"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
Richard's Review: 4 1/2 stars
Someone once said, "The trick is growing up without growing old," and as we reach the end of the Harry Potter film cycle that saying rings true. The series has matured but not over stayed its welcome. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," the eighth, and final film in the franchise is a fitting end for the Boy Wizard and friends. It's a mature movie that puts a period on the story without being maudlin or overly sentimental.
This is the one muggles far and wide have been waiting for, the final face-off between lightening-bolt-scarred Harry Potter and his nemesis Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). Elder Wand in hand the merciless leader of the Death Eaters attacks the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, bringing about a fiery showdown between Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) and the dark forces who put both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds at risk.
As close to an all-out action movie as there is in the Potter series, "Deathly Hallows" puts the pedal to the metal early on, effectively using 3D in the action sequences (although not as well in the talky exposition scenes). Harry's Horcrux hunt (say that fast three times!) takes up much of the movie leading up to some major revelations, an existential train station scene and a heartwarming conclusion, but along the way it's an exciting ride.
It's worth it to see beloved thespian Maggie Smith engage in a fireball duel, hear Alan Rickman deliver the best evil vocal tics since Boris Karloff and watch Fiennes wave his wand with wondrous aplomb. But despite the bombast this isn't your average summer blockbuster. There are quiet moments, and the death scene of a major character is played out off screen. Of course, it is made all the more horrifying because of what we don't see, but the typical summer movie doesn't want you to use your imagination.
Potter does. I've been critical in the past because I found the movies to be a bit too inside. If you haven't read the books and aren't familiar with the Potterverse -- it's grown to big to be called Potterworld -- then you'd be lost. All the talk of Horcruxes and Death Eaters can boggle the muggle mind, but in the new film the Potter-parlance doesn't get in the way. This time out the Sword of Gryffindor and the like are McGuffins, things that propel the story but in the end aren't as important as the underlying themes of friendship and good versus evil.
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" may be the most metaphysical summer blockbuster ever. It deals with large questions of life and death, examines what goes on in the souls of men (and evil lords) all wrapped up in the comforting Potterverse. It has been a long strange journey with its own set of rules, internal logic and kooky creatures but the Potter cinema saga ends with dignity and without cutting corners.
Probably the most satisfying film, not just in the Potter series, but of the summer so far.
"Whinnie the Pooh"
Richard's Review: 4 stars
The gentle humor of Winnie the Pooh has been a childhood staple for almost a century. From the original A. A. Milne book in 1926 to radio, television, film and even philosophical adaptations like the Tao of Pooh, the little stuffed bear with a jones for hunny and his pals Piglet, Owl, Rabbit and Eeyore, is a pop culture superstar.
After years of new Pooh stories his latest big screen adventure, simply titled "Winnie the Pooh," goes back to the source for its inspiration. Disney has woven together six chapters of Milne's stories to form one satisfying whole.
The movie starts, as all great Pooh movies do -- and there's 51 of them to choose from -- with Pooh searching for hunny. Along the way he helps Eeyore, the pessimistic stuffed donkey, find a replacement for his lost tail and searches for a mysterious creature called a Backson.
Directors Stephen Anderson and Don Hall have wisely updated the story -- the pace is snappier than the classic 1960s cartoons -- but kept the elements that have made Pooh an indispensable character for the under 10 crowd. The gentle humor is in place, along with the beautiful water color backgrounds of Hundred Acre Wood and the voices so connected to the series (they're done by different people now, but are true to style established by Walt himself).
Disney has done something special with this reboot; they've created a movie that feels modern without sacrificing its nostalgic charm. And at just over an hour "Winnie the Pooh" is geared to the attention spans of a young audience.
"A Better Life"
Richard's Review: 2 1/2 stars
This character study from the director of "About a Boy" and featuring Weeds star Demián Bichir as an illegal immigrant gardener in Los Angeles, is a low key and timely drama about building a new life in a new country.
Heavy on melodrama, story wise it doesn't offer much we haven't seen before in similarly themed stories, but acting wise it is a powerhouse.
Bichir hits all the right notes in an award worthy performance that brings heart and soul to a story that unfortunately feels like a Hollywood-ized take on the plight of illegal immigrants in California.
