Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Let me start off by saying that I am a definite Harry Potter fan. No, I don't dress up as a witch and go to the movies and yes, I once accidentally ended up in the midst of a Harry Potter party at Barnes and Noble - we stopped after a movie for a dessert and got caught up in the insanity. But I did love the books. I vaguely recall Mike steering me through the Honolulu airport after I'd begun one of the books and I didn't look up till I finished and we were back in SFO.

So, did I enjoy the movie - yes I did. I'd really forgotten the plot given that I'd read the book several years ago. This made the movie entertaining and occasionally surprising - how could I have forgotten horcruxes. I'm such a muggle.

I won't summarize the plot since if you're a fan you know it and if you're not it will be rather meaningless. Suffice it to say it's quite entertaining to see Harry and his friends deal with Death Eaters, assorted evil doers and snogging. And yes there is quite a bit of snogging in this movie. Rupert Grint provides outstanding comic relief - and foreshadowing of his career for the next 20 years. Daniel Radcliffe is always excellent as Harry - especially when he is under a luck spell.

I must reserve some special praise of Alan Rickman - what a delight the man is. He makes a single sentence drip with loathing so vividly he really never needs to say more. I shall miss his Snape more than anyone I think once the movies conclude.

My only complaint is that when the movie comes to an end you get that slight I've been left hanging feeling. Somewhat like the end of Empire Strikes Back - you realize everyone is simply waiting for the next movie - as are we all.

As a marketing aside - kudos to the studio for deciding to split the final book into two movies. With a 400 million dollar take in the first five days world wide I think that the last two movies are a guaranteed revenue stream for 2010 and 2011. Given that few of us could sit through a 5 hour movie and there are so many pieces people would object to omitting I can understand it. But 2011 is a long time to wait for closure.

Movie Review: The Ugly Truth

Hi Everyone. I'm woefully behind in all my movie review writing so hopefully this week I can get caught up. I've seen a ton of movies in July. So I'm going last in first out. Tonight Mike and I went to see the Ugly Truth. And we had a good time. Mike was a good sport - be warned guys the theatre is about 80% women. We both thought the movie was very funny. Basic story is simple - uptight tv producer (Katherine Heigl) and rough neck tv commentator (Gerard Butler) meet and fight and well you'll have to watch it to see what happens. He decides to help her get a new boyfriend - her very attractive neighbor - and she does. The movie isn't too long - only 96 minutes - but great fun and perfect for a hot summer night. Could the movie be better - yes - it is fairly shallow. For the Californians - the movie is set in Sacramento and of course Mike was thrilled that our hero attended San Jose State. Gerard Butler is British so his American accent is a bit forced.

By the way - we came home to watch At The Movies - and both commentators said skip it. I think it would be best if At the Movies replaced one of their male reviewers with a woman so we could get a bit of diversity in their reviews. Anyway, if you like a nice romantic comedy - see The Ugly Truth. Beware - the language is a bit racier than usual in these movies but that just adds to the fun.

Movie Review: The Hangover

I should preface this review by mentioning that normally I do not like movies that mention or show bodily fluids. However, The Hangover is the exception - this movie is a laugh riot from beginning to end. I'm sure many of you have seen the previews - the basic premise - 4 friends go off to Vegas for a Bachelor Party - after almost everyone has repeated the mantra what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Fast forward and three of the friends wake up in their luxury villa and discover one friend is missing, a tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the closet and one of the 3 is also missing an incisor. From there they work to find out exactly what took place since none of them remembers a thing.

The movie has great performances by the entire cast - the only ones remotely recognizable is Bradley Cooper from He's Just Not That Into You and Ed Helms from The Office. And of course Mike Tyson. But the humor comes largely from the great story and surprises that await the crew at every turn as they try to find out what happened and find their lost friend. Mike and I laughed like crazy.

Is The Hangover great art - not really. Is it a great way to spend a few hours - absolutely. Big thumbs up.

I do want to note I give a thumbs down in advance for whoever scheduled the trailer for The Final Destination 3 D that preceded the movie. The trailer totally freaked me out - I am not a fan of that kind of movie and between that and the terrifying trailer for the Orphan I was a little jumpy by the time our movie started.

Oh, and The Hangover is definitely a hard R - not for children. And the woman three rows in front of me who brought the screaming two year old should be ashamed of herself - who in their right mind brings a two year old to the movies - but especially one like this.

Movie Review: Angels and Demons

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day. Mike and I ventured out on Sunday to see Angels and Demons. I had enjoyed the first DaVinci Code movie though I'd felt it left a lot of the book on the table. Angels and Demons did the same only for some reason I didn't find it compelling at all to watch.


The movie concerns a secret cult in the Catholic Church who kidnap the 4 top contenders for the role of new Pope after the old one dies. Tom Hanks character is called in to solve the puzzle of the Illuminati and save the day. There is a great sarcastic line by Stellan Skarsgard when Tom Hanks arrives - Oh good, the symbologist is here. For the rest of the movie you watch Tom Hanks figure things out - thank goodness he's smarter than everyone else in the movie. He moved things along very well - though of course to build suspense he's always a bit late in figuring stuff out by mere seconds. The death scenes are truly horrifying - but I'll leave that to you to see.

So how do I rate this movie? Rent it. The visuals are stunning - Rome is truly beautiful and ancient - but if you have a decent size TV Screen you've got it covered.