Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Fifteen Movies in Ten Days, Day 6

Alice In Wonderland*
Archer: Season 2
Avatar
Batman: The Dark Knight
Burn After Reading
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1*
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2*
Inception
Ip Man*
Red*
Sherlock Holmes*
Star Trek
Sucker Punch
True Grit*
Where the Wild Things Are

It was Harry Potter Tuesday with a double-feature of Deathly Hallows. I'm gonna be honest - I've enjoyed the Harry Potter films but I always leave them confused and full of questions. It wasn't a problem when my sister was just a phone call away and was still fresh with the books. But she read those years ago and isn't the fountain of Hogwart's lore that she once was.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 was a meandering film. It was the setup. It was the windup before the pitch. And it was boring. Not only did I not know what was going on with the main characters, I did not care. There was this supposed sense of urgency but I had no frame of reference on the passage of time. Of all the movies thus far, I feel this one relied heaviest on the viewer bringing their own knowledge to the movie. I am certain things of consequence were happening onscreen. As one who hasn't read the books, I just didn't know it. I do want to mention how bad ass I thought the whole sequence was explaining the story of the Deathly Hallows. It was fantastic story-telling.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was the big payoff. It started with the same moment as the first one ended. And it was a fuckin' ride the entire time. No holds barred. This movie was exciting from start to finish. It built on the previous films and came together marvelously. I am certain it did not do the immensity of the books justice but it performed quite well on film.

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