07-15-09

Harry Potter and the Half-way Decent Movie

So it’s like 3:30 a.m., and I just got home from the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  I could go to bed, but I had to get a few things off my mind first while my memories are still fresh.  Legilimens!

First, the good.  This movie was a LOT of fun.  As one of my Twitter pals put it, Half-Blood Prince felt like returning to high school and seeing all of your old friends.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione have always been at the heart of every Potter film, and HBP doesn’t deviate from this winning formula.  The film doesn’t waste any time getting right down to business, and it’s action-packed from start to finish.  From a plot standpoint, it had a lot of ground to cover (as all the Potter films do) and those two and a half hours just seem to fly by.  Overall it was a solid Potter film, and I’m sure it will hold up to many subsequent viewings, which are no doubt necessary to catch all the things you might have missed.  There was just so much going on in this movie it was almost overwhelming.

And now the not-so-good.  I don’t know if this is a byproduct of having been forced to wait an extra 9 months for its release and having inflated expectations or what, but HBP definitely had its shortcomings.  The downside to cramming so much stuff in is that there’s quite a bit left out.  And I’m not even one of those book Nazis that insists all movies must be 100% faithful to the book; not even close.  I just didn’t understand some of the logic behind the decisions made in this film’s case.  They had time to throw in a bunch of lengthy scenes that never happened, but they didn’t have time to include the ones that actually did?  I would rather see a film where they’re forced to leave things out due to time constraints versus just making up whatever the hell they want to.  Without giving anything away, the first 10 minutes of this film is a prime example.

Many parts of this film just didn’t feel like a Harry Potter movie at all when compared to the previous five.  I think a little too much liberty was taken, to the point that some of the things that make Potter movies feel like Potter movies was lost–which is really surprising, because I felt Yates did such a fantastic job with Order of the Phoenix.  Maybe I’m expecting too much; it’s just Harry Potter after all.  Or maybe I’m just getting too old for this shit.  I certainly felt old during the romcom-y bits when 90% of the theater was squealing like giddy schoolgirls.  It could not have been more apparent who this film’s target audience was.

Speaking of getting old, when did the students of Hogwarts all turn 30?  I realize Daniel Radcliffe and company have aged quite a bit since the first film, but I don’t think I saw any younger students at all in HBP.  You know what else I didn’t see?  Any information about the Half-Blood Prince whatsoever.  I feel bad for anyone who has never read the books that tries to watch this film; you will be hopelessly lost.

For the rest of you–the ones who’ve read the books–despite my pithy complaints, there’s a lot to love about the film version of Half-Blood Prince:

(Warning: HERE THERE BE SPOILERS.  Beware!)

Things I liked:

• The bits about Harry & Hermione’s friendship, particularly Dumbledore’s “curiosity.” So cute.
• Jim Broadbent’s turn as Slughorn; great job!
• Aragog’s funeral and Hagrid’s subsequent drinking binge.
• Snape bein’ all Snape-ish as only Snape can.
• Happy to see Tonks & Lupin together, however brief.
• Both kids who played Tom Riddle (age 11 & age 16) were fantastic!
• Michael Gambon’s Dumbledore was much better played this time around.

…And of course,  there were some things that needed improvement:

Things I could have done without:

• Jessie Cave as Lavender Brown.
• Pandering to the HP fangirl set.  Yes I realize HBP is the “O.C.” of all the Potter books, but the teen romance portrayed in this film was just over the top, to the point where I felt like the romantic subplots overshadowed the main one.
• Random black woman who comes on to Harry in a cafe.  Seriously, what is up with random black characters appearing in the Potter films?  It’s almost like the directors throw them in there for diversity’s sake.
• The heavy-handed direction.  I swear in some shots you could almost feel Yates thinking “Hmm, what crazy camera wizardry can I do to make this scene look cooler?”
• The Weasley’s house burning down.  Um, WTF??
• Fenrir Greyback.  Although an important character in the book, his presence added nothing to this movie.

Things I missed:

• The “feel” and spirit of Hogwarts just wasn’t there for me this time around.
• Did they even bother to put the main characters in uniforms during classes?
• Where the hell were all the younger students?  I don’t think I saw even one.
• Dumbledore’s funeral.  I wonder if we’ll see it in the beginning of Deathly Hallows? I felt the ending in general was kind of a cop-out.
• Cho Chang. I thought we’d at least see her in the background or something.
• Any background information whatsoever about the Half-Blood Prince.

P.S.  Did anyone else almost pee a little bit when Dumbledore (whom J.K. Rowling professes to be gay) starts telling Harry how he’s been fond of him since he was a little boy, and that they need to figure out the deal with the closet??  Unintentional hilarity FTW.

11-26-08

Top 5 Most Anticipated Fantasy Flicks for 2009

#5 -The Elfstones of Shannara

The Elfstones of Shannara is the story of two intertwined destinies–that of Wil Ohmsford, grandson of legendary Shea Ohmsford, and Amberle Elessedil, who must go on a quest together to save the Ellcrys, the dying Elvish tree.  Ellcrys remains the last stronghold of magic protecting The Four Lands from the onslaught of the Demon World, and only Amberle, last disciple of the Druid Allanon, has the power to save it.

Director Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) will bring The Elfstones of Shannara, the second book of The Original Shanarra Trilogy by Terry Brooks, to the big screen in 2009, release date to be announced.

#4 - The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel is a contemporary fantasy that mixes ancient philosophy and renaissance history with a modern-day setting. Twin teens Josh and Sophie Newman work at a San Francisco bookstore/café for a bookkeeper whom they soon discover is actually Nicholas Flemel, the legendary ancient alchemist and keeper of The Codex. Nicholas and his wife Perenelle have been living eternally by drinking the Elixir of Life. When necromancer Dr. John Dee steals The Codex, Josh and Sophie are unexpectedly drawn into a world of magic and mystery to help Nicholas recover The Codex or face the world’s destruction at Dee’s hand.

The first book of the six-part The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Irish author Michael Scott, The Alchemyst will be a major motion picture by New Line Cinema in 2009. The film is currently in pre-production, with no official release date yet.

#3 - Inkheart

Inkheart is the story of a bookish young girl named Meggie and her father Mo, who has an extraordinary ability: when he reads books aloud, he brings them to life. The first book of the widely successful Inkworld trilogy, Inkheart is a charming tale by beloved children’s author Cornelia Funke. Similar to 2008’s The Spiderwick Chronicles, Inkheart is geared toward a younger audience set, and a definite family film.

Although not one of my favorite books (surprising, considering how much I adored The Thief Lord also by Cornelia Funke), the film’s trailer looks promising enough, and full of action, which is something I felt the book sorely lacked. Inkheart stars Brendan Frasier as Mo and child star Eliza Bennett as Meggie, and is set for a January 2009 release.

#2 - Warcraft

What we know: Warcraft will be a live-action movie by Legendary Pictures based on Blizzard’s hugely popular Warcraft series of PC games and World of Warcraft, the massively successful MMO. The PG-13 rated movie will be told from an Alliance perspective, and its storyline will be set one year before the events that unfold in World of Warcraft.

What we don’t know: Anything else. There’s still no images, no trailers. Not even an official web site. Yet Blizzard has confirmed, through a series of cryptic winks and nudges, that this movie is still very much in production. It’s hard to believe this movie will be a reality in 2009, considering how shrouded in mystery it seems to be. Not a word was breathed about the film at BlizzCon 2008, a huge disappointment for thousands of fans anxious for any kind of update they can get.

Update 1/23/2009: Quote from Blizzard:

“We are in fact working on a movie with Legendary Pictures, but we don’t have any new information to share with everyone just yet. At the 2007 BlizzCon, we even had a special panel with a little bit about the plans for the film. I’m sure you can find video on it or reports on it.

Just as an additional informational bit, it will be Live Action.

I’m quite sure there will be plenty of action, but there’s a story to be told too. I couldn’t tell you more though.”

Update 7/22/2009:  Sam Raimi confirmed as director!!

#1 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Imagine looking forward to a movie you’re really excited about. Not just any movie, but the sixth and most crucial film adaptation of the bestselling book series of all time. The release date draws near. You start seeing posters, promotions, production stills. Your excitement builds. You watch the trailer, and it looks amazing. You cannot wait to pre-order your tickets. And then you find out it’s getting delayed. By eight months.

That’s exactly what Warner Bros. did to millions of excited Potter fans eagerly awaiting the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Just two months before the film’s originally-scheduled November 2008 release date, Warner Bros. announced it would be moving the release date to July 2009. The backlash was immediate. There were petitions, boycotts, and a flood of strongly-worded emails to Warner Bros. studio execs. Their reasoning—some vague excuse about the writers’ strike impacting their bottom line—was hard to swallow, especially after watching them rake in hundreds of millions from last summer’s box office megahit The Dark Knight. Yet despite our outrage, we all know that come next July we’ll still be pre-ordering our tickets and lining up in droves at the eventual midnight release.

(I’m still bitter, can’t you tell?)

11-26-08

The Twilight Effect

Last Friday night, I dragged three of my girlfriends out to the movies to see a little film called Twilight. Perhaps you’ve heard of it?

If you haven’t, I will assume you’re either a shut-in or a male.  After all, it was a 75% female-dominated audience that contributed to Twilight’s staggering $70 million opening weekend, a huge coupe for director Catherine Hardwicke and Summit Entertainment.  To help put that figure in perspective, Twilight’s success ranks in the top 4 November box office figures of all time–ahead of summer blockbuster Transformers, and the latest James Bond flick . As it turns out, Twilight also boasts the highest ranking box office debut ever for a female director.  Considering the economic crisis we’re supposed to be in, these numbers are even more impressive.  So impressive, in fact, that Summit Entertainment has already announced plans to begin pre-production on Twilight’s sequel, New Moon.

But none of this news comes as a surprise to Twilight’s legions of diehard fans, whose fierce display of buying power previously helped propel all four books of The Twilight Saga onto the bestseller list, and keep them there, making author Stephenie Meyer a huge success.  Even Eclipse, Meyer’s third book of the series, dethroned Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from the bestseller list.

But let’s back up to a few months ago, before I had so much as read a single page of this hugely popular series, before I saw the movie (twice), and before I knew I was on Team Edward, or that there even was a Team Edward.  I remember casually surfing the interwebs, minding my business as usual, and coming across an occasional Twilight glimmer: a movie ad, a book review, some obsessed fangirl’s glittering “Bella ♥’s Edward” forum signature.  It was easy enough to ignore–at first.  But it wasn’t long before Twilight propaganda seemed to creep into every facet of every web site I ever visited.  (My hat’s off to whomever is behind Twilight’s aggressive web marketing campaign, by the way.)  So I guess it was inevitable that I’d eventually click one of the ads and watch the movie trailer, right?

My reaction went something like this:

• That looks pretty cool, I guess…
• And that vampire guy is pretty hot!
• Oh hey, it’s Cedric Diggory from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
• I’m a Harry Potter fan, maybe I’ll like this movie too?
• And Paramore is on the soundtrack!? I LOVE Paramore!
• November 21st? What a coincidence, because that’s the same weekend Half-Blood Prince was supposed to come out…

The next thing I knew, I was headed for the local library to check out the first book, which I soon discovered was a complete impossibility.  Checked out; on hold; back-ordered; transferred to another branch–every single one of the fifty-something copies fell into one of these categories.  What was going on here?  Why is Twilight so popular?  Like many uninitiated fans before me, I set out to unravel this mystery.  Hell, I thought, maybe if the books are that good, I should just buy them.

So I did.

And that’s how I discovered the secret sauce, if you will, of what makes The Twilight Saga so successful.  The recipe consists of teen angst, sexual tension, impossibly good-looking main characters living impossibly idealistic lives, and a heavy dose of romance delivered to the sappiest degree possible.  Simply put, these books are pure escapism.  No real substance, but no real need for it, either.  I could elaborate further, but I’ve already done that here, here, and here.  Yet despite how unremarkable these books really are, I spent an entire week consumed by them.  And I’ve already seen the movie twice.  And I’m anxiously awaiting its sequel.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?