Yeah no art for today, sorry. I'll try to make something doubly cool for next week to make up for it. You can always check out my etsy shop for fun stuff.
Seen: In 2-D at Loews Boston Common.
Aw jeez. What can I even say? As one of the many people who pretty much grew up as the Harry Potter kids grew up, the final film is a big deal. I mean, I know the story already ended with the last book, but this is really the END ending, which means the weight of the books' importance to me piled down on me and I found myself loving this film on nostalgia and emotional impact alone.
If you don't know the story already, I assume you don't really care so I'm not going to recap it here. As the second part of the book adaptation, this film is the most action-packed, and ends up being the most inclusive script-wise. There's a lot less "Oh but they cut out THIS part that was in the book!" and "Wah wah I didn't get to see my favorite character do his/her THING!" So that's nice. The performances are the best they've been, with Daniel Radcliffe getting into his role a lot more (I've always found him a bit flat as Harry) and everyone else amping up their badassery in turn. We all remembered how great Neville is and how good of an actor Alan Rickman is, plus Hermione and Ron FINALLY make out. We are all pleased.
The effects look great, with a lot of exciting action scenes and thrilling magical mischief, though Yates does overly-favor his "start with a wide shot and then zoooooooooooom in!" approach to setting up scenes. The script is solid, but there are few comedic moments that feel out of place in such a serious film. It's nice to have some sort of relief from all the heavy stuff though so it's not a huge deal. I took the ridiculous epilogue (JUST GET GROWN-UP ACTORS YOU DINGUS) as comic relief after the bleakness of everything else. I am disappointed they left out the Grindlewald stuff, though, primarily because it gave insight into Dumbledore's character plus they totally showed him twice in Part 1 and it seems confusing for anyone who hasn't read the books. Oh well. I guess my dream of seeing those two wizards going at it is crushed. Leave me to my fantasies...
Anyway, this isn't really much of a review is it? Um. I really liked this movie. I only cried once. I'm glad I didn't re-read the book beforehand because it made more things a surprise- I couldn't remember all of the deaths so I spent most of the big battle convinced McGonagall would die which would have made me SUPER DEPRESSED.
I'll probably find more problems with this movie after a few re-watches, but honestly I have little issue with it, just a few small things (like where was Ginny? Did she speak more than once?). The films have always been uneven, but this is an exciting and heartfelt ending to a collectively wonderful series. And best of all it makes me want to read all the books for the twelfth time.
4.5/5
Pair This Movie With: Well Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is the only one that really makes sense, and hopefully you don't need me to tell you that.
My original art for Harry Potter is for sale.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
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I enjoyed it too Alex. I'm still not sure whether it would have worked better as a single movie. Some parts of both Deathly Hallows 1 and 2 seemed to drag a little with some clunky dialogue and indifferent acting. But both films are definitely worthy additions even though I think the series peaked with films 3, 4 and 5.
ReplyDeleteDan: I'm glad they split it into two films just because it allows the filmmakers to tell more of the story, but yeah both films have their odd moments pacing-wise. I think 3 is still my favorite but this one just affected me more than I expected it to which made me love it instantly!
ReplyDeleteThe epilogue was hysterical simply because every actor had aged makeup on except Hermione. It must be nice not to age after 20+ years. Like you said, they should have just replaced them with adult actors.
ReplyDeleteThough the films have been uneven there was one particular part that annoyed me. In Pt. 1, Lupin and his wife try to break the news they are going to have a baby but never do - nor is it ever established. So when Harry see's all his loved one's that have passed, he asks Lupin who will care for his child? It completely confused me and it wasn't till later that I remembered he had a child. They should have just left that out. It was totally unnecessary.
As for that whole scene with the unveiling of Snape, it was beautifully done. Snape was my favorite character and that whole segment was exactly they way I imagined it should be. I cried.