Wick-Quoting #48: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part II

“Harry Potter, the boy who lived… come to die.”

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I was pretty excited to see  the last Harry Potter movie on opening day (who wasn’t?).  But my excitement, like hunger, steadily dissipated as the movie progressed.  It was, in the nicest terms, just like the previous Harry Potter movies – the movie stayed true to the book for the most part, skipped over a couple of important scenes that audiences would have loved to see, and included a couple of scenes that it could have done without.  Like the other movies, it doesn’t drive home and completely satisfy like how reading the books do.  In a way, the wait to actually see the movie was a bit more exciting than watching the movie itself.

The last time you'll see these three in a movie together

Now, I saw the movie at a not so popular theater; yet it was still pretty full, which says a lot about the Harry Potter franchise.  The film made $168 million opening weekend in the United States alone, beating the previous record held by The Dark Knight.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II is more entertaining than Part I; however, it is just an alright movie.  I feel the movie is getting high ratings from other sites purely just from hype alone.  The graphics are stunning, like every other movie with high budget CGI and the returning actors and actresses are a pleasure to watch.  Still, the movie doesn’t quite earn the phrase of being “EPIC.”

The boy who lived

Notable scenes include Fred’s death, Snape’s revelation, and the final battle between Harry and Voldemort.  While all three of these scenes should be filled with emotion, none of them get the proper attention.  Fred’s death is merely glanced over with barely any conversation about it.  While Snape’s memories do have a bit of screening time, you don’t really feel the shock and regret on Daniel Radcliffe’s face.  The impact of the fact that Snape was actually a good guy all along isn’t really there.  M. Night Shyamalan could have done a better job in giving that scene justice.

He doesn't appear that much in the movie

The movie has some scenes that could have done better without, such as Mrs. Weasley’s (Julie Walters) fight against Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter).  It’s one of those awkward scenes that make you feel embarrassed to watch.  Another awkward scene is the epilogue, where Harry, Ron, and Hermione are shown as grownups with kids of their own.  It is actually quite silly and something you have to see for yourself.

Overall, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II is pretty good as a movie, but not good enough for a finale.  The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is an example of a good ending to a popular series.  Even so, the last installment of Harry Potter is still entertaining and a must see if you are alive in this generation; just don’t expect to be blown out of your seats.

8.2

Quoted by MWP

New Site: http://www.mrwickedproductions.com/wickquoting/?p=219

Wick-Quoting #25: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1

Let’s face it, the Harry Potter movies cannot compare with the books (especially if you’ve got a really good imagination).  The movies have many faults, including a few bad actors, awkward scenes, and disappointing action.  Also, who the hell decided for Voldemort to look like an idiot?  When I was a kid reading the books, I imaged him to look so much cooler.

One of the biggest problems for me is Daniel Radcliffe.  He looks like Harry Potter, but he’s not that good at expressing it.  Even so, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is a must see movie.  You have to be one sad person to not have watched any of the movies so far.  While the movie is awkward in a LOT of areas, it still delivers the expected quality which fans desire.  Harry Potter has it all – romance, action, adventure, serious plot twists, likable characters, & a huge, well-known cast.

Hands off my egos

The movie starts off well with a griping chase scene that starts off humorous, plays out serious, and ends bittersweet.  While the film does change some facts from the book, they are not huge.  For example, the Death Eaters find out who the real Harry is by Hedwig attacking.  In the book, the real Harry is revealed by Harry using his signature spell.  While these changes may ruin the “magical” feeling of the movie, they are necessary to appeal to the broader audience.  It is impossible for the movie to build upon and follow every single detail from the book.

Snape is possibly the coolest character in Harry Potter

Movies that are based on books suffer from what I call, the Harry Potter Syndrome.  This is when the movies are unable to deliver the story correctly because of the limitation due to time.  The past Harry Potter films definitely had the Harry Potter Syndrome; however, this movie does not.  There are two main reasons for this: 1) the main characters are not going to Hogwarts, meaning no short clips of them in their classes.  The movie only has to follow them on their journey to destroy the Horcruxes.  2) The last book is, as you all know, being shown in two parts.  This was a very wise decision, because it allows for better quality movies that don’t seem rushed, and it will also make so much more money.

The worst scene ever

Although the movie has more time to deliver a satisfying story, I feel as though the movie makers wasted a lot of screen time on unnecessary scenes that work against the series as a whole.  One of these scenes is when Harry gets Hermione to dance with him for like 5 whole freaking minutes.  Not only is the scene super duper awkward (like this sentence), there is really no point to it.  It almost seems like Harry wants to get some afterward.  I did learn, however, in addition to his poor acting skills that Daniel Radcliffe also cannot dance.

Their romance is a bit too sudden

Thankfully, there are many other actors in the movie that are pretty awesome  such as Emma Watson and Rupert Grint who fit their characters perfectly.  But no one fits their character better than Helena Bonham Carter does.  She makes Bellatrix a much cooler Death Eater than she is in the books.  Her throwing the knife is bad ass.  Speaking of that scene, I find it hilarious how Harry is the only one near Dobby when he’s about to die.  Ron and Hermione just watches them from a distance, not even trying to save Dobby.  Earlier in movie, Hermione is all over it when Ron gets injured.  It’s no wonder Dobby’s line is, “Dobby is happy that he is with his friends, Harry Potter.”

Despite the awkward scenes (they should just be expected being a Harry Potter movie) the film made over 600 million dollars already and had a much bigger opening compared to the previous film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price.  The film has nice landscape shots (trying to jack LOTR’s style) and nice CGI.  Do I think you should watch it?  Let this number be the judge of that.

7.9 (<–Doesn’t tell you much, huh?  Just so you know, a 6 is about average, and anything above a rating of 7 is worth watching.  You’ll rarely see me give out anything below 5, because I don’t want to waste my time watching shit movies in the first place.)

Wick-Quoting #13: The Karate Kid (2010)

The Karate Kid is a pre-sold franchise.  It is already “sold” to a majority of its audience, due to the original version.  Proof of this is that the film is about kung fu, not karate.  But the film is called The Karate Kid, not The Kung Fu Kid.  That’s advertising for you.  Even so, that shouldn’t be the reason to go out and see the film.

In my opinion, if you do watch the film, you should watch the film to the point where Jackie Chan kicks ass.  That was awesome.  That’s it.  After that, the film gets a bit boring and awkward til the end.  It’s a real shame that Jackie Chan doesn’t have more action scenes and comedic lines in the film.  Those are his specialties after all.  I’m not saying that he’s a bad actor in building a serious character.  It’s just that that’s not what he’s known for.

501.. 502..

One element that the film should do without or tone down a bit is the romance.  Because the film is aimed to be a successful Hollywood film, some inclusion of romance is inevitable.  But seriously, having 12 year old kids making out is a bit too much.  And it wasn’t just a light peck.  Then later on in the film, Jaden’s character goes to the girl’s house and practically asks her father for permission for them to “go out.”  But what was confusing was that he asks her father if they can be friends.  Friends?  Then what was the kissing about earlier then?

They're not even in high school yet

So besides the terrible romance, the film has many more faults.  Jaden Smith is not that great of an actor.  But I should cut him some slack, this being his first big hit and all.  And he’s only what, 11?  He’s much better than how Daniel Radcliffe was in the first Harry Potter movie.  But that’s not really saying much.

And the second act of the film feels so long.  You know how when watching a film, you shouldn’t be paying attention to what you’re doing because you should be so immersed in what’s going on in the film?  Well, I found myself shifting around more than twice.  I just started to lose interest in the middle.

It looks good on him

The film is all over the place.  Everything is half ass.  There’s no definite romance – the protagonist doesn’t really end up with the girl.  Jackie Chan isn’t allowed to achieve his full potential, besides that 5 minute fight scene in the beginning.  And even that doesn’t compare to his previous fighting scenes in other films.  But in comparison with the other summer movies so far, The Karate Kid is entertaining enough to watch.  If only the film was a comedy, Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan would’ve made a dynamic, comedic duo.

It’s better than what I expected.  Only ever so slightly.

6.0