Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars

Movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011)

Studio : Warner Brothers

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 130 min

Website : harrypotter.warnerbros.com/

Rating : PG-13

Trailer :

Click here to view the embedded video.

Much to the delight of Potter fans everywhere, the final chapter is finally here after the wait from Part 1. As you may remember, Harry, Ron and Hermione were looking for the horcruxes that would destroy Voldemort’s ability to live forever, while the dark lord was trying to find the precious wand that could defeat Potter. He found what he wanted in the last film, but the trio have yet to find their treasures. And when the evil wizard finds out what they are up to, a war rages in a battle to end all battles. Who will survive? According to the one that will remain nameless, only one can live forever.

Of course, if you’ve read the book, you already know the answer to that. But for those that haven’t, we certainly won’t spoil it here, but merely talk about the film itself. And what an ending it is, filled with epic visuals, a return to wonderful locations that we hadn’t seen in ages, heart pumping action, and a true hero to root for. This movie has basically everything you’d expect the end to have. Director David Yates, who has taken on all the films since number 5, takes this one to even higher heights than the one before, building on the crescendo that has led up to this final moment.

But, with that said, there is a caveat. Any watcher of these films or readers of the book will tell you that the series gets much darker and horrific as the pages or images fly by. And this being the final chapter does have some horrific imagers and properly scary moments that may give parents of young children some concern. Of course, we’ve heard this just about every film since the Dementors were introduced. JK Rowling attributes the inclusion of such scenes to the acceptability of those that are also growing with the series. After all, kids that were 10 when they started watching the films would be almost 20 now, much like the main trio of the cast. But what is sometimes forgotten is that since Harry Potter is in book form and still a favorite for young readers, the film may present some scenes that are too intense. Now far be it for us to advise parents on what their kids can handle. That’s up to them. But we do want to say that we think that the PG-13 rating is well deserved here and so it’s something to keep in mind.

What can we say about the cast? At this point it’s so hard to really nitpick on their performance. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson head up an all star ensemble cast that are all amazingly comfortable in their roles to the point where their portrayals are so natural and all have been exceptional actors. Ralph Fiennes, who plays the Dark Lord, really does get to show off in this one, but we like how he plays Voldemort with a dark subtle villainy, rather than an over the top enemy that is often seen in such fare. There are others who we would mention here as being also very good, but we don’t want to spoil it.

And finally, how does the film look in 3D? Well, it is not a natively filmed 3D movie, which means it was converted from 2D and that conversion was not that great. It winds up being a lot like Clash of the Titans was, much better in 2D and a waste of money in 3D. Another aspect to consider is that this movie is very dark to begin with and wearing glasses that make the film even darker is not going to be helpful, even if there are some cool 3D effects. All in all, in our humble opinion, it’s not worth the extra cash.

In the end, it really is a fitting way to go out for the three that we’ve seen grow up in front of our very eyes in a world that both amazed and inspired. We will be sorry to see it go actually. Our rating is a 4.7/5 docked mainly for the less than spectacular 3D conversion. But honestly, no matter what we say here. The fans will go see it. Of that, we are sure.

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceRating: Four stars

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Movie: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Studio : Warner Brothers Pictures

 Info : Click Here

Runtime : 153min

Website : harrypotter.warnerbros.com/harrypotterandthehalf-bloodprince

Trailer :

Click here to view the embedded video.

Review:

There’s a scene at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince where Professor McGonagall (always wonderfully played by Maggie Smith) says to Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, “Why is it whenever something happens, you three always seem to be in the center of it?”  Ron replies, “I’ve been wondering that myself.”  That’s basically the essence of the entire series, but these three kids (now teenagers) are so charismatic and likable that we accept everything and take the ride with them.
 
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth installment in this huge franchise, and for those who haven’t read the books, I’ll give a brief plot summary: there’s strong sentiment going around the wizard world as to whether Harry Potter is the “Chosen One,” that is, the person who has been chosen to fight Lord Voldemort and save all of humanity.  Harry’s also found a book in his Potions class that belonged to the Half-Blood Prince, and this book is able to help him create potions.  Meanwhile, more ominous things are happening at Hogwarts, and Lord Voldemort may be working through Harry’s archenemy, Draco Malfoy, in order to wreak havoc.  We also learn more about the Dark Lord’s past, and see how Dumbledore inadvertently groomed him in order to become the force of mass destruction he is today. 
 
All of this stuff is fun and exciting, and we’re seeing a less whimsical and much darker Hogwarts than we have in the previous films.  The film seems to be mostly shot in neutral tones, which works very well given the secrets and histories we’re exposed to in this installment.  It does lag somewhat as we move towards the final sequence, but that’s only for about 15 minutes in a two-and-a-half hour film, and the conclusion left me stunned (even after I knew what was coming from having read the books).
 
Still, my favorite parts of the film had nothing to do with the suspense portion.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione have blossomed into teenagers, and they’re all experiencing true romance for the first time.  There are some well-observed moments here, as Hermione scowls while Ron becomes involved with another girl, and Ron’s sister Ginny grows increasingly infatuated with Harry.  I, along with several others, laughed out loud at some of their behavior, because watching it indeed reminded me of what it was like for me to be in love as a teenager. 

This is a good film.  It’s not my favorite of the series, but the action in this movie is as exciting as it was in the previous entries, and thus far, it’s the most human. 
 

-Craig Wynne

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