Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

The latest Harry Potter film is, if I may be so bold, probably the most well structured and paced movie of the six so far. How they pace the next two will be interesting, considering the massive amount of information that is revealed in those chapters. And they will be thrilling films, I do expect. But for now, we have this one.

David Yates, who directed the previous pic (one I consider the worst of the bunch), has finally found his footing and is much more assured in the director's chair. This film also benefits from being the first movie to be made since the final book was released, so the filmmakers now know what elements are the most important and can create the final three pictures as complimentary pieces.

Really, this film represents to me what the first five could have been, had the studios waited until all seven books were released before chopping them into films. When Peter Jackson made the Lord of the Rings, he had all three books at his disposal, and was even able to shift part of the Two Towers storyline into the Return of the King. But alas, we are already past the sixth movie, and are almost at the finish line for Harry Potter (for when the final films are released, Pottermania will finally cease).

Yates does something bold here: he invents new scenes to help enhance the story, and sets up the climax of the film much better then the book did (with the vanishing cabinet). Yates knows we know what will happen, so why bother keeping it a mystery? Establish it! And this is what he does.

The sixth film is increasingly darker, even though it is laced with the various love stories that permeate the film. Harry and Ginny finally hook up, Ron and Hermione are well on their way to being together, and this all of course builds up love, the key ingredient to Voldemort's defeat. People may complain about the many awkward moments sprinkled throughout the film, but I felt they worked beautifully, and you need them to drive the idea home.

Added scenes include Harry flirting with a café worker at the beginning, which was a nice touch, and various scenes of Malfoy attempting to fix the vanishing cabinet. One addition that I did not care for was a scene at the Burrow where the inhabitants are lured away and then watch as their home is burned. Of course, this is being done deliberately to shave off events in the next book, but it was odd and pulled me out of the moment because I was watching a moment that was significant and not a part of the books.

I have never really liked Michael Gambon's Dumbledore; he has been a harsher, meaner Dumbledore then what Richard Harris created. But in this film he finally embodies Dumbledore as a mortal man, which he does best, and really helps break down a character that you realize really isn't invincible.

Jim Broadbent as Horace Slughorn, the new Potions teacher, is another bit of dynamite casting, and really helps to buoyant the film in some of its darker moments. He is the key to finding out crucial information on destroying Voldemort, but he also really shines in his scenes, and will be missed since he appears very little in the next two movies.

My biggest problem with all the editing, however, was the flashbacks. This book is supposed to focus on studying Voldemort, what made him evil, what lead him down the path he took. Sadly, the movie decides that the only flashbacks worth showing are when Dumbledore first meets Riddle as a young boy, and the Slughorn memory that is the key to the next book's adventures. There are a lot more flashbacks that provide richer detail to who Dumbledore is, and I'm sad the filmmakers just didn't add another ten minutes to the film. This is honestly the first of the Potters that didn't feel it's length, mainly because it was well paced.

The biggest problem with this book and movie, however, is its anticlimactic ending. Dumbledore is killed by Snape, and the locket that Harry and Dumbledore retrieve is actually a fake one. And now Harry has to go and destroy Horcruxes. It reminds me of how I felt after finishing the sixth book, with a "wtf" feeling and wanting the next book in my hand immediately. Of course that is the nature of sagas, to leave you wanting more the next time around.

One change that I didn't expect and still haven't decided how I felt about it were the moments immediately following Dumbledore's death. The posse that Malfoy brings through the Vanishing Cabinet do no more then witness the event, and leave after trashing the Great Hall. Malfoy's original intention in bringing them was as defense as he went after Dumbledore, but since their presence is completely unnoticed by the "patrols" the fight that follows is gone. I understand they cut the fight for time, but really it made no sense because the castle was supposed to be "well guarded", so any breaches of security should have been noticed (they weren't even noticed upon departure).

Is this the best Harry Potter movie? No, I'd say not, but it's a definite step in the right direction to making the final two movies the best goddamn movies in the entire series. The film is the first Potter flick to feel like a real movie, and not a never-ending book adaptation. There is a dramatic structure and character arcs not always present the first two five times. David Yates has proved his sure hand, though, and needs to prove himself, in part II of the Deathly Hallows anyway, as a great action director.

Rating: 8/10

Harry Potter Re-cap: Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets

This Wednesday sees the release date of the 6th Harry Potter film, the Half-Blood Prince, and I thought it appropriate to dust off the DVDs and re-watch the previous five Harry Potter films in preparation for this sixth installment.

First up, the Chris Columbus pictures, Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets. Of the four directors that helmed the Potter films (assuming nothing happens to David Yates on the next two), Columbus is the only one to capture Potter in an innocent, wondrous world where danger lurks around every bend, yet everything still seems exciting. Columbus' films are the only ones to see Hogwarts as a place of magical discovery, and regards everything with a childlike view (appropriate, considering the protagonist's age).

Both films clock in well over 150 minutes and are still the longest in the series. They try and pack as much content from the book as possible while shaving off as much material as necessary and in reviewing what I remember from the books, I think they did a pretty good job. Yes certain elements have completely done away with (Peeves the Poltergeist), but at least Columbus explains everything and makes sure there are no loose ends (except for the ones that will be answered at the end). I'll discuss more in my reviews of the later films how the directors and screenwriters overlooked some elements of the plot, major or minor.

Maybe the biggest complaint I have with Columbus' films is also one that can be easily dismissed: his films move at a breakneck pace, mainly in the beginning. Either you get used to the pace or it slows down by the middle, because the rest of the film feels right, but the first 30 minutes or so leading up to Hogwarts in both films feel rushed in every aspect. Characters come on, say lines, move on. Take the first film: Harry receives his dozen of letters from Hogwarts, and Uncle Vernon is finally so fed up that he exclaims they are leaving, and BAM! they end up on an island on a stormy sea. To the reader, this makes sense because we know the events that lead up to this, but to a virgin viewer, this moment probably feels random.

Of course these films have so much information to pack into their running times that you can forgive the odd pacing at the beginnings, but I wish the screenwriters had found more creative ways to restructure the happenings of the plot to fit the movie format. The script is basically the book with a lot of scenes cut out, and end up feeling more like chronicles of what Harry is up to then having a dramatic arc of film. True both end with a climax (well executed ones too), but the events leading up to it feel somewhat empty to me, plot wise. Granted I know the plots of these two very well, but it has been at least two years since I have read or watched these chapters, and I found little thrill in my revisit.

And what of the three actors, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger)? They are alright, as far as child actors go, but there have been better (the kids in Let the Right One In, or Sixth Sense). I could pick out a dozen scenes where Radcliffe and Grint sound like they are just reciting the lines without truly comprehending what they are saying, and some of Radcliffe's glares during Quidditch matches and such are laughable. Emma Watson nails Hermione's annoying manner fairly well in the first picture, but then is relegated to reciting her lines with maybe slightly more emotion then her male counterparts.

To be completely honest, though, I did like these films more now then I remember liking them. Maybe because it has been awhile since I've read the books, and I've forgotten really what they cut out: that was my big annoyance when I was younger, not appreciating what they had done but bashing it for what they had left out.

I firmly believe that you should never compare a book to a movie, until of course I am reviewing a movie based on a book I read. It is damn near impossible for me to objectively view these movies, unlike my dad who has no knowledge of the original source material. Prisoner of Azkaban, which I will review next, was the first to remain true to the source but not to a fault, unlike these two.

Huge kudos, though, to the art department for the fantastic costume and set designs in these films. Hogwarts is beautifully realized, and while some of the special effects are pretty awful (the centaur), most of it retains a spirit of awe and fascination before we plunge into the doom and gloom that fills the rest of the stories.

Of course the most interesting aspect of these films is watching the three young stars grow up. In the first film Radcliffe and Grint have young, high voices, and in the second you can hear their voices cracking. I'm sure they hate looking back on these films (I know I would), and I wouldn't be surprised if all three try to extricate themselves from the HP universe as much as possible when it is all said and done (Radcliffe is already breaking away, after starring in Equus, in which he was excellent).

As much as I nitpick at the first two films, they are what we have, and I appreciate them for getting the series off their feet. I remember in 1999 when I heard the movie was going to be made, and 2001 felt like an eternity to wait for the first movie to come out. They are magical adventures: the only two film as of current to feature full Quidditch matches (I don't count the World Cup), both brilliantly realized, and what is probably most fun is seeing everything that is happening and knowing the significance of it in the final book (for instance, Harry's invisibility cloak). They are, ultimately, good adaptations of the books that define my childhood.

The Best (So Far) of 2009

Wednesday marked the first day of July, and the midway point of the year. Typically I don't do this because I have usually seen so few movies up to this point, but this year I have seen enough in the first portion of the year that I feel confident enough make this list.

I have seen 16 movies since the beginning of the year, and I can say that either I'm seeing more bad movies deliberately, or 2009 is not measuring to even the lower standards of 2008. Still, there are 5 movies here I've selected that I feel were near excellent, and if you have not seen them yet, then they would be a great place to start catching up for this year. I trust there will, as always is the case, be plenty of excellent movies to come our way in the next 6 months, but for the time being, these are the 5 best films I have seen so far this year:

Food, Inc.
Dir. Robert Kenner

To call this the Super Size Me if 2009 is a bit of an unfair comparison; Morgan Spurlock's immensely entertaining foray into a McDiet was completely entertaining and also kind of scary, the first time we really realized fast food was more dangerous for us then we thought (shouldn't have taken that film, but it did). This focuses on the food industry in general, for the horrible treatment of livestock (cows are fed corn, chickens never see the light of day in their short 50 day life spans), farmers (they make less then $20,000 a year or something) and stuff that's put in our grocery stores. The film has an empowering message that we can change this if we just start buying local food. This movie won't be seen by the people that need to see it, though, which is the real crime: it should be getting a wider release.

The Girlfriend Experience
Dir. Steven Soderbergh

Who would've thought that a movie starring a porn star that was completely improvised could be such a compelling take on the current state of our economy? Soderbergh churns out more movies in a decade then any director in the 40s, be it an Oceans movie or a quiet experimental film. You gotta admire the guy (despite how much those last two Ocean movie's sucked). Sasha Grey isn't a wonder, but being a porn star definitely helps her bring an edge to her performance as a high class New York call girl. The movie is chopped up out of order, which can be difficult at times to keep track of, but it is an overall really engaging experience. You might not want to go, of course, if you do not want a constant reminder of the dire straits of our economy.

Goodbye Solo
Dir. Ramin Bahrani

This is a fantastic little film, a gem of a picture that really grows on you as time passes by. The simple story a taxi driver, Solo, who gives a ride to an old dude, William, who will pay him a handsome sum to take him to a peak on a certain day. Solo doesn't understand the particular straits the man is in, and the movie is a touching portrait of one man's complete optimism faced with one man's desire for death. Bahrani also directed Chop Shop and Man Push Cart, both unseen by me though they are supposed to be fantastic as well. Bahrani is a director to keep your eye on as he continues to produce spectacular films that tell the simple, yet big, stories.

Tokyo Sonata
Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa

This is a simple film, elegant, beautiful, and one of the rare surprises I stumbled across this year. It tells the story of a family, the father who gets laid off, the stay at home mom, the older son who wants to go fight in Iraq (yes, you read that right), and the younger son who is a musical genius. The way the different stories play out is a fantastic look at family life, in Japan or not. The father carries the best story, hiding his lay-off from his family, and he meets a fellow unemployee who teaches him he various ways he deals with being laid-off. The movie's climax is a bit odd, as all the character go through some difficult events, but the final scene is breathtaking and will leave you in amazement through the entire credits.

Up
Dir. Pete Docter

Well, of course Pixar is on this list: they never go wrong! But Up truly is a fantastic little film, albeit imperfect, about an old geezer who ties 200,000 balloons to his house and sets off for South America with a 9-year-old Wilderness Explorer in tow. The movie features a fantastic five-minute sequence in which Carl Fredricksen's life is seen in mere snippets, and miscarriage, love, and death are all dealt with. Dug (voice of Bob Peterson), the talking dog, is one of the classic animated characters that will live on for generations to come, as is Kevin, the brightly colored bird. The movie's villain, however, is underdeveloped, but that's a minor complaint in an otherwise fantastic film that, after two viewings, was just as exhilarating, touching, and hilarious as it was the first time around.


The Other Ten (Movies I've Seen This Year):
Adventureland
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Coraline
The Hangover
Monsters vs. Aliens
Star Trek
State of Play
Terminator Salvation
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Watchmen