Random Topics: So I Went to the Movies...

I went to go see Super 8 earlier this week (look for a review of that soon), and I thought I'd write a little bit about my favorite part of going to the movies: the previews. Alright, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement, but I really do love watching trailers at the theater.



Above is a trailer for Real Steel, which is apparently about boxing, but with robots. The sheer fucking stupidity evident in this trailer absolutely astounds me. I mean, am I crazy, or does this not seem like the dumbest fucking movie ever? I like Hugh Jackman as an actor, and director Shawn Levy also helmed Big Fat Liar (with Frankie Muniz, Amanda Bynes, and Paul Giamatti - and is exactly as awesome as that sounds), but how in the hell did anybody think this was a good idea. From the trailer, it's got some real promising signs of awfulness: cliche feel-good underdog drama, extremely annoying and terrible child actor (named fucking Dakota Goyo, for fuck's sake), a plot based around robots punching each other. Ugh.



On the other hand, the above trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 got me so unbelievably excited for the final film. Until, that is, the very end of the trailer, where it invites me to "complete the journey in 3D" - the trailer that I saw at the theater then proceeded to assure me that the journey could also be completed in 2D in "select theaters." Fuck that. I don't for the life of me understand how people could think that the prospect of seeing a blurrier, gimmicky version of a film would be an exciting idea - one worthy of touting. I read that as a giant 'fuck you' at the end of a trailer that, as I said before, made me really want to see the movie. I'll acknowledge that I'm ranting and nitpicking here, but it's my blog, so I'll feel free to make an ass of myself as much as I want, thank you very much.

Film Review -- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1
Director: David Yates; Writer: Steve Kloves
Warner Bros. Pictures

Every Harry Potter movie has seemed a bit of a doomed proposition from the get-go; the films have to deal with issues of managing fan expectations and lessening disappointment to a far greater extent than most adaptations, simply because the fans of the series are so passionate and numerous. The novels seem to be so much a part of the modern collective consciousness (or, at least, that of the audience that sees the films) in a way that even the Lord of the Rings or the Chronicles of Narnia can't compare to. Ironically, the franchise's intense popularity has prevented the movies from excelling - the filmmakers can't possibly hope to deliver the same depth and experience that the books provide, which leads to inevitably unfavorable comparisons.

Of course, I might be completely talking out of my ass, and maybe the real reason that the Harry Potter movies have been largely disappointing to me is that they just weren't all that good. Oftentimes it feels like the films emphasize style over substance, that they're more concerned with advancing plot than character, and that they fumble some of the most compelling aspects of the books. I feel obligated to defend the third and fourth films as being pretty good, and the fifth and six were alright, but I certainly wouldn't call any of them great. And while I still wouldn't call Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 "great," it is my favorite Harry Potter movie yet.