Posts Tagged ‘harry potter and the half-blood prince’

DVD/Blu-ray Review: “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Ultimate Edition”

The received wisdom was that the even-numbered entries in the pre-reboot Star Trek series were better than the odd-numbered ones. That held up, too, until the 10th and final one mothballed the Enterprise for seven years. No such problems with the Harry Potter series, which hits six with his to-do with the half-blood prince. They’re all pretty much of the same quality—the same, consistently uninteresting quality.

I’ve come not to praise Harry Potter, but with two installments (two!) of the seventh and final chapter to come there’s no use burying him until 2011. Mind you, I’m not entirely immune to his saga. If my daughter were older I’d relish a minimum 2.5-hour babysitter once a year. (Who says kids have short attention spans? A different story for this parent, who gets antsy at the first sight of the ritual Quidditch match.) That Michael Gambon and Maggie Smith are now household names among tweens is nothing to sneeze at, either, and Jim Broadbent is amusing in this one. But I’m pretty much a Muggle about it, maybe because I never cracked open one of the books, and maybe because I’m too old for this enchantment, whereas I grew up with Star Wars and was familiar with the Lord of the Rings trilogy from a young age.

A friend says I should at least find it interesting that the series gives us a set of young actors that we can watch growing up year in and year out. In real life, though, Harry has waved his, err, magic wand onstage (I saw it with my own eyes), Hermione has become a hottie, Ron survived swine flu, and they’re all college age. A lot happens in the movies yet nothing ever seems to touch them, and they learn the same lessons over and over again, as if Hogwarts was some sort of remedial school for slow-witted sorcerers. To be fair a certain, mildly self-deprecating self awareness has crept in, as when Ron, when asked why he and his mates are always in the thick of it, responds, “Believe me we’ve been asking ourselves the same thing for six years.” (Was that straight from the book, or a cry for help from the golden cage that adapter Steve Kloves, who once upon a time wrote and directed The Fabulous Baker Boys, has built for himself?) (more…)

Film Review: “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”

Harry_Potter_and_the_Half-Blood_Prince_2I’ll admit, first and foremost, that I’ve been more a fan of the Harry Potter films than I have the books. While I admit the books are enjoyable (I’ve read the first four), I find them rather repetitive and not quite as fleshed out in some ways as I think they could be–which is saying something, considering the epic lengths at which they mark off.

I’ve enjoyed the films more, I guess, because I can appreciate the fact that while they are more condensed versions of the books (every film has to have some type of limit before audience members begin laying across other seats in search of a brief respite in dreamland), they are still the most faithful cinematic adaptations of the material that will ever exist, and it’s just a fun experience to watch Daniel Radcliffe (My Boy Jack, December Boys) and the other young actors in the cast bring J.K. Rowling’s characters to full-fledged life. It’s also beginning to make me feel a little old, in a bittersweet way, to watch these kids grow up before my eyes as the series has progressed. Like all of you legitimate diehard Potter fans, I’ve come to feel an affinity for this cast, and in some ways feel like a proud parent, watching these talented young actors mature so gracefully. (more…)

Summer Movie Preview: Ten Films I May or May Not Be Looking Forward To

Normally Bob Cashill does a top-ten list of films he’s looking forward to each summer and fall. As he’s “out of town” this week (which, in the writing industry, is code for “on a bender and can’t be found”), I’ve been asked to step up to the plate and cover for him while he’s “away.”

I’ve chosen ten summer films — well, nine as far as Hollywood’s definition of summer goes (the beginning of May all the way to Labor Day weekend), so forgive me for cheating with my first choice.  I will now give my reasons as to why I’m either looking forward to these films or hope they die miserable, lonely deaths at the box office. Please be aware that while the majority of release dates have been locked down, film studios are sometimes fickle, and some later dates may be subject to change.

1. The Soloist (April 24), starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr., directed by Joe Wright.

I’ve been looking forward to this film, based on the true story of celloist-violinist Nathaniel Ayers, an extremely talented musician who suffers from schizophrenia, for quite some time in spite of the semi-mediocrity of its trailer. While I’m certain the film will deliver the expected highs and lows of the friendship between Foxx’s Ayers and Downey Jr. as the reporter who befriends him, all replete with the expected script beats (pg. 50: “Have characters realize they’re more alike than different in spite of their dissimilar backgrounds”), the real reason to see this movie is for the act-off between two great thesps, and to begin the debate about which one will deserve to walk home with a statue come next year’s Oscars.

2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1), starring Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber, directed by Gavin Hood.

Yes, this film’s already hit the Internet, so most of you have probably already seen it. I’m waiting till it actually hits theaters, though, because I’d prefer to see the completed effects, thank you very much. Although I don’t understand the fascination with Schreiber (overrated in my book), the real reason for me to see Wolverine is that it’ll be cool to see Jackman as the title character once again. Fanboys and fangirls who vowed to boycott this Fox film due to the studio’s lawsuit brought against Warner Bros. for partial rights to Watchmen profits will more than likely shut the hell up and see it regardless; it could very well be one of the biggest actioners at the box office this year despite its illegal release on the Web. I’m borderline on the story and characters, but I’m looking forward to Jackman’s Wolvie taking a long list of names while he kicks ass.

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