“Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” is just around the corner and muggles worldwide are all breathless with expectation. I won’t be recounting any of the past Harry Potter films nor going to be giving a synopsis of what this film will be about (If you don’t know yet then just grab a copy of the book.) but will be simply blabbing about the latest in the lives of the Potter film stars.
As we all know Emma Watson had a very public fiasco when the wind conspired with her hormone ridden teenage boys fans and flicked open her dress for her to reveal nice long legs and her underwear. She showed “Hermione-like” calmness on David Letterman and good humour when she said, “At least I’m wearing underwear.” When it comes to her kissing scene with Rupert Grint (Ron Weasly) both of them agree was uncomfortable. As Rupert said, “I remember being inches away from her lips and thinking, ‘Good lord, this is going to be strange.” Emma Watson even goes as far as saying that with Rupert being “like a brother” to her kissing him “felt like incest.” A thing the little kids who will be watching (I think this one’s rated PG and not PG-13 like the last two films.) need not know. Whatever the case, you can be sure their unease won’t show on screen. Of course we’ll have to wait for “Deathly Hallows” till we see this scene.
As for their future beyond the Harry Potter films Daniel Radcliffe has expressed his desire to continue acting, Emma Watson is not yet sure though she seems to be seriously considering on going to college, and Rupert Grint is just sure that he’ll be missing the shoots and is adopting a wait and see attitude on what the future holds for him.
As for muggles worldwide all we can hope for is that wherever you are, come Wednesday, it won’t be literally raining on our parade, which is what happened in the London premiere. I guess it just goes to show that their magic wand works only in the film and not in real life.
Pink Panther 2: I Suggest You Watch Something Else
I used to think that I did not really like “stupid” funny movies. That is, until I experienced Will Ferrell many years ago. I still can’t stop laughing just thinking about Talladega Nights. And there are many others too. Even Austin Powers makes me laugh. And I remember liking Pink Panther to a certain degree.
The sequel, Pink Panther 2, is something else, however. It just is not the same! I couldn’t believe how rehashed the concepts and lines were – and we are supposed to have fun? It just seems to me that the people behind Pink Panther 2 were trying too hard to make the audience laugh. And believe me, there is nothing worse than a comedian trying too hard. Oh wait, there is something worse – a group of comedians in a movie trying too hard!
To be honest, I was afraid that I had lost my sense of humor while watching the movie. I thought that perhaps, it was just me. But no, other viewers felt exactly the same way! Colin Covert of Star Tribune writes:
Ponzi schemes and lowbrow comedies may be the only parts of the U.S. economy that work. The skid mark that is “Paul Blart, Mall Cop” has scarcely been mopped up and now comes Steve Martin’s insufferably stupid “Pink Panther 2” (★ out of four stars, rated PG for some suggestive humor, brief mild language and action). Recycling bins have fresher content than this listless exercise in check-the-boxes moviemaking.
And as he said, “If you buy a ticket for this one, mon ami, le joke is on you.”
Yeah, the joke was on me…
Lost Boys sequel slated June
As seminal 80’s movies go, Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys is right up there with most of John Hughes’ teeny bopper classics. This campy teen flick that masquerades as a horror movie may not have technical polish but this is one example of a movie that is “more than the sum of its parts”. Everything worked here – from the flamboyant but still a bit restrained production design, the cool story that effortlessly melds vampires, comics, geeks and jocks, and the stellar 80’s power of the two Coreys, Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric and Jamie Gertz.
It’s been more than twenty years since The Lost Boys entered film history and in Hollywood an effective formula can never be ignored. So it comes as no surprise that a new Lost Boys movie is about to be shown this year. The new movie, called The Lost Boys 2: The Tribe, is slated to be released June this year. Corey Haim and Corey Feldman will return along with the other Frog Brother Jamison Newlander. Schumacher though has been replaced by PJ Pesce but the same writers are involved with this sequel.
I am quite eager to watch this new sequel just to revisit one of the more memorable movies of my childhood.
Deathly Hallows turns into two movies
I don’t know how Harry Potter fans will take this news. According to producer David Heyman, the last potter movie, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows will be divided into two movies.
Heyman explained that the two-movie approach was the best one among a number of options that they were toying with. One option had the movie running for almost four hours but Heyman said that even though Potter fans would have tolerated the length it is still too much for little children to sit through such a long movie. Another option was to remove key elements of the last book but Heyman also said that this was not a good idea. He shared that unlike in other books where certain subplots were dispensable, Deathly Hallows provided a lot of answers and resolutions that the only way to do it justice is to leave it as is. The desire to be true to the book is mainly the biggest reason for the decision to divide the movie into two. JK Rowling was consulted about this decision and she supposedly gave her support for the two-movie concept.
Development of the script is only now being undertaken because of the recently concluded writer’s strike — and this is where the next glitch happens. Expect a year and a half of waiting in between Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince and the Deathly Hallows movies. This delay, I guess, is the one thing that Potter fans will complain about the most.
Highlander: the Search for Vengeance – Review
When I heard they were making an animated Highlander feature film, I was relatively unimpressed. Highlander has had a very…”rocky” film and television history, to be polite, so I was expecting some more uninspired tripe along the lines of the ill-conceived and short-lived Highlander: the Animated Series. What I got was something completely unexpected: an animated film ripe with memorable characters, engaging storylines, mind-blowing fight scenes and drop-dead gorgeous animation. “Highlander: the Search for Vengeance” should be on every animation fan’s shelf, regardless of whether they give a damn about the Highlander franchise or not.
Colin MacLeod (Alistair Abell) is a Highlander: an immortal swordsman doomed to walk the Earth until all of his kind have slain one another. Centuries ago, MacLeod saw his beloved wife, Moya, crucified by a Roman General and fellow Highlander, Marcus Octavius. And so began a centuries-long rivalry that has lasted into the distant future. In a post-apocalyptic world, Colin has found Marcus ruling over a decimated Manhattan from his golden tower. Colin is joined by a group of rebels who need to stop Marcus from unleashing a virus that will murder thousands. However, their lives are immaterial to him, as Colin cares only for vengeance.
Yeah, I know, a Highlander in a post-apocalyptic future reeks of “Highlander II: the Quickening”, and the mere mention of that title might be enough to frighten off any decent Highlander fan in the audience. Well, let me just say, “Highlander: the Search for Vengeance” is everything “Highlander II” should have been. You know, good.
As far as continuity goes, I’m not the biggest Highlander buff in the world, so I’m not exactly sure how or even if it works into the established Highlander timeline, and I really don’t care. Whether you know everything about Highlander or nothing about Highlander, it doesn’t matter. This movie is a stand-alone tale which nicely recaps the Highlander mythos and holds up by itself, isolated from the rest of the franchise. It is very friendly to new-comers or just casual fans like myself, but is chalk-full of enough references and…just…Highlandery stuff to appease even the staunchest fanboy.
I think the most important place to start is the animation. When I bought the DVD I was entirely expecting something nice but cheap-looking, like the “Ultimate Avengers” animated films. Straight-to-video animation is usually good but never impressive. Well, let me say something so important I’m writing it in bold text: this movie should have been released in theaters. The animation is provided by Madhouse Studios, the same people who have given us “Ninja Scroll”, “Vampire Hinter D: Bloodlust”, “Perfect Blue” and HBO’s Spawn the Animated Series. On top of that, the animation was directed by the celebrated and endlessly talented Yoshiaki Kawajiri, the director of “Ninja Scroll”, “Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust” and “Wicked City”. So if you’ve seen just one of the films mentioned, you should know to expect some heart-pounding fight sequences and brilliantly innovative “camera” work. The animation in this film is so absolutely breath-taking it boggles the mind that it went straight to video. This movie has all the hard work and technical achievements of a big-budget theatrical animated film.
So if you haven’t guessed by now, “Highlander: the Search for Vengeance” is a collaboration between the United States and Japan. It was written by David Abramowitz, who might be best known to you Highlander fans as the guy who wrote Highlander: the Series and Highlander: the Raven. So needless to say, this guy knows his Highlander stuff. The story of Colin and Marcus as they battle through the ages is fantastic and epic. You loathe Marcus for his Hitler-esque desire to prune humanity into his vision of a master race, but you loathe Colin almost as much for being such a cold-hearted and single-minded zombie. There are other memorable characters in the film, as well. I wasn’t expecting to like Delilah, the prostitute rebel with a heart of gold, but Abramowitz actually works her character into something exceptional. Her sacrifice at the end of the film is especially moving. Then there’s possibly my favorite character, Amergan, the disembodied spirit of a Druid Priest who has haunted Colin across the centuries. He provides some of the comic relief and is personified expertly by Scott McNeil, one of the most prolific and popular voice actors in the industry. But he provides more than just well-timed wise-cracks, he’s actually out to try and coerce Colin from the dead end path of vengeance. I especially enjoyed his little revelation at the end which snaps Colin out of it.
“Highlander: the Search for Vengeance” is bound to be overlooked by the general public, what with Highlander not being the money-making machine it once was. Still, anyone who enjoys animated action films, and really, anybody who enjoys action films period should get a real kick out of this. Definitely one of the best releases of the year and it’s a real shame it wasn’t shown on the big screen.
Grade: A-