Harry Potter, Bilbo Baggins, Guillermo Del Toro, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson add up to Wacky Fun when…
Okay, so the Rock is not actually featured in this post. Sorry, Donjuanica, I know how you love him so (you should see his screensaver…yikes).
I just watched the newly released trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, due out around Thanksgiving, and I have to say that I’m really excited about it. It looks to be maturing and darkening and creepen…ing…just like the books did at this same stage in the overall story. I’m a huge fan of the books, but I’ve been lukewarm on most of the movie adaptations so far, which have for the most part suffered by comparison to their source material, though I will say that they’ve improved with each edition, culminating with Order of the Phoenix. In fact, here’s my overall assessment to date:
- Sorcerer’s Stone: Great casting, great visuals, terrible acting, especially by the kids. It really needed the directing of Andrew Adamson, who worked magic with those kids in Narnia, making them really believable.
- Chamber of Secrets: Perfect casting (especially Gilderoy Lockhart), great visuals, still some bad acting.
- Prisoner of Azkaban: I liked it a lot on first viewing, very visually interesting, now I can’t stand it. Every time I see a little of it on TV, I want to strangle Alfonso Cuaron and the morons who selected him to direct it because of all the stupid little things he did and did not do with the project. And oh how I miss Richard Harris, who was absolutely perfect as Dumbledore.
- Goblet of Fire: This is where things started to really improve. I didn’t love it at first, mostly because I thought there were issues with the portrayal of some characters, but on second viewing, I enjoyed it much more. Again, the casting was brilliant, especially Mad-Eye Moody, and Voldemort was very creepy looking.
- Order of the Phoenix: This was the first one that I really loved, and I loved it even more the second time around. The casting was amazing (see Dolores Umbridge), the treatment of the book’s material was spot-on, and I finally liked the way Michael Gambon portrayed Dumbledore. Voldemort was better acted in this one than in Goblet too, not so over the top.
So I couldn’t be more pleased that they’ve brought director David Yates back after doing such an amazing job on Phoenix, and he’s also on for Deathly Hallows. But here’s the twist: they’re breaking Deathly Hallows up into two films (see article), to be filmed concurrently and released six months apart. If they’re really doing it to preserve the whole content of the book as they claim, then it could be a great decision. Time will tell.
The same holds true about another of my all time favorites that’s undergoing similar treatment. I’m very excited that they’re finally moving forward on production of The Hobbit, but they are also making two movies out of it, or rather The Hobbit and an unexpected sequel. The sequel is not going to be based on Tolkien’s actual written material, but rather on the lore that would fill the void of time between the end of The Hobbit and the beginning of LOTR. The director they’ve got on board, Guillermo Del Toro, is known for his visual style, which should lend itself to a tale like the Hobbit, so it all sounds promising so far. As much as I loved LOTR, I’m glad that Peter Jackson is producing but isn’t directing. I think Del Toro will bring a fresh take to Middle Earth.
So humongous and hearty kudos to the people behind the Harry Potter movies for finally getting the right man at the helm and keeping him there through the finish line. Here’s hoping that movies 6 and 7 (and 8, I guess) are as well done as 5 was, or even better. Based on the trailer, I’m very encouraged.
August 6th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Interesting.
I have to say, I’m a little surprised at your assessments of the first 5 films so far. I agree with you on the first two, but I would add that the Chris Columbus’s direction was exceptionally awful.
You lost me on the Azkaban, though. This was the best of the series until Phoenix came out. I have seen it several times, and with the exception of a little bizarre acting on the part of Michael Gambon, I think it’s the most coherent and engaging film of the bunch, or at least it was until…
Order of the Phoenix was brilliant. It was the first one that I thought was actually very well done and was one of my favorite movies of 2007, which I could not say about any of the others (even Azkaban).
Now, the big bone of contention is on Goblet of Fire. That thing is an absolute turd burger, and unlike you, I find it only gets worse on repeated viewings. Mad-Eye Moody was the only entertaining part about it (played to the hilt by Brendan Gleeson). Other than that, it totally sucked. By the end, I find myself wishing all the kids would just die already or shut the freak up. I actually didn’t like Voldemort at all (I’m still unsure of the physical appearance they’ve gone with, even in Phoenix).
Anyway, it is good news that the David Yates is sticking around though. At least they can end it strong. Unless, of course, he decides to pull a Rowling and starts having Dumbledore play up the gay stuff.
August 6th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Interesting…very interesting. I really wasn’t pleased with Goblet after I saw it in the theaters. I thought a lot of the acting was bad, particularly the characterizations. For instance, I thought Mad-Eye’s outlandish behavior was too theatrical, as was Voldemort’s. It was all very over the top. And Dumbledore spent the whole movie running around in a panic, which didn’t fit with him at all.
I may be too hard on Azkaban, because I do recall thinking at the time that it was the best of the ones they had so far released, but I’ve since grown bugged with it.
I do, however, agree about Phoenix. It is far and away better than the others, and so far the only one of the bunch that stands solidly without feeling like it needs its source material as a crutch (and actually that book was not my favorite of the series, but the movie is, so what does that tell you?) It’s really a very good movie.
August 7th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Good laws… what should I know about Donjuanica’s screensaver? Maybe he’s not getting enough attention at home…
August 7th, 2008 at 11:47 am
The trailer was SWEET and I can’t wait for November!