Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

J: To borrow from Harry and his friends, this movie is absolutely brilliant! Half Blood Prince is a very mature movie, much like the book that was my favorite of the series. It is evident from the very beginning this is a much darker and more serious movie than the rest. And sometimes not being a rabid Potter fan has its advantages, like when one gets to enjoy a terrific movie while not being bothered by the baggage of being pissed off about everything that has been left out. I would have liked a bit more of Voldemort’s back story, like the origins of the ring that becomes one of the Horcrux’s in the movie, but I understand the need for paring out so many of these details.

David Yates returns as director and does an exceptional job with a film that relies more on character than it does on magic and special effects. However, the FX that are used are well done and not at all overwhelming. The core cast returns too, with a wonderful addition of James Broadbent as daffy Prof. Horace Slughorn, who has a secret that Harry and Prof. Dumbledore need to solve the puzzle of Lord Voldemort.

Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) returns to Hogwarts vindicated because the wizarding world now knows that Lord Voldemort (no Ralph Fiennes this go because we see him as the child, Tom Riddle, that is his origin) has returned and is killing wizards and Muggles alike. Prof. Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) enlists Harry’s help in gathering memories to piece together Voldemort’s past and discover his secrets so as to find a way to destroy him, with tragic consequences. This is the second movie in the series to end in a death and hints at what is ahead with the next installment, The Deathly Hallows, which is wisely being filmed in two parts.

In all, this movie is far more than a good Harry Potter movie, it is a great movie on its on merits. If this is any hint of what’s ahead, I have to admit I’m pretty excited. I just hope the movie gets made before these wonderful student wizards are ready to retire to the old wizards home!

K: I agree with my partner in crime that this was the best Harry Potter movie yet. I think much of it has to do with being able to dispense with the "ooh, look at that cool new spell Hermione can do" and the "oh no, a cave a troll in the girl's bathroom" type gimmicks and get down to the nitty gritty story that's been brewing for six books.

Even if you've never read the books and have only seen the movies, you know that a war is coming. It's always been leading to a showdown between Harry and Voldemort. Half Blood Prince is a great set-up for the ending of the series. I understand the need to cut out as much from the books as possible to get the movie down to a good running time, but the movie-only people (I feel) have been cheated out of the entire back story of Tom Riddle/Voldemort. While not entirely necessary, it seems like something everyone should know going into the Deathly Hallows. It only seems fair since we've been exposed to most of Harry's back story and this series ostensibly centers around those two and how and why they're bound together through Trelawney's prophecy (though we discover at the end of the last book that the series is really about two other characters, but I won't spoil that for those of you who haven't read the books).

And now I'm going to whine about other scenes missing from the movie because I'm a huge Potter dork. The most satisfying scene in the book, and possibly the whole series, was when Dumbledore came to pick up Harry from the Dursley's and gave them all the big old what for, Dumbledore-style of course. Those horrible people have had that coming for a long time and I would have loved to see them get what's coming to them on screen. I also would have liked to see the opening chapter, The Other Minister, where the Prime Minister (unwillingly) meets the Minister of Magic who has to explain that all the disasters occurring in England are actually caused by bad wizards. They even could have gotten Michael Sheen to play the Prime Minister (he plays Tony Blair in just about half the movies he's in). It's a funny chapter in the book and it would have brought a moment of levity to a dark movie. As would the scenes at the Weasley's in the beginning with Fleur Delacour, who the rest of the kids nickname Phlegm due to her overbearing personality. But at 2 1/2 hours I understand why these scenes were cut.

This is a fabulous must-see movie. The seasoned actors are great as you would expect (Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane). But this movie also highlights how good the kids have become. They've all done a little bit of work outside of the Potterverse and it's improved their acting in these movies. Emma Watson has always been the best actor of the main trio, but Daniel Radcliff's stage work on Equus has brought him up to the level of the adult actors in the movie. I think he now has the ability to believably pull off all the horrible and wonderful things that happen in Deathly Hallows. If only I had one of those darn time-turners I could speed myself ahead to watch the last two installments right now!

Terminator Salvation

J: Writing reviews has apparently created a terrible personality defect. I now go to movies and expect quality in addition to being entertained. While this may well work with most indie and Oscar worthy films, it does not work with films like “Terminator Salvation”. Now, don’t get me wrong, T-S is a perfectly entertaining film but as I sat through the first fifteen or so minutes waiting for the scintillating dialog and fine acting to kick in – and as I was getting ready to be disappointed – my PIC gently reminded me “this ain’t Slumdog, Dudette!” Ah yes, truer words were never spoken! So yes, I put aside the pretentious me and let the Slam Bang Action Flick me just sit back and enjoy! And enjoy we did.

T-S puts us squarely in the fight between the machines who initiated Judgment Day (the picture takes place soon after) and the humans left over, but there are a few new plot twists, like the addition of the Death Row inmate Marcus Wright, played by Sam Worthington. Marcus is convinced by Dr. Serena Kogan, played brilliantly albeit quickly by Helena Bonham Carter, of Cyberdyne Systems to donate his body to science. She dangles the hope of humanity in front of him and he takes the bait, possibly to get the skeletal looking Bonham Carter out of his cell. It seems they both had death sentences, his for killing a couple people and hers for cancer. He unknowingly becomes the Terminator prototype but that doesn’t work out exactly as Cyberdyne had planned. Then, whoosh, we are dropped into the center of hell after Judgment Day with John Connor, played by Christian Bale, doing the anti-Terminator stuff we have all grown up with, which is very cool indeed. Because the rest of the movie is the fleshing out of all the loose ends and heretofore unexplained T1 and T2 stuff (don’t know about you but I simply can’t count T3, particularly because it was largely unwatchable) I won’t do any spoiling but get to the really good stuff.

McG is the director. Now before your head explodes like mine almost did, let me share the 411. Joseph “McG” McGinty Nichol (I guess when you have three or four names, you have to shorten it down to something workable) got his start in the music business and, yes he did music videos, which does not always bode well for moving into full-length films. In fact, theaters are littered with those misguided attempts. But happily McG has done a fine job with T-S and clearly has a taste for Terminators in general because he takes great pains to include several homage’s to the earlier pix, including allowing Mr. Bale to speak the legendary “I’ll be back” line and in his own way. There are other assorted and very obvious links to the original two movies but the true stand-out comes at the end with some exceptionally nifty CGI work to take the Terminator full circle – VERY nicely done. But that’s as much as I will tell you because I want you to whoop it up like we did when it gets to that part. Also, BONUS, McG is a Michiganian (no, I never use the goosey sounding term), he was born in Kalamazoo. Now what’s not to like about that? All of the other action variety explosions and such are plentiful and jump-cutty enough to keep your interest. No problems there at all.

But there’s always one, isn’t there? If this is the project Mr. Bale was working on during his infamous meltdown then I would have to say to the meltdownee – get over it! Mr. Bale has a range of two emotions; incredulousness and really pissed off! Obviously, the one that gets the most exercise in this film is the pissed off emo and boy, you just can’t walk off the set and leave that kind of thing behind. Was he a decent John Connor? Certainly. Is he one of the fine actors of our time? Ah, no. With his range of emotions, the obvious choice for his next costar would have to be Naomi Watts, what a dynamic pair THAT would be! Please God, before that happens, please take me!

K: I disagree with J about Mr. Bale's acting. I think he's a very good actor, but his character in this movie only had the two emotions of incredulousness and pissed off. I do agree with J about Naomi Watts, and would also like to add Drew Barrymore to that list. I recently saw her in a movie where her acting was akin to some teenager plucked off his high school stage. However, I am on Team Christian, so rock on Mr. Bale!

Angles & Demons

J: I am most happy to report that “Angels & Demons” does not suck. That speaks specifically to Ron Howard’s enormous skill as a film maker. Mr. Howard manages to take another one of Dan Brown’s misbegotten attempts at literature and produce a rather pleasing action film.

Tom Hanks reprises his role as linguist Robert Langdon, with much better hair this go around. The Vatican has requested his help in finding four cardinals who have been kidnapped on the eve of the conclave to elect a new pope, and they are the four favorites which stymies the process. In typical Vatican fashion, though, Langdon is forced to deal with obfuscation and reticence. To the point that he actually has to remind them that they called him to help. At this point, the usual code breaking, speeding to locations in attempts to prevent the murders of the cardinals, and getting there too late ensues. By the way, I am giving away nothing here; this is all revealed in the first half hour or so of the movie. This is all rendered beautifully with a clever combination of CGI and secretly filming parts of the chase scenes without calling much attention to the effort. All because the Vatican is so fearful of the truth they would not allowing any filming anywhere the desired location. Unbridled power is a frightful thing. Kudos to Mr. Howard for working around all that.

Mr. Howard has again assembled an impressive supporting cast, including Ewan McGregor, a priest with a secret (somehow that doesn’t shock me much), Armin Mueller-Stahl (X-File-ophiles with recognize him,) as Cardinal Strauss, the head of the conclave and Stellan Skarsgard (a personal favorite for the depth of his acting choices), as Commander Richter, head of the Swiss Guard. All of these characters are given a turn as the possible suspect in what is revealed to be an inside job even though this crime is laid at the feet of the Illuminati. Again, Mr. Brown brings to bear his considerable misunderstanding of history and a penchant for misguided conspiracy theories. As a veteran conspiracy theorist, I ask any fledgling conspiracy theorist to ignore anything he has to say on any of these subjects. Get the idea I don’t have much respect for Mr. Brown? Very perceptive!

At this point, however, the plot becomes a bit muddled so I would suggest that anyone seeing this movie just let it go and enjoy the ride. Thankfully, this movie has a satisfying, if strange, conclusion so I walked out pleased and not desiring to get those two hours of my life back!

I have one concern and it’s a small one – just for Mr. Brown, who if he even reads this has left it long before this. What the hell is wrong with American women? Apparently its only French women who are smart enough to be code-breakers, carriers of the bloodline of Christ and theoretical physicists. To that I say Au Contraire! We are perfectly capable of doing all three and more. Just something to think about.

K: I thought this was a good adaptation of the book, which itself is an action/adventure tale. It translates well to the screen primarily because we actually get to see all the historic sculptures and churches that hold all the secrets of this story. It's a lot of fun and I definitely recommend it to everyone.

Star Trek

J: I am so very depressed! No, not because I didn’t like “Star Trek”, silly, because the glorious anticipation is over. Once in awhile a movie really does live up to the hype and we should all savor those moments. This is without question one of those moments!

Let me briefly cover the things I did NOT like about this movie because the list is extremely short! I understand this is pretty picky but the science in this film is just awful! I don’t think it honors the memory of Gene Roddenberry and that somewhere the poor guy is spinning in his grave. As I said, this is picky and probably won’t bother too many people; I just happen to be one of them. Now, my PIC might view this as being a spoiler but I prefer to think of it as a warning to others. J.J. Abrams, most likely due to his involvement in that curse of an “art form” known as network television, has decided this movie needed sex – IT DOES NOT! This is particularly disgusting because he seems to think that Spock lip-locking Uhura at every turn is just what the public was craving – IT WAS NOT! Even in the original series, when the plot allowed Spock a little nooky it was creepy and that hasn’t changed!

Well, now THAT’S over, I will jump up on the highest roof and shout to the world that EVERYONE, Trekkie or not, should see this movie! It had everything anyone could want. My PIC and I were actually crying within the first 15 minutes. Pathos, check! The storyline was extremely entertaining and well written, props to Mr. Abrams indeed. Plot, check! There wasn’t a single moment that made you want to check your watch. I think this movie could have been four hours long and no one would have noticed. Compelling action, check! Now, here’s my favorite part, the back-story on each of the original characters was flawless. Character development, Double check!!

I usually avoid reading about a new movie prior to seeing it because I like to be surprised, but I admit to reading a bit about this one, only because I am a dyed in the wool Trekkie and damned proud of it, too. I even suffered through “The Undiscovered Country” because I could never live with myself if I missed an episode of Star Trek. As I read about some of the actors who had been chosen to play the original characters, I started to worry. Silly me! Each actor truly embraced, and paid proper homage to, the character they brought to life. Each relationship was carefully developed, some were even a surprise, and eventually each character got to speak a tagline that has always been married to that character. Trekkies, you will know what I mean; everyone else, just enjoy the fun. My personal favorites were Karl Urban as Bones, because I was a little leery about that one, and Simon Pegg as Scotty, who was introduced WAY too late. He was perfect, absolutely spot-on and hilarious! My true shock was Eric Bana as the captain of the Romulan bird of prey (BIG props to Mr. Abrams for getting that one right! Trekkies, again you know what I mean!). I honestly did not know it was him until I finally listened to his voice! Very cool, indeed! However, my real joy in this film was getting to see Kirk actually cheating on the Kobayashi Moru scenario – I guess I have to forgive Mr. Abrams predilection for lip-locks after all!

The inherent danger in prequels is in the possible, and sometimes probable, disappointment to loyal fans if anything screws up their fond memories of the original franchise. That is not the case here, Dear Trekkie, so please Boldly Go to your local theater as quickly as possible, because the Mission Is truly Ongoing! Live Long and Prosper, Mr. Abrams and thanks!

K: Wow. All my expectations were surpassed. The movie had jam-packed action and a script full of plot and character development and many, many 'Easter eggs.' I think this is possibly the best movie ever. 'Nuff said.

Adventureland

K: Adventureland is a coming of age story set in 1987 as James graduates from undergrad, then faces the harsh realization that his parents can't afford to finance his summer trip to Europe or his graduate school even though he was accepted to Columbia. As a journalism major he's unqualified to do anything except work in a dumpy amusement park. Here he learns more life lessons than he ever learned in college, and he falls in love.

This is more of a 'dramedy' (sorry to use this word - I'm not a big fan of it) than a comedy. Much of the humor is in the horrible clothes, hair, make up, and music throughout the movie. The main 'soundtrack' is comprised of bands like The Cure, Husker Du, The Replacements, and, for some gawdawful reason, Lou Reed. But the film also gives a nod to the other genres of 80s music. For example, Rock Me Amadeus plays incessantly at the amusement park driving everyone crazy. (Feel free to admit to yourself that you owned the '45 back in the day - you know you did). And one of my favorite scenes was James running for his life from a dumb thug who wanted to beat him up while Breaking The Law by Judas Priest played in the background.

It was a good film that had more of an indy feel to it. It's worth seeing, especially if you grew up in the 80s, but it's not necessary to catch it in the theaters.

J: Ok! Enough already! I have had it up to there with adolescent male coming of age BS humor!

I have successfully managed to avoid cinematic dreck like “Superbad” and “Knocked Up” in much the same way as I avoid reality television, by treating it like an especially virulent version of bird flu! But this one kind of snuck up on me. My PIC suggested it as a comedy & it sounded like a great idea at the time. But even she was forced to use the dreaded sobriquet of “dramedy” & I agree with her assessment of that word.

This movie is the perfect reflection of what is arguably the most shameful & dimwitted decade to date. Everyone is screwed up in some way or another – exactly like the 80’s. Self-absorption is the byword & shooting down dreams is the favorite spectator sport. The adolescent coming of age guy in this movie, James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg), has his dreams of going to Europe for the summer & then entering graduate school at Columbia upon his return crushed by the sad upper-middle class suburban hell of his parent’s circumstances; that being his alcoholic father’s demotion at work. With nothing as far as concrete experience & a REALLY useless degree in comparative literature (yet another hallmark of the 80’s) James is forced to work at the local amusement park, Adventureland – where great dreams go to die! Here he meets the requisite misfits & regularly gets the crap kicked out of him by someone who is allegedly a friend (you guessed it – the 80’s personified). Also, as required in this genre, he falls in love with an equally misfit female, Em played by a very surprising Kristen Stewart, who proves in this movie that she can do more than oogle handsome vampires.

At this point, I must give my props to the only thing that propels this movie beyond the horror of the sad comedies mentioned above. The characters in this movie really do have something to say & they say very well. The pathetic attachment that Em has to a married man, Connell (Ryan Reynolds – is he ever going to try his chops out on a really good movie? I bet he could do it if he tried!) gets in the way of a possible real relationship with someone who might be a sensitive good guy. Again, pure 80’s, Man! Been there, done that & threw away the T shirt! Sadly, Connell strikes me as the most accurate representation of the 80’s – not a sensitive rat on the sinking ship! Do I sound a little bitter? Well, how did you come through the 80’s? Yeah, that’s what I thought!

I do agree with my PIC about the indy feel of the movie. I wouldn’t have enjoyed it at all if it looked even remotely as slick & stupid as the other movies in this pseudo-genre. It does try very hard to have a heart & make a point. However, I have to disagree with her take on Lou Reed – one on my favorite artists. The misunderstanding of his music by Connell as he tries to impress the young girls with his claim that, as a part-time musician he has jammed with Lou is the ultimate nod to the 80’s – it doesn’t matter what you did, just lie about it. Just to prove the point, he misspeaks the name of one of Lou Reed’s best songs “Satellite of Love”. Here I must make a confession. I have (don’t we all?) a guilty pleasure – the music of the 80’s in all its trashy glamour. I would have loved to put together the sound track for this movie & so there is my shot down dream! Oh yeah – I LOVE “Rock Me Amadeus” – just ask my PIC how embarrassed she was as I sang along – out loud & proud!

I wonder when the female coming of age genre will start producing a new crop of movies. Oh, I forgot – women come out of the womb having already come of age – no assembly required!

Duplicity

J: Yippee, Yahoo and Hallelujah! FINALLY, a movie I can write about that is more than what I was expecting or hoping for. Please, if you have been as disappointed with the recent crop of films as I have been stop reading this, drop whatever you are doing and RUN don’t walk to see Duplicity!

Did I use enough Hollywood clichés? Well, don’t let that put you off because clichés go out the revolving door in this movie. Director Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) returns to the rich mine(field) of corporate shenanigans for his latest turn. This time rival pharmaceutical companies, headed by dueling CEOs Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti, engage in the kind of corporate spy tactics worthy of any James Bond film and the spies in this yarn are, in fact, ex-MI-1 and CIA, played deliciously by Clive Owen (he of the lovely blue eyes) and Julia Roberts (she of the oddly indeterminate lips). To say these two have a complicated relationship would probably be the Guinness World Record of understatements. That relationship is fleshed out (love a good pun!) throughout the film, beginning with their meeting at a soiree at the US Embassy in Dubai five years prior to the beginning of the story, with a series of flashbacks. Now, I’m not normally a big fan of flashbacks particularly when they are as numerous as the ones in this movie, but these have been so well done that it’s pretty hard to lose the thread of action. And there are enough twists in this movie to make a bag of Rolled Gold pretzels jealous! You truly never know who is “zooming” who! Mr. Gilroy also delivers a surprise ending that is satisfying but a touch bittersweet. But, Glory Days, it was a surprise.

There are wonderful tech gadgets but they take a backseat to the story and character development. The opening scene is a very nifty slow motion Battle of the Titans and that’s about all I’m going to say because I wouldn’t dream of spoiling the fun of this film for anyone.

Thank You, Mr. Gilroy, for delivering one of my favorite movies of 2009 and for restoring my faith in the creativity of the movie business.

K: My PIC hasn't seen many of the recent Oscar nominated movies as I have, so I must disagree with her opening statements about stinky movies. However, I do agree that this movie was better than anticipated and I highly recommend it. It kept you on the edge of your seat while you were constantly reassessing everyone's motives, but it was light enough to allow the audience to get swept away in the fun adventure offered by Clive the sexy hunk and Julia the weird-looking. If you don't make it to theater, definitely add this to your rental list.

The International

J: Big Fat Heavy SIGH…for yet another movie, for which I had high hopes, that perked along nicely only to end up on top of the huge garbage pile of movies that ended badly – or at least left my PIC and I scratching our heads and wondering “What happened?”

What a great and timely premise – huge international bank run amok with world domination as their eventual end-game. What’s not to love about that? We get to boo the Euro-Trash bankers trying to take over the world and gaze at Clive Owen’s fabulous blue eyes. The only thing missing is a neat conspiracy theory involving the Bilderberg Group (no, I’m not going to explain that – look it up!). Nearly perfect, right? Not so fast!

This movie has a terrific plot and nonstop action, although the locations do move around quite a lot so, if you don’t keep up with the location titles, it can be tricky to know where you are. The cast is serviceable but clearly Clive Owen carries the movie – this is his vehicle. Oh yeah, Naomi Watts is in it too and manages to use all three of her expressions.

The highlight of this film is clearly the shoot-out in the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. But be prepared to exercise your suspension of disbelief muscles and try not to think too hard about how that many men with very big guns with lots of bullets managed to get past the security crew. Visually, however, it’s a very cool scene.

Now comes the problem and I will do my best to express my disappointment without giving too much away. There is a rule in playwriting that, if you show the audience a gun in the first scene, someone better get shot by the end of the play. Conversely, if someone walks up to the Bad Guy at the end of the movie to deliver the Coup de Grace (that is, shoot the bastard) it would be extremely helpful for the audience to know who the bloody hell he was and why he was doing it, which is not terribly clear at the end of The International. My PIC and I (with the help of her Rents) did kind of muddle through it, but I don’t go to movies to work that hard at figuring out how the damn thing ended. Lazy? You bet! That’s why I go see the movies I do – so I don’t have to think too hard, just to be entertained. So entertain me – preferably with a good ending to a potentially great movie.

K: The movie was decent, but not great; you can wait for DVD. Naomi Watts was exceptionally bad in this flick. Clive Owen is a great actor which is evidenced by him carrying this whole movie. And he's a nice piece of eye candy.