Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 Conjures International Box Office Magic, Becoming Top Earner of Entire Film Series
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Pictures’ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 has become the highest grossing installment in the Harry Potter franchise in international markets. With just months to go before the release of the finale of the record-breaking film series based on the beloved books by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 has earned a staggering $657.24 million and counting, soaring past the previous record-holder, 2001’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which grossed $657 million. The announcement was made today by Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.
“It’s tremendously gratifying to reach this benchmark as we enter the final stretch of this remarkable journey,” said Jeff Robinov, President of Warner Bros. Pictures Group. “We share this achievement with Jo Rowling, whose books are the foundation of this rich and vibrant world, as well as the talented people who brought her vision to life on the screen.”
“We are also incredibly proud of our teams around the world who have brought a consistent level of excellence, passion and ingenuity to the campaigns for these films,” said Sue Kroll, President, Worldwide Marketing for Warner Bros. Pictures. “And, of course, we’re thrilled that longtime fans and new audiences alike have continued to champion each film, resulting in the huge success of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.”
Kwan-Rubinek added, “These numbers speak to the phenomenal and enduring strength of this property, which has captivated audiences across all borders, regardless of age or culture. We’re looking forward to releasing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 this summer, which will be a fitting way to bring to a close the movie event of a generation.”
With the success of its first six of seven titles, the Harry Potter series had already achieved the distinction of being the top-grossing film franchise of all time, with a combined worldwide gross of $6.37 billion. This benchmark for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1—which has earned $951.8 million worldwide—as well as the anticipation for Part 2, opening globally on July 15, 2011, should ensure its place in film history for years to come.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Heyday Films Production, a David Yates Film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, a motion picture event in two full-length parts. The film is being distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
Heading the cast, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson reprise the roles of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The film’s ensemble cast also includes Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Brendan Gleeson, Richard Griffiths, John Hurt, Rhys Ifans, Jason Isaacs, Bill Nighy, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Timothy Spall, Imelda Staunton, David Thewlis, Warwick Davis, Tom Felton, Toby Jones, David Legeno, Simon McBurney, Helen McCrory, Nick Moran, Peter Mullan, David O’Hara, Clémence Poésy, Natalia Tena, Julie Walters, Mark Williams and Bonnie Wright.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 was directed by David Yates, who also helmed “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” and “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” David Heyman, the producer of all of the Harry Potter films, again produced the film, together with David Barron and J.K. Rowling. Steve Kloves adapted the screenplay, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling. Lionel Wigram is the executive producer, with John Trehy and Tim Lewis serving as co-producers.
Behind the scenes, the creative team was led by director of photography Eduardo Serra, production designer Stuart Craig, editor Mark Day, composer Alexandre Desplat, visual effects supervisor Tim Burke, and costume designer Jany Temime.
Concurrently with its theatrical release, the film was released in select IMAX® theatres. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 was digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® through proprietary IMAX DMR® technology.
http://www.harrypotter.com/
Showing posts with label Brendan Gleeson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brendan Gleeson. Show all posts
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Review: "Cold Mountain" Wants to Be Epic and Literary (Happy B'day, Anthony Minghella)
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 4 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux
Cold Mountain (2003)
Running time: 154 minutes (2 hours, 34 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence and sexuality
DIRECTOR: Anthony Minghella
WRITER: Anthony Minghella (based upon the novel by Charles Frazier)
PRODUCERS: Albert Berger, William Horberg, Sydney Pollack, and Ron Yerxa
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Seale (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Walter Murch
Academy Award winner
DRAMA/HISTORICAL/ROMANCE/WAR
Starring: Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger, Donald Sutherland, Ray Winstone, Brendan Gleeson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Kathy Baker, James Gammon, and Giovanni Ribisi
Inman (Jude Law) fell in love with Reverend Monroe’s (Donald Sutherland) daughter, Ada (Nicole Kidman), without really knowing her, but there was something about her and there were no words to describe the strength of this new love. Then, Inman has to go off to fight for the Confederacy in the War Between States.
In the waning years of the war, Inman, after surviving a grave wound, deserts the Southern army and embarks on a perilous journey back home to Cold Mountain, North Carolina, realizing that he’s tired of killing and as a broken man, he could find comfort in Ada’s arms. Meanwhile, Ada is struggling on the home front until she’s meets a feisty young mountain girl, Ruby Thewes (Renée Zellweger), who helps Ada get her father’s farm back in order. Together the survive depredations, the home guard, and cruel local lawman looking for Ada’s love.
Director Anthony Minghella won an Academy Award for directing the powerful, tragic romance, The English Patient, and after following that with The Talented Mr. Ripley and now Cold Mountain, Minghella seems intent on making love stories that move inextricable to a tragic end. Minghella is a really good filmmaker; his movies play out as if directed by a thoughtful storyteller who combines the disciplined acting of stage drama with the visual punch of epic filmmaking.
Cold Mountain is beautifully photographed, and the war scenes, despite their brevity, are as emotionally charged as anything since Braveheart, and the scenes have that kind of old school charm that recalls the golden age Hollywood classic, Gone with the Wind. Cold Mountain is a film where all the skilled and technical crafts were put on film with bravado and intelligence and with an eye on beauty, as if the filmmakers knew that Cold Mountain was indeed a war film, but a war film with an eye on the love lives of the soldiers behind the lines.
The acting is earnest and good, but seems a bit strained at times. It’s too sweet, as if the actors know that they were in an important film, a film leaning more toward art than entertainment – we’re actors, and this time we’re acting in an important film, not starring in a blockbuster. In fact, the acting is reminiscent of the exaggerated, faux stage acting style of 1930 and 40’s Hollywood romance films. Combine this forced formalism with the fact that Cold Mountain is slightly miscast, and the film is suddenly kind of twitchy.
Cold Mountain is a very good film, and it is indeed a poignant romance with epic war as the backdrop. You weep for the character’s hardships, but you yearn as they long for love. If the ending had been at all agreeable, this would have been a perfect film, but what pleasures it offers are indeed gratifying, so I recommend it.
7 of 10
B+
NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Renée Zellweger); 6 nominations: “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Jude Law), “Best Cinematography” (John Seale), “Best Editing” (Walter Murch), “Best Music, Original Score” (Gabriel Yared), “Best Music, Original Song” (T-Bone Burnett and Elvis Costello for the song "Scarlet Tide") and “Best Music, Original Song” (Sting for the song "You Will Be My Ain True Love")
2004 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Gabriel Yared and T-Bone Burnett) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Renée Zellweger); 11 nominations: “Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film” (Sydney Pollack, William Horberg, Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa, and Anthony Minghella), “Best Cinematography” (John Seale) “Best Costume Design” (Ann Roth and Carlo Poggioli), “Best Editing” (Walter Murch), “Best Film” (Sydney Pollack, William Horberg, Albert Berger, and Ron Yerxa), “Best Make Up/Hair” (Paul Engelen and Ivana Primorac), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Jude Law), “Best Production Design” (Dante Ferretti), “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (Anthony Minghella), “Best Sound” (Eddy Joseph, Ivan Sharrock, Walter Murch, Mike Prestwood Smith, and Matthew Gough) and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Anthony Minghella)
2004 Golden Globes: 1 win “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Renée Zellweger); 7 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Anthony Minghella), “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Gabriel Yared), “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Sting for the song "You Will Be My Ain True Love"), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Jude Law), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Nicole Kidman) and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Anthony Minghella)
Cold Mountain (2003)
Running time: 154 minutes (2 hours, 34 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence and sexuality
DIRECTOR: Anthony Minghella
WRITER: Anthony Minghella (based upon the novel by Charles Frazier)
PRODUCERS: Albert Berger, William Horberg, Sydney Pollack, and Ron Yerxa
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Seale (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Walter Murch
Academy Award winner
DRAMA/HISTORICAL/ROMANCE/WAR
Starring: Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger, Donald Sutherland, Ray Winstone, Brendan Gleeson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Kathy Baker, James Gammon, and Giovanni Ribisi
Inman (Jude Law) fell in love with Reverend Monroe’s (Donald Sutherland) daughter, Ada (Nicole Kidman), without really knowing her, but there was something about her and there were no words to describe the strength of this new love. Then, Inman has to go off to fight for the Confederacy in the War Between States.
In the waning years of the war, Inman, after surviving a grave wound, deserts the Southern army and embarks on a perilous journey back home to Cold Mountain, North Carolina, realizing that he’s tired of killing and as a broken man, he could find comfort in Ada’s arms. Meanwhile, Ada is struggling on the home front until she’s meets a feisty young mountain girl, Ruby Thewes (Renée Zellweger), who helps Ada get her father’s farm back in order. Together the survive depredations, the home guard, and cruel local lawman looking for Ada’s love.
Director Anthony Minghella won an Academy Award for directing the powerful, tragic romance, The English Patient, and after following that with The Talented Mr. Ripley and now Cold Mountain, Minghella seems intent on making love stories that move inextricable to a tragic end. Minghella is a really good filmmaker; his movies play out as if directed by a thoughtful storyteller who combines the disciplined acting of stage drama with the visual punch of epic filmmaking.
Cold Mountain is beautifully photographed, and the war scenes, despite their brevity, are as emotionally charged as anything since Braveheart, and the scenes have that kind of old school charm that recalls the golden age Hollywood classic, Gone with the Wind. Cold Mountain is a film where all the skilled and technical crafts were put on film with bravado and intelligence and with an eye on beauty, as if the filmmakers knew that Cold Mountain was indeed a war film, but a war film with an eye on the love lives of the soldiers behind the lines.
The acting is earnest and good, but seems a bit strained at times. It’s too sweet, as if the actors know that they were in an important film, a film leaning more toward art than entertainment – we’re actors, and this time we’re acting in an important film, not starring in a blockbuster. In fact, the acting is reminiscent of the exaggerated, faux stage acting style of 1930 and 40’s Hollywood romance films. Combine this forced formalism with the fact that Cold Mountain is slightly miscast, and the film is suddenly kind of twitchy.
Cold Mountain is a very good film, and it is indeed a poignant romance with epic war as the backdrop. You weep for the character’s hardships, but you yearn as they long for love. If the ending had been at all agreeable, this would have been a perfect film, but what pleasures it offers are indeed gratifying, so I recommend it.
7 of 10
B+
NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Renée Zellweger); 6 nominations: “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Jude Law), “Best Cinematography” (John Seale), “Best Editing” (Walter Murch), “Best Music, Original Score” (Gabriel Yared), “Best Music, Original Song” (T-Bone Burnett and Elvis Costello for the song "Scarlet Tide") and “Best Music, Original Song” (Sting for the song "You Will Be My Ain True Love")
2004 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Gabriel Yared and T-Bone Burnett) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Renée Zellweger); 11 nominations: “Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film” (Sydney Pollack, William Horberg, Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa, and Anthony Minghella), “Best Cinematography” (John Seale) “Best Costume Design” (Ann Roth and Carlo Poggioli), “Best Editing” (Walter Murch), “Best Film” (Sydney Pollack, William Horberg, Albert Berger, and Ron Yerxa), “Best Make Up/Hair” (Paul Engelen and Ivana Primorac), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Jude Law), “Best Production Design” (Dante Ferretti), “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (Anthony Minghella), “Best Sound” (Eddy Joseph, Ivan Sharrock, Walter Murch, Mike Prestwood Smith, and Matthew Gough) and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Anthony Minghella)
2004 Golden Globes: 1 win “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Renée Zellweger); 7 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Anthony Minghella), “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Gabriel Yared), “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Sting for the song "You Will Be My Ain True Love"), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Jude Law), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Nicole Kidman) and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Anthony Minghella)
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Thursday, November 25, 2010
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is the One
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 96 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
Running time: 146 minutes (2 hours, 26 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence, frightening images and brief sensuality
DIRECTOR: David Yates
WRITER: Steve Kloves (based upon the novel by J.K. Rowling)
PRODUCERS: David Barron and David Heyman and J.K. Rowling
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Eduardo Serra
EDITOR: Mark Day
COMPOSER: Alexandre Desplat
FANTASY/ACTION/DRAMA/MYSTERY
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Bonnie Wright, Julie Walters, Mark Williams, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Felton, Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs, David Thewlis, Timothy Spall, Peter Mullan, Rhys Ifans, Evanna Lynch, and Michael Gambon
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was the seventh (and final) novel in the Harry Potter book series. Warner Bros. Pictures is releasing the film adaptation of the book as two films. The first, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, is now in theatres.
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and his closest friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) embark on a quest to find and destroy the Horcruxes, the secrets to Lord Voldemort’s (Ralph Fiennes) immortality. Meanwhile, Voldemort launches his latest plot to kill Harry, so the Order of the Phoenix hatches a daring mission to protect Harry. Not to be denied, Voldemort’s allies, the Death Eaters, launch a surprise attack, which scatter Harry and his allies. Harry, Ron, and Hermione continue their quest in London, where the search for a Horcux takes them into the heart of the Ministry of Magic and begins a journey that will find the friends alone with only themselves upon which to rely.
Apparently dividing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into two movies will allow the filmmakers to make what is essentially one larger movie that is closer to its Potter book than the previous Harry Potter movies were to their respective books. One thing this split will do is allow the narrative to breathe. Some of the Potter movies always felt like they were missing something.
Sometimes, when filmmakers turn books into movies, they make the action in the book more frantic, in a way to make the narrative pop and seem livelier to movie audiences. They also leave out entire subplots and characters in adapting books to the screen. Movies, especially those created for wide public consumption, are often shallow compared to novels. Novels don’t have to offer fizzy amusement every page and sometimes show the less fun side of a character. Novels can have entire sequences that might seem boring compared to the non-stop nature of film, especially cinema of sensations, event movies, and summer tent pole flicks.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is not afraid to show the drier side of the Potter stories, and for the first time, a Harry Potter film really delves into the bittersweet of Harry Potter’s life and the complex dynamics involved in being a Potter friend, ally, or associate. Part 1 is certainly filled with exciting action scenes, breathtaking aerial duels, explosive fight scenes, sparkling displays of magic, and hot death, but it is also contemplative and emotional. This movie has both a meditative inner life and a combative outer life, which makes for a richer movie and a more fulfilling narrative.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is everything thrilling/action/fantasy that the previous Harry Potter movies were, but also something more. It has the character and drama befitting a great work of fantasy, and yes, you might even call it a Harry Potter movie that is really for adults.
9 of 10
A+
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
Running time: 146 minutes (2 hours, 26 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence, frightening images and brief sensuality
DIRECTOR: David Yates
WRITER: Steve Kloves (based upon the novel by J.K. Rowling)
PRODUCERS: David Barron and David Heyman and J.K. Rowling
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Eduardo Serra
EDITOR: Mark Day
COMPOSER: Alexandre Desplat
FANTASY/ACTION/DRAMA/MYSTERY
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Bonnie Wright, Julie Walters, Mark Williams, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Felton, Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs, David Thewlis, Timothy Spall, Peter Mullan, Rhys Ifans, Evanna Lynch, and Michael Gambon
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was the seventh (and final) novel in the Harry Potter book series. Warner Bros. Pictures is releasing the film adaptation of the book as two films. The first, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, is now in theatres.
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and his closest friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) embark on a quest to find and destroy the Horcruxes, the secrets to Lord Voldemort’s (Ralph Fiennes) immortality. Meanwhile, Voldemort launches his latest plot to kill Harry, so the Order of the Phoenix hatches a daring mission to protect Harry. Not to be denied, Voldemort’s allies, the Death Eaters, launch a surprise attack, which scatter Harry and his allies. Harry, Ron, and Hermione continue their quest in London, where the search for a Horcux takes them into the heart of the Ministry of Magic and begins a journey that will find the friends alone with only themselves upon which to rely.
Apparently dividing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into two movies will allow the filmmakers to make what is essentially one larger movie that is closer to its Potter book than the previous Harry Potter movies were to their respective books. One thing this split will do is allow the narrative to breathe. Some of the Potter movies always felt like they were missing something.
Sometimes, when filmmakers turn books into movies, they make the action in the book more frantic, in a way to make the narrative pop and seem livelier to movie audiences. They also leave out entire subplots and characters in adapting books to the screen. Movies, especially those created for wide public consumption, are often shallow compared to novels. Novels don’t have to offer fizzy amusement every page and sometimes show the less fun side of a character. Novels can have entire sequences that might seem boring compared to the non-stop nature of film, especially cinema of sensations, event movies, and summer tent pole flicks.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is not afraid to show the drier side of the Potter stories, and for the first time, a Harry Potter film really delves into the bittersweet of Harry Potter’s life and the complex dynamics involved in being a Potter friend, ally, or associate. Part 1 is certainly filled with exciting action scenes, breathtaking aerial duels, explosive fight scenes, sparkling displays of magic, and hot death, but it is also contemplative and emotional. This movie has both a meditative inner life and a combative outer life, which makes for a richer movie and a more fulfilling narrative.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is everything thrilling/action/fantasy that the previous Harry Potter movies were, but also something more. It has the character and drama befitting a great work of fantasy, and yes, you might even call it a Harry Potter movie that is really for adults.
9 of 10
A+
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix a Lean and Mean Movie
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 108 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Running time: 138 minutes (2 hours, 18 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images
DIRECTOR: David Yates
WRITER: Michael Goldenberg (based upon the book by J.K. Rowling)
PRODUCERS: David Barron and David Heyman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Slawomir Idziak (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Mark Day
BAFTA Awards nominee
FANTASY/DRAMA/ACTION/MYSTERY/THRILLER
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Imelda Staunton, Robbie Coltrane, Jason Isaacs, Matthew Lewis, Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Bonnie Wright, Katie Leung, and George Harris
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) enters his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with something of a bad attitude. He’s spent another miserable summer with his sour and despicable relatives, the Dursleys, and none of his friends, especially Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), had the decency to contact him. Feeling hungry and edgy for news from the magic world, Harry discovers that his friends have been keeping secrets from him, and Harry’s anxious to know if there is any news about the activities of the recently revived Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes).
Returning to Hogwarts isn’t any relief. The new “Defense against the Dark Arts” instructor, Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) is a notorious busybody intent on bending both faculty and staff to her iron will. She does her best to discourage spell-casting and any discussion of Voldemort, who is often referred to as “He who must not be named.” Harry, however, gathers a small, loyal group of classmates and trains them to be his secret army for when (not if) Voldemort strikes. Harry also meets the remnants of the Order of the Phoenix, an organization founded by Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) to counter Voldemort. Still, most of the magic community is willfully blind to the signs that Voldemort is rebuilding his army, and Harry isn’t sure that his own small army will be up to the task of stopping the Dark Lord.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is darker than the other Potter films. It’s darker even than 2005’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but Order of the Phoenix is much less expansive than Goblet of Fire or 2004’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, both of which were large, elegant films with high production values and epic stories. Order of the Phoenix is leaner and meaner. David Yates directs some of this film as if it were a TV movie, but the Potter magic shines through Yates determination to make a terse drama. The costumes are darker, and the art direction and set decoration is mostly spare.
The film’s opening act is fast paced and edgy, and the last act is killer. In between are some truly exciting and thrilling moments, but most of the middle involves the tiresome subplot which sees Dolores Umbridge take on the status quo at Hogwarts. The Umbridge character as portrayed in the film is annoying, and not always in an entertaining manner. When Voldemort attacks in the last act, the appearance of the dark lord almost makes me forget the dour Hogwarts segment… almost.
6 of 10
B
Friday, July 27, 2007
NOTES:
2008 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Production Design” (Stuart Craig and Stephanie McMillan) and “Best Special Visual Effects” (Tim Burke, John Richardson, Emma Norton, and Chris Shaw)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Running time: 138 minutes (2 hours, 18 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images
DIRECTOR: David Yates
WRITER: Michael Goldenberg (based upon the book by J.K. Rowling)
PRODUCERS: David Barron and David Heyman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Slawomir Idziak (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Mark Day
BAFTA Awards nominee
FANTASY/DRAMA/ACTION/MYSTERY/THRILLER
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Imelda Staunton, Robbie Coltrane, Jason Isaacs, Matthew Lewis, Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Bonnie Wright, Katie Leung, and George Harris
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) enters his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with something of a bad attitude. He’s spent another miserable summer with his sour and despicable relatives, the Dursleys, and none of his friends, especially Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), had the decency to contact him. Feeling hungry and edgy for news from the magic world, Harry discovers that his friends have been keeping secrets from him, and Harry’s anxious to know if there is any news about the activities of the recently revived Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes).
Returning to Hogwarts isn’t any relief. The new “Defense against the Dark Arts” instructor, Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) is a notorious busybody intent on bending both faculty and staff to her iron will. She does her best to discourage spell-casting and any discussion of Voldemort, who is often referred to as “He who must not be named.” Harry, however, gathers a small, loyal group of classmates and trains them to be his secret army for when (not if) Voldemort strikes. Harry also meets the remnants of the Order of the Phoenix, an organization founded by Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) to counter Voldemort. Still, most of the magic community is willfully blind to the signs that Voldemort is rebuilding his army, and Harry isn’t sure that his own small army will be up to the task of stopping the Dark Lord.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is darker than the other Potter films. It’s darker even than 2005’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but Order of the Phoenix is much less expansive than Goblet of Fire or 2004’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, both of which were large, elegant films with high production values and epic stories. Order of the Phoenix is leaner and meaner. David Yates directs some of this film as if it were a TV movie, but the Potter magic shines through Yates determination to make a terse drama. The costumes are darker, and the art direction and set decoration is mostly spare.
The film’s opening act is fast paced and edgy, and the last act is killer. In between are some truly exciting and thrilling moments, but most of the middle involves the tiresome subplot which sees Dolores Umbridge take on the status quo at Hogwarts. The Umbridge character as portrayed in the film is annoying, and not always in an entertaining manner. When Voldemort attacks in the last act, the appearance of the dark lord almost makes me forget the dour Hogwarts segment… almost.
6 of 10
B
Friday, July 27, 2007
NOTES:
2008 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Production Design” (Stuart Craig and Stephanie McMillan) and “Best Special Visual Effects” (Tim Burke, John Richardson, Emma Norton, and Chris Shaw)
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Review: Brad Pitt Shakes Money-Maker in "Troy"
Troy (2004)
Running time: 163 minutes (2 hours, 43 minutes)
MPAA – R for graphic violence and some sexuality/nudity
DIRECTOR: Wolfgang Petersen
WRITER: David Benioff (inspired by Homer’s The Iliad)
PRODUCERS: Diana Rathbun, Colin Wilson, and Wolfgang Petersen
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roger Pratt, B.S.C.
EDITOR: Peter Honess, A.C.E.
Academy Award nominee
ACTION/DRAMA/HISTORICAL/WAR with elements of adventure and romance
Starring: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Diane Kruger, Brian Cox, Sean Bean, Brendan Gleeson, Peter O’Toole, and Garrett Hedlund
Paris of Troy (Orlando Bloom) steals Helen (Diane Kruger), the wife of the Spartan King, Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson). Agamemnon (Brian Cox), Menelaus’ brother and the king who united the varied Greek kingdoms, suddenly has a reason to invade Troy. Paris’ brother, Hector (Eric Bana) stands ready to defend his kingdom, but that means he may have to face the greatest warrior the world will ever known, Achilles (Brad Pitt). This old tale gets a retelling in Warner Bros.’ Troy.
Anyone who is familiar with the legend of Troy from Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad (or Virgil’s The Aeneid) or countless retellings, documentaries, history lessons, etc. will already know how this film ends. But trust Hollywood to make just enough changes to surprise or, at least, infuriate purists. In my case, I was deeply troubled by a number of issues (especially the absence of the manipulations of the quarrelling Greek gods’ who played a large role in the literary story of Troy), but it wasn’t enough to keep me from enjoying this movie.
Director Wolfgang Petersen’s Troy is an epic war story that is equal parts costume drama and big budget, Hollywood historical epic. It’s goofy, but serious enough to past muster. The dialogue is wooden and stiff, and the speeches will sometimes make you cringe. However, there are enough times when the characters speak with equal measure of weight and pomposity and clarity to sell the story. And at the end of the day, this movie is just fun to watch.
Like those historical epics of the 1950’s and 60’s, Troy has some secret allure to it. For some reason, these crazy dramas, with their high fallutin’ faux Shakesperean-lite speeches, are entertaining. Of course, there are always the battles, and Petersen (another very talented film director who has an impressive filmography of entertaining macho movies) stages the slugfests and bloodshed with brilliance. Granted, I’ve seen the massing of large fleets and armies on the big screen before Troy, but Petersen also smartly focuses on individual, man on man fight scenes, especially those with Achilles.
Regardless of what one might think, there’s no way you cannot not treat yourself to the sight of Brad Pitt throwing it down Greek thug style. I loved his fight scenes, and while he may not be the world’s greatest actor, he may be one of the most sincere. He looks great on screen, and the camera loves him. Pitt throws himself into the role of Achilles with such relish that I can’t help but be awed by him. And no matter what others might say, he more than holds his own in a really nice scene he has with Peter O’Toole. Yes, he may not be the greatest actor, but he’s one of the great movies stars, and he’s a better actor than for which he’s given credit. For him alone, I recommend Troy.
7 of 10
B+
NOTE:
2005 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Costume Design” (Bob Ringwood)
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Sunday, July 25, 2010
Green Zone Juggles Politics and Action
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 56 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux
Green Zone (2010)
Running time: 115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence and language
DIRECTOR: Paul Greengrass
WRITER: Brian Helgeland (based on the book Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran)
PRODUCERS: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Greengrass, and Lloyd Levin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Barry Ackroyd
EDITOR: Christopher Rouse
WAR/ACTION/THRILLER
Starring: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan, Khalid Abdalla, Jason Isaacs, and Yigal Naor
Director Paul Greengrass and actor/movie star Matt Damon came together to produce two of the three Jason Bourne movies (The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum). They reunited for the film Green Zone, which is not a Jason Bourne movie or anything like that. Green Zone is a movie set at the beginning of the Iraq War. Green Zone
The story focuses on Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) and begins early in the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in the spring of 2003. Miller leads a team of U.S. Army inspectors searching for weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) believed to be stockpiled in and around Baghdad. After investigating a series of sites and finding nothing, Miller begins to suspect that the intelligence about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction is faulty, at best.
Miller’s military superiors and other high-ranking officials dismiss his theories about flawed intelligence, and he comes into conflict with U.S. Defense Intelligence Agent Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear) who seems to be guiding much of the American occupation of Iraq. After meeting, Martin Brown (Brendan Gleeson), a Middle East-based CIA officer, Miller stumbles upon an elaborate cover-up of the reasons behind the Iraq War. Now, Miller must navigate the intersecting agendas spun by competing operatives, as he hunts for answers that may clear Iraq’s fallen regime of war crimes or even stop an insurgency from being born.
Green Zone is a politically engaged film. Using Matt Damon’s Roy Miller as a vehicle, Paul Greengrass and screen writer Brian Helgeland addresses Greengrass’ contentions about the decision to invade Iraq (the country’s alleged possession of WMDs) and subsequent decisions made during the U.S.-led Coalition occupation (in particularly the decision to disband the Iraqi army).
Greengrass’ problems with the Iraq War have also been the subject of many television and theatrical films (both fiction and non-fiction). Making these arguments about Iraq within the framework of a military action thriller actually can result in a movie with an identity crisis, which is the case with Green Zone. Greengrass attempts to make his points about the war, unveiling them during the course of Roy Miller’s investigation, which involves talking to and shooting at people.
The first 55 minutes of the movie mostly sets up the story, and it follows Miller as he gradually makes a series of startling discoveries about the run-up to the Iraq War. This is more dry and dull than interesting. The first half of the film is so slow and awkward that it is almost a disaster. Honestly, Greengrass’ contentions about the Iraq War are only interesting in the context of the movie’s second half. That’s the action/thriller half which has Roy Miller trying to find Iraqi General Mohammed Al-Rawi (Yigal Naor) before a Special Forces unit does. This second half will remind audiences of those breathless action scenes Greengrass and Damon pulled off in their two Jason Bourne movies.
It is cool that a Hollywood movie would confront the controversies of the Iraq War, but the best thing about Green Zone is the tense pacing and smartly constructed action sequences. Unfortunately, the politics are, at best, distracting and, at worst, debilitating to the movie.
5 of 10
B-
Sunday, July 25, 2010
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