Movie Reviews
I would review Jarhead, Walk the Line, Saw II and Harry Potter, but I've only seen Saw II and Harry Potter. Will needs to show up for the other two and another viewing of HPGF.
Ahem.
*shakes out sleeves, sets to typing with a maniacal gleam in his eyes and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth*
Saw II.
Saw was the first of a new type of Horror movie. A mind fuck as well as gore, with a twist no one saw coming and a study of human behavior in unnaturally extreme circumstances.
Saw II was less of a mind fuck, still had the gore and a twist, but it was fleetingly obvious and disappointing. The Human behavior study was group physics, and the downfall of society in microcosm, but this has been done and done. The villain of the first Saw had a misplaced sense of righteousness, but he believed in what he was doing, and felt justified. Saw II brings us farther into his mind, but leaves us wanting. The glimpse cheapens the movie, and the ending cheapens both. If you are in the mood for a horror movie that has nothing to do with supernatural serial killers, aliens or trite stories written by Steven King, go see it. If you are looking for something on-par with Saw, don't expect much, and you will enjoy the movie.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
The previous Harry Potter movies are full to bursting with trite references on how famous Harry Potter is, and all the goings on seem to center around him simply because he is the main character.
This has changed.
Goblet of Fire is a turning point, an anchor for the 90-mile-an-hour turn the story is taking. All the books so far have been written simply to give you a basis for the characters, but Goblet of Fire starts the arc that JK Rowling created the world to write. As far as the movie is concerned, there were some nuances that could just as easily been in the movie as not, and all together would have added maybe ten minutes to the story and given the movie that intellectual stimulus that would kick it higher in the Ranks of Good Movies. Certain reasons for the things that happen, certain character introductions that would tie the next movies together, certain things that could have happened to the characters, been explained away with a few seconds of dialogue and increased the story value tenfold. Most of the moments, when reading the book, that had me on the edge of my seat yelling 'what was he about to say!? How Is he going to get out of this!? simply weren't in the movie. Some of the heartrending moments that makes the story real and the characters people you've met weren't in the movie, and they were glazed over and explained away with an alternate storyline to make room for the action sequences and more CG. I understand how the movie industry works, but I don't understand why the movies being made of the most popular book series since the Hardy Boys don't follow the story. JK Rowling has made a goodly portion of this generation literate. I could understand fixing some things that made the book not quite good, but the movie regresses instead of improving.
The only thing I wanted to see that wasn't in the movie that didn't necessarily have to do with the plot was the Quiddich World Cup. Serious character development was lost by excluding it, and the story was much more intriguing with the events happening the way they did in the novel versus the movie.
If you are hungering to watch more of Harry Potter and Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, definitely go see the movie. If you are looking for the visualization of a good book, don't.
As with the third Harry Potter movie, characters were left out, others were given greater roles, and the story was more trite than the book.
all in all, the effects were good, the spells were there, the dragon looks great and the characters are all the same actors(barring Dumbledore, but there's nothing you can do about that). I recommend seeing the movie, but I definitely caution you to read the book first.
Ahem.
*shakes out sleeves, sets to typing with a maniacal gleam in his eyes and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth*
Saw II.
Saw was the first of a new type of Horror movie. A mind fuck as well as gore, with a twist no one saw coming and a study of human behavior in unnaturally extreme circumstances.
Saw II was less of a mind fuck, still had the gore and a twist, but it was fleetingly obvious and disappointing. The Human behavior study was group physics, and the downfall of society in microcosm, but this has been done and done. The villain of the first Saw had a misplaced sense of righteousness, but he believed in what he was doing, and felt justified. Saw II brings us farther into his mind, but leaves us wanting. The glimpse cheapens the movie, and the ending cheapens both. If you are in the mood for a horror movie that has nothing to do with supernatural serial killers, aliens or trite stories written by Steven King, go see it. If you are looking for something on-par with Saw, don't expect much, and you will enjoy the movie.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
The previous Harry Potter movies are full to bursting with trite references on how famous Harry Potter is, and all the goings on seem to center around him simply because he is the main character.
This has changed.
Goblet of Fire is a turning point, an anchor for the 90-mile-an-hour turn the story is taking. All the books so far have been written simply to give you a basis for the characters, but Goblet of Fire starts the arc that JK Rowling created the world to write. As far as the movie is concerned, there were some nuances that could just as easily been in the movie as not, and all together would have added maybe ten minutes to the story and given the movie that intellectual stimulus that would kick it higher in the Ranks of Good Movies. Certain reasons for the things that happen, certain character introductions that would tie the next movies together, certain things that could have happened to the characters, been explained away with a few seconds of dialogue and increased the story value tenfold. Most of the moments, when reading the book, that had me on the edge of my seat yelling 'what was he about to say!? How Is he going to get out of this!? simply weren't in the movie. Some of the heartrending moments that makes the story real and the characters people you've met weren't in the movie, and they were glazed over and explained away with an alternate storyline to make room for the action sequences and more CG. I understand how the movie industry works, but I don't understand why the movies being made of the most popular book series since the Hardy Boys don't follow the story. JK Rowling has made a goodly portion of this generation literate. I could understand fixing some things that made the book not quite good, but the movie regresses instead of improving.
The only thing I wanted to see that wasn't in the movie that didn't necessarily have to do with the plot was the Quiddich World Cup. Serious character development was lost by excluding it, and the story was much more intriguing with the events happening the way they did in the novel versus the movie.
If you are hungering to watch more of Harry Potter and Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, definitely go see the movie. If you are looking for the visualization of a good book, don't.
As with the third Harry Potter movie, characters were left out, others were given greater roles, and the story was more trite than the book.
all in all, the effects were good, the spells were there, the dragon looks great and the characters are all the same actors(barring Dumbledore, but there's nothing you can do about that). I recommend seeing the movie, but I definitely caution you to read the book first.
posted by Hadrian: Dark One at 11:41 AM
1 Comments:
I haven't yet read the books so I really have no basis for comparison. I hope to have them all read by the time the last movie comes out. :) In any case, I really liked the old Dumbledore much more than the new one. And I don't think it's the actor so much as the director. There is a lack of calm control in the new one. Cringing before the Goblet as it spews names out?? What the crap is that? That's not a trait of one of the most powerful wizards to ever have lived. But I digress. I know I should read the books, and I will get around to it sometime.
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