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darkorion69
Reviews
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Simply Confused
This movie was excellent. The acting, cinematography, special effects, and the pacing were great. As in any novel adaptation though, far too much was left out for my tastes.
The real problem with leaving major book details out imho, is not bad service to hardcore fans of the HP novels. The true losers on what was cut...are the people that still refuse to read any of the novels despite having seen 6 of the films! They are going to be mystified on the reason behind many scenes and situations.
I am simply shocked that people could watch any of these excellent films and not find themselves in a bookstore shortly after. But I do not want to cast aspersions on people who prefer movies to books...so I will leave it at that.
There are many people these days that favor action and adventure over angst, romance, and character development. Those kind of movie goers really should skip Half Blood Prince and go see Transformers 2 instead. A stranger I spoke to after the film said it was 'romantic garbage' that never seemed to end *sad panda*
Half Blood Prince is 75% angst, romance, and character development. If you (like I) find such things compelling then you will enjoy this movie. If you are a die hard fan of the book, you can enjoy HBP if you can let go of what was left out. It was in my mind, very well done, but then again I am someone who enjoys the huge world or romantic fan fiction these books spawned :)
Twilight (2008)
Twilight Nonsense!
The vampires in this movie were frankly ridiculous. Oh no, we have to avoid the sunlight or people will think we are wearing body glitter! Grab a little makeup and presto you look perfectly normal.
These creatures live for centuries apparently, and yet Edward has not learned to control his feeding impulse in 80 years! He acts unsure of himself with Bella...if he has been to high school 10+ times he should know how to charm an emotionally vulnerable teenage girl.
The color palette was washed out, the acting (except occasionally with Bella) was pathetic. My guess is that these books were popular, so the author got movie rights and a focus group told them how to market this film to overly emotional angst ridden teenagers. Someday I hope that we make more movies for teenagers that show realistic relationships and don't have Shiny Vampires who act emotionally retarded.
The Ice Harvest (2005)
Somewhat non-plussed :(
The acting in this film was decent. Cusack played a subtle man entering a situation far above his head. But don't expect more than a few twists, all painfully obviously coming.
I am a resident of Wichita, KS...and I think the filmmaker had us pegged well. He managed to show the hypocrisy in a scene where an 'impolite drunk' was kicked in the crotch for outrageously hitting on a 'good Christian bartender' in her straight-laced boyfriends presence.
Wichita is very much a moral town...on the surface. But scratch just beneath the surface...and you will find greed, sexual repression, and violence here. I suspect many moral Wichita natives (and Kansans in general) will get their panties in a twist over this film...but then again moralists have made an art form out of protesting publicly the vices they practice in secret :(
Supernatural (2005)
This Show Is A Sham!
The X-Files is a classic Sci-Fi piece of gold. While old Mulder and Skully did have a few shameful 'monster of the week' episodes...this show is all 'Monster of the Week' episodes.
Further, this show does nothing but borrow from recently successful horror movies and play on the farcical 'Urban Legends'. Perhaps it would be nice if the supernatural events weren't always 'evil monsters' hell bent on eating people. Death is not required for EVERY horror story, suspense draws more enjoyment from viewers.
Why do producers of television mimic the worst in shows that were successful, while being blind to the successful elements of another show? I know they are out to make the $$$, but maybe they should hire new focus groups who might have seen more than one kind of sci-fi or horror movie. I have always thought that Sci-Fi fans want less Gorror (Gory Horror) and more suspense. A mystery beats a slasher flick any day...unless you are an immature and inexperienced horror film buff.
My roommate loves the bloody show, but he is not very bright frankly. he also watches crap like Alias (heh heh pretty girl :(), Lost (Survivor Soap Opera), and the O.C (Spewing Foutain of Crap that one!)!