The saga is finally, and sadly coming to an end. I remember the first movie when Harry was this tiny little, adorable tot and he got brought into this magical world full of wonder. The earlier films were light hearted, family friendly films with only a touch of darkness. As the films went on, the story became more complicated. The heroes were in more danger. The risk became greater. The fate of all wizard kind is now fading away. Cut to 10 years later and now Harry has grown into a handsome young wizard who, along with his two best friends Ron and Hermoine, try to defeat the evil Lord Voldemort. They are now on the journey to find and destroy the 7 horcrux's (spelling is off, I'm sure - I haven't read the last 2 books). Gone are the days of bright futures for the 3 friends. Gone are the lessons at Hogwarts. In fact, Hogwarts is not even shown in this film once. The last film, The Half Blood Prince, for me was the first time a Harry Potter film took itself seriously as a full blown, epic movie. I love the whole series, but the last film had such a beautifully dark feel to it, and you really started to sense the danger these characters face. You got a feel for their will to live and kill Voldemort once and for all. Nothing changes here, in fact it gets even better in my opinion.
To me, The Deathly Hallows Part One is the finest Potter film to date. Beautifully crafted on every technical aspect. Incredible set designs, an amazing score, and breathtaking visual effects. For the first time, I felt apart of this world because it most of it takes place in non wizard land...our world. We finally see the effects this battle between wizards is having on the muggle community. There is real danger here, our world could be overrun by Voldemort. The last hope is Harry Potter, the only person who can defeat him. Voldemort is getting stronger and is trying to prevent Potter from finding the Horcrux's. The story here is full of great depth and is wonderfully written. I don't know how close to the book it is, but I don't really care. It's an amazing screenplay and the story is unbelieably epic.
This is only part one of a two part film (the second half comes out in July). The whole time this movie feels like a giant build up to something brilliantly epic. I keep using that word to describe this movie...because it's very true. The way it ends was so cool but it really pissed me off. Because I want more, and I want it now! This movie roped me in from the opening scene and never let me go. I was glued to the screen at every moment and the 2 hour 30 minute run time felt like an hour! Not often do movies have me that captivated. I really cared about every character in the film. I've been on this journey with them, like everyone else, since the very beginning. You almost feel connected to them. We have watched these kids grow up right before our eyes.
In the first few films, the kids acting abilities weren't all that superb. I'll tell you what though, they have really come into their own. You believe them now. You see their emotion painted on their faces and you want them to win. They act in some scenes, in some moments without opening their mouths. Just facial expressions, and it's so unbelieably good. It's awesome how far these 3 kids have come. Emma Watson as Hermoine turns in a star performance, her best to date. I can see her in the future garnering an Oscar nom. Daniel Radcliffe gives his most vulnerable and belieable performance of the whole franchise and by God...this is the only person who can ever play Harry Potter. This is HIS role. He now owns it. Rupert Grint was also quite fantastic and he showed more emotion then ever before and did so really well. The rest of the cast wasn't featured as prominently, they all kind of just came up here and there in bit parts. This movie was all about the three main stars and their journey. They carried this film on their shoulders, with no problems at all. Good for them!
It's hard to fully review this film, because it is only really half of a movie. There is no actual conclusion. It ends, on what I think, is one the most emotional scenes in the entire franchise. Death of a well loved character. I heard some sniffles in the theater, and I think I got a little choked up. The final final scene is what cliffhangers are all about. That's how you end a two part series. It left me craving more right away!! I don't know how I will make it until freaking July!! This film (so far) is brilliant. It is, in my opinion, the best of the whole series. It is incredibly dark, it's frightening, it's packed full of emotion. It has the best performances of the whole lot. It is the most visually striking one. This movie to me, is the complete package. It's damn entertaining, there's never a boring moment. It has an incredibly epic, triumphant feel to it and you just know the conclusion is going to a tour de force and is going to be one movie experience that everyone should see. Part One is already that kind of film...Part Two should be no different. I cannot wait!! One of the best movies of 2010, no question!
**By the way, it should be noted that this is NOT a kids movie. Young children may not be suitable to watch this film. It is very dark and may scare a lot of younger kids.***
Critics Grade: 79%
My Grade: A
The Next Three Days
Rated PG-13
2 hours 2 minutes
With Russel Crowe and Elizabeth Banks
Well this movie is NO Harry Potter! Doesn't even come close...they are completely different movies as well. So it's not fair to compare Mike. Geez. This is the kind of movie that tends to go quietly into the night. It barely gets noticed. It's the kind of movie that's usually regarded as being "OK" but nothing special. And then everyone forgets about it in a week. I'd like to say that's not the case with The Next Three Days...but really it is not. This whole movie, beginning to end all feels so standard. It follows every rule in the book for escapist type movies. Characters that are in way over their head, and somehow manage to fool everyone. The first two thirds focuses on the husbands scheming and plotting to free his wife (who may or may not have actually commited the crime accused of). Those scenes are all pretty bland and uninteresting if you ask me. I never got fully invested into the story or these people. They never even touch the storyline involving the wifes guilt or innocence. It's barely even mentioned until the very end. I would have liked to see more of Russel Crowe trying to discover if his wife is actually a murderer or not...but he just didn't seem to care. The last act is definitely the better part, at least it has a lot of excitement and some moments of tension. I don't care about plausibility...which this movie has almost none of. But that should never be a reason to not like a movie. It wasn't really over the top or anything...but it started to become really predicatable and you kind of know exactly how the movie will end. We do finally get one scene at the end that shows exactly what happened during the crim the wife was accused of comitting though...so you do find out if she's innocent or guilty. It was a little silly how it was just randomly thrown in there at the end, but whatever. It has 2 good lead performances, but it just lacks in anything original or fresh. I just wasn't that interested.
Critics Grade: 42%
My Grade: C-.
I am excited about Harry Potter! Sarah waited in line to see the midnight showing. Can you say huge fan, lol?
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