Harry Potter is an acquired taste and many people write it off as a franchise altogether. Those who tough it out all agree that it is a charming and wonderful series of books. Among the book’s fan base however there is a large rift of people that do and don’t like the movies. In the films’ defense there is an awful lot packed into those books and the vivid wizarding world is not one that can be summarized with ease. Many directors have tried their hand at a film (or two) and some have been hits for me…and others big misses. The hardest part is sitting through a movie you have high expectations for and a very vivid understanding of what should happen before the curtain falls. If the director puts his own spin on the film, or a particular scene is shifted, shortened or even cut, then it really rubs you the wrong way. Goblet of Fire is my favorite of the books, with the dragons, the Quiddich Cup, Mad Eye Moody, Uncle Sirius… so much great material. Unfortunately the movie fell so short of my expectations that it actually soured me to the series as a whole. Half Blood Prince is my second favorite of the Rowling’s books, and I can happily say that David Yates does not disappoint in his second Potter directorial role.
All the drama, magic and character entanglements that riddle (!) the latter chapters in the Potter saga are fully realized in ‘Prince, and nothing feels compacted like it has in the previous few entries. At close to 3 hours this movie definitely has a lot in it, but it is presented at a perfect pace and never feels rushed. I will say that while everyone else seems to be growing with their characters, Emma Watson is struggling. Her overacting is really noticeable this time around compared to her more natural classmates, which is unfortunate. That and the fact that Fenrir Greyback’s wolf-hair looks more like a full body, lunch lady hair net…are the only real complaints I have with the movie.
The effects are substantially more action-packed this time around and everything from wand-work to Quiddich matches are much more gritty and effective. There is a certain level of cheese layered on, especially towards the end with the various climaxes and love interests, but the movie keeps a hold and doesn’t let anything get too carried away. It really is a pitch-perfect port of seemingly unmanageable content. I am both impressed and enthralled by this entry to the collection. With the exception of the first movie (that will always have the upper hand with it being the initial magical introduction to Potter’s universe,) Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is the best of the Harry Potter films to date.
Vatsup!? Bruno is a hard movie to review because it breaks all the conventions of what a ‘movie’ is supposed to be. Yeah there is a plot, and a few characters, and a conflict, but that’s about it. The whole premise is pretty much to stuff an ostentatious character into awkward situations with real people, and to watch their horrified reactions or see them do (or say) some incredibly stupid things. It’s amazing to see the situations Sacha Baron Cohen is able to get himself into while keeping the guise of ‘Bruno’ up in front of the oblivious victims. And for that he should be commended. It's even more amazing some of the real reactions he is able to get out of people. It’s a bizarre world we live in, and this ‘movie’ does a great job of pointing that out to us.
Unfortunately Bruno is simply another flavor of Borat, and without its forefather setting the stage, this movie would be unable to exist on any level. Instead of pushing ethic boundaries, this Cohen effort pushes the sexual orientation issue and exploits people’s fears and ignorance much the same way its predecessor did. The boundaries get pushed further with Bruno though, for shock value if nothing else. There is far too much penis on the screen in this movie for no other reason than to gross out the audience and make everyone feel uncomfortable.
While that in itself is funny, it has pretty much alienated Bruno from being the sort of movie people would see again or want to own…or even speak favorably about. I am glad I saw Bruno, it was a roller coaster of awkward horrors that had me laughing the whole way. Will I ever see it again. Most definitely not.
Last Friday was the official launch of Co-OpComic.com! Treebeerd and I worked on 5 strips to open with, and will be supplementing the site with a new episode every Friday from here on out.
To promote the site I’ve set up a few ad banner exchanges with some friendly sister sites as well as got a FaceBook group going, to which we have quite a few members already helping to spread the word. Twitter has a new Co-Op Comic feed @coopcomic which you can follow if you want reminders and updates whenever anything new is added to the site. I just wrapped up the colors on this Friday’s episode and we’ve got the next months worth mapped out and ready to go into production. I’m really excited to have the ball rolling on this and finally getting back into regular updates. Check out the site at http://www.co-opcomic.com and tell your friends!
Year One feels like the end product of a small child making up a story as they go along. Seemingly random events occur for no other reason that it might be a little amusing and keeps the plot moving. With the Ghostbusters having a 25th anniversary revival I was looking forward to getting on the Harold Ramis bandwagon and enjoy this movie, but it seems that Egon needs to stick to PKE-Meters and leave the writing to Apatow’s other cronies. This movie rambles on and never accomplishes anything besides the simple gags that we all have seen from the trailer.
Jack Black and Michael Cera play the same roles they have for the past five years, though Black fits the bill and works with the formula. The odd-couple pairing doesn’t fair so well for Cera, who’s 100th iteration of his Arrested Development role doesn’t work with a caveman wig on. In fact this movie simply highlights how horribly typecast his career has become. With cameos by anyone who ever made you laugh before, this film has all the ingredients for a hilarious movie- but unfortunately the sum is less than the parts. It really feels more like a costume party for funny people that somehow ended up being videotaped.
Honestly you really should skip this one. I didn’t have the highest of hopes for it from the outset but after sitting through this mess I feel compelled to save anyone else the bother if I can.
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