The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

I saw The Adventures of Baron Munchausen once as a young child, and remembered almost nothing about it upon reviewing. Certain images struck me, however, here and there: Oh, yes, this is familiar. I sort of remember this. Terry Gilliam’s films are often called dream-like, and this sense is certainly underlined when one is seen through the lens of half-familiarity.

That said, Baron Munchausen is very entertaining from start to finish and doesn’t suffer from the weird devolution that plagues the end of the otherwise very good Time Bandits.  It feels, however, more like a companion piece to the more recent Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. There are the obvious bits he steals from himself; both movies open with a show, and there’s the blending of theatre with reality that underpins both.

Munhausen, however, is mostly light and stays comedic throughout, even in its darker moments. There are plenty of those, though. The friend with whom I was watching commented that, as a child the Angel of Death figure scared her… well, I was going to say “to death,” but you get the idea.

Good old nightmare fuel.

That is totally fair, of course. The ship of despair inside the sea monster is, in many ways, equally unsettling. And even Jonathan Pryce’s turn as the petty tyrant Horatio Jackson is sobering in its way – he doesn’t let you write him off as a ridiculous figure, as much as you would like to.

Amid those elements however, there are some generally hilarious bits. The sultan’s “opera” had me beside myself, and Robin William’s bizarre appearance as The King of the Moon is predictably but enjoyably nutty.  And the dialogue is strange but fun, reflecting the tales that serve as the foundation of the movie.

One of the highlights of the film is a tiny Sarah Polley as Sally Salt. Sally manages to be neither precious or unrealistic, but is a strong character in her own right. Her endless eyerolling at the stupidity of adults is spot on, and her stubbornness keeps the plot moving in a very organic way. Sally has an almost Roald Dahl-ish quality to her, and serves as a perfect foil for the freewheeling titular character.

The art direction is also worth noting (it was Oscar-nominated, though it lost to Tim Burton’s Batman). The sets and costumes establish a fantastical realm that still stays connected to the characters. Even the movie’s “real world” has a stylized element to it, blurring the line between fantasy and reality pleasantly and at will. Having actors from the initial troupe of traveling players turn up as characters later, perhaps most notably with a young Uma Thurman, gives the film a resonance and a through line it might otherwise struggle for.

I love stories about stories.  The Fall, Big Fish, even Stranger Than Fiction are all some of my favorites, and it was great to re-discover Baron Munchausen in all its quirks. It’s broad, but it’s meant to be, and it succeeds at entertaining throughout.

Grade: B+ A pleasant and funny fantasy that doesn’t mind breaking some rules, but mainly aims to please.

Top Movies of 2010

The title of this entry might be slightly misleading. I’m in no position to evaluate the top ten movies released this year. However, I can give you my list of favorites that I, myself, watched for the first time.  These are in a rough order of how much I liked them, rather than which is “best.”

10. The Secret of Kells

A beautiful animated film with a sweet, enchanting story, The Secret of Kells won me over almost right away. The art would have been enough to make the film a pleasure by itself, but the voice acting and the screenplay were also top-notch.

IMDB | Trailer

9.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 1

It’s more a chapter than a stand-alone film, but I think it’s one of the best in the series. The cinematography and the acting have come leaps and bounds, and it leaves you exhausted and impatient for the finale.

IMDB | Trailer

8. Shutter Island

Scorsese tackles noir/horror with panache. It may not be his best work ever, but it is still an excellent film. Great performances (Patricia Clarkson was a standout in a tiny role, and Mark Ruffalo is fantastic) and I would love to see it again.

IMDB | Trailer

7. Inglourious Basterds

Tarantino is a polarizing artist, but I tend to like him. I don’t know if this is his best work, but it is very solid. The opening sequence will, I think, become a classic example of how to film suspense.  The meta conceit of the film premiere worked for me, and I think that the idea of this sort of fake history is terribly interesting to see in execution.

IMDB | Trailer

6. The Hurt Locker

The Best Picture winner of last year deserved it, in my opinion. It was a tough film to watch, but beautifully made. The film’s thesis was a bit heavy-handed, but it was a master class in creating an effective character. Well worthwhile.

IMDB | Trailer

5.  The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

A weirdly liner film, considering Terry Gilliam, but I very much enjoyed it. The visuals are beautiful, and it had a nice fairytale feel to it. It being Heath Ledger’s last film, it has a strange overlay to it, but the execution is good. Andrew Garfield is a standout, and Tom Waits is perfectly cast as the devil.

IMDB | Trailer

4. Easy A

This was the year’s biggest surprise for me. I went into it mildly skeptical, when a friend wanted to see it. But I completely fell in love. I generally don’t like high school films, but Emma Stone is completely disarming, her family is perfect (I want them to adopt me), and it’s intelligently constructed. Yes, it’s a fantasy, but it treats its characters like flawed but complex human beings, even if some of them are (theoretically) 17. I loved it.

IMDB | Trailer

3.  Brick

I had meant to see Brick forever, but it took until this year for me to sit down and do so.  That’s a shame, because it’s a skillfully constructed movie that both exemplifies its tropes and rises above them. Another on the list to re-watch, the plot is wound so tightly that watching it the first time, I couldn’t even really pay much attention to the filming or the craft except in brief patches. Great noir.

IMDB | Trailer

2. Moon

The best sci fi movie I’ve seen in ages, and one of the best films generally, Moon has all the punch of a Ray Bradbury story. Sam Rockwell gives a standout performance, and the movie deftly copes with anxieties about identity, purpose, and sacrifice. Kevin Spacey also does some great vocal work. For a stark, minimalistic production, the filming is perfect, and the film boasts a screenplay I wish I’d written. Highly recommended.

IMDB | Trailer

1. Inception

I just rewatched Inception, and it gets even better on subsequent reviews. Thoughtful, plotty, fun and yet moving, Inception is everything I want in a summer blockbuster and more. A friend gave me a new layer of things to consider, and now I need to watch it yet again to consider them. I loved it.

IMDB| Trailer

Honorable Mentions: Dr. No, The Shop Around the Corner, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Sherlock Holmes, Love Actually

Worst Movie I saw in 2010: The Last Airbender. Not even close.

Best Movie I haven’t yet seen, as best I can tell: Toy Story 3. Yes, I know. I will see it soon.

Die Hard

In light of my last entry, it seems a bit strange to actually review a classic Christmas film, but if there is one that exemplifies the spirit of The Exploding Macguffin, that movie is, without a doubt, the original Die Hard.

I hadn’t sat down and watched all of the original Die Hard in quite awhile, but nothing seemed more appropriate for this blog’s Christmas special.  The movie has everything. Shirtless, bleeding heroes. Giant teddy bears. Alan Rickman. What more could you ask for?

In all seriousness, Die Hard is not a masterful piece of artwork. It is, instead, completely entertaining. The screenplay has logical inconsistencies and plot holes big enough to let Santa’s sleigh through, but it’s not a movie that aims for realism.

Instead John McClane is Jack Bauer before Jack Bauer existed, but without the deadly seriousness that suffuses 24.  McClane’s black humor (including his immortal catchphrase) and his clear love for his family are really all the character development we get in this movie, slapped on the generic “loose canon NY cop” stock character. But he’s awesome, and he’s just stubborn in a way that’s completely great.

(I love the scene in which one of the terrorists, angry because McClane escaped after killing his brother, trashes a corner of the office. McClane’s wife hopefully says, “He’s alive! Only John can drive somebody that crazy!”)

Though the look of the movie is a bit dated, its pure simplicity means the movie itself stays reasonably fresh. Sure, the technology is a bit outdated now, but really, it’s a film about a heist, and that trope has yet to be abandoned.

Speaking of thieves, exceptional or otherwise, Alan Rickman is hand-down my favorite part of Die Hard.  I know I’m not alone in this. Hans Gruber is a great villain. He’s a perfect counterpoint to McClane; methodical, civilized, and charming, Gruber is also capable of improvising on the fly and is completely ruthless in a practical way. He’s not a sadist, but if killing someone is more effective than not, well, that’s a necessary cost.

Though it starts a little slow, the pace kicks in as soon as the building is in the theives’ hands. From then on, it moves at a steady clip, alternating banter, suspense and action in a very well-balanced way. Sure, you can sit there and say, “But that wouldn’t work at all.” But for me, at least, I’m happy enough to kick back, suspend my disbelief, and the roof explode.

The movie doesn’t get convoluted, or try to introduce unnecessary subplots. The economy of story, the well-executed special effects (for its time), and the perfect casting of the two lead roles make Die Hard the classic that it is.

I leave you with this (spoilers for all four movies, but…does it really matter?):

Grade: B – Sure, it’s kind of silly, but it does what it wants to do and has tons of fun along the way.

Watching Christmas Movies

Christmas movies, like Christmas music, need reviewing in a slightly different vein than other forms of entertainment.  I’m no believer in cutting holiday movies slack because they’re holiday movies; there are certainly enough good ones that there’s no excuse for watching drivel just because it happens to involve jingle bells.

That said, however, each new holiday movie is seen with a critical eye. Will this movie become a staple of the yearly celebration? Will it stand up to yearly re-watchings, or is it the sort of thing you put on in the background of a holiday party, knowing no one will really be watching it?

The first thing to consider is A Christmas Carol. Dickens’ novella, in many ways, defined the secular Christmas we know and love today, and few would make a list of favorite Christmas films that didn’t include at least one feature-length version.  There are animated versions, old versions, new versions. It’s a story that will hold up under countless retellings, and choosing the best becomes, ultimately, a matter of taste. I am quite fond of the musical Albert Finney version, called Scrooge (incredibly cheesy in places, but fun):

Not to be confused with the also-delightful Bill Murray Scrooged. But, and without a wink, my actual favorite has to be The Muppet Christmas Carol. It’s more than a decade old, but wears well all the same. The jokes still work, it’s kid friendly without being condescending, and the scary parts are legitimately creepy. Michael Caine is pitch perfect, not redeeming Scrooge too soon, and preserving Scrooge’s wonderful sense of humor.

Scrooge hates caroling bunnies.

With A Christmas Carol, you’re telling a story everyone knows; it’s the film equivalent of The Nutcracker. (I’ve seen a couple movie adaptations, but I’d give them all a skip and see the ballet live if you can.)  Some Christmas movies, while not adapted over and over, have achieved this same mythical status. It’s A Wonderful Life, thanks to syndicated television, certainly makes the grade, and White Christmas does too. (I watch Holiday Inn, mainly because I love Fred Astaire, but its cringe-inducing blackface number means it’s never going to be a mainstream choice again.)  The original Miracle on 34^th Street, for me, is another that the season doesn’t feel complete without. Though I’ve seen one of the several remakes, I was unimpressed; original, non-colorized all the way.

 

Yes, please.

These are films that, through annual re-watching, you know by heart, almost shot for shot. It’s hard to keep a critical distance through the combination of familiarity and nostalgia, though when you do, it can yield some interesting results. (I’ve been much more interested in It’s A Wonderful Life once I realized what a dark, unsettling movie it really is.) Repetition can eventually open new aspects of a movie that you weren’t looking for.

Then there are films you know aren’t objectively good, but that you’re so used to watching, you keep watching anyway.  My family watched March of the Wooden Soldiers every year, and while Laurel and Hardy are a delight, the rest of the story is pretty feeble. (“Nevermind, Bo Peep” will be stuck in your head forever, though, once it lodges there.)

I’m also fond of the first installment of Tim Allen’s Santa Clause franchise, though neither of the sequels; partly, this is because I loved it as a kid, and was also a big fan of Home Improvement at the time it came out. I know many people who love National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, though I’m a little meh on it; I have nostalgic affection for Home Alone, but no drive to rewatch it.  My parents love A Christmas Story, which bored me as a child, but I’ve grown into as an adult.

There are movies that aren’t technically Christmas movies, but have a Christmas element to them. Little Women (1994) definitely fits this bill, as does Edward Scissorhands (but if you’re in the mood for Tim Burton, I’d just go with the stellar The Nightmare Before Christmas instead). Though I think it works better on stage, The Man Who Came to Dinner is certainly considered a classic. And while The Apartment is one of my favorite movies, it doesn’t feel very Christmas-y, despite the centrality of the holidays to the plot.

At the risk of just turning this into a laundry list of holiday films, I will summarize by saying that the holidays are a time to celebrate traditions. For some families, these traditions are musical, or culinary. They might include visits to particular places, or reading particular books.  In my family, Christmas always included Christmas films, some the same, some new.  (I had never seen Love Actually before this year. I know, horrifying. Bill Nighy, I love you.)

But it’s nice to use my critic powers only for good, and to revisit these annual films like the old friends they are.

Scaramouche

This is a rewatch, and one of my favorite swashbucklers. Based on Sabatini’s 1921 novel of the same name, Scaramouche is a shameless swashbuckler in the classic studio mode. Clearly a descendant of Errol Flynn films like Captain Blood, the movie tells the story of André Moreau, the bastard son of a nobleman in late 18^th century France. Much less political than its source material, Scaramouche is part revenge story, part romance, with some Commedia dell’arte thrown in for good measure.

Everything in this film works for me. Stewart Granger is like a strange cross between Flynn and Bruce Campbell, which works perfectly for the role, and his chemistry with Eleanor Parker is fantastic. Janet Leigh doesn’t have much to do, but looks gorgeous. And Mel Ferrer is oddly affecting as the villainous Marquis de Maynes, making him a bit more human than a Rathbone-esque villain has any right to be.

It’s also interesting to watch the way the filmmakers used certain techniques, mainstream at the time but almost gone now. Janet Leigh’s soft-focus close-ups, of which there are many, are almost jarring to a modern eye, though you see them all the time in films of the period. The art direction is also clearly working hard to earn the “glorious” in “glorious Technicolor”: everything is vivid almost to garishness.

That said, it really doesn’t date too badly. The story is engaging, and well-written. The dialogue is touched with “Hollywood Period” touches, but not obnoxiously so, and the swordfighting is delightfully theatrical. (The final duel still holds, to my knowledge, the distinction of the longest onscreen swordfight, at nearly seven minutes long.)

What Scaramouche really gets right, overall, is choosing what sort of movie it will be and committing to it. It wasn’t designed to win Oscars, it was designed to entertain, and it does that in spades. In this way, it reminds me of the first Pirates of the Carribbean movie – we don’t speak of the sequels – in that it marries a romance and an adventure into one fast-paced, witty popcorn movie.

The gender roles are, of course, a little problematic now. Leigh’s Aline has a bit of pluck, but is mainly decorative. Parker’s Leonore is much more interesting, but is an actress of loose morals, which of course can’t be rewarded. That said, I’ve always felt he ends up with the wrong love interest, especially as he spends most of the movie convinced Aline is his sister (yes, I know).  The love triangle is very different from the novel’s, and the final joke (Lenore ends up with Napoleon) doesn’t do much to assuage the sense of mis-match.

Whatever the failings of the romance, however, the adventure is first rate. Master fencer de Maynes kills Moreau’s best friend in front of him. Moreau swears revenge, and sets out to become de Maynes’ equal with a foil to carry out his plan. In the meantime, he becomes a comedic star of the stage, finds himself drawn into politics, and discovers the truth about his own parentage. It’s wonderfully melodramatic, and handled just right.

Besides Pirates, the best modern analogue I can think of is 1998’s The Mask of Zorro. But I wonder, without the studio system backing them, how many modern swashbucklers will continue to be made. Between the deadly seriousness of films like Robin Hood and the idiocy of Pirates of the Carribbean: At World’s End, I’m a bit skeptical that most modern studios or directors have a sense of why these movies were (and are) so much fun.

That said, I’m not without hope. As well as both Mask of Zorro and the Pirates franchise have done at the box office, maybe someone will continue tinkering until they figure out what makes it work and  why. Maybe we’ll find our generation’s Errol Flynn. I’ll confess, I would be completely thrilled.

Grade: B+ The best of what classic Hollywood popcorn fare can offer.

Book Review: The Star Machine

Jeanine Basinger’s The Star Machine discusses the methods that studios used to make actors or actresses “stars” in the heyday of the Hollywood studio system. Basigner first discusses the way the machine was supposed to work, then examines how it sometimes failed to do so, and finally traces its effect through into modern filmmaking.

I had this book recommended to me by a friend, and wasn’t surprised to find it informative. I was surprised to find it so entertaining at the same time. Basinger has an easy, conversational style that was pleasant to read. Her tone is frank without being overly chummy, and she isn’t afraid to interject an opinion here and there while making it clear that it’s just that; her opinion.

She has also clearly done a pile of homework to compile this book. It includes several semi-biographies, including Tyrone Power, Errol Flynn, Lana Turner, Charles Boyer, and many others. In a book of this type, some of the pleasure comes from encountering films one already knows and loves, and some comes from the descriptions of films you have yet to see but that sound intriguing.

This is not to suggest, however, that The Star Machine is a laundry list of films that support the author’s point. Instead, she carefully traces the development of a star persona through a given star’s career, citing outside influences, studio attempts to find an actor’s type, and clashes between the star and their home studio. In doing so, she also illustrates the type of life led by movie stars of the 1940s and 50s. Basinger also shows how the “star machine” influenced the final product – the films we can still see today.

One nice thing about the book is that it reads well cover to cover, but would also work taken in chapters out of context. She isn’t repetitive, per se, but is careful to lightly remind you of pertinent facts that may have come up in previous chapters, if need be. Basigner also chooses her topics well, and I was just as interested reading about stars I knew almost nothing about (Irene Dunne) as those I was fond of (Frederick March).

Basinger has also written a book called Silent Stars, and if The Star Machine is anything to go by, I should certainly add it to my “to read” list. It’s clear that Basigner loves film, and it shows in her writing. At the same time, she’s willing to be candid about occasionally painful topics without veering into melodrama.

Overall, The Star Machine was fun, educational, and a solid read. Highly recommended.

The Exorcist

Though it’s a classic, this was my first viewing of The Exorcist. (I watched it on Halloween night, in fact, though this entry is clearly a little backdated from then.)  It had been billed to me as several people as the scariest movie they have ever seen.

I can see why. Instead of going for “gotcha” scares or slasher violence, The Exorcist insidiously gets into your head. There’s no rhyme or reason as to why a sweet young girl should be possessed, why her and not someone across the street, or in another town, or another country. The pure random nature of evil is the most terrifying element of the story, and that comes across brilliantly.

That said, I think I suffered from having seen too many individual portions of the film in clips before seeing the film itself. There weren’t a great many surprises, and that hurt, though the sense of dread defusing the work remained.  I think Regan’s progression deeper and deeper into the grip of the demonic might have been more effective to those who didn’t know where it was going when it began.

The filming, while a little dated, is plain and simple, which serves the film well. There is an element of the ordinary to the horror – I think some of the scariest portions are definitely the hospital visits, partly because of the outdated technology, but more because of the doctors who can’t admit that they just don’t know what’s wrong.

There’s also an interesting interplay with faith in The Exorcist. While Chris MacNeill turns to Catholicism out of pure desperation, Karras’ struggle with his own doubts and guilt was one of the most interesting facets of the movie. Jason Miller delivers a fascinating performance that would have been easy to render one-dimensional.  Instead, Karras is almost as at sea as the woman who comes to him for help.  His final act, depending on how you look at it, is heroic, desperate, or both.

Linda Blair does some excellent work as well, especially in the final scene. When Regan’s mother says, quietly, “She doesn’t remember anything,” the viewer might be tempted to take it at face value except for the shatter, haunted underpinnings to Regan’s expression. Because Blair paints such a normal portrait at the beginning of the film, the ending is a blow. Even if she survived, you get the sense that she has some scars that may never heal.  Again, there’s no reason to why it happened, and the randomness is what makes it frightening.

The theme, Tubular Bells, has become a bit of a cliché, but it really is quite effective, and reflects the movie as a whole. Sparse, almost conservative in its artistic choices, The Exorcist plays with variations on a theme. The score emphasizes a sense of wrongness by simplicity and repetition, not by hijacking the listener’s emotions.

On the whole, though the movie didn’t feel 100% fresh, I could see why it’s so highly regarded. It was well-made, well-acted and illustrated that evil can strike even the most happy and stable of homes. Everything isn’t going to be okay, because even if this demon was driven out, some other person will be possessed in some other place, and the cycle will start again. Nothing is resolved, because it can’t be, and that’s where the true horror lies.

Grade: B It didn’t blow me away, but a lot of solid elements combine to support a classic in its genre.

 

Out Now and Coming Soon

Quick takes on the multiplex and my to-see list

True Grit – This looks fabulous.  I am usually against remakes, but 3:10 to Yuma certainly earned me a pass with classic Westerns, and the Cohens are certainly the people to do it. Jeff Bridges looks perfectly cast to make the role his own, and this is near the top of my to-see list when it comes out.

The Tempest – Julie Taymor’s take on the Shakespeare play has me cautiously optimistic. Good source material, Helen Miren, and I generally like Taymor’s visuals. I had mixed feelings on Titus, so we’ll see where she goes with this one. Mirren should be worth watching though, even if the rest of the movie doesn’t work.

The Next Three Days – It seems like Russell Crowe keeps coming out with thrillers that I mean to see, then don’t. This is out now, and I probably won’t see it in theaters, but it looks like it could be a fun couple of hours in the vein of running around and things exploding.  Going on my Netflix queue.

Cowboys and Aliens – Daniel Craig. Harrison Ford. A sci-fi/Western mashup. I am ALL OVER this.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader – None of my friends are very psyched, but I am so glad they made the third movie. I don’t think they necessarily need to make the other four – I love The Silver Chair, but don’t know how well it would translate into film – but I feel like the first three are sort of a set, with the Pevensies, and I think they’ll do a good job. Plus, Dawn Treader is just a lot of fun, and I think it looks like they’ll do it justice.

Source Code – From Duncan Jones, who premiered with the excellent Moon, comes more smart-looking scifi. Jake Gyllenhall looks to be well-cast as a man who relives the scene of an accident/crime over and over, looking for a clue to who is responsible. I can’t wait for this one.

Burke & Hare – A fun looking black comedy about grave robbers, staring Andy Serkis and Simon Pegg. This looks completely charming. (Also, it has Tim Curry. Seriously.)

DVD New release: The Book of Eli – Though this dystopian action flick got mixed reviews, I was interested enough that I’d still like to give it a look. Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman star, and it might be entertaining or it might be terrible. I’m curious.

Classic, new on DVD: Nightfall – A 1957 film noir about the dangers of offering help to stranded motorists.  You could end up dead or framed for murder, apparently. Great reviews, looks fun, and Anne Bancroft is it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One

Welcome back to the Exploding Macguffin! Our hiatus is over, and we’re kicking off December with Harry Freakin’ Potter.

It’s hard to review Harry Potter the way you’re review any other movie, because it’s so much a piece of a much larger phenomenon.  As such, I’ll just say right here that I don’t think the movie stands on its own, but I don’t think it’s designed to (beyond just the part one of two issue). At this point, if you haven’t seen the other six movies and/or read the books, you can’t come in at the climax and know what’s going on. And as such, it’s reviewing a chapter, more than a complete work.

That said, it’s a film that’s meant to be watched in a sitting, with a distinct vision related to but separate from the previous six parts. So judging it on those merits is not, I think, off base.

On the whole, it was worlds better than Half-Blood Prince, which was my first worry. The screenplay, while it had an occasional hole and some massive pacing issues, was coherent and had a through line. It was, on the whole, very true to the book (almost too much so at times, which I think might have contributed to the pacing). And David Yates did a great job of creating a palpably oppressive tone.  I came out of the film exhausted.

It’s really remarkable to see how the lead actors have grown in their performances since they were first cast. All three principals were excellent, and I also have to throw out nods to Tom Felton and to the Phelps twins (I don’t know how I’m going to cope with part two, people).  I think the visible bond of friendship between all three of the trio was very clear in this film, and it was one of the film’s strengths. It kept you afloat in the sea of “everything is always terrible.”

I liked the cinematography of this installment quite a bit.  I think we all miss Hogwarts in this film, and making the locations so vivid and distinct makes virtue of necessity. The animation in the “Tale of the Three Brothers” portion was also quite interesting, and I thought it added a nice touch.

I mentioned the pacing above, and it was probably my biggest gripe with the film. There were portions that were heart-pounding, but there’s a lot of sitting around in this movie. I understand it’s establishing the frustration Harry and company feel, but it’s excessive, especially when you’re in a position to cut things anyway. Several sequences were spot on, however; Godric’s Hollow was great, and the whole Ministry portion was well done. The film didn’t feel too long, but I wish the pacing had been more consistent throughout.

The film did succeed in that I was almost physically tired by the end (in a good way), and even knowing how things turn out (or because of how things turn out ), I was full of anxiety on the characters’ behalf. There were a lot of old favorites who we don’t see much of in this movie – yes, thank you for the kickass 30 seconds of Neville, screenwriters – but I couldn’t help thinking of the trio back in movie one, coping with the troll in the bathroom and learning to levitate feathers and playing the living chess game. I give the movie major points for making me face just how much these characters have grown up, and how horrible the war is for everyone.

It’s not a film to see if you aren’t already into the Harry Potter franchise. But if you are, I don’t think you’ll be very disappointed. One of the better efforts as the film adaptations go, and I am definitely ready for Part Two.

Grade: B Despite some flaws, a very enjoyable adaptation of the book and a solidly constructed film