Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2(2011)At long last it has arrived. After a decade of filmmaking and an aging cast we get the last installment to the Harry Potter series. We’ve seen the cast grow and mature much the same as the characters they play. So after ten years of waiting for an ending does it live up to our expectations? This is a mixed bag, but mostly positive.
Harry Potter and his friends reach the conclusion of their wizardly adventure, at least that we’ll see, and Potter himself must face his final challenge. A simply illustrated description of what is essentially just before and following through the ending of the final book in the series.
Direction of the film by David Yates is good enough, but we still wish someone with more of a grander vision would’ve closed out the series. It’s not that the work is bad, but more that there is such a rich world created by Rowlings that we can imagine how it could be a more creative/intriguing movie. Yates manages to do what has to be done and for the most part delivers what we were hoping for.
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1(2010)Our little wizards are all grownzed up and they’re all grownzed up. In the first half of the final two films we get the “we’re working towards it” part of the film. Much like Kevin Smith’s “Clerks 2” retelling of what “Lord of the Rings” was like. We get a lot of walking and a lot of talking. Blah, blah, blah. Walk, walk, walk. The movie bored this reviewer to some extent. It wasn’t total “shoot me in the face” boredom, but there was a effort in resisting to check the time at least twice and the seat was leapt from to get out of dodge when the movie was over.
The biggest issue this movie has is the same issue that “Half-blood Prince” had. David Yates. The series could have used a director with some vision and a lot more talent. Yates can manage to get the movie from point A to snooze, but in the end it feels flat and lackluster. We’re sure the next film will be more exciting, but when you are knocking off a bunch of characters and no one cares there’s an issue. Let’s not forget that his way of shooting action is waiting until someone has an epileptic attack on-set and hand him or her the camera.
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Sweeney Todd (2006)
“Sweeney Todd” gives us yet another opportunity to experience Tim Burton remaking someone else’s crap. This time out, it's a musical. As we said when “Alice in Wonderland” came out: Burton, please stop with the freaking remakes. Your original stuff rocks, but your remakes blow harder than Mt. Saint Helen on a bad day. Sweeney Todd is the alter ego of a man who was shafted by a prominent figure in order to have his wife snatched out from under him. Todd was originally Benjamin Barker, a barber. He is set up, spend time in jail, and returns for his sweet, sweet revenge. Of course, like any vengeance-obsessed man, he does it with music and a lot of blood. Teaming with Mrs. Lovett he slowly works his way through those whom did him wrong. |
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Alice in Wonderland
It's likely you've already heard other reviewers bashing "Alice in Wonderland" for a number of reasons. For Bitter Balcony, the film was an absolute snore – yet that's something we haven't seen mentioned in reviews often enough. "Alice" begins in our heroine's childhood nightmares about falling down a rabbit hole. Flash forward and now she's a rebel going against the in status quo. No corset? The nerve. Alice spends the entire movie arguing against her battle against the Jabberwocky, only to ultimately fulfill it. Did we just spoil it? No. As with any Disney film, good always triumphs. |
