Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

A best-seller is said to be capable of selling 328 copies in a day and once again this 8 th edition in Potter series proved to be that. On 31 st July 2016 the book was released and by 2 nd August, it sold 2 million copies. Though it is a storming success amongst fans but of course, a number of them are woefully disappointed.

The difference is that the book isn’t a novel unlike the previous seven books by J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a script of a stage play, written by Jack Thorne based on a tale arranged in association with J.K. Rowling and Director John Tiffany.

Unlike a novel a script is a bunch of instructions meant to be for a theatrical grandeur, not the experience itself. Therefore the play came out to be a triumph of events, portrayed with types of special effects on stage. But if you are not a professional playgoer or are not acquainted with the background from before, you won’t vision the magnificence of the magic spells just by reading.

Play scripts never account for any pause or recaps; it dives into action from the very 1 st scene. Therefore the play starts right from where it ended in the 7 th book; at King’s Cross station, adult Harry, Ron, and Hermione see offs their children for Hogwarts. Harry’s youngest son Albus develops a friendship with Draco’s son Scorpius and decides to go back through the time travel plot to save Cedric Diggory. But they call for some disastrous alternate realities with far reaching consequences.

Movie Review : Suicide Squad

Suicide Squad is a 2016 Superhero film based on the DC Comics. The film is directed and written by David Ayer, casting stars like Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Jay Hernandez and others.

The story is that- as the outcome of Superman’s death, Amanda Waller’s secret government agency process a squad of anti-heroes to run a dangerous mission of saving the world from ‘metahuman’ and in exchange these villains will get a chance of living a clean life.

Critics in one side praised the film for its- action, special effects, sequences, dialogues, soundtracks, humor, and acting but on the other side criticized for its editing and rough plot.

Reviews:

Critics generally bagged a negative review for the film. It is ‘too many rogues spoiled the plot’; an all-scoundrel fighting against crime!

The film is not the savior of summer. It is not the great DC film that gets the authorization back on track after Zack Snyder-directed Superman movies. It is a narratively haphazard event which is filled with blunt action, a bent plot with no tension or suspense plus a constant flow of music that often gives the feel of a great Basketball scene. The only thing worth savoring are Smith, Davis, and Robbie, they make the event for their admittance in a better DC film down the line.

Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn is much praised but Jared Leto as Joker is abandoned in the fringe and wasted. Due to being funny, stylish and riotous plot, it’s different from Batman vs. Superman but the 2^nd half is prosaic and predictable.

Active Consulting Review: Jason Bourne

We all remember the satisfaction and excitement we had when Bourne finally had his memory back during his last mission. Even if you forget that, the opening scene in the movie quite deliberately reminds you of the same. But what happens when directly Paul Greengrass comes up with the fifth installment to finally let us know what happens next. What you could honestly appreciate was Matt Damon and his bare chest after the Martian.
The plot of the movie seems like Greengrass with his co-writer Christopher Rouse logged into WikiLeaks and picked up the most interesting story they could find, on the first page. In the fifth addition to the bourne series, Bourne needs to help his old friend Nicky who’s out to save the freedom of information. But like all standard Bourne movies, this one also has Bourne chasing the Asset only to reveal the darker scheme when it is convenient.This time, it is Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) who’s after Bourne.
One thing truly appreciable in the movie was the action scenes by Matt Damon. You might find the action sequences to be not so well edited and standard in nature but having Damon in them makes you like them more than they should be.

Thus, the director, the actors, and the whole movie have made an appreciable attempt to meet up the fans expectations. But to be honest, the seems like a bunch of action sequences tied up together like a Matt Damon action Montage and thus, lower your expectations before entering the screens.

Crime Novels: Best 3 picks for 2016

The thrill that good crime writing provides is unmatched for its fans. Every year new talented authors or the old loved ones come up with amazing plots and stories to blow up our minds and we get few more novels to add to our collection. So here are best  3 picks which will surely look good on your shelf:

1.      The Cartel

Author: Don Winslow

The one is a tight narration of the Mexican drug wars that offers a perfect blend of brings facts and the fiction. Somewhat inspired form true events Author Don Winslow did a great job in bringing outAdán Barrera a drug lord and his fight against the DEA agent Art Keller.

2.      Dodgers

Author: Bill Beverly

An old gang member on a journey to kill one of his boss’s enemies has some time for soul searching in the way. This is what author Bill Beverly brings to you. East has a job of killing a witness against his boss and for that, he is headed to Wisconsin with a crew. But in the way, he finds himself confused about his actions and as to why he was chosen for this job.

3.      Is Fat Bob Dead Yet?

Author: Stephen Dobyns

Writing offbeat thrillers that don't follow the traditional way is a brave move. Author SephenDobyns seems to have done it well.His work may seem somewhat away from the reality yet entertaining and thrilling at the same time.

These are the 3 best crime writes that as a crime novel fan you’ll certainly like. For more information, keep visiting Active Consulting Review.

Active Consulting Movie Review: Café Society

When it comes to romance, you can always rely on Woody Allen to bring out a wonder. The director who brought you Annie Hall has this time come up with a narration of love form 30’s Café Society.

Café Society is a story about Bobby (Jesse Eisenberg) nephew of rich agent Phil Stern (Steve Carell). Bobby comes to Hollywood with his uncle to find some work. Here he meets Vonnie (Kristen Stewart) and thus a story of love, heartbreak and a lot more follows in the Allen’s way.

Eisenberg had sort of made an image of a witty, cunning boy whom you love and hate at the same time. After his works in movies like Social Network, Batman V Superman, the Now You See Me series etc. him being able to pull out an innocent foolish character like Bobby was really impressive. Stewart on the other hand equally complimented him during the whole movie. You could feel her in every scene with a liveliness that Allen is famous for putting in his female protagonists.

Talking about the other actors, Steve Carell’s work as Phil Stern was impressive. He replaced Bruce Willis in the movie and there are parts when he did a far better work than Willis could have. 

There were also decent jobs done by Corey Stoll, Jeannie Berlin and, of course, Blake Lively.

Thus, you can find freshness in Allen’s work as he brings you Café Society and the movie is certain to make you fall in love with him even if you don’t yet.

For more movie and book reviews keep visiting active consulting.

Independence Day: That’s Why Aliens Invade Us

The two things that decide the success of an alien invasion movie are the noise it creates and the success it achieves in shutting down the logic gates of the viewer’s. But imagine an alien movie that still presents itself as so distinctively dumb that it actually turns on the viewer’s brains to spot the nonsense. Honestly, according to what Independence Day Resurgence shows us if this is what we have developed since the last 1996 movie, we ourselves should be throwing a welcome bash to the aliens.

Fine, truth be told, Independence Day was never one of the smartest written or directed movies ever. But at least the older one had something interesting to show even if it was Will Smith fighting the Aliens. But in Resurgence the director Ronald Emmerich seems to have successfully taken that away too.

The cast both some older carry forwards like Bill Pull man, Brent Spiner etc. along with younger additions like Liam Hemsworth Maika Monroe etc.
Talking about the plot, this time the daughter (Monroe) of ex-president (the guy who actually came up with the idea of calling the alien invasion as Independence Day) is set to have herself noticed by the viewers for being there against the aliens. While, Dr. Brakush Owen (Spiner) another older character sleeps in coma for 7300 years. And  suddenly while you’re watching all this, the director secretly plays the older Independence Day so that you find a thing or too still interesting.

So, conclusively though the movie has some exciting parts which you will find if you plan to watch it, but keep the expectation bar at zero.

The Purge: The Election Year – Movie Review

Writer-Director James DeManco took a good one year before coming up with the third addition to the movie series The Purge. The third instalment has none other than the US Elections for its storyline. So, finally in 2025 after two movies, someone realized how stupid the so-called “holidays” are. Senator Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell) goes as far as running as an independent candidate after surviving a Purge herself and losing her family. While against her in the race is Edwidge Owens (Kyle Secor) whose, the main agenda is to maintain the Purge tradition.
As compared to the first to instalments in the series, the third part is likely to please only the die-hard fans of the series. As for those, who are looking for sci-fi horror, this might turn out be a disappointment.
If we discuss the storylines, it seems the third instalment is following the standards set by the second part in the series. The only thing that differs is the constant mention of the utmost importance of Senator Roan’s safety, which is quiet annoying. However DeManco has the script well contemplated and directed, yet it is less likely to gan much attraction for new viewers.
So, to summarize it, it can be said, even after the over the top emotional drama that the movie provides, Election Year has nothing much new to offer from its predecessors. Though the work done by Mitchell as the lead protagonist is appreciable but it is advisable to not keep your expectations too high.

That was the active consulting review for The Purge: Election year, for more reviews on movies, books etc. keep visiting Active Consulting.