16 posts tagged “harry potter”
Finally after what seems likes weeks of enjoying the popcorn more than the movies, I've seen something truly entertaining: In Bruges.
In it Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson play assassins Ray and Ken who've been told to lay low in Bruges after a hit by their boss Harry played by Ralph Fiennes.
Ray and Ken are obviously cut from different cloth which makes for an interesting journey as the real reason for the Bruges trip unfolds.
To say more about the story line would spoil it but it is funny, sad and violent all melded into one. It is nice to see Farrell working with his native Irish accent for once and he is a natural at this type of character. Gleeson is just one of those actors who consistently puts in a good turn although this is the first thing I've seen him in since Harry Potter's IV and V and I can't quite get Mad-Eye Mooney out of my head when I see him on screen, which has nothing to do with his performance.
Fiennes is fabulous as a foul-mouthed, London criminal head-case. He does suprisingly well with a broad Laahnden accent but having seen him as Voldemort in HP, playing evil again was no great test of his acting ability.
In fact the film turned out to be a bit of Harry Potter reunion with Clemence Poesy who was Fleur Delacour in IV taking the Hogwarts total up to three. Poesy plays Farrell's love interest and a character that is a departure from the children's film. It shouldn't surprise me as she's done a lot of film work in France.
Anyway I digress, it is a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours and having been sorely disappointed with Oxford Murders, Leatherheads and Shine A Light recently it was refreshing to leave the cinema with a smile on my face rather than just bits of popcorn.
When I booked the tickets for the RSC's King Lear back in summer it seemed like an age to wait but in the blink of an eye the months have passed. Arriving excited with anticipation at the New London Theatre there were posters warning us that the play contained loud gun-shots and brief nudity. J and I both joked that as long as it wasn't Ian McKellan who was getting his kit off, that would be fine.
I'm fond of good tragedy and in particular Shakespeare's but this storyline didn't really move me and left me feeling that most of the characters got what they deserved. Perhaps it was the way it was played and that is no way a criticism of the acting which was generally superb.
It sounds like I didn't enjoy it but I really did and almost entirely because of McKellan who's performance was mesmerising. He is a true King of Shakespearean acting, put him and Patrick Stewart on the stage together and the rest of the cast might as well stay in their dressing rooms.
Other notable performances came from Sylvester McCoy who played The Fool and was unceremoniously and rather shockingly hung just before the interval. (His 'body' was retrieved by stage hands during the interval which some in the audience felt deserved an applause.)
Frances Barber who I've seen playing Mrs Coulter in the Dark Materials at the National was an excellently selfish and manipulative Goneril, the eldest daughter.
The jury is still out on Romola Garai (seen recently in the film Atonement) who played the youngest daughter Cordelia and the chief victim of the tragedy. Many actors have said baddies are more fun to play and maybe it's because she's a goody that she didn't get the chance to shine, I don't know, I'd have to see another actress play the part to really judge.
This probably only makes sense to me but while the story didn't move me in the same way that say Hamlet or Othello does the performance itself was utterly engaging.
And oh yes I nearly forgot, the nudity. Well it wasn't what I'd describe as brief and despite the warning it was far more shocking than Equus . What I will say is that Gandalf's is bigger than Harry Potter's.
Two films I've seen in recent weeks I feel are worth a mention are The Golden Compass and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
The former is based on the first book in Philip Pullman's Dark Material's Trilogy, the Northern Lights, which I read at a friends suggestion as the antidote male hero Harry Potter.
Now I really enjoyed the books and was lucky enough to see the stage version at the National Theatre which could have been a disaster but was actually superbly done.
So I was looking forward to the film, if with a little trepidation at what Hollywood might do with it. I'd read all the stories of directors dropping out and the decision to down play the religious theme but was encouraged by the casting.
And I wasn't disappointed. I can't imagine how it is to follow if you haven't read the books and I won't attempt to explain here but the job of imagining Pullman's fantasy world and ideas on film is skillfully done.
The lead characters live up to expectation with the exception of Iorek Byrnison, the polar bear which is voiced by Ian McKellan (more of him, quite literally in another post).
The CGI bear is as good as anything else I've seen on film recently but McKellan's voice just doesn't fit. It's like Gandalf has become a bear. Perhaps his voice is just a bit too old for the character.
My only other criticism is the decision to erase the religious element, a decision I'm sure is born out of having US financing rather than British or European.
In the books I always felt that the role of religion within society was fairly central but it begs a question that should the remaining two films go ahead, how on earth are they going to explain Lyra, the heroine's, significance without any religious reference?
If you've read the books you will no doubt know exactly what I mean but I won't explain as it will spoil it for those who haven't.
A complete cinematic contrast, The Assassination of Jesse James, is a detailed character piece bereft of any silver screen whistles and bells that had me completely gripped. If you are expecting an action movie of Western persuasion you'll be sorely disappointed.
Framed by a relatively short period of history it is a character piece about the build up to, murder and its consequences of the infamous Jesse James, played by Brad Pitt.
It is a long film and the first half an hour seems a little slow but the pace picks up as the tension between the two central characters builds - Ford the murderer is played by Casey Affleck.
It is refreshing to watch a film which places the actors firmly in the spotlight to tell the story. For all the gossip and glamour that surrounds Pitt, he is at the core a skilled actor and together with Affleck what the two of them manage to pull off is breathtaking. Quite simply they say more without words than most actors could pull off with heavy dose of verbal diarrhea.
If Affleck doesn't have an illustrious career after this then there is no justice.
Warner Brothers has missed a trick. OK so it's not like profit margins are slim with the whole Harry Potter franchise
Peter Jackson has spoilt us with the zillions of hours of extra's and extended versions that are part and parcel of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and should not be the yard-stick by which all DVD's are judged. Nonetheless, I like my extra's: the behind-the-scenes footage, cast and crew interviews, making of's, deleted scenes, out-takes (love out-takes) and generally the thought process behind the whole thing.
It is a big deciding factor behind buying a DVD rather than just waiting for the film to show on Sky.
And what do you get with OOTP? Some rather lame deleted scenes that a GCSE editing student would easily have chopped, the actress who plays Tonks being all zany behind the scenes but not really showing you much at all, a Harry Potter back story film in which any intrigue is completely lost if you've read the last book, and I'm sure most people have, and a brief teaser about editing which ends with a 'have a go at editing your own scene' interactive exercise at the end.
The Goblet of Fire DVD had restored a little faith with its behind the scene's making of films for each of the Tri-wizard tournament tasks after the disasterous Johnny Vaughan interviews with the cast on the Prisoner of Azkaban DVD.
The latest two films are crying out for extended versions, after all they condensed the books so much and there always seems to be plenty that ends up on the cutting room floor or may be no if the deleted scenes on OOTP are anything to go by. And some sort of commentary would be fabulous. (Yes I have watched all three extended LOTR DVD's with the various commentaries on).
What will inevitably happen now is that Warner will release a box-set of all seven films when they are finished with loads of juicy stuff so (sad) fans like myself have to buy them all again.
I don't want to cast doubts on these rumours but there is a pretty strong chance that Daniel Radcliffe will be busy filming the final Harry Potter in 2009 (it is scheduled for release in 2010) and therefore unavailable to take over the role of Dr Who from David Tennant.
Who would you like to trade places with for one day and why?
Submitted by Nathalie.
Anyone who is working on the set of the new Harry Potter film, when it is in production of course.
Why? Because I'm fascinated by the whole film production process and I love Harry Potter - it would be amazing to experience.
Despite my posts, I don't spend hours in Harry Potter chat rooms discussing theories about the final book - I've never been in a chat room - but I have just happened upon this interview with Daniel Radcliffe which is both interesting and also validates the fact that I'm not completely alone in some of my theories....
They always do it the Harry P books. Once I start reading, I just can't put the damn things down. I've raced through the Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire and am two thirds my way through the fifth, the Order of the Phoenix or the 'really angry book' as I prefer to call it.
I'm not sure what it means but it has to have some bearing on what happens in the final book and Harry's or Voldemort's potential demise. Also why triumphant - is Dumbledore just gloating that something he foresaw has indeed come true or that Voldemort is finally learning the power of ancient magic? A little out of character perhaps. Or does this mean that he thinks it might in someway help Harry in the final battle?'He said my blood would make him stronger than if he'd used someone else's. He said the protection my mother left in me, he'd have it too. and he was right - he could touch me without hurting himself and he touched my face.'
For a fleeting instant, Harry thought he saw a gleam of something like triumph in Dumbledore's eye. but the next second, Harry was sure he had imagined it, for when Dumbledore had returned to his seat behind the desk, he looked as old and weary as Harry had ever seen him.
Answers on a postcard no later than 20th July please.
I'm not ashamed to admit I'm a massive fan of the Harry Potter books. Regretfully I got into them after seeing the
So the last book is a biggy for me. The final piece of the jigsaw. The answers to (most of) the questions. The big reveal.
I'm not pre-ordering it because you can walk into just about any shop that sell books and fall over piles of the buggers once it is out.
But my diary for the 21 and 22 July will be cleared. The phone won't get answered. There will be no batteries in the doorbell. TV, radio and iBook will remain off.
My biggest fear is that I accidentally find out what happens before I've read it for myself or worse still, someone tells me.
When the last book was published some jokers hung a banner across a busy A-road in Wales with the identity of the character who dies written on it. Funny to non-fans I'm sure but incredibly mean in my eyes.
I'm also re-reading all six books, the aim being to finish The Half Blood Prince a few days before the final publication date.
They are such a delight to read and I get completely sucked in half way through the first chapter.
Its fun scouring them for any tiny clues as to what might happen and in particular anything to indicate the identity and locations of the remaining horcruxes.
I really hope JK Rowling doesn't kill Harry off so that no one can persuade her to write any further books. I don't mind if she doesn't write any more but I just think it would be a bit mean after everything the character has gone through.
Finally headed into town at the weekend to make the most of some of London's fine cultural institions. Mosh wanted to see an exhibition of London maps through the ages at the British Library but when we got there the queue was an hour and a half long and even he thought that was a too long a wait to see some old stuff.
After a quick mooch around the book shop we decided to walk over to the British Museum. It is actually only 10 minutes walk from my office but in the two and a half years I've been based there I'm ashamed to admit I've never made a lunch time or after work visit.
It is the first time I've seen the Great Court, which was all the more stunning
We had a wander through the Egypt room. There is something very regal and timeless about the statues. We couldn't get very near to the Rosetta Stone to have a proper look as it was mobbed, so Mosh, who has an amazing memory for historical information, acted as curator.
Then we headed to the Persia halls to see some of the exhibits from Turkey, inspired by our visit to the country last year. There was nothing on the grand scale of the Pergamon Museum in Berlin but still worth a look.
We finished our brief tour at the exhibition of the controversy-shrouded Elgin Marbles. I can understand why Greece would want them back but then I'm sure that there are one or two artifacts held in Greece which don't really belong. In a similar vein, the Turkish want the Pergamon Alter back from Berlin but we couldn't help but notice on our holiday, the Egyptian and Middle Eastern artifacts that are on display.
We finished up with a browse around the excellent book shop and a quick look in the reading room. Most of the books have now been moved into British Library but there is still something very impressive and learned, and Harry Potter-esque about this huge round room.
Our afternoon was finished we a cuppa and some chocolate and the walk across Covent Garden to catch the bus home.
Really must do more of this.
