Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1

Initially when I found out about the "Deathly Hallows" being divided into two separate movies I must say that this fact irritated me. It's no secret that the film company made such a decision with the inevitable financial aspect in mind - I believe it would be safe to say it's common knowledge that every new Harry Potter movie is the equivalent to the creators having a billion dollars more in their pockets. After watching the first part of the "Deathly Hallows" however, I conceded that this clearly economic move did the movie a favour.

In this episode of the "Deathly Hallows" the magical world of the famous film saga we have come to know is immersed in darkness and seized by Lord Voldemort (Ralph Feinnes) and his minions. At the same time, we accompany those that are in rebellion against this new order - the rebels being Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint). They decide to fight. And that's why they head out to locate and annihilate the Horcruxes in which fragments of Voldemort's soul are hidden. It turns out that in the final showdown with "You Know Who" the Deathly Hallows could prove to be of major importance.

"The Deathly Hallows part one" proves successful in captivating the audience's full attention throughout the duration of the movie. Due to the plot being less branched, director David Yates was able to immerse himself in the main storyline to a much greater degree. When watching this movie it is obvious that the makers didn't just "do the job". "The Deathly Hallows" is graced with a touch of fantasy and pure creativity of the creators. This can be noticed thanks to some alternative, yet creative visual effects - for instance, the animated story about the deathly hallows, filmed in a black-yellow colour and in the scene where Ron is being tempted, reminding us of Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings". The world seized by Voldemort's powers was stylised in a way that it reflected what Germany looked like when ruled by Hitler, and this turned out to be a brilliant move - the grim buildings, the everlasting feeling of danger or the muggle persecution inspired by the Holocaust intensify that aura.

David Yates took a risk by gracing the young trio with most of the screen time, severely restricting accredited supporting roles. And in all honesty it has to be said that the trio Radcliffe, Watson and Grint actually do very well. Nowadays they're more mature actor-wise and do a great job in displaying their emotions; whether its anger or warm feelings, which bond the characters. Up until this point the stiff Radcliffe portrays a character comprising blood and bone. His character shares the traits of the "chosen ones" known from other works of culture, whether it be Neo from "the Matrix", Frodo from "the Lord of the Rings" or the biblical Moses. He's an unfortunate "one" chosen by fate; an average person lacking muscular build, a beautiful mind or even the ability to dance. He dreams of a calm life and doesn't feel capable of completing his mission's objective. Not quite a hero, he is able to go up the ladder of fate thanks to the help of his loyal friends: the great wizard Dumbledore, the nerd Hermione and the liable to sacrifice Ron. The whole saga praises friendship, showing that anything is possible with the help of devoted friends. And that's why it's not necessarily true that "Harry Potter" is a devoid of any value "outsider" of pop culture, as the "Deathly Hallows" as well as all the other parts of the saga possess a certain educational quality. 

Apart from that, the audience are supplied with sheer entertainment; with an addicting and absolutely captivating storyline, and action scenes soaked with imaginativeness. Let's not forget about the stunning pictures held in an epic, grim tone and the exceptional soundtrack courtesy of Alexandre Desplat.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1" isn't just the best movie of the whole saga, but it's also the best fantasy since Peter Jackson's cult classic trilogy. This movie is great to watch, there's not a single moment that tires the viewer. With each addition to the series, David Yates raises the bar of the Potter saga. Here's hoping the second part of the "Deathly Hallows" doesn't turn out to be an exception.

Melancholia, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, 8 1/2

Firstly I’d like to apologise to all readers of my blog for the long break in review publications. Unfortunately, for a period of time I was cursed with little time and restricted access to the Internet, thus encountered many obstacles in writing reviews. And that’s why I now have a few shortened movie reviews to present to you – movies I recently had the opportunity to watch.

"8 1/2 ”directed by Federico Fellini 

Classic. Federico Fellini tells the story of an Italian director, who is going through a creativity crisis, a period lacking artistic afflatus. This problem is portrayed with conviction and the film’s opening vehicle sequence remains ingrained in memory. Unfortunately, there are boring moments and the film all in all doesn’t deserve to be regarded as a masterpiece. With all said however, the final verdict is rather high though slightly far-fetched.

„Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” directed by Kerry Conran

Apparently the movie was a real breakthrough in motion picture history as it was the first motion picture to have been completely filmed using the “blue screen” technique (it depended on filming the actors in a studio with a blue screen in the background, creating the surroundings and screenplay on the computer.) It’s a simple adventure about Sky Captain (Jude Law) and his ex-partner Polly (Gwyneth Paltrow.) The idea for a simple and light story with a handful of movie quotes itself wasn’t that bad, however the animations of dubious quality and the many stupid explanations regarding certain events in the story don’t strengthen this movie production at all. “Sky Captain’s” fate isn’t even saved by star actors – Giovanni Ribisi and Jude Law.

„Melancholia” directed by Lars von Trier

In the opinion of many film critics it is Lars von Trier’s picture that should’ve have won the Golden Palm at this year’s annual film festival in Cannes. But for me - Melancholia failed to intrigue. Apart from the satisfactory roles of Charlotte Gainsborough and Kirsten Dunst, nice pictures, beautiful special effects and scoring nothing really struck me. It’s a good film. But that’s all.  

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

In the newest edition of the incredibly profitable blockbuster series, Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) - undoubtedly the “face” of a prominent brand that the “Pirates of the Caribbean” has become over the years - is searching for a water source of life, however this time without the heroic Will Turner and pugnacious Elizabeth Swann. Also, a few of the notable supporting pirates aren't present in the cast line-up. From the old crew only Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and Mr. Gibbs (Kelvin McNally) remain. On the other hand however, we have a whole new line-up of new characters – a bad captain, his attractive daughter, a confident priest, a few mermaids, a drunken sailor (not exactly groundbreaking), pirate zombies, stiff Spanish defenders of their beliefs, an obese English king.

Rob Marshall's “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” heightens and rejuvenates the saga's standard after the soaked in pathos final addition to the trilogy, though doesn't quite compare to the fresh and innovative “Curse of the Black Pearl.” In the most recent motion picture there are a lot less fantasy elements, a noticeable lack of batalistic scenes riddled with special effects, though the trademark sense of humor isn't lost. A few diamonds in the rough can be observed – the showdown between the two Sparrows, the Russian Roulette scene with Blackbeard, or Jack's and Barbossa's snatching of the two important objects from the Spanish's hands. However, the movie doesn't keep that high a standard and very often evokes mixed feelings, giving us the hot and cold treatment – either by the unsolicited rush of events or the banal philosophical-religious issues. Hans Zimmer's soundtrack sounds great. In truth, the German decides to reach for well-known motives from the movie's predecessors without changing their arrangement and because of this the audience could feel bored or a sense of repetition, though the two new musical motives in some degree act as compensation. As always Dariusz Wolski's pictures present themselves very well, and a feeling of delight strikes when we see the beautiful landscapes and the unbelievable art direction/scenography. (a potential favourite to the OBF awards? :)) The whole mix is nicely binded together in a cool, grim style. And served in 3D (utterly unnecessary.)

And finally everything falls onto the actors. It's because of them that the new love story, as if from a fairytale, turns out to be pretty average – the ones involved in the love affair being a (highly) stylized Will Turner clone (Sam Claflin) and a mermaid (Astrid Berges-Frisbey.) Claflin's terrible performance is only partially redeemed by his love interest who portrays a mythical and devilish beauty with sheer conviction. Ian Mcshane's portrayal of a 'dark horse' character turns out to be one of the movie's strong points; as always it is a pleasure to watch Penelope Cruz who (as if expected to) to some extent plays the role similar to that of her character in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”; Geoffrey Rush displays quality acting. However, the movie benefits most from the amazing Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. In a way he doesn't offer anything innovative, but his problems, behaviours and facial expressions are PRICELESS.
The fourth part of the renowned series, despite the numerous cons and script defects, is an enjoyable adventure movie, a good choice for a warm evening. Partially because of my fondness to the pirate series, partially because of my content regarding the change of direction when bearing in mind “At World's End” I'll give this motion picture a (slightly exaggerated) four.