Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part One (2010)

Warner Brothers makes a smart decision to divide the last book into two movies.  Some might see this is as simply a way to make more money (which it will) but actually it is the only way to adapt the conclusion to Harry Potter's saga.   Too much of the book is important and any drastic cuts would lessen the impact of the climax.  It also helps fix one of the book's major flaws and that is a long drawn out middle where Harry and friends go on an endless camping trip.   As stated in previous blogs, David Yate returns as the director and with more time to play with he pumps up the action and delivers a thrilling setup to what I hope is one of the best fantasy film conclusions of all time.   Grade: A-.

Spoilers:  There are a lot of exciting moments in this movie, from Harry, Ron and Hermione's invasion of the Ministry of Magic (established in the fifth film), Nagini's ambush, and their escape from Bellatrix Lestrange's house.  Finally we get to see our heroes use magic instead of learn it and it's real fun, especially when Hermione swells Harry's face as a disguise.   I thought Yates handles their camping trip just right with majestic scenery and tense mystery.  No film is perfect though.  I wish the scene where Hermione and Harry dance wasn't so forced and stiff, I hated the rushed explanation from Ron where he tells us how he found them after being separated for so long (why not show us in a flash back?) and how the Durley's are forever tossed away as insignificant even though I feel they deserve some kind of redemption at the beginning.  Dobby's death is expertly handled even though the impact isn't as powerful because of how his character is handled in past films. Since Dobby's only featured in a film three films back, being denied much screen time since then, we're expected to remember how much Harry loved him (of course, all I remember is how annoyed Harry was whenever Dobby was around).   I also have a love/hate reaction to the animation sequence where the audience hears the story of the Deathly Hallows.  It's nice animation but it feels out of place being the only animation sequence in all the films.   I'd rather have the animation be some kind of magical spell Harry and friends could experience in much the same way Harry views memories in the Pensieve.  Still the film accomplishes getting one excited for the next film, which I'm seeing in a few days.  The last scene where Voldermort grabs the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's corpse is the powerful scene to end with without stating the obvious, to be continued. 

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) Revisited

David Yates improves as the director to this the sixth film in the Harry Potter Franchise, and makes a visually stunning film that sadly misses the mark a lot of the time.  Not to say this is a bad film, it's not; it thrills and continues the story very well.  The problem is that they really did cut out way too much from the book.  So much is missing its amazing J.K. Rowling didn't insist they read the book again.   Harry's investigation about Voldermort is cut up so they could spend more time on the comedic elements of Ron's exploits with girls.  Still there is a lot to love and if the climax could have matched the previous film it would have been great.  Grade: B+

Spoiler:  Much can be written about the ending when Dumbledore perishes.  It's mostly well done but lacks the tension the scene could have had.  I also hate the slow motion and feel the ending with the wizards and students raising their wands to the sky a little melodramatic.  What's really missing though is the battle with the Death eaters.  I can imagine they wished to save the Hogwart's battle for the last film but come on, we deserved more.   And again they rushed through Harry and Snapes last scene where Snape reveals who the Half-Blood Prince.   The scene that I must applaud Yates and company on though is the Cave Lake scene which was as good as anything done in these films.  It's a moment of perfection and I can't write enough about how brilliant it turned out.  

Cars 2 (2011)

It's really unfair to be the best sometimes.  Here Pixar crafts a truly inventive follow-up to one of the more clever animated films made in animation history and it gets bad reviews.  But that's because reviewers have set the bar so high for Pixar.  Compared to most animated films made by other animation houses and this sequel is quite good.  It's funny.  It has a exciting storyline and expands the "everyone is a car" universe.  The opening sequence alone is better than 90% of what's out there.  It does have flaws, which is rare in a Pixar film, but it's not a failure at all.  I left the theater thoroughly entertained.   What we have is a James Bond movie mixed in with a mistaken identity storyline aimed at a younger audience.  I admit Mater isn't necessarily the best character to carry a movie but I love the film's message.  A fun family film and proof that Pixar is willing to take a chance even if that means going against the grain.  Grade: B+.

There's a lot of chatter on this film being a sell out, that Pixar just made this movie to cash in on merchandise.  Honestly this is probably true.  Of course this "Cars" world is John Lasseter's baby and if he wanted to do it I say let him.  True, I'd have loved to have seen an Incredibles sequel more but this is what it is.  I'm going to let Pixar slide on this one.

The Family Game (1983)

This film is kind of a surreal exploration of a Japanese family, focusing on the pressure put on a child to do well in school and a mother's duty to feed her family.  It's hard to really know what to make of this film.  I think if I was Japanese I'd understand the social norms and get a clear sense of its satirical edge.  It's entertaining and funny at times, in a dark way but feels just out of reach.  The central story line is that the father of the family hires a tutor for his failing son.  The tutor in a blunt way motivates the kid to do better.  Then there's a dinner scene that is most memorable and worth watching.  Grade: B

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2005) Revisited

It's with this film that the producers found their guy, director David Yates, who will go from here to direct the rest of the Harry Potter films.  Obviously this has turned out to be a good choice, the cast and crew must have enjoyed working with him and he knows what he's doing with these challenging adaptations.  At the time I was disappointed the producers didn't rehire Alfonso Cuarón but he was either busy or they didn't think he was the right guy for the project.  I still think he would have been the perfect visionary for the fifth book or even the sixth book, but Mr. Yates does a fine job.   I do think this film feels rushed, which is strange considering I usually support cutting tidbits from the book, but with this film I think screenwriters should have concentrated on developing Dumbledore's Army more and given us at least one more if not a couple scenes between Snape and Harry during their Occlumency sessions.  Snape and Harry's relationship is too important to brush over, but alas they constantly do this with these films.   Uneven at times the film could have failed (it doesn't help that the mystery for this story is pretty weak, sorry, J.K. Rowling but it is) but it doesn't because it builds to a wonderful climax.   Not the best Harry Potter film but at least it's entertaining and continues to build the saga's overall momentum.  Grade: B+. 

Spoiler:  The climax between Dumbledore and Voldermort is fantastic and lifts what is an average film into a better grade.   But I do want to comment on the death of Sirius Black, which in the book is shocking and well executed.  Here it just happens and I think it's ineffective.   What happens to Sirius is horrible and terrifying but the audience isn't given the time to process this, instead we're rushed into the next scene.  The slow motion doesn't help either because it cheapens the moment.  For one of the best scenes in all the Harry Potter books, it's too bad the moment isn't given the kind of cinematic treatment it deserves.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) Revisited

After finally succeeding at making a Harry Potter film actually good, the producers took what they learned and applied it here with the fourth film in the Harry Potter series.  In the hands of director Mike Newell, again we have a cinematic event with well-developed scenes and some great action sequences.  I enjoyed this movie immensely and thought it was a fine adaptation of the fourth book, which happens to be my favorite.  Some have complained that a lot was cut out, but I feel it's a good screenplay that tells the story just fine.  What really makes this film standout and sizzle is the ending, where we finally met He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named.   That's sort of a spoiler but not really since he is the main villain throughout the books.  But the casting of Ralph Fiennes is brilliant, the kind of actor that can turn on the evil creepiness that demands authority.   What a frightening moment!  I could complain about little things like how Harry's hair is really beastly and big and how Hermione's crying moment with Ron at the dance is way overacted and distracting, but the truth is those flaws are so slight in an otherwise entertaining fantasy flick.  It was with this film that I realized that from now on the films should stay good and never fall to Chris-Columbus levels.  Thank God.  Grade: A-.

What Would Jesus Buy? (2007)

I was completely surprised by this film.   Follow Reverend Billy as he marches into malls across America preaching to people not to buy anything for Christmas.  A documentary that condemns, in a satirical way, the over commercialization of Christmas and inspires the "crazy" notion that too many gifts aren't healthy for kids.  As I watched this I thought to myself, why do we do this to ourselves?  Guilt is partly to blame and so is laziness.  Instead of buying our kids whatever they want why not invest in their creativity and produce memories that they'll cherish besides toys they'll stop playing with by the end of day.   Sure the movie mocks our obsessiveness but it doesn't really say we should stop buying presents it just is a loud reminder that too much isn't a good thing.   My favorite scene is when Billy goes into a small town and buys a sweater in a small clothes shop.  This scene re- enforces the truth, in my eyes, that Walmart-ization of our country is killing it bit by bit.  I didn't know what I expected when I decided to give this movie a whirl, but it's not overly religious or anti-religious.   It's just anti-greed, anti-consumerism and pro-family.  It's also a lot of fun.  I love Christmas, and while I still plan to buy gifts for my loved ones, I'm going to consider other ways to give too.  Grade: A-.