Relic’s Keeper – Concept

Azryael turned to face the swirling mist of darkness. It too, seemed to respond by rising to meet his height, twisting in upon itself in a whirl of shapeless matter and sparks as if cutting into the slab floor. Toward the top, a notch of strange spherical impression seemed to push within the darkness whenever it moved. It was almost as if…was that a face?

“We’re not so different, you and I…” A hoarse whisper could be heard from the moving void. It expanded a moment before compressing to complete a basic human form. What stepped from that void was no more surprising than his first meeting with Christauni as a Shadow.

“Rivan.” Azryael had not said that name since the days of his crippled childhood. Rivan had been born blind, and still was by the looks of his opal gaze. “So I see the Eternal Night has become your way of seeing, just as the Light has become my strength.”

“Isn’t it funny…how we were chosen? We were the ones that no one wanted – the trash kicked aside in the streets. We had only each other then. Now, we rely on something much better.”  

“Tell me how this is better?” Azryael pointed to the men still struggling against their chains to turn the giant wheel. It was painful to hear the last of fragmented crystals crushed to dust. That was the last of the Light shards. All that remained, he carried within himself.

“They deserve their fate!” Rivan’s voice boomed, throwing off patches of darkness as he moved around him. “They misused their own source of hope. Now it’s all dead.”

“The Eternal Night is not meant to be used this way either, Rivan.” Azryael tried to remain calm. “You’ve been here long enough to know that. Destroying the Light will jeopardize life itself. We may not be in existence if you extinguish it all!”

“Perhaps it will be a new dawn for us then. Is it all that bad? As it is, I didn’t expect the Light to chose anything other than a dead object in hopes to evade me. Seems it finally got smart.” His form broke in various places to swirl and reform. It was hard to keep an eye on his movements, as the Darkness had the speed of a cobra. It would not be long before an attempted strike. Well, not smart enough. You still led it right to me. For that, I thank you.”

 

 

 

 

Fantastic Beasts – Review

First impressions on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

My first thought about this movie was what it was going to be about. I imagined this crazy guy’s case being opened and a whole bunch of creatures flying out Jumanji style. While that was only partially true, there was some serious dark stuff going around that drew everyone to Newt (main character) and to find his missing animals. Yes, some of them got out. But none of them were behind the dark magic that’s always present in the Harry Potter films.

This particular story actually takes place before the time of Harry Potter. We learn that Newt was expelled from school due to a similar incident when his creatures escaped. Now he’s come to the Unites States in order to finish some business with one of his prized possessions. That, however, cannot come to pass when he’s abducted by a young sorceress, who’s only intentions are to gain her title back as an investigator to the wizarding community.

As luck has it, Newt unintentionally befriends a non-mage (or Muggle) when his briefcase containing all his creatures gets switched while searching for his lost creatures. Not only does he have to track down the case, but find the ones causing mischief and stealing valuables from purses and store windows. While the unlikely heroes team up to track every creature down, they are constantly behind watched and end up in some sticky situations involving a death chamber and the real killer stalking the streets of New York.

Move over, Voldemort! Enter Grindelwald!

SPOILER ALERT! (don’t read if you haven’t seen the movie yet)

With everything that happens in the movie, I honestly forgot about Grindelwald. Turns out, he wasn’t even the one behind the destruction on the city. But he sure as heck tries to obtain its power.

Thanks to Johnny Depp, who briefly plays the part at the end when we realize he’s been using illusion to alter his appearance the whole time. Now we see who you really are!

What I Loved About the Movie

The creatures were amazing! A lot of imagination went into building believable species that could fill whole rooms or shrink to the tiniest corner. It had that Avatar affect, when you finally emerged into a world that shouldn’t exist. And yet it somehow does.

Newt’s world was created inside his briefcase. Sort of like in Dr. Who, “It’s bigger on the inside…” type thing. Yeah, the world of Harry Potter is famous for this.

Tons of action. Non-stop. Yet it still had these down-to-earth moments where you could take a breather and enjoy the scenery. I’d have to watch again just to take it all in. So much detail goes into sets and costumes. And I love how Newt was able to eventually use some of his creatures to help him out of traps and good-cop-bad-cop chases.

My Movie Rating 

4 out of 5 stars. I neglect the fifth star just because of the way the dark power and antagonist plays out. I get what he was after, but when he realizes the power is not where he thinks it is, he just screws himself up. Dumb move, buddy! Not that we know who it really is, but I hate when characters reveal themselves all too soon as the jerk that’s going to foil the protagonist’s plans until the end of the movie. Someone just slap them early on, please!

Comical and witty, this movie is great fun for family entertainment. Would recommend and see again!