Movie #385 - Harry Potter & The Dealthy Hallows (Part I)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
2010 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 26 min
Director: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Bill Nighy, Richard Griffiths, Julie Walters, Bonnie Wright, Fiona Shaw, Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Jason Isaacs, Tom Felton, Timothy Spall, Michael Gambon, Robbie Coltrane, Brendan Gleeson, David Thewlis, John Hurt, Frances de la Tour, Rhys Ifans, Imelda Staunton, Miranda Richardson, Warwick Davis

The casts of these movies keep getting longer and longer! But what a great cast of main characters this franchise has built, honestly! I have to say that almost everyone chosen, even the most lovable characters and the most hated villains, are so spot-on cast that I have no complaints! And who doesn't think Carter is the craziest Bellatrix Lestrange there could ever be?

Anyway, back to this review. The seventh book took a lot of heat for being reeeeallly boring for the first half, likes its warming up for the epic battle at its conclusion.  But I've always argued that it should be exactly that. Rowling's writing has always been an excellent mimic for the feeling of her hero, and as Harry feels aimless in his wanderings for the horcruxes, we get to feel it right along with him.  I've always felt that to be a strength of her style, a treat for us readers. If you disagree, you're clearly just reading for the juicy bits.

So this movie also took a lot of heat for "dragging" and while I agree that it probably didn't need to be over two hours by quite so much, I think it captures that aimless feel of the book.  We get to see our favorite trio turn on one another and really feel the pressure, the burden placed on their shoulders at such a young age.  It's fitting, too, that we should sit and feel pressured, burdened by their struggle.  It's like the full-experience kind of movie and book we should expect from such a big franchise.

And I, for one, am a big fan.

Movie #355 - Lake Placid

Lake Placid
1999 - Rated R - 1 hr 22 min
Director: Steve Miner
Starring: Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, Oliver Platt, Brendan Gleeson, Betty White, David Lewis, Mariska Hargitay

Oh, Betty White!! I think this movie might be the first time we saw this Golden Girl swear and it was so worth out.  And look where she is now!

Anyway, I know this movie is crappy.  It's like Anaconda. You want to hate it but you just keep watching it.  And you're rooting for Oliver Platt to get eaten by the crocodile and for Bridget Fonda to shut the hell up.  And you're glad to see Betty White's (SPOILER ALERT) "litter" of tiny crocodiles that will one day take over the placid lake and eat everyone.  Not psyched enough to watch Lake Placid 2 or Lake Placid 3, but psyched all the same.

And no, it does not take place at the real Lake Placid.  Bummer, I know. But the po-dunk town is the perfect place for this beastie to have its way with humanity.  Awesome.

Movie #301 - In Bruges

In Bruges
2008 - Rated R - 1 hr 47 min
Director: Martin McDonagh
Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Elizabeth Berrington, Ralph Fiennes, Eric Godon

On a quick side note, welcome to the 300s of our wild movie ride! I've got another hundred titles behind me and we're almost halfway there (at which point we'll absolutely be 'Livin' on a Prayer' - just fyi).  Anyway,  here's a great movie to kick off this new batch of 100!

I love In Bruges and even though it's got a plot that can't really be summed up properly in a blog post - it's just that kind of movie - it is so good, it's ridiculous.  So Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are two hired killers hiding out in Bruges, Belgium, waiting for word from their boss, played expertly by Ralph Fiennes.  The basic joke is that Fiennes' character things Bruges is the best place to vacation on earth, a Fairytale land. And Farrell likens it unto hell.

As things progress, we start to find out why these two are in hiding, what Farrell did to get them there, and what Fiennes wants to do about it.  A few colorful characters get introduced along the way - including a racist dwarf - and there are a few hysterical scenes strewn throughout this dark comedy to keep you laughing.  The overall tone is very bleak and dark, but with vibrant characters and a simple-but-complicated plot (I realize that's contradictory, but I promise that makes sense), everything falls into place to make this one enjoyable watch from beginning to end.

Movie #261 - Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix
2007 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 18 min
Director: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Griffiths, Fiona Shaw, Ralph Fiennes, Brendan Gleeson, Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Maggie Smith, Jason Isaacs, Imelda Staunton, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Warwick Davis, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane

These movies are jam-packed with acting royalty, aren't they?  Seriously. If I could write a book series and have all of these actors in it, wow....  I can't even tag them all, that's how many there are! Blogger won't let me, stupid Blogger.

So this has always been my least favorite book.  It's too long, too dark, too much brooding.  But that's the whole point. I love it for what it represents to the series: Harry's adolescence ending, his painful adulthood beginning.  And isn't Imelda Staunton just the perfect "headmaster" you love to hate?  There are many great things about this book, all of which are captured here.  Not the least of which is Helena Bonham Carter's introduction as Bellatrix Lestrange, one of my favorite characters of all time.  Honestly, how crazy is this woman?

I guess I love this one for being unapologetically true to what it has to be, but it's still uncomfortable to read/watch.  I only wish there was more of the Weasley twins war on Umbridge in the movie.  That stuff is gold.

Movie #260 - Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire
2005 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 37 min
Director: Mike Newell
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Timothy Spall, Bonnie Wright, Tom Felton, Robert Pattinson, Jason Isaacs, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Warwick Davis, Clemence Poesy, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Brendan Gleeson, Miranda Richardson, Gary Oldman, Shirley Henderson, Ralph Fiennes

The biggest book so far and it's the choppiest movie.  Maybe I'm overly critical because this is my favorite book in the series.  I'm not even partial to Hermione's S.P.E.W. subplot but I'm still mad it's not in the movie.

Still, they do a great job bringing the big stuff to life - the TriWizard Tournament, the Voldemort confrontation.  Although I didn't like the cerebral quality they gave to the maze.  It's supposed to be monsters, not their own personal demons.  Anyway, aside from this, my only other critique is the director's apparent mis-steps in some seasons.  Hermione overreacts here and there, Dumbledore basically attacks Harry in one scene -  acts that are largely out of character to the seasoned HP fan, maybe not so for the untrained eye.  It feels like Newell didn't get a full grasp of some of the relationships here.

And also, everyone needs a bloody haircut in this movie...

Oh yeah. Screw you, Twilight, for making Cedric Diggory a vampire. We had him first, you jerks.

Movie #8 - 28 Days Later

28 Days Later
Fox Searchlight Pictures
2003 - Rated R - 1 hr 53 min
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christoper Eclleston, Megan Burns, and Brendan Gleeson

I'm going to get through the numbered movies today, I swear! I would love to jump into the A's, so I can actually feel like I'm accomplishing something. Right now, it feels like eating an eternal appetizer... it's time for the salad course, people.

Anyway, I love this movie. I forgot how much. But I guess that's the point of this whole project - to rediscover great movies that I haven't given their due and to discover other classics that I've been missing out on. Of course, I have to deal with all the fodder in between, but for the most part, there's good ones on the wall.

I don't know if this is true or not, but I credit 28 Days Later with starting today's zombie craze. It brought the classic horror film character back into the main stream and scared the bejeezus out of people. Could a virus really make us run around screaming, biting each other? It's like home Jurassic Park convinced us all that DNA in ancient mosquitos could make us a dinosaur zoo. Cinema and loosely accurate science combine to start a craze.

So 28 Days Later, I discovered, also features Brendan Gleeson who I truly love in everything he does. Great guy. He does not disappoint in this, blending well into the cast of no-names and making this movie less-Hollywood and more-real-life in its feel. It was also kind of fun to see landmarks in London now that I've actually been there myself. It's a bit bleaker when it's abandoned, but I still felt more connected to the movie from having been there myself. You know what I mean?

So the main character, Jim, is one lucky bastard in this movie. Waking up during the day, wandering around aimlessly, and getting rescued by two people... only to cause one of them to get killed, like, the next day. He's not the world's best zombie fighter, but you do find yourself rooting for him. In fact, all the characters end up quite likable by the end of the film (except those creepy army guys, led by not Kevin McKidd who really looks just like him. Weird).

If you haven't seen this, I highly recommend it. 28 Days Later has blood and gore, sure, but it also has something to say about what's important after society goes mad and eats each other. Oh yeah, and it's suspenseful too, without being too horror-flicky.