Tonight I am going to see the new Harry Potter film and I am beyond excited. To preface my review (which should be done tonight or tomorrow) I thought I would explain my fascination Harry Potter.
*SPOILERS MAY BE PRESENT*
I started reading the Harry Potter books at the tender age of eleven, which is the age of Harry in the first book. As much as I loved the first two books, the first book I remember waiting for at midnight was the third. After the third book was released, I got every book at midnight which posed some problems. First, I was unable to discuss the endings of the books with others because they had not finished them yet. Everytime I would finish another book I would spend months speculating on the plot (I would get most of the major plot right, but I missed some key points along the way). I have read the series over 100 times, I own all of the movies, I cos-play and go to cons that are Harry Potter specific or have Harry Potter themes. I still don't know all of the secrets of Harry Potter, but I do know how these stories have impacted my life.
J.K. Rowling has led me through some of the most fascinating adventures in my life. The characters allowed me to explore my own emotions through their eyes. I got the 6th book (Half-Blood Prince) at midnight and was finished by 4AM. Laying on the couch in my parents living room, crying uncontrollably, I kept flipping through the last few pages hoping there was more; that Dumbledore had not really died.
Rowling's world became such a part of my life that when I finished the 7th book I cried again (granted I started crying during the battle at Hogwarts and didn't finish until much later) but this time it was because I felt like I was losing a very close friend. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville had all become a part of me.
When I found out about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park opening in Orlando I was thrilled and terrified. What if my imagination had been too overactive? What if the WWOHP left me feeling like something was lacking? Lance and I went to Infinitus (a Harry Potter convention) and for one night the WWOHP was opened to the con-goers. For a few short hours I felt like my dreams had come to life. Tears sprang up in my eyes as I saw my childhood fantasies right before my eyes. Everyone was dressed in wizard robes and it felt like I was really part of the magic that is Harry Potter.
So, with the beginning of the end on the horizon I, once again, feel the loss of a close one. I know that the story of Harry Potter cannot continue on paper or the silver screen, but in my heart the story will never end.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Deep Water
Release Date: 15 December 2006
My Rating: B+
Good For: Documentary lovers and adventurers
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460766/
Deep Water is a documentary based on a disastrous attempt to sail around the world by Donald Crowhurst as part of the 1969 Golden Globe Voyage competition. The main idea was two separate prizes would be awarded; one for the first to make it back and one for the fastest time. Crowhurst, who was an engineer and an amateur sailor, decided this was his adventure and joined in the race. He rushed to make the deadline (all competitors had to leave by October 31st) and, in doing such, his boat was not complete. As he began his journey, the hull began leaking. Crowhurst had a decision to make- either go to shore and forfeit or continue on. Slowly a third option became apparent; Crowhurst could deceive the public.
Deep Water chronicles the story of man who was slowly driven into madness through isolation and desperation. Crowhurst's story is a reminder to all that sometimes wild dreams should stay dreams. This documentary resounds with those who have a need for exploration, adventure, and pushing the boundaries of human existence. The interviews and clips used in the film help add to the realism of this story. Deep Water does it's best to humanize Crowhurst in order to bring the story to the masses.
My Rating: B+
Good For: Documentary lovers and adventurers
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460766/
Deep Water is a documentary based on a disastrous attempt to sail around the world by Donald Crowhurst as part of the 1969 Golden Globe Voyage competition. The main idea was two separate prizes would be awarded; one for the first to make it back and one for the fastest time. Crowhurst, who was an engineer and an amateur sailor, decided this was his adventure and joined in the race. He rushed to make the deadline (all competitors had to leave by October 31st) and, in doing such, his boat was not complete. As he began his journey, the hull began leaking. Crowhurst had a decision to make- either go to shore and forfeit or continue on. Slowly a third option became apparent; Crowhurst could deceive the public.
Deep Water chronicles the story of man who was slowly driven into madness through isolation and desperation. Crowhurst's story is a reminder to all that sometimes wild dreams should stay dreams. This documentary resounds with those who have a need for exploration, adventure, and pushing the boundaries of human existence. The interviews and clips used in the film help add to the realism of this story. Deep Water does it's best to humanize Crowhurst in order to bring the story to the masses.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Easy A
Release Date: 17 September 2010
My Rating: B-
Good For: Date Night, People who like comedy mingled with obvious plot lines and little wit, lovers of John Hughes' films from the 80's (Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club, etc.).
Let me preface this review by saying that if this were a review SOLELY based on the work of the lead actress Emma Stone this film would have received a much higher rating.
Here's the gist of the film: A girl named Olive (Stone) is a nobody in school until she feigns sexual acts with an unknown boy. This leads to a rise in her popularity as well as an interest from equally unpopular boys who wish to change there own social status. The resulting plot line is an overly-used five act structure that allows the audience to be perceptive and read into the ending well before it's time.
Although this film is far from cinematic royalty, the script allows the characters to really come to life. There is a scene with Stone dancing around her room, I've definitely done that many times before. These kinds of scenes endear the characters to us as viewers. The soundtrack/score also really emphasized the emotion in the scenes. Overall, the actors really made the script and, in turn, their characters work. While this film is slated for a genre label of comedy, the word "teen" should be placed before it. There was not enough humor in the script to warrant Easy A being called a comedy. As for the Hester Prynn references, I was expecting the script (written by Burt Royal) to have more emphasis in the story line.
If you reminisce about John Hughes films and a love you never got to experience in high school, you will probably love this film. If you are tired of cliche high school drama without any new comedic material, I would advise you to stay away from this film at all costs.
My Rating: B-
Good For: Date Night, People who like comedy mingled with obvious plot lines and little wit, lovers of John Hughes' films from the 80's (Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club, etc.).
Let me preface this review by saying that if this were a review SOLELY based on the work of the lead actress Emma Stone this film would have received a much higher rating.
Here's the gist of the film: A girl named Olive (Stone) is a nobody in school until she feigns sexual acts with an unknown boy. This leads to a rise in her popularity as well as an interest from equally unpopular boys who wish to change there own social status. The resulting plot line is an overly-used five act structure that allows the audience to be perceptive and read into the ending well before it's time.
Although this film is far from cinematic royalty, the script allows the characters to really come to life. There is a scene with Stone dancing around her room, I've definitely done that many times before. These kinds of scenes endear the characters to us as viewers. The soundtrack/score also really emphasized the emotion in the scenes. Overall, the actors really made the script and, in turn, their characters work. While this film is slated for a genre label of comedy, the word "teen" should be placed before it. There was not enough humor in the script to warrant Easy A being called a comedy. As for the Hester Prynn references, I was expecting the script (written by Burt Royal) to have more emphasis in the story line.
If you reminisce about John Hughes films and a love you never got to experience in high school, you will probably love this film. If you are tired of cliche high school drama without any new comedic material, I would advise you to stay away from this film at all costs.
Monday, August 30, 2010
The Strangers- Theatrical Version
Release Date: 30 May 2008
My Rating: A
Good for: Horror junkies, those wishing to see a horror film with fear and suspense
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482606/
When this film hit theaters I was a bit skeptical. Hollywood had taken their sweet time to come up with a true horror film. For me, a true horror film is one that makes you think twice before you turn out the lights. The bottom line is that no film had been made in the past five years (maybe longer) that scared the pants off of me. This was it. The Strangers is a good old-fashioned terrify you kind of film that still haunts me every now and then.
The plot is pretty typical- guy and girl are in a topsy-turvy relationship, they head out to his family's vacation house and are terrorized by three unidentified people in masks. This has been done before, the plot is nothing new. However, the writer and director Bryan Bertino added his own flavor in the way that our masked assailants strike fear into the lead characters James and Kristen (played by Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler respectively).
One of the first psychological conflicts for the viewer is at the beginning of the film. There is a narrated portion that claims the film is "inspired by true events" and then leads into information from the FBI about violent crimes. There were rumors that Bertino had experienced something similar to the events preceding the attack. Before the masked attackers begin their torture, one of the masked people (Dollface- Gemma Ward) knocks on the door and asks if a girl named Tamara was home. According to several different sources, Bertino was home alone one day and a couple of people came to his house asking if a specific person was home. These “real life” people were petty thieves looking to rob houses. If no one answered the door, they would break in and steal from the home. If someone did answer the door, the robbers would leave and go to the next house.
The Strangers thrives on obvious illusions. Simple cues from the score allow the viewer to take in more of the surrounding features than just the main focus on screen. For instance, the viewer would hear the cue music for something scary and would look around for whatever was supposed to be frightening. Most horror films like to have lots of terrifying events all at one time or events that pop out at the viewer. The Strangers is not like that at all. Throughout the entire film there is a constant state of suspense. Bertino plays with your mind by changing the surroundings and keeping the characters in a constant state of flux.
Another frightening factor is that we, the viewer, are never allowed to see the assailants’ faces without their masks thus keeping them unknown to us. Shaky camera work and creepy music played on an old-school record player add to the overall effect.
Overall, The Strangers kept me, and the two people I saw the film with, on the edge of our seats. This film will keep you in suspense and force you to think a little harder than some other “horror” films.
The reason I decided to review The Strangers is because The Strangers 2 is currently in production and set to be released in 2011. Interested? I am!
Happy Watching!
My Rating: A
Good for: Horror junkies, those wishing to see a horror film with fear and suspense
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482606/
When this film hit theaters I was a bit skeptical. Hollywood had taken their sweet time to come up with a true horror film. For me, a true horror film is one that makes you think twice before you turn out the lights. The bottom line is that no film had been made in the past five years (maybe longer) that scared the pants off of me. This was it. The Strangers is a good old-fashioned terrify you kind of film that still haunts me every now and then.
The plot is pretty typical- guy and girl are in a topsy-turvy relationship, they head out to his family's vacation house and are terrorized by three unidentified people in masks. This has been done before, the plot is nothing new. However, the writer and director Bryan Bertino added his own flavor in the way that our masked assailants strike fear into the lead characters James and Kristen (played by Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler respectively).
One of the first psychological conflicts for the viewer is at the beginning of the film. There is a narrated portion that claims the film is "inspired by true events" and then leads into information from the FBI about violent crimes. There were rumors that Bertino had experienced something similar to the events preceding the attack. Before the masked attackers begin their torture, one of the masked people (Dollface- Gemma Ward) knocks on the door and asks if a girl named Tamara was home. According to several different sources, Bertino was home alone one day and a couple of people came to his house asking if a specific person was home. These “real life” people were petty thieves looking to rob houses. If no one answered the door, they would break in and steal from the home. If someone did answer the door, the robbers would leave and go to the next house.
The Strangers thrives on obvious illusions. Simple cues from the score allow the viewer to take in more of the surrounding features than just the main focus on screen. For instance, the viewer would hear the cue music for something scary and would look around for whatever was supposed to be frightening. Most horror films like to have lots of terrifying events all at one time or events that pop out at the viewer. The Strangers is not like that at all. Throughout the entire film there is a constant state of suspense. Bertino plays with your mind by changing the surroundings and keeping the characters in a constant state of flux.
Another frightening factor is that we, the viewer, are never allowed to see the assailants’ faces without their masks thus keeping them unknown to us. Shaky camera work and creepy music played on an old-school record player add to the overall effect.
Overall, The Strangers kept me, and the two people I saw the film with, on the edge of our seats. This film will keep you in suspense and force you to think a little harder than some other “horror” films.
The reason I decided to review The Strangers is because The Strangers 2 is currently in production and set to be released in 2011. Interested? I am!
Happy Watching!
Upcoming films
Hey guys!
So here's the deal, I have a TON of movies that I own that will be added to the review list. Some of these films are not new by any means but they are (almost) all amazing in my opinion. The logic behind this is that I can only afford movies at the theater every now and then (like once a week to every other week).
Here is a list of new films coming out that I can't wait to see and tell you about:
- Eat, Pray, Love (release date: 13 August 2010)
- The Last Exorcism (release date: 27 August 2010)
- Salt (release date: 23 July 2010)
- Vampires Suck (release date: 18 August 2010)
- HP 7 (release date: 19 November 2010)
- Black Swan (release date: 1 December 2010- SUPER excited about this one!)
- The Social Network (release date: 1 October 2010)
- Easy A (release date: 17 September 2010)
- Resident Evil: Afterlife (release date: 10 September 2010)
If anyone has any requests just let me know and I can give you an impromptu review and hopefully will be able to provide a full review later. Since I am sick today I will try to get out two separate reviews for movies I own.
Happy watching!
So here's the deal, I have a TON of movies that I own that will be added to the review list. Some of these films are not new by any means but they are (almost) all amazing in my opinion. The logic behind this is that I can only afford movies at the theater every now and then (like once a week to every other week).
Here is a list of new films coming out that I can't wait to see and tell you about:
- Eat, Pray, Love (release date: 13 August 2010)
- The Last Exorcism (release date: 27 August 2010)
- Salt (release date: 23 July 2010)
- Vampires Suck (release date: 18 August 2010)
- HP 7 (release date: 19 November 2010)
- Black Swan (release date: 1 December 2010- SUPER excited about this one!)
- The Social Network (release date: 1 October 2010)
- Easy A (release date: 17 September 2010)
- Resident Evil: Afterlife (release date: 10 September 2010)
If anyone has any requests just let me know and I can give you an impromptu review and hopefully will be able to provide a full review later. Since I am sick today I will try to get out two separate reviews for movies I own.
Happy watching!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Scott Pilgrim VS. The World
Release Date: 13 August 2010
My Rating: A-
Good For: Geeks with a sense of humor; date night
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446029/
When trying to locate a review for Scott Pilgrim VS The World that actually discussed the movie, I was fairly shocked at the consensus. Most of the reviews I have read seem to cover the audience's reaction more than the reviewer's. As a movie fiend, I will try to review Scott Pilgrim VS. The World with as little mention of the audience as possible.
Scott Pilgrim VS. The World brings geek humor to the foreground through the use of exceptionally able actors, good directing and a well written script. The formula is a little different than most geek centered films which was a welcome relief. Scott Pilgrim (played by Michael Cera in his typical role) is an overwhelmingly geeky persona who knows trivia about PacMan and rocks at arcade-style video games. Pilgrim, in an effort to get over his only major girlfriend, pretends to date an equally awkward highschooler named Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). While in this fake relationship, Pilgrim falls for the new girl in town, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Pilgrim is then forced to break up with Knives in order to pursue his new love interest. Once Pilgrim and Ramona begin dating, trouble comes calling for Scott embodied in the 7 Evil Exs of Ramona. The rest of the film should be fairly obvious, although the film has many twists and turns.
Scott Pilgrim VS. The World is based on a comic book series (which I have, admittedly, never read) and features old-school gaming throughout the film. The fight scenes are amazingly well-choreographed and features onomatopoeiae to describe the force of the action. In a sense; watching the fight scenes were similar to watching the previews (computer play) on an arcade screen complete with K.O.s and life/health bars.
The score was also awesome. Featured in the film was old-school punk rock (think The Clash-The Misfits, not NOFX). This added great effect throughout the film, particularly during the fight scenes.
Overall, Scott Pilgrim VS. The World was a really good film. Geeks should be encouraged to see it since the humor is geared toward them. However, there is enough non-geek humor that even the most non-geeky person should have a few laughs. The cast play the characters flawlessly and the characters themselves are incredible.
If you've seen it OR are going to see it let me know what you think!
AJ
My Rating: A-
Good For: Geeks with a sense of humor; date night
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446029/
When trying to locate a review for Scott Pilgrim VS The World that actually discussed the movie, I was fairly shocked at the consensus. Most of the reviews I have read seem to cover the audience's reaction more than the reviewer's. As a movie fiend, I will try to review Scott Pilgrim VS. The World with as little mention of the audience as possible.
Scott Pilgrim VS. The World brings geek humor to the foreground through the use of exceptionally able actors, good directing and a well written script. The formula is a little different than most geek centered films which was a welcome relief. Scott Pilgrim (played by Michael Cera in his typical role) is an overwhelmingly geeky persona who knows trivia about PacMan and rocks at arcade-style video games. Pilgrim, in an effort to get over his only major girlfriend, pretends to date an equally awkward highschooler named Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). While in this fake relationship, Pilgrim falls for the new girl in town, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Pilgrim is then forced to break up with Knives in order to pursue his new love interest. Once Pilgrim and Ramona begin dating, trouble comes calling for Scott embodied in the 7 Evil Exs of Ramona. The rest of the film should be fairly obvious, although the film has many twists and turns.
Scott Pilgrim VS. The World is based on a comic book series (which I have, admittedly, never read) and features old-school gaming throughout the film. The fight scenes are amazingly well-choreographed and features onomatopoeiae to describe the force of the action. In a sense; watching the fight scenes were similar to watching the previews (computer play) on an arcade screen complete with K.O.s and life/health bars.
The score was also awesome. Featured in the film was old-school punk rock (think The Clash-The Misfits, not NOFX). This added great effect throughout the film, particularly during the fight scenes.
Overall, Scott Pilgrim VS. The World was a really good film. Geeks should be encouraged to see it since the humor is geared toward them. However, there is enough non-geek humor that even the most non-geeky person should have a few laughs. The cast play the characters flawlessly and the characters themselves are incredible.
If you've seen it OR are going to see it let me know what you think!
AJ
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