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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part Deux! The end at last!

Bitter, Bitter Balcony, Movie Review, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 2011David YatesDaniel Radcliffe,Rupert Grint,Emma Watson,Alan Rickman,John Hurts,Ralph Fiennes Bitter,Bitterometer,meter 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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Hot Tub TIme Machine takes us back to the '80s and we realize we need a hot tub

Bitter, Bitter Balcony, Movie Review, Hot Tub Time Machine 2010 Bitter,Bitterometer,meter Hot Tub Time Machine(2010)
 

Much like sometimes good, sometimes bad, legendary ‘80s band reunions John Cusack’s return the famously cheesy time period could just have been cashing in. Thankfully, “Hot Tub Time Machine” entertains us and proves that Cusack’s return is a no brainer winning formula.

Fellow homies who find themselves in varying degrees of failure in life decide to go to a hotel that provided many stories from their youth to see if they can tap that magic fountain once more. The fountain turns out to be a hot tub that throws them back into their bodies in the ‘80s (but we see their older versions in the film) where they could possibly change the course of their failed lives.

The writing is funny and good enough to poke fun of all the things we love and hate from the ‘80s like the music, clothes and cassette players. They briefly touch on the funnier things like when the youngest of the characters is talking to a girl and trying to get her email or cel phone number. He asks, “How am I supposed to get in touch with you?” She turns to him and says, “You have to find me.” After she walks away the character says, “That sounds exhausting.”

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"Hanna" kicks our ass and we like it!

Bitter, Bitter Balcony, Movie Review, Hanna 2011Seth Lochhead,David FarrJoel WrightCate Blanchett,Eric Bana,Saoirse Ronan Bitter,Bitterometer,meter Hanna(2011)
 

The trailer popped out of nowhere. I hadn't heard of this film until days before its release, but once I saw it I was intrigued.

"Hanna" is a film about a young girl who is trained by her father to be an adept killer. They live in the forest alone. He fights with her with no signs of holding back and the girl kicks ass. Eventually, after several attempts at telling her father that she is ready, he offers her a beacon. Once she flips the switch the American government picks it up and and comes to take them back to civilizatiothey unfortunately, they want Hanna's father bad. Hanna's mission is to kill Marissa, a CIA agent, coincidentally in charge of requiring Hanna's father.

Saoirse Ronan is charismatic and plays the character of Hanna exceedingly well. She shows the wonder of a girl who has never been a part of civilization without sacrificing the threat of the killer that she is. When she needs to kick ass it happens quickly and fiercely. Eric Bana plays the father and his action scenes show where Hanna learned her skills. Cate Blanchett plays a CIA agent going rogue well, but her character is barely developed.

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"Hot Shots!" Retro-Sheen review

Bitter, Bitter Balcony, Movie Review, Hot Shots! 1991Jim AbrahamsJim AbrahamsCharlie Sheen,Cary Elwes,Valeria Golino,Lloyd Bridges,Jon Cryer,Kristy Swanson Bitter,Bitterometer,meter Hot Shots!(1991)
 

There was a time when the warlock himself, Charlie Sheen wasn’t so full of himself and tiger’s blood. During this time he made some good movies and he made some cheesy shit. This one qualifies as the latter and he hasn’t aimed higher ever since. He may brag about how great he is, but he hasn’t really tried to do anything “great” since 1990 or perhaps a smidge earlier.

“Hot Shots!” is a film that mocks other movies of the time like “Top Gun” and other military films of the ‘80s. Charlie Sheen plays Lt. Topper Harley a character as two dimensional as he sounds. He’s there only to ham up the pun after pun after pun. While the puns aren’t that bad and the movie entertain it is cheesy shit.

The performances are good enough in the ridiculously over-hammed-up way that you’d expect it to be. It feels a lot like “Airplane” while watching it and even shares a Lloyd Bridges from the series. Valeria Golino stands out in the crowd as she amps up the sexy to some ridiculous lines and situations. Her performance is probably the best in the film. Kristy Swanson who co-stars in “The Chase” has a cameo, as does Jon Cryer from “Two and a Half Men.”

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 review - As boring as that title is long...

Bitter, Bitter Balcony, Movie Review, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 2010Steve KlovesDavid YatesAlan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes, Bill Nighy, Emma Watson, Richard Griffiths, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Helena Bohnam Carter,Simon McBurneyJ.K. Rowling Bitter,Bitterometer,meter 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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