Category: Film

Bidding Harry Potter Adieu

It’s hard to imagine that there won’t be another book or film about The Boy Who Lived.

**SPOILERS**

Saying good-bye to Harry Potter is a bittersweet experience. I’m happy to see the entire story, but sad the story is all over. Gone is the excitement of pre-ordering the next book and waiting with baited breath until it arrives, then staying up till 3am to finish it so nobody would ruin it by telling me what happens before I had the chance to read it for myself. Now the last movie has broken box office weekend opening records and fans the world over sit and watch the final stretch of Harry’s fantastic journey.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART II starts off right where PART I ended – Voldemort breaks into Dumbledore’s grave and steals the Elder Wand. From there the movie quickly speeds to the dramatic ending of Harry destroying He Who Must Not Be Named. The director, David Yates, again does a decent job of crafting a well-put together film. However, the addition of 3D does very little to propel the story forward. It almost distracts the viewer so much that dialogue and key movements are missed.

There are some significant changes in the adaptation – mainly with Snape’s death (the fabulous Alan Rickman at his finest!! Netflix TRULY MADLY DEEPLY for more of him) taking place in a boathouse instead of the Shrieking Shack, but over all the script makes the right sacrifices of the book to do the story justice and satisfy the fans. But it’s the ending that leaves me a little empty. Through the magic of CGI Harry, Hermione, and Ron age 19 years – just like in the book – but when the book is rich in humor (mainly because of Ron) the movie falls flat.

Endings are hard. I know. But much like THE RETURN OF THE KING, where in the book Gollem gets redeemed and in the movie he doesn’t, the same thing happens in Harry Potter. In the book there are humorous exchanges regarding people staring at Harry, assimilating into Muggle society, and how you can’t give a teacher at school love from your parents. The ending is heart tugging, endearing, and unforgettable. The film accurately shows the kids aging, but doesn’t portray the humor, or feeling of utter contentment and happiness Harry experiences since his scar remains painless. But endings are hard, especially when you don’t want the story to end.

Russell Brand’s Arthur Misses The Mark

I loved the first Arthur movie with Dudley Moore and Liza Minelli. It was 1981, and the first time my father and I watched a movie together. We laughed. Snorted. And created our own roster of private jokes based on the exchanges between Arthur (Dudley Moore) and his very stoic butler, Hobson (John Geilgud).  Needless to say, the film holds a special place for me, and when I heard it was being remade, I shuddered. Why mess with a good thing?

Turns out my instincts were correct. The remake, starring Russell Brand in the title role and Helen Mirren as the butler turned nanny, is…meh. It’s okay. There is undeniably chemistry between Brand and Mirren. And the script is adequately adapted to present day. But it suffers greatly from the customary dumbing down the audience slap stick that studio execs insist make movies better.  The added silliness fails. It’s out of place and forced. Where the original movie succeeded in the storytelling of a child-man refusing to grow up until the unexpected meeting of his dream girl, the remake misses the mark entirely. It has none of the original heart.

Brand and Mirren have their moments – just not enough. See the original.

Why The King’s Speech Deserves Best Picture

A lot of people are disappointed that The Social Network didin’t win best picture. Instead, the historical bio-like pic The King’s Speech took the prize. The right film won.

If you evaluate the films on story – The King’s Speech is the winner. All the elements of a solid film are present. The plot has conflict and character development. You know the journey the character must take, leading up to a clear catharsis. The chemistry between Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth is undeniable. And the direction of Tom Hopper (Netflick is under appreciated film Last Chance Harvey with Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson – phenomenal) is strong and totally deserving of the accolades he’s received. This isn’t so apparent in The Social Network.

For the three people that read this blog (yes, that includes my mother) my dislike for the David Fincher flick has already been discussed.  The character development in The Social Network really doesn’t have a clear arc unless you count the higher levels of a**h*le that Jesse Eisenberg’s character achieves. But it’s not a real evolution to me. It’s contrived by unrealistic dialogue and depends too much on the trendy, hip subject matter.

This is where The King’s Speech rules supreme. Go see it. You’ll see what I mean.

The Tourist & I Love You Phillip Morris – What’s with the voices??

I don’t like to talk about two movies in the same post, but I will make exception for The Tourist and I Love You Phillip Morris since they both suffer from the same problem – a totally distracting choice of voice by a lead actor.

The Tourist, starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp is a slow, boring ride. Directed by Henckel von Donnersmarck (say that fast five times), the movie does a lot to show off the city of Venice, but does nothing to propel the story or make its characters come alive. The most annoying thing is Angelina Jolie’s choice of voice for her supposedly tres elegant, mannerly character. The fake British accent is worse than the one she put on for Laura Croft. And her habit of setting her jaw tightly and looking off into the distance, beautifully of course, is becoming really, really old. Her reliance of her dazzling beauty to propel the story forward is a triumphant failure in this film. Unfortunately, Johnny Depp does very little to fix things. Its almost as if he’s recycling the same performance from The Ninth Gate and Secret Window. Perhaps the two were enjoying the Italian sites too much to bring their A-game to the film. Disappointing…incredibly disappointing. What makes the whole thing even more laughable is that both were nominated for Golden Globes – in the musical/comedy category!!!

Really? Hollywood Foreign Press??? Have you been smoking salvia with Miley Cyrus??

Now for I Love You Phillip Morris. Where The Tourist fails, this film succeeds. Steven Russell is a smart, yet slightly demented, con man brilliantly played by Jim Carey (the best performance by the strange funny man in years!) The plot is expertly written and directed with just the right amount twists and turns by the writer-directors Glenn Ficara and John Requa. Based on a true story, Russell is sent to jail and falls in love with a fellow inmate Phillip Morris (no relation to the tobacco company and played by Ewan McGregor).  Phillip Morris is a gentile gay Southern gentleman and the voice that McGregor chooses to use, much like his performance in Big Fish but with grander attempts of softness, sounds like Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie. I kept expecting Hoffman to show up in his Tootsie attire and demand McGregor to cease and desist.  It is so distracting, that you are removed from the film a little bit in the scenes where McGregor appears. But don’t let that keep you from seeing it. The long overdue performance from Carey makes it totally worth seeing.

Deathly Hallows Is The Ultimate Adventure

As the wonder of the Harry Potter adventure comes to a close, it is with an excited, yet heavy, heart that I see the first installment of the last book.  What a fantastic ride! Deathly Hallows Part I is the best screen adaptation (thank you, Steve Kloves!) since the first film, Sorcerer’s Stone. The script is concise, action packed, funny and poignant. The dialogue sounds natural and there isn’t any obvious exposition that can drag a script down.  The film is also the best directorial installment by David Yates – his earlier attempts being the last two in the series, Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince. This is great news since the last two movies are such a disappointment.

Early on, Yates brags on how he makes Phoenix the shortest movie in the franchise (coming in at a mere 138 minutes ). Right away I’m put on my guard. Doesn’t this guy realize that us diehard Potter fans are more than willing to sit for a almost three hours to see what happens? Doesn’t he get that fans want to see the most accurate adaptation as possible? Apparently, he doesn’t. Order of the Phoenix is a mess put together by a series of montages meant to propel the story forward, but only leaves the watcher wanting to see more action. Some of the same shots are even used twice.  Unfortunately, Half-Blood Prince isn’t any better. It’s sloppy, disjointed. The scenes are choppy and don’t fit with one another. There is no linkage. The beautiful scene transitions of Alfonso Cuaron (Prisoner of Azakaban) and Mike Newell (Goblet of Fire) are badly missing. But the biggest problem of both of the films is that they really underestimate the audience. A damn shame.

But Deathly Hallows Part I does not disappoint! Thank the celluloid gods!  It totally steps it up a notch, and not just one. It is literally a world away from Yates other attempts. It’s almost as if the onetime TV director went to film school and learned how to make a complete movie.  This film is so much better than his past installments you have to wonder if he received extra help. The cinematography (executed brilliantly by Eduardo Serra – Girl with a Pearl Earring) is captivating.  But it’s the editing that sets this movie apart. So much so, it’s hard to believe it’s the same editor from Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince, Mark Day. Perhaps, he too got some extra help to transfer his television editing skills to the big screen. But the best thing is that these guys finally got their sh*t together to produce a Harry Potter movie that exceeds fan expectations – all except for the wait. Waiting for July 2011 for the second half will be torture.