Movie #207: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Movie #: 207
Movie Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Year Released: 2011

Director: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter
Notable Cast: David Yates

Short Description: Harry, Ron, and Hermione search for Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes in their effort to destroy the Dark Lord. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: #79
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 6/30/2013

What I Liked: The CG and action in the movie were visually stunning, specifically during the battle to defend Hogwarts. Snape's death and what Harry viewed in Snape's memories gave great context to the relationship between those two and answered questions dating all the way back to the first movie.

What I Disliked: The movie felt very hurried to me, which makes no sense if the point of splitting one book into two movies is to make sure you get all of the content in. If that was still a problem, this movie could have easily been longer than the 2 hours 10 minutes it clocked in at. After seeing these kids as kids for eight movies, it was awkward watching the last few minutes as those same actors tried to portray adults sending their children off to Hogwarts.

Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
Rationale: I don't want to give anything away regarding my list, but I'm sad that this is the only Harry Potter movie on it, especially since I thought the first part of the Deathly Hallows was better.

Movie #208: The Thin Red Line

Movie #: 208
Movie Title: The Thin Red Line
Year Released: 1998

Director: Terrence Malick
Notable Cast: Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Elias Koteas, Miranda Otto, John Travolta, John C. Reilly, Adrian Brody, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson

Short Description: Director Terrance Malick's adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #79
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 6/29/2013

What I Liked: I've only seen a couple of movies with Nick Nolte in it, and like the others I thought he was fantastic. His portrayal of a rough and gruff old military officer past his prime was spot on. I thought the action scenes, particularly when the Americans charged the Japanese camp, were well done. I'm a huge fan of composer Hans Zimmer so getting to hear another beautiful score of his was a plus.

What I Disliked: I'd never heard of Guadalcanal before watching this movie so right off the bat I was less interested than, say, a movie involving the landing at Normandy (i.e. Saving Private Ryan) or the bombing of Pearl Harbor (i.e. Pearl Harbor).

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Rationale: Specifics of the movie weren't very memorable, but in general after watching I thought it was that it was pretty good.

Movie #209: Iron Man

Movie #: 209
Movie Title: Iron Man
Year Released: 2008

Director: Jon Favreau
Notable Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrance Howard, Jeff Bridges

Short Description: When wealthy industrialist Tony Stark is forced to build an armored suit after a life threatening incident, he ultimately decides to use its technology to fight against evil. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #80
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 6/27/2013

What I Liked: I firmly believe that Robert Downey Jr. was the quintessential choice to play Tony Stark and without him Iron Man would not have the same impact. The tone of the movie is serious but not so much that small, sporadic interjections of comedy are unwelcome. It's gotten to the point in the movie industry that complimenting great CGI doesn't mean much because with today's technology it should be expected, but the Iron Man suit is a thing of beauty. I love that four years before The Avengers, Marvel was already setting up the future by introducing us to S.H.I.E.L.D. and mentioning The Avengers Initiative in the post-credits scene.

What I Disliked: I don't know why but whenever I watch this movie I don't get the feeling that Obadiah Stane is a strong villain. Jeff Bridges plays the character well and the rational for him being a villain is sound, but it just seems like something is lacking and I can't put my finger on it.

Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
Rationale: Marvel hit a home run by casting Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man and by betting on the future with references to S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Avengers.

Movie #210: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Movie #: 210
Movie Title: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Year Released: 1943

Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Notable Cast: Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook

Short Description: Portrays in warm-hearted detail the life and loves of one extraordinary man. We meet the imposingly rotund General Clive Wynee-Candy, a blustering old duffer who seems the epitome of stuffy, outmoded values. Traveling backwards 40 years we see a different man altogether: the young and dashing officer "Sugar" Candy. Through a series of relationships with three women and his lifelong friendship with a German officer, we see Candy's life unfold and come to understand how difficult it is for him to adapt his sense of military honor to modern notions of "total war." (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #80
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 6/25/2013

What I Liked: I personally haven't seen a ton of movies that use this style of storytelling, but I love it when movies start out in the present, then flashback to the past and work back up to present time. I feel more engaged with the movie because I'm sitting there wondering what events have to unfold for us to get back to the present situation. I like that even though this movie is about the life of a military man, they were able to tell the story without actual battle scenes. Not to say war was not shown, but you never see Clive Candy partaking in a skirmish. I thought the monologue Candy's friend Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff gave at the immigration office was well written.

What I Disliked: At the same time, while I liked that the movie was told without Clive Candy actively participating in a battle, to not show his prowess in battle, which is what he was known for, sort of makes it hard to understand why everyone recognizes him as so great. If the main character's name is Clive Candy and the movie focuses on his life, I don't get the "Colonel Blimp" in the title. Wikipedia says that the title is based off a comic strip but the story of the movie itself is original. Why use that name then?

Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: While a bit slow at times and quite lengthy at almost three hours, it's easy to become invested in the story of Clive Candy and the people around him.

Movie #211: Wild Strawberries

Movie #: 211
Movie Title: Wild Strawberries
Year Released: 1957

Director: Ingmar Bergman
Notable Cast: Victor Sjöström, Bibi Anderson, Ingrid Thulin, Gunner Björnstrand

Short Description: After living a life marked by coldness, an aging professor is forced to confront the emptiness of his existence. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: #81
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 6/22/2013

What I Liked: The acting in general was well done, especially by Victor Sjöström and Ingrid Thulin. The inclusion of the fighting married couple was a great metaphor for what life would be like for Ingrid Thulin and Gunner Björnstrand’s characters if they didn’t work out their differences and learn to love each other again.

What I Disliked: The events of Wild Strawberries are portrayed to take course over a day, which makes it seem unrealistic that someone could atone for all of life’s faults that quickly. The biggest problem I had was not with the movie but with the disk itself; namely, someone’s commentary talked over the entire movie, forcing me to watch it on mute at times because I wasn’t interested in random commentary.

Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
Rationale: Present day scenes were fine, but the flashbacks were hard to follow because characters in them were not well defined.

Movie #212: Argo

Movie #: 212
Movie Title: Argo
Year Released: 2012

Director: Ben Affleck
Notable Cast: Ben Affleck, Brian Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin

Short Description: A dramatization of the 1980 joint CIA-Canadian secret operation to extract six fugitive American diplomatic personnel out a revolutionary Iran. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #82
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 6/13/2013

What I Liked: If you know the history of the Iranian hostage crisis, you’ll know how this movie ends. That said, I was still on the edge of my seat from the moment the escapees arrived at the airport, especially when they were taken off for interrogation. Based on the pictures of the real life escapees that rolled during the credits next to pictures of the actors and actresses that played them, the casting and makeup for this movie was exceptional. The people in the movie ended up being spitting images of their real life counterparts. Ben Affleck, Jeff Goodman, and Alan Arkin have great onscreen chemistry together and I would love to see them do another movie together.

What I Disliked: While I generally like Brian Cranston and the job he does as an actor, I thought he overacted his role in the latter part of the movie. Nothing to do with the movie itself but I was upset that Ben Affleck was snubbed by the Oscars and didn’t receive a nomination for Best Director.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5 (Outstanding)
Rationale: This Best Picture winning movie was arguably my favorite that I saw in theaters last year and I’m happy that it made it onto my 251 list so I could watch it again so soon.

Movie #213: The Great Escape

Movie #: 213
Movie Title: The Great Escape
Year Released: 1963

Director: John Sturges
Notable Cast: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Donald, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn

Short Description: Allied POWs plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #82
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 6/11/2013

What I Liked: Though there were a lot of different characters in the movie, they all seemed to have a fair amount of screen time and a chance to develop their characters. I thought Richard Attenborough was particularly good and it was a nice surprise when I found out that he was John Hammond in Jurassic Park. When the main characters do escape, I was pleased that the movie showed a resolution for each one, whether it was recapture, freedom, or death.

What I Disliked: Given that this movie was based on a true story and I don’t feel like researching how much of it was true, it’s hard to argue with it. That said, knowing some history of WWII, I was amazed to see the POWs were treated generally well their German captors and supplies that one would think wouldn’t be available to them were indeed easily accessible. It’s not really something I disliked, but I don’t understand how Steve McQueen gets top billing for this movie when there are many others, like Richard Attenborough, that have larger roles and more screen time. I know Steve McQueen was a big name back in the day, but if that’s the only reason he got top billing that doesn’t seem right.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Rationale: Though three hours is long for a movie, The Great Escape used the time well to develop characters you care about and to tell a story without skimping on detail.