Harry Potter 7.2 (Reviewed by Ed)

3.5 Stars out of 4

 

Well the final installment of the most financially successful movie franchise has come to a close.  I have to say they did a great job in wrapping everything up and allowing the boy wizard to deal with his fate and what would become of the people that surrounded Harry. 

 

There were things about the movie that I really liked and things about the movie that fell short for me.  Again the acting was great, the special effects were wonderful, the action sequences were pretty cool and the plot was good.  Also, being able to see some of the not as popular characters get their day in the sun was good! (i.e. Neville and Prof. McGonnigal)  This is what was good for me.  Now for what fell short…2 MAJOR things in the movie let me down just a bit from giving this movie a 4 out of 4 star rating and that was 1.) that it was too short.  I believe the running time was around 2 hours (which they could’ve easily added 30-45 minutes more so as to not rush things), and 2.) (spoiler alert!!) when Harry finally kills Voldemort the final battle, to me seemed a bit anti-climactic.  When Voldemort dies it was a bit different from the book so that took away from the overall experience.

 

Either way it was a great ending to the 3^rd greatest movie franchise in the history of movie-dom.

 

Can’t wait to see it again this weekend!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (chuck) 3.25/4 stars

This movie is action, from the word go. Part 1 sets up the plot and part 2 is chalked full of action and some emo.

We have our closure for the major story/plot points and for the most part director David Yates handles them quite well.

Because so many much major plot points had to be addressed, it felt like they could have easily made this a 3 hour movie and it still would have been just fine.

The final battle between Harry and Voldemort deviated slightly from the description in the book and sadly this is where the movie left me disappointed. Not because it strayed from the book, but only looking at the final battle and how the victor wins - from a movie stand point- it was actually quite a disappointment and far shorter than I wanted.

Some Potter purists might be disappointed in how the final battle is wrapped up, but overall Harry Potter 7.2 was quite enjoyable.

Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon (Reviewed by Ed)

Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon

 

(2.75 out of 4 stars)

 

Takes place with new graduated college student Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) growing up looking for a new job and in the meantime has a new girl.  Before we learn about that we learn that more about the battle on Cybertron between the Autobots and the Decepticons that in the last days of the war, a Prime by the name of Sentinel Prime (voiced by Leonard Nimoy), tries to escape with what would keep his race alive.  Before he escapes, his ship is shot and it crash lands on the moon in the very early 1960’s.  This impact is known by NASA and also the Russians.  Thus the “real” reason why the moon race between the United States and the Russians happens.  Who can get there first to see what exactly crashed into the moon.  You see Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, some actual footage and some actor portrayal of the astronauts landing on the moon.  A very top secret mission happens as the two astronauts bring back 5 “pillars” that are part of several hundred others that will build a “bridge” for the alien race of Cybertron to be transported to Earth.  The government hides away these 5 pillars but unfortunately they fall into the hands of the Decepticons and the race is on to see if the Autobots can stop them from bringing in countless Decepticons that still live on Cybertron to invade Earth and enslave the human population.

 

Going into this movie I expected the typical Transformers movie with acting that isn’t the best, an okay plot and LOTS of action.  This is pretty much what you get with this movie with exception of LOTS of action.  I thought the action was really good but it just took too long for the major battle action sequence to start but when it did start it was really cool.  I was also surprised to see that the character portrayed by British Victoria Secret super model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (Carly) was not just another actress playing the part of Megan Fox’s old character but a NEW love interest for Sam.  The only thing you know about what happens with her is that she left Sam.

 

Many of the same characters are back in this movie along with some other big time actors in John Malkovich and Patrick Dempsey.

I’m giving this movie 2.75 stars mainly because of the lack of action in the movie.  I would’ve given it around 3.25 stars if there were more action scattered throughout the movie.  I have to say it was nice to see the action scenes easier to follow this time around with the slow motion sequences that they frequently showed.  In some of the past Transformers movies (especially the last one) it was very hard to follow the fight scenes and wondering who were the Autobots and who were the Decepticons.  Dark of the Moon still had a few places with that problem but not nearly as much.  This movie also didn’t have nearly as much crudeness as the last Transformers movie but in typical fashion there was plenty to go around. 

 

Rating of whether I would see the movie again:
1 = Definitely not!
2 = Probably not.
3 = Maybe.
4 = Probably.
5 = Absolutely!

Would I see the movie again in the theaters? 3
Will I rent it on DVD and watch it at home? 1 (no because I will buy it)
Would I buy the movie? 5

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is rated PG-13 for intense prolonged sequences of sci-fi violence, mayhem and destruction, and for language, some sexuality and innuendo

Run time: 154 minutes

Transformers 3 (Chuck)

I was initially very excited to see Transformers 3, but then quickly remembered the huge disappointment the first 2 movies ended up being. It was bad enough to not have Frank Welker reprise Megatron, but the robot form of the Transformers was way too complex looking. I understand that the cartoons could only be basic, but the robot form of most of the Transformers was so awkward looking it was down right awful.

Additionally Megatron was the largest disappointment, because he not only didn't have the voice of Frank Welker, but he looked like a alien space ship instead of a gun. Michael Bay... I'm at a loss of what to say about a serious lack of attention to detail of the source material.

All of this on top of a pretty mediocre storyline that didn't even include the main objective that the cartoons focused on - in the search for an energy supply that was all but extinct on their home planet, Cybertron.

And the icing on the cake: sexual content. We don't need or want to see a 1.5 foot tall Decepticon humping anyone's leg. We don't need to see Constructicon Devastator with wrecking balls doubling as male anatomy. We don't need to have any conversations about sexual activity of any kind. This is a movie about a boy and the Autobots... plain and simple. Leave the sex on the cutting room floor.


This is my rant as to why I will not be watching Transformers 3, until I can watch it through ClearPlay.

The Frighteners 2/4 stars (Chuck)

Michael J. Fox stars as Frank Bannister who has, what appears to be, a money-making scheme going on - that most of the towns folk are wise to. Little do the suspicious town's folk know that Frank can actually see and communicate with the dead.

Unfortunately, this comedic con-man bit can't decide if it wants to be a comedy, or something much, much darker. Eventually it ends up being a disturbing super-natural killer movie. Peter Jackson had a good opportunity to make a very funny paranormal comedy, which it is for about 45 minutes, then it starts taking a dark turn. Frank quickly finds out that he is involved in a fight to stop an evil force that is ripping people's souls out of their bodies, as he see's a premonition in the form of a number appear on the next victim's forehead giving frank only minutes to attempt to thwart - in vain - the attempts of the entity responsible for these supposed heart attacks, as deemed the cause of death.


The ClearPlay Experience
Let's chalk up another "oversight" by the MPAA - our moral and parental compass for movies. Despite the rating descriptor saying Frighteners was rated R for Terror/Violence, I lost track as to how many times non-violent scenes had skips in them. Which means that because there is no sex in this movie that dialogue-driven scenes were full of profanity. Thanks MPAA panel members for yet again not labeling another movie with the entire type of content that makes the movie, what it is. Guess they thought the violence completely overshadowed the language on this one.

Filtering overall was quite a pleasant experience. The undertones of the movie in the last 45 minutes are very dark. The 3rd act is when this movie has completely abandoned comedy and taken on serial killer. Despite violent/disturbing content and profanity content both being skipped, the murderous psychosis of one of the main characters in the last 3rd of the movie leaves this one still only appropriate for older teens and above.


Frighteners is rated R, but with ClearPlay, on the surface, it does skip the content that is hard to watch. This would have kept Frighteners at a 13 for me... visually distinguishing that content was skipped was performed very well. It's the murderous killing spree (with a rifle) depicted near the end that, even though no one is shown being bloodily killed, the nature of 2 people blinded by blood lust is still probably only appropriate for 18 and up. I never saw Natural Born Killers, but it sure reminded me of how it felt to simply see the trailer for NBK. This tone really made the movie a disappointment. It had a huge potential to be a good movie and it fell flat on it's face.