Jason Isaacs – Behind the Proscenium

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

With Wit, Reviewed By Kimmo Mustonenen

With “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”, Harry Potter moves into the final battle.

Really the very last.

Sad people everywhere.

For Harry Potter fans, the “Harry Potter” movies are as a kind of Horcruxes – those in which the arch-enemy Voldemort small pieces swapped of his soul and has spread to delay his death (if you say “what?” read the dang books already).

In particular, since the last book appeared in 2007, the disciples of each film have a small piece of the Potter fortune invested, and a director would have to make very many mistakes to screw up the brains of the masses into a revolt which would turn into a hatred of young Harry and his movie. It is a bulletproof film yet still delivers like a train to the heart.

Especially Hermione. Cannot forget her (yowza!).

David Yates, who is responsible for all films since the fifth volume, has done nothing wrong! And that is so right!

The second part of “Deathly Hallows” is a seamless continuation of the first one with Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) – with the house-elf Dobby the helpful on the beach – and seems at this beach now, very briefly, the sun (this is complicated business).

Then it is dark again, and Harry is alone again. Naturally.

Again, what could be said from the first part of “Deathly Hallows”: Yates has not illustrated the book, but a mood – a mood of farewell and goodbye.

This is not the romantic, but barren volcanic landscapes, almost surreal in its vastness and desolation, as though Harry Potter’s soul Salvador Dalí carted out and cast in stone.

One would hardly have thought it possible, but “Deathly Hallows 2” is even darker – a more solitary Harry.

The first part staged the “us-versus-the-rest-of-world” friendly celebration of Harry, Ron and Hermione; the second now the “I-need-act-alone” by Potter.

And alone acting is cool.

Daniel Radcliffe plays his last days surrounded by magnificent scenery as a harried warrior who out of sheer guilt (there had been enough to die for Harry Potter – but who wouldn’t?) accept more aid and the fight against the Dark Lord finally wants to put behind him.

Since there is no heroic martyr, Harry, as a reluctant hero rushes into battle, as if he were going through the stations of a sadistic treasure hunt, to destroy Voldemort along with his Horcruxes and find the three “Deathly Hallows”.

These tasks must be ticked off as soon as possible so that Potter, finally (whew!), has his rest.

And if it is the eternal – no matter.

Which does not mean there is no action spectacle awaiting viewers: Some people speculated on the quiet first part that the director had abolished all the effects for the final.

Wrong, buster!

Yates is interested in still more for characters than for dramatic showdowns. The villains implode rather incidentally – the grandeur of Hogwarts castle turns into a refugee camp.

Crazy.

What an ending!

SPOILER ALERT!

The much-criticized epilogue to make us go “19 years later” wasn’t as much suck as you would thought at first glance (again, you perplexed? Read the dang book!).

Daniel Radcliffe and one that was made earlier with the help of ‘digital 19 years later’ and now looks like Marty McFly, but not so much older than 17.

No, we do not want to keep Harry Potter in memory. No, we want a Harry Potter heart.

At least there will be no more “is your Potter Hairy?” jokes. And God is thanked for that!

Two vigorously wagging thumbs.

This the end that really ends things. Take that “Lost”.

Kimmo Mustonenen (Kimmo On Kino) – Behind The Proscenium

Cars 2

With Wit, Reviewed By Kimmo Mustonenen

Wow! Maybe over thinking was the downfall. Or over loving of money by Pixar.

Whatever.

No longer “wonder kid” crazy movie makers supreme. Now, just another assaulting to my eyeballs.

All for my dollars. Bastards! In sucky 3-D.

Written by Ben Queen from a previously devised by John Lasseter, Brad Lewis and Dan Fogelman, the script for Cars 2 hit by investing in a different story from that seen in the original instead of making the same mistake most of the proceedings and try to repeat the previous formula – and it is a pity, then, that the plot is chosen by the team as bad and equally formulaic.

What?

Adopting the genre “espionage” as the basis of the narrative, the film features Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and his best friend Mate (Larry the Cable Guy) on a trip around the world while the race car part in a series of disputes promoted to prove efficiency of an alternative fuel, clean and renewable – or “green” to you and me.

However, Mate turns out to be mistaken for an American spy and goes on to spearhead several adventures along the agent McMíssel Finn (Michael Caine – not acting, but Reacting!) and his assistant Holley Box (yowza!) Brita (Emily Mortimer) as they try to discover the identity of the villain who seeks to sabotage the race discredit the new fuel.

The desperation of Cars 2 to establish some kind of solidity in its plot, in fact, reaches its peak at the instant kill, for no apparent reason, a loose unbelievable device, only to conclude that there can “do it” by not feel secure in himself, forcing his old friend to encourage him (I don’t even know what I wrote right now, but you will) – and this kind of unfortunate crud is spread throughout the work, starting on the scene, at the beginning of the film, in which Lightning mourns the death of Doc Hudson in a monologue accompanied by an artificial track just to forget about the very second he leaves the museum dedicated to old mentor (apparently, Pixar decided to delete the character after the death of his voice actor, Paul Newman, although the van originally voiced by George Carlin has not deserved the same consideration – words you can’t say on T.V. being said to Pixar right now).

This is now my longest sentence.

If nothing else, the film still takes care of sending anything positive for their young audience, planting the idea that “junk” (the “old”, “different”, “rejected”) see the world with envy, resentment and bad intentions (whatever!).

And what about their supposed ecological message, which at first seems to advocate the importance of a clean fuel and sustainable only to conclude with the mantra so unbelievable. So unbelievable that I shan’t mention it.

Ha!

A mantra that replaced the word “gasoline” for “Pixar” unfortunately no longer applies.

There, I said it.

Kimmo Mustonenen for Kimmo On Kino – Behind The Proscenium

P.S. The Glee Project brings me tears of joy. I have much hope for those poor, weirdo reject kids. And they’re not in their 20’s! Or auto-tuned! Yet.

Tag: Jason Isaacs

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 [REVIEW]

Cars 2 [REVIEW]