttle his plans by escaping and forcing him to track them down.

This detour puts him into contact with Porpentina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), a lower-rung employee with the Magical Congress of the United States, or MACUSA for short. He also unwittingly ropes in Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), a No-Maj (aka Muggle) who has an unfortunate run-in with one creature.

If Rowling had stopped there, with perhaps a few other benign subplots to liven things up, it would have made for a nice introduction to a world that is relatively unfamiliar, even for Potter fanatics. Instead, she injects an array of cryptic stories, including ones involving a group calling themselves the New Salem Philanthropic Society, a relentless MACUSA investigator (Colin Farrell), an unseen entity that’s destroying city blocks at will, and an overarching villain on the loose named Grindelwald, who holds a place in Potter lore.

While some mystery is good, and is part and parcel of the entire Potter series, it becomes an overwhelming presence in Fantastic Beasts, to the detriment of the main three characters. Every time we start to get a semblance of insight into them, we’re whisked back to the machinations of the less savory characters, giving balance to the film but no real information.

This is especially true of Scamander. We know he’s a wizard with considerable power who went to Hogwarts and who has a strong affinity for magical creatures — and that’s about it. The film never truly attempts to dig into his background, leaving the audience at a loss about his personality and motivations. When you add in the odd affectations of Redmayne, who seems incapable of delivering a performance without some kind of quirk, you have one of the strangest lead characters in quite some time.

To be fair, for many Potter fans all of this will be fine. The film does have plenty to offer in familiarity, and the sense of discovery about how wizards and witches do things in the United States should not be discounted. Also, the performances by Fogler and Alison Sudol, who plays Porpentina’s sister, Queenie, are a delight, as they are the only ones who seem to be having any kind of fun.

But for me, it’s not enough to overcome the film’s faults. It has already been announced that they will make four more Fantastic Beasts movies, but unless they commit to telling a complete story instead of relying on Potter goodwill, the series will not be a success.

Eddie Redmayne in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Eddie Redmayne in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Photo by Jaap Buitendijk

Eddie Redmayne in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Vinyl Record News

Dallas record store chain Josey Records spins new location in Garland

Josey Records

Josey Records

Vinyl at Josey Records

Dallas music maker Josey Records has extended its reach east: The record store chain, whose empire includes one of the largest single independent record stores in the U.S., has opened a location in Garland, at 1005 Northwest Hwy., at the intersection of Centerville Road, where it's selling its trademark assortment of vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, turntables, music posters, new releases, and music accessories.

This is the sixth location and the third in the Dallas area, joining the original in Farmers Branch which owners Waric Cameron and Luke Sardello opened in November 2014. They've since opened locations in Plano, Tulsa, Kansas City, and Vidalia, Missouri.

The original location is a giant place with 16,000 square feet devoted to vinyl, 45s, CDs, turntables, and T-shirts. They do a good job showcasing new releases and collector vinyl — they made CultureMap's list of 5 best places in Dallas to buy vinyl records — and are known to host album release and listening parties such as a recent blockbuster celebrating Linkin Park.

They made headlines in June 2020 when they acquired the vast musical inventory of Bill’s Records following the death of owner Bill Wisener; Cameron and Sardello both worked at Bill’s, and knew the sprawling collection first-hand.

"It has taken us years to even start going through it, but in last two years, we've made some headway," Cameron says. "Bill's has its own audience, so we created a specific Instagram account, just for Bill's Records merchandise called @billsrecordsvault."

They chose Garland because they saw it as an area that was under-served.

"There are very few record stores in that area of northeast Dallas, Casa View, Garland, Rockwall, Mesquite," Cameron says. "We have customers who live over there, so it seemed like a good place for a store."

The storefront they're in was most recently The Music Store, which sold and rented musical instruments and accessories; but coincidentally, it's next to an address that was once RPM Records, a hip record store from the '90s.

The Garland store follows the same model as their others: selling new and used records and merchandise, and buying used goods, as well.

"One thing that's cool is that each location takes on its own identity," he says. "We buy used CDs, vinyl records, cassettes — we're a used resale business — and what we buy from our customers dictates what that store becomes. For example, our Plano store has a lot of classic rock. So we're looking forward to seeing what Garland gravitates to."

Garland does have one thing that the other locations do not.

"Right now, Garland has this incredible collection of jazz," Cameron says. "We bought a great collection of jazz records — someone called and wanted to sell it. We get that a lot, we buy major collections from all over the U.S., we even make house calls. So we saved it for the Garland store."

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