The Harry Potter Movies (2001-2011)

I’ve recently rewatched all the Harry Potter movies within a short period of time and I have to admit they work really well as a whole.

I am, indeed, a Potter fan. I remember the excitement when the books came out; it was such a major event in the lives of many. The first four books, together with the first four films, were my favourite. I read and watched them several times. Then I sort of lost interest: I kept on buying the new instalments on the day they were published and watching the new movie adaptations, but it wasn’t the same.

My passion was however restored when I saw ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 1’. It is such an extraordinary film in itself. Until then, Azkaban was my favourite; you know, ‘when it starts to get dark’, but Deathly Hallows 1 really is the masterpiece in the series.

On watching the eight movies again, I discovered new things, remembered details I had forgotten (Luna in a lion hat!) and renewed my passion for the story and the characters. On top of all this, some things that I had previously ignored or dismissed as minor now really touched me. As I say, I really enjoyed watching all the films (almost) back to back.

Amongst the things that surprised me was the realisation that Chamber of Secrets and The Order of the Phoenix are two really decent movies. They are not shadowed by the darkness of Azkaban and the exciting adventures of Goblet of Fire at all, like I remembered. It is indeed in Chamber of Secrets where things start to get dark and not in Azkaban, and The Order of the Phoenix is a film that really stands by itself, it’s not simply ‘a bridge’ while we wait for the finale, like I remembered, not at all (that’s The Half-Blood Prince, perhaps my least favourite).

The settings are probably one of the things I enjoy the most. Not only Hogwarts, but the Ministry of Magic, Diagon Alley, Azkaban, everything.

I must admit I have criticisms, too. I really don’t feel the need to have a computer generated troll, for example. It looks rather cheesy. A person in a suit or a puppet would have worked much nicer. And as for Hagrid’s half-brother, well, I could have done without that storyline, to be honest.

I have issues with some of the acting, too. I really can’t stand pantomime in general, but I really hate it when they use it to lessen the tension. I really dislike David Tennant’s performance, for example (thankfully he’s not on screen much). But, if we are talking about pantomime, someone I really hate with all my guts is Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange. Who had the idea to cast her? She’s awful! Her acting is all ‘look at me, look at me, I’m quirky!’ She’s anything but creepy. This really disappointed me. I also had issues with Emma Thompson and even Alan Rickman at the beginning, but nothing compared to the hate I feel for Bonham Carter’s performance.

Regarding the kids, well, they are not the best of actors, but they certainly improve with each instalment, especially Emma Watson, who actually really impressed me in the last two movies.

Anyway, I could keep on talking until the end of time: the cast of two of my favourite men (David Thewlis and Ian Hart), how I actually got goosebumps when McGonagall casts the spell to wake up the stone soldiers in Deathly Hallows 2, the animation clip about the actual Deathly Hallows, Hedwig’s fate, the dementors, Snape, the music… and, like this, ad infinitum.

Rating (whole series): 8.5/10

the woman in black (james watkins, 2012)

let’s start by saying that this is nowhere near as good as the book or the play. however, as a film in itself is not that bad. hammer really gets its sets and locations right. the house is amazing, and so is the marshland. i loved that scene when they recover the body. all that mud and how they managed to infuse it with a very classic hammery feeling, a kind of ‘indoorsy outdoors’; i love it. and so many creepy toys and stuffed animals! i certainly want the wee monkey with the maracas.

on top of all that, there are some very spooky moments that actually made jump on my seat (particularly the scene with the crow’s nest at the beginning and the one with the windowpane towards the end).

the acting was ok, but i had issues with daniel radcliffe. he looked too young for my liking; i never believed him as a father (but i admit that might be because i can’t picture him portraying anything other than ‘the-boy-who-lived’).

i kind of liked the change in ending, too (i loved how cynical it is), but i hated the cheesy final scene with all my guts .

all in all, much better than i expected. well worth a watch if you like ghost stories. however, if you are a hardcore susan hill fan, you must watch it with an open mind, i warn you!

Rating: 7/10