The Prince of Harry Potters

As some of you may know, I’m a pretty big fan of Harry Potter, or as far as you can go before becoming a fanatic. I’ve read all the books, and seen the first 5 films, multiple times. I also keep up with the news on The Leaky Cauldron. When I first saw the Order of the Phoenix film 2 years ago, I thought it was pretty good, though the third film (Prisoner of Azkaban) was still the best. Well, now that I’ve seen the latest movie, the Half-Blood Prince, I’m affraid PoA will have to be thrown from it’s throne. The 6th Potter is most definitely the best!

For the first time since the 4th movie (Goblet of Fire, the first really big book in the series) I didn’t feel that anything was missing in this film. Surely, bits have been cut out, changed, or added in, as you can see many people on the internet complain about, but they’re (almost) all for the best. My only “complaint” is that I would have liked to see some more memories and background about Voldemort and horcruxes, but it’s easy to get over.

The acting is also on a very high level, with special praise to Emma Watson (Hermione) and Michael Gambon (Dumbledore) who, this time, doesn’t run around like an angry madman.

I will say though that it definitely deserves the minimum age requirement of 12 it got here in the Netherlands. Not only is it much darker, at times, than before, but most importantly, it’s no longer fun for the younger audience. There’s a lot less whizzing and banging (though still a good bunch of it) and a lot of the movie hangs on character development, emotion and a grimmy atmosphere that children won’t be able to appreciate. I think I’ll let this great IMDB review from a South African parent do the rest of the talking (it was hard to find, below all the whining Americans :p):

I was lucky enough to see a preview of Half-Blood Prince three days before opening day. I saw it a second time with my son who is not quite ten, but who is generally mature for his age and doesn’t scare easily. The two viewings give me the unique advantage of both the adult and the child perspective on the movie.

I only recently started counting myself a true Harry Potter fan after my son introduced me to the movies a couple of years ago. I finished the last book only three weeks before seeing the movie adaptation of Half-Blood Prince the first time.

With all the book details very fresh in my mind, I had high expectations of the movie. And Yates, the production crew and the cast definitely delivered. The movie impresses on many levels from an artistic point of view. The stripped landscapes and washed out colors convey a constant feeling of dread and foreboding. The standard train trip to Hogwarts was particularly stark, seen against a landscape scorched by a hot summer sun and dotted with dark pools of water. The usual lush greenery and joyous train ride are nowhere to be seen.

Personally, I felt the pace was spot-on and that the movie elegantly made time for all key plot points. But only if you enjoy a plot line driven by character and emotion. For the younger lot, looking for frightening wizard duels and attacks by magical creatures, the first hour and a half of the movie drags on a bit. My son certainly became fidgety, and didn’t appreciate the finesse and sophistication of the plot and cinematic approach.

Most of the threatening and darkening tone of the movie was also lost upon him, whereas I reveled in the finer details contributing to a general sense of ever-encroaching darkness. There are worse things in life to be afraid of than big hairy spiders. My son missed seeing those – I was a lot more intrigued by the ominous undercurrents made palpable by the indomitable trio of David Yates (director), Steve Kloves (screenplay) and Delbonnel (photography).

Some people feel that the romantic comedy aspects played too large a role in the movie, but I felt this aspect added some much-needed lightness and human drama to the movie. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) all find themselves dealing with the vagaries of young love – from dealing with unwanted advances to finding love in unexpected places. The romance was aimed perfectly at the young teen market, and I found myself cringing ruefully at some of Lavender Brown’s love-obsessed stunts and smiling wistfully at the tenderness between Harry and Ginny. Haven’t we all been there at some stage of our lives?

All in all, Harry Potter is growing up. And so is the market for these movies. If you’ve seen all the movies up to now or read all the books, and your are at an age to appreciate the adult themes and movie techniques, this movie should fall pitch-perfect on your ear. You are likely to leave the cinema filled with a heart-wrenching sadness for innocence lost.

Purist fans will most certainly complain bitterly about numerous sub-plots, events and characters that were cut from the movie and the odd scene that doesn’t exist in the book. But Yates’ truly gutsy adaptation really works and brings a depth and clarity to the main themes of the book that is quite extraordinary. He manages to capture the lingering lightness of that time before the serious business of adulthood sets in, alongside the relentless buildup to the final showdown between The Dark Lord and The Chosen One. And the lack of closure at the end of the movie is no accident, I believe. Just like the book, this movie leaves you aching to see how it all ends (never mind the fact that you already know).

I must also commend the acting. The young leads have all matured in pace with the maturing content of the books and their acting shows it. Rupert Grint shines brightly in the somewhat Shakespearean love comedy he finds himself in, and makes the most of his new-found sport hero popularity. Emma Watson hits the spot, portraying Hermione’s emotional vulnerability with gentle confidence and softness.

As for Radcliffe, it’s easy to miss the evolution he’s undergone as Harry, since there are other actors ostensibly given more to do in this outing, like Tom Felton and Bonnie Wright, both of whom get the opportunity to take their characters to a new level. Tom Felton, especially, does a remarkable job. But Radcliffe’s task of playing the steadfast and courageous, yet not flashy or arrogant hero, remains a difficult one. Especially on second viewing, it becomes clear how his understated and controlled performance speaks very much to the type of man Harry Potter is shaping up to be. A man who is left with a tremendous responsibility at the end of this movie and takes it up without flinching. The boy-wizard is no more.

Of the older guard, Alan Rickman’s Snape was a consummate performance, … obviously. And Michael Gambon’s portrayal of Dumbledore never felt more right than in this movie. Jim Broadbent’s Slughorn is deliciously played with just the right mix of off-putting sycophancy and endearing pathos.

All in all – a triumph all around!

Original somewhere here.

So, if you haven’t seen this movie yet, go and do so! I know I’m looking forward to the last two.

Sherlock Hangover

This I’ve seen:

This I definitely will see:

The Hunt for Gollum

If you like Lord of the Rings, maybe you’ll like The Hunt for Gollum. It’s a fan movie about Aragorn’s, well, hunt for gollum. They made this in their free time and with a very low budget (£3000), but it’s turned out rather well. Here’s the trailer:

You can watch the full version (40 minutes) on their official site, completely for free. They also have an IMDB profile. If you like it, also check out Born of Hope, a similar project.

New Half-Blood Prince Trailer

The Dark Knight

Stop reading, go see it! If that doesn’t convince you, maybe this will.
Note: At the time of first posting this entry, The Dark Knight was IMDB #1.

The Man of Steel

Who? What? Superman? No….Irrron Maaan!

Yes, Iron Man, the movie which I didn’t expect would be this good. I went to see it last week and was pleasantly surprised. From the trailer I saw I figured it’d be much too dark and Iron Man would just be a lumpy piece of scrap, not the slick superhero he turned out to be.

The film tells the tale of Tony Stark, a widely known, infinitely rich, very excentric, military designer. When he gets captured by terrorists and is forced to make a special missile, instead he secretly constructs a full body armour with weapons and rockets, which he uses to escape. Back home, he decided to change his life, and use his skills to fight crime, instead of feeding war.

If you liked Batman Begins, you’ll really like Iron Man. You really get to understand the reason behind the creation of the superhero, and to see the process of that transformation. I personally generally really like these kind of “origin movies”. The fact that Iron Man, like Batman, uses technology instead of superhuman powers is a nice difference for a change. Add to that the wonderful special effects, great music, good comedy and spectacular action, and you have a movie of steel.

Beowulf and Golden Compass

Last week I saw Beowulf in the theatre. It’s a new 3D animation film based on the classic poem Beowulf, which tells the story of a man named Beowulf who travels to a land in the north, to rid it of a monster that has been attacking it’s halls. This story is pretty simple and that can be seen in the film. I didn’t expect to go to Beowulf for a great story though, but for stunning visuals, realistic animations and intense actions. That I got, along with some good music. All in all it’s not a film to watch many times, but good for entertaining you and your friends for 1,5 hours.

Yesterday I went to see the Golden Compass, the first film in the upcoming His Dark Materials trilogy. In contrast with Beowulf, I really did expect a good story here, since the book that this film is based on is told to be “the best since Tolkien” by some.

It tells the story of a girl named Lyra, who goes on a quest to kidnap her friend who have been captured by “the authority”. This authority, the magisterium, seeks to control the world and if they can, all other worlds as well, by raising the new generation to accept them without doubt and let the knowledge of many things fade away from history. If you think that sounds a lot like the church, you’re right. In the original book it actually is the church, but for the film version they’ve toned that down a bit. Some reviewers see that as a downside, but personally I don’t think it really affects the story either way.

Anyway, Lyra sets out to save her friends, and in doing so we meet a lot of stylish characters, beatiful worlds and thrilling action. The first half of the film is a bit slow, but fortunately the pace picks up later and it gets more interesting. The special effects are great as always, and the casting has been done well. With one exception, that is, because while Ian McKellen does great voice work and everything, his voice just doesn’t suit the armoured polar bear he portrays very well. Casting him feels like a trick to make this film “LotR-ish” to me.

To sum it up, the Golden Compass is a good film, which you must see if you’re into the genre, but don’t expect another Lord of the Rings.

Stardust, a Star film

I went to the new film Stardust this evening, and wow what a great movie is that.

The story is about a man called Tristan, who lives in the village of Wall in England. This village is situated next to a wall, which seperates the realms of England and Stormhold. Tristan travels to Stormhold to retrieve a fallen star for his crush Victoria. It turns out the star is a woman, and she is in danger. After that many things happen, which you’ll have to see for yourself.

Stardust has everything: action, adventure, comedy and romance, and that all in a fantasy setting, the ultimate mix. The acting is great, the music is great, the setting is great, the story is original. If you think this is a children’s movie, think again. In fact many of the jokes and other things wouldn’t be understood by children at all.

The only thing not so great is the marketing, because this is one of those movies that actually deserve to be hyped.

More info on IMDB