Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince Monday, Jul 27 2009 

4 stars and dvd and scifi/fantasy , , , , , , Humaira 10:17 am

I don’t normally watch movies at the cinema, but the one thing I will guaranteed is the Harry potter series. Apart from the fifth and 2nd film, I’ve watched them all in the cinema, and this is no exception.

Harry is growing up and has turned 16. After the events of the last book, Harry learns a lot more about Voldemort in this instalment and also finds love with an likely person. Ron and Hermione are also growing up, and Ron gets a girlfriend and grows up a bit more in this one.

Draco Malfoy comes into his own in the film, and I felt Tom Felton did more than just sneer in this film. He got a really meaty storyline that really changed the dynamic for his character and he showed some real depth in acting in this film.

I know a lot of people were upset about what was and wasn’t filmed, but to my mind, what was shown was amazing. Sure, I wish the last scene in the book had been shown, but the films are entirely separate of the books, which have more depth and detail.

Cinematically speaking, I loved the rich textures and use of colour to depict memories and evoke emotion. And my favourite has to be Luna’s colourful choices.

There’s also a lot more humour in this film, which I found great as its all going to get very serious and scary further on in the film. So, the humour showed that while these are dark times, people still need a laugh.

A fantastic offering and looking forward to the next one!

4 out of 5 stars.

Random fact: Dame Maggie Smith completed filming this film whilst undergoing radio-therapy as treatment for breast cancer.

 

The Colour of Magic Wednesday, Jun 24 2009 

5 stars and dvd and scifi/fantasy , , , , , Humaira 12:02 pm

If you’ve never picked up a Terry Pratchett book but wondered what all the fuss was about then try this wonderful film out.

The Colour of Magic is about the world’s worst wizard, Rincewind and a tourist, Twoflower who find themselves embroiled in a strange and funny adventure. Its basically like every fantasy film that you’ve ever seen and pokes fun at it.

You also get to see Terry Pratchett’s amazing world visually, the great Discworld which is on a huge turtle which houses 4 elephants and the discworld which is a flat world.

Rincewind has been at the Unseen University for decades but is still a student as he can never remember any spells. When he was young, on a bet he opened the Ocatvo, the world’s great spellbook which houses the 8 great spells. But one escaped into his brain and ever since then he can remember no other spell.

He finally gets expelled and meets Twoflower, the Discworld’s first tourist who he’s charged with protecting and making sure gets to see all the sights and sounds of the Capital City. Twoflower is a cheerful soul who sees the world through rose tinted spectacles, but who is also funny and compassionate.

Together they encounter Trolls, Dragons, Wizards and the end of the Discworld and also Death which follows Rincewind impatiently as he refuses to die.

I laughed, I cried and I wondered at this fantastically funny series which is split into two episodes.

Sean Astin of Lord of the Rings is hilarious as the clueless Twoflower and David Jason is just genius as Rincewind. But the star of the series is the Luggage which follows its Master Twoflower wherever he is and travels on legs!

5 out of 5 stars.

Random fact: Both Sean Astin (Twoflower) and Sir David Jason (Rincewind) are long-term Pratchett fans. Jason named The Colour of Magic as his choice of favourite book of all time in the BBC’s Big Read survey.

The Colour Of Magic [DVD] [2008]

 

The Fall Tuesday, Jan 27 2009 

4 stars and dvd and scifi/fantasy , , Humaira 8:27 pm

Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies) takes on the role of a stunt man in LA during the 30s. Whilst attempting a stunt to impress the girl he loves, Roy loses his legs and becomes a paraplegic. At the hospital he befriends a 5 year old girl called Alexandria and tells her an epic story of a colourful cast of characters.

Five men who have a grievance against the evil Governor Odius and they all want him dead. Along the way they travel the globe in search of Odius, righting wrongs and exacting revenge as needed. Reality and Fantasy mix when the real world becomes embroiled with the world of the story and Alexandria learns what is truth and what are lies.

Visually its a stunning movie, and you must watch it just for the visuals. Everything is beautifully thought out and the locations complement the story. The cast and costumes worn are also incredibly amazing. They just don’t make films like this!

But, in terms of story I was sorely disappointed. The little girl while cute, gets annoying after a while. The second half is slow and predicable, and I feel lets the story down a little.

All in all though, a visual treat for the eyes.

Random fact: Singh shot the hospital scenes with Catinca Untaru (Alexandria) in chronological order. As filming progressed over the course of six weeks, she grew taller and her English improved, like her character would have in real life. She also lost her two front baby teeth right before shooting began, so filming in sequence allowed for the continuity of the gap between her teeth to remain consistent.

4 stars out of 5.

The Fall [2008]

 

Stardust Tuesday, Jul 29 2008 

5 stars and dvd and scifi/fantasy , , , Humaira 8:04 pm

Stardust is the story of a young man named Tristan who promises to retrieve a fallen star for his love, Victoria in exchange for her hand in marriage. He has one week to fulfil his quest. But the witch Lamia also wants the fallen star to become young and beautiful as does the Prince Septimus so he can ascend to the throne. All are in for a surprise, as the star turns out to be a beautiful young woman who will forever Tristan’s destiny.

I was pleasantly surprised, as its a wonderful tale for the whole family. One of those adventure films that has something for everyone and a very good story to boot. Michelle Pfieffer is wonderful in her role as the evil witch Lamia. Clare Danes has a fantastic British accent and plays the role of the fallen star to perfection.

But it has to be Robert DiNiro who steals the film in his hilarious turn as the fearsome Pirate, Captain Shakespeare.

Overall, a fantastic film with a wonderful cast that will make you laugh and cry.

Random fact: All princes wear clothing with a pattern spelling out their number in Roman numerals, composed by smaller Arabic numerals. Furthermore, Septimus wears a vest with the numeral 7 on each button.

5 stars out of 5!

Stardust [2007]

 

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Monday, Jun 9 2008 

4 stars and dvd and scifi/fantasy , , , , , Humaira 7:44 pm

The latest outing of the wizard sees his experiences with the newly resurrected wizard dark lord, Voldemort suppressed by the Ministry of Magic, the governing body of the magical world. Whilst Harry faces opposition at every turn to prove he is right, a rebel group of students decide to form an Army to try and combat the Dark Threat. Harry also experiences his first kiss and a fight to save the ones he loves from the Dark Lord.

It took me this long to watch this movie, mainly because I hated the fifth book, but that’s a story for another post. It does try to be faithful to the book but it manages to make all the scenes that are action packed fantastic! The kids playing the young wizard have really improved acting wise and its nice to see them growing up in the films.

The stand out performances for me were Daniel Radcliffe who has improved leaps and bounds since the first film as well as Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. Alan Rickman as always is fantastic as the Potions master, Snape and one of my favourite characters in the movie series. It also foreshadows some of the storylines they will no doubt explore in the 6th movie and it is probably the best after Goblet of Fire in the series!

Overall, a film well worth watching!

Random fact: J. K. Rowling (The book’s author) provided over 70 names for the Black family tree tapestry, complete with details of relations between each and every member, whose were to be scorched and so on.

4 stars out of 5.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2 Disc Special Edition) [2007]