Friday, July 15, 2011

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II

Movie:  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
Like/Don't Like:  Profoundly Loved

So here's my conundrum:  how do I express how much I loved this movie without sounding like a total lunatic?  Because it is well documented what an enormous fan I am of the whole franchise.  Love the books, love the movies, feel like I could be the first true muggle ever allowed into Hogwarts.  So you see the problem.  You all know that I'm a Super Fan and if you're not I don't want you to think, "Well, of course she loves this movie."  So, setting my fandom aside, I will say that this movie is thrilling.  There is loads of action, some pretty good laughs, some very sweet moments, great acting, great special effects and quite possibly the best movie villain you will ever lay eyes on.  I actually believe that anyone could walk into this movie, not knowing the difference between a horcrux and a blast-ended skrewt, and still really, really enjoy it.

But I didn't actually go into this movie looking for any kind of cinematic credibility.  I went in as a Super Fan.  We (me, Katie & Lindsay - who hasn't read the books but has seen all the movies so didn't know what was going to happen.  Can you imagine?!) got there 2 hours ahead of time, just to make sure we got good seats.  We were bouncy and giddy with excitement through the entire wait.  When the movie started we cheered.  When it ended we cheered and wiped the tears and snot off our faces.  As a fan it was one of the best movie experiences I've ever had.  They got everything right.  I didn't feel like anything was short-changed.  In fact, the big battle at the end seemed even more real and devastating than in the book because you're witnessing these characters that you love struggle and fight and die.  It was not easy.  I'm still not at the point yet where I can delve too deeply into it.  (Someone today described it as a mind explosion.  Agreed.) but I will just say this:  it was magical.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Larry Crowne

Movie:  Larry Crown
Like/Don't Like:  Pass

Due to some miscommunication we were under the impression that this movie was 2 hours and 45 minutes.  Which, in my book, is 45 minutes too long for any movie, an hour too long for a a romantic comedy, and an hour and a half too long for a romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts.  There is only so much I can handle of her toothy grin.  (Does anyone else get the feeling she hates you?)  So around 1:30 I was feeling like it should be ending and was practically in the depths of despair when I realized we were only halfway through.  You can imagine my elation when it actually came in at under two hours.  We weren't clapping because it was any good.  We were clapping because it was over. 

It's not really bad, there just isn't anything there.  It's basically a pretty long set up about this guy Larry Crown losing his job and going back to school and...that's it.  He takes a public speaking class and an economics class (with George Takei as his teacher, hereafter known as The Guy Who Saved the Movie.) and falls in with a scooter gang (?) made up of young college kids who hang out at yard sales (Double ?).  There is no real conflict, no real plot, and nothing really to keep your interested.  There were, however, several instances of Tom Hanks wearing one of those ridiculous pocket chains.  I hope the whole point of that was to feel embarrassed for the poor guy, because I did.