Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

It's been 10 years since Harry Potter first hit the big screen with Sorcerer's Stone. We have all watched them grow up right before our eyes, hitting highs and lows but never quite receiving a full pay-off. This movie, which has been split into two parts, was a thrilling and highly rewarding viewing experience. I decided to review the whole movie (parts one and two) instead of just the second half. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows begins with Harry, Ron, and Hermione setting off alone, after the devastating events that concluded the previous chapter in the series, and searching for the objects containing bits of Lord Voldemort's desecrated soul knowing that only by destroying them can the Dark Lord be defeated.

The first part of this film is wonderfully captured, being very different from all other entries of this story thus far in that Harry does not return to school. The change in setting can feel a little jarring, but it provides the three leads with the opportunity to really shine in the spotlight. They not only manage to hold our attention, but they all but carry the movie by themselves as the narrative sets the stage for the final showdown known as The Battle of Hogwarts. The first part of the film certainly has its flaws (the dance scene in the tent, for example...), but otherwise it's a thrilling set-up to the series climax. The last battle between the followers of Voldemort's and those who fight on the side of "The Chosen One" is filled with poignant moments of loss, love, and sacrifice.

Every actor in this film is top notch, especially Alan Rickman who gives the performance of his career as the dark and immensely complex character of Severus Snape. Daniel Radcliffe has a few moments that are absolutely spell-binding (pun-intended), particularly after seeing a memory that sheds light on what his real mission is. That quiet moment of realization as he comes to terms with what he must do in order to defeat the most evil wizard of all time is devastating and captivating at the same time. As a huge fan of the books, I was just as worried as anyone else that my favorite moments would be ruined or short-changed, but I am happy to report that the most important parts of the story are portrayed beautifully, leaving most of the people in the theater positively weeping.

This final chapter in the saga is not only fitting, but completely satisfying in the best possible way. Having already broken the all-time record for the highest grossing opening weekend at the box office, I would be surprised if many people I know haven't seen this already, but I cannot recommend this film highly enough. Go see it, particularly if you are a fan of the books. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a  wonderful parting gift to the boy wizard we have all come to know and love. I give this film four stars. "All is well."

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS are both rated PG-13 for intense action sequences, fantasy violence, and some frightening images.

X-Men: First Class

When it comes to X-Men movies, I have been pretty lenient in my criticsims. I was a fan of "X3: The Last Stand" and was one of the few that actually enjoyed "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". I went into this movie with moderate expectations, hoping for a reasonably good X-Men movie. I definitely wasn't expecting a great film, regardless of genre, but that's what I got. Set in the 60's, "X-Men: First Class" focuses on the back-story of Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr who went on to become Professor X and Magneto respectively.

The plot centers around the Cuban Missile Crisis and the hand the mutants may or may not have played in its secret history. While this in itself is entertaining, the emotional crux of the story lies in the friendship of the two leads. Erik, a victim of the Holocaust with a terribly troubled childhood, seeks a figure from his past on whom he has a personal vendetta. Charles, on the other hand, grew up in a wealthy household and went on to become a professor at Oxford University while still in his twenties. Charles meets Erik in an unusual way, but is able to use his rare gifts (telepathy) to tap into some of Erik's more troubling, and more heart-warming memories to help him progress in many ways.

I thought this movie was pretty brilliant. Director Matthew Vaughan does a great job balancing drama with action set pieces all while interweaving this film with the original trilogy (though there are a few minor discrepancies in continuity). The two leads played by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender were absolutely pitch-perfect in their respective roles. Both had large shoes to fill from their predecessors, and both made me more fond of their incarnations than I had been with the originals. Some moments are even tear-jerking between them; something you don't get in your average summer blockbuster, let alone in an X-Men movie. I definitely recommend this movie. This is easily the best of the X-Men franchise and one of my favorite films of the summer. I give "X-Men: First Class" four stars.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some sexual content including brief partial nudity and language.

Thor

Let me just say right off the bat, that I was really looking forward to Thor. It not only looked like something I hadn't really seen before, but it was sort of kicking off a summer movie season that included huge franchises like Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter. Thor, though not nearly as well-known as some of his Marvel counterparts, stands on his own as a pretty unique and powerful super-hero that is poised for a big break-out summer. After hearing some interesting feedback from other online sources, I couldn't wait to go into the theater and see if Marvel could recapture some of the magic they'd achieved with Iron Man.

Thor is the tale of a young and arrogant warrior from a realm known as Asgard. Though positioned to take over the throne, the mighty son of Odin is banished to Earth by his father after reigniting an ancient war with the dangerous Frost Giants. Stripped of his power, Thor must learn humility (among other things) before he can reclaim the deadly weapon Mjolnir and return home to Asgard. However, things do not go according to plan as his deeply troubled brother, Loki, begins to interfere at every turn...

Led by a great cast as well as a surprising but brilliant choice to place Kenneth Branagh at the helm, Thor is a unique and thoroughly entertaining summer blockbuster. First off, the casting of Thor himself (Chris Hemsworth) couldn't have been better, in my opinion. Not only does he look formidable as the hulking warrior, but he has impeccable comedic timing as well as the acting chops to really sell the emotional turn his character has to take. Shakespearean overtones are woven throughout this film, helped hugely by the experience of Branagh, but also by the weight and gravitas of some of the supporting characters.

A perfect example of this is Sir Anthony Hopkins for his turn as Odin. He has a very wise, but somewhat forlorn demeanor that definitely brings the emotional weight to every scene in which he appears. Despite the family drama, this movie was actually much funnier than I expected. Particularly the moments of culture-clashing where Hemsworth and co-star Natalie Portman are interacting. With Thor being part of the Avengers team, there needed to be ties to some of the other Marvel franchises, such as Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and the yet-to-be-released Captain America: The First Avenger. To the film's credit, it manages to interweave the connective tissue of the Avengers pretty seamlessly and does a terrific job of building our excitement for the team-up next summer.

In case you couldn't tell, I really enjoyed Thor! In other hands this movie could have been disastrous. Elements like a "rainbow bridge" that connects other dimensions could be terribly corny, but the Marvel team managed to pull it off with flying colors (no pun intended). This film deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence as Iron Man, and could even be better. Here's hoping The Avengers will deliver the goods as well!

THOR is rated PG-13 for intense action scenes and some violence.

Unstoppable

Unstoppable is as action-packed as its title suggests. The story, inspired by true events, centers on an unmanned freight train which has been accidentally unleashed on the main track. The problem is, the train is carrying 8 cars full of hazardous material that could result in a devastating catastrophe if not stopped.  Chris Pine and Denzel Washington develop excellent chemistry as the plot unfolds. It is thrilling to watch the attempts to stop this runaway train while also quite suspenseful if you don't know how the story goes. Overall, I thought the film had good character development, mainly the characters played by Pine and Washington. Plot is somewhat predictable and mostly only touches on one note (not a lot of variety to this movie). While not a great dramatic piece of film making, Unstoppable is very entertaining and I got a kick out of it! I give it a solid three stars (out of four).

UNSTOPPABLE is rated PG-13 for profanity, some violence, and some scary moments.

Morning Glory

Morning Glory is a very good comedy. I'm one of those people who is getting tired of all the formulaic, redundant, and completely improbable rom-coms that are coming out these days. The funny thing is, I'm actually a fan of good romantic comedies! I love While You Were Sleeping and You've Got Mail, but films like You Again and The Bounty Hunter still leave a bad taste in my mouth. Morning Glory isn't a perfect movie by any means, but the great performances (particularly from McAdams and Harrison Ford) made up for much of what the narrative was lacking.

The story centers on a young lady named Becky (McAdams) who has a lot of enthusiasm, but keeps getting the short end of the stick in her career. After being fired from a job at a local TV station, her mother tells her how her relentless talk of one day being a big-time TV producer isgetting "embarrassing". With her confidence having seen better days, she applies to several different places (sometimes sending in multiple resumes and following-up a little too frequently) and eventually gets a position as Executive Producer of a morning television program called "Daybreak", which is notorious for its terrible ratings, sinking morale, and high turnaround. She makes a name for herself the first day on the job by publicly firing the extremely self-centered and inappropriate male anchor and now faces the dilemma of finding a replacement on a virtually non-existing budget.

Luckily, she discovers that celebrated news anchor Mike Pomeroy (Ford) is currently under contract with the news station and if he doesn't perform any journalism duties for a 6 month period the remainder of his $6 million dollar salary will go unpaid. Left with little choice in the matter, Pomeroy grudgingly accepts the position with pretty hilarious results.

Despite how much this movie had going for it, though, it definitely did have its ups and downs. For instance, I felt that the romantic story could have been completely left out as it didn't really add much to the story, and I didn't particularly like the chemistry between them. I also feel like the movie could have involved Becky's relationship with her mother more, as that aspect seemed a little under-utilized. However, I did thoroughly enjoy the old curmudgeon Harrison Ford was channeling as well as the bright and perky Rachel McAdams as she tries to make this very diverse and largely dysfunctional crew work together as they attempt to increase their ratings.

Sometimes in movies like this there's a raunchy/socially inept person who's temperamental transformation seems to happen way too abruptly to believe, which definitely takes you out of the movie. That being said, I thought they handled Ford's character arc with some much-needed subtlety that is seldom seen in this genre. Overall I found this movie very funny and would definitely recommend it! Lara didn't exactly agree with me on this one so it may be more of a guy movie, surprisingly, but regardless I really liked Morning Glory! I give it a solid three stars.

MORNING GLORY is rated PG-13 for some language and mild sexual content.