Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Movie Micro-Reviews - Edition 74



Very good movies in this edition, as we finally got to see the end of Harry Potter, we saw The King's Speech (lounging around in the bedroom) and I watched an old favorite (Jaws!)



Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
92
Oh, they did this well.  Plenty of humor and teen angst, but not too much.  Plenty of darkness, but not too much.  The young actors are growing well.  Harry on Felix – precious!  Hermione crying – very believable.  Ron lovedumb – so silly!
The only problem was the way the ending was handled, which was not as dramatic as the story deserved.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
90
Very faithful in theme to the first part of the book.  The isolation forced upon, and felt by, the three main characters is well represented.  Definitely the middle part of a three-part story begun in The Half-Blood Prince.  I can’t imagine ever watching this without watching Part 2 quite soon afterward, if we have the choice.  And when seen in that context, I might raise its rating.
[I did.]
The Hostage
67
A Willis pic, with more seriousness and heart.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
95
A spectacular, action-packed, moving end to a brilliant series.  Bravo!
King’s Speech (The)
93
Wonderful movie.  I had only the faintest knowledge of the British royalty in the period between the World Wars, and I knew nothing of King George VI and his speech problems.  Easy to see why it won awards.  Firth, Bonham Carter and Rush were superb.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
93
Seriously fun!  Never stops moving.  An achievement and a classic from the day it was released.
Jaws
92
Still the finest of the genre.  It suffers only from the "mayor is too dense" syndrome.  But the last hour is perfection.

No comments: