Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part II

My Rating:

  Wait for the Blu-ray

This evening I saw the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II at AMC Cinemas, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong. One of the movies from my Must See Movies list, and the following is my movie review.

This brings the last of the Harry Potter movies franchise to quite a nice ending.

The 7 books in the series they transpose into a 8-movie franchise are: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) and finally Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011).

Unlike Part 1 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that feels dragged on, this sequel has the right amount of action, storyline and most importantly final answers to the plot of the franchise. To cut up a novel that J.K. Rowling painstakingly written in 784 pages; the longest of the 7 books, is a difficult and challenging task, but the play writes did a fairly good job.

Over the 10 years that the movies spanned, we see improvements in the three young-teen actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson; who are now in their early 20’s, with Watson improves the most among the three.

Not wanting to give away the plot, I will not tell you who dies or who are reviewed as good guys. I personally did not read book 7 before going to see the movie so I had no expectations. Although having seen all seven previous movies I am very familiar with the Harry Potter story. As a result I was very satisfy with how this latest movie addresses all the open issues in previous movies.

Before going to the movie I have heard a lot of negative feedbacks on the quality and quantity of 3D effects in the movie. So I was trying my best to locate a cinema showing the regular version of the movie. I was even ready to skip this edition of the franchise because I was not able to find a cinema close enough or a show time that is convenient.

In the end I still watched the 3D version, which I recommend movie goers avoid if possible. It just just not worth the extra ticket prices that cinemas charges. The 3D effects and quality were not great or affective, but the movie is filmed very well and it will be a waste to watch it at home on my home theatre.

Rating Legend:

 Must watch before you die
Must watch before you die
 Wait for the Blu-ray
Wait for the Blu-ray
 Buy from iTunes Store
Buy from iTunes Store
 Rent it on iTunes
Rent it on iTunes
 Waste your time elsewhere
Waste your time elsewhere

Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean – On Stranger Tides

 Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides
Pirates of the Caribbean – On Stranger Tides

My Rating:

 Rent it on iTunes   

This evening I saw the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides at AMC Cinemas, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong. One of the movies from my Must See Movies list.

This is one of the worst 3D movie i’ve ever watched. There are hardly any 3D scences and the ones that are in the movie did not have to be 3D. The worst part is that none of the theaters in Hong Kong are showing the non-3D version.

As usual Johnny Depp played Captain Jack Sparrow that has no care in the world except for his own hide. They brought back some previous characters from past editions of the franchise like, Barbossa played by Geoffrey Rush and Gibbs played by Kevin McNally. Since this is the fourth edition of the franchise the originality of the plot and characters were not there, one will expects the screenwriters to go the extra distance to make the movie more special. I think this lack of originality started with Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End when the movie became very unbelievable and strange.

If you do not live in an area where they offer the non-3D version, I recommend you wait for it to become available in iTunes Movie Store, Netflix or airline entertainment system. But I think even fans of Depp will be disappointed with this movie.

Rating Legend:

 Must watch before you die
Must watch before you die
 Wait for the Blu-ray
Wait for the Blu-ray
 Buy from iTunes Store
Buy from iTunes Store
 Rent it on iTunes
Rent it on iTunes
 Waste your time elsewhere
Waste your time elsewhere

Movie Review: Prince of Persia – The Sands of Time

Poster

My Rating: 4Stars

This evening I saw the movie Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time at UA Cinema, Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. One of the movies from my Must See Movies list.

The video game Prince of Persia was created by Jordan Mechner for Brøderbund in 1989, and ever since it has been refined and republished by different game companies over the years, with Ubisoft being the last to do so. Now in 2010 a movie had been released staring Jake Gyllenhaal of Brokeback Mountain fame. Aside from Ben Kingsley the rest of the casts are mostly unknowns.

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Movie Review: Alice in Wonderland (2010)

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My Rating: 3Stars

This evening I saw the movie Alice in Wonderland in 3D at AMC Cinemas, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong. One of the movies from my Must See Movies list.

This Tim Burton sequel to the original Alice in Wonderland movie from 1903, began the story with a 19 years old Alice Kingsleigh who just lost her father and is about to be married in an arranged marriage with the son of his father’s ex-partner. Alice (Mia Wasikowska), got distracted and followed the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen) into a rabbit hole once more and began her adventure in Wonderland.

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Movie Review: Avatar (3D)

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My Rating: 4Stars

This afternoon I saw the movie Avatar 3D at UA Cinema, Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. One of the movies from my Must See Movies list.

Before I went to see the movie I questioned my decision to pay the extra cost to watch the 3D version of the movie, but after watching just the opening credits I realized I had made the right decision. Above all the three times Oscar winning Canadian director, James Cameron wrote and filmed this movie with digital 3D cameras in mind. Therefore to experience the movie as Cameron originally intended, one will definitely have to watch the 3D version.

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Movie Review: Storm Warriors, The (風雲 II)

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My Rating: 1Stars

This afternoon I saw the movie The Storm Warriors at UA Cinema, Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Not one of the movies from my Must See Movies list.

This is a sequel to the 1998, The Storm Riders (風雲), also staring Aaron Kwok and Ekin Cheng; two of Hong Kong’s big-time 90’s pop singers. Both movies are based on the Chinese comic book written by Wing-Shing Ma, and directed by the twin directors Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang.

The twin directors were not bad when they directed Bangkok Dangerous (2008), although with Bangkok they have the Oscar winning Nicolas Cage to carry the movie. This time with Storm Warriors they had over-the-hill HK pop singers who pretend to be actors. In this movie Cheng and Kwok had the same facial expressions that they always had in movies they appear in.

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Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Half – Blood Prince

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My Rating: 4Stars

This evening I saw the movie Harry Potter and the Half – Blood Prince at Grand Cinema, Elements, West Kowloon, Hong Kong. Another one of the movies from my Must See Movies list.

This is the sixth movie in the series, after Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 2001, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 2002, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in 2004, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2005 and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in 2007.

I tried reading the book several times but for whatever reason I could not get past chapter 3 and started had to start from the beginning at least 4 times because I cannot remember where in the story I stopped at. Not sure whether this was due to the book’s inability to capture my attention until the end. But having said that, if you are a Harry Potter fans this is again a must see.

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Movie Review: X-Men Origins – Wolverine

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My Rating: 4Stars

This afternoon I saw the movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine at Grand Theater, Elements, West Kowloon, Hong Kong. Another one of the movies from my Must See Movies list.

There had been many prequels in the past, for example: Star Trek Zero, Batman Begins and Quantum of Solace. Aside from the first one the rest were all fairly good movies, and the Star Trek prequel is not yet released until June in Hong Kong and May for the USA.

I normally do not like prequel much, not sure why, may be it has to do with the fact that I rather move forward with the story rather than speculate what was.
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Movie Review: Knowing

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My Rating: 4Stars

This afternoon I saw the movie Knowing at AMC Theater, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong. Another one of the movies from my Must See Movies list.

After watching the poor performance of Dwayne Johnson in Race to Witch Mountain last week, I was glad to watch a seasoned actor, Nicolas Cage, delivering a great performance. Although Cage’s performance is only great when compared to Johnson, here Cage was playing his “Ben Gates” character from National Treasure.

The thing that earned this movie an extra penguin in my rating was the story and the twists in the plot. It did not have as complicated of a plot as National Treasure, but contains enough suspense for the audience to want more. Without breaking my rule of no spoilers, there is really not much more I can say about the movie.

I can leave you with the following detail, as with I Am Legend the ending of this movie is a bit unexpected.

Rating Legend:
5Stars Not to be missed
4Stars Wait for the DVD
3Stars Buy from iTunes Store
2Stars Rent it on iTunes
1Stars Waste your time elsewhere

Movie Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

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My Rating: 4Stars

This afternoon I saw the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at UA Cinema, Time Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Another one of the movies from my Must See Movies list.

The plot of the movie is fairly typical but with a special twist. It is about a man, Benjamin Button (played by Brad Pitt), who was born with an old man’s body and died as a baby.

The special effects and makeup were quite amazing. Although one would not expect special effects to play an important role for a movie like this. It enabled the team to transform Pitt, a 46 years old in real life, into a young teenager. The other side of the transformation was to make Pitt into a convincing 70 years old, which was the creativity of makeup artist, Greg Cannom.

Cannom’s artisan included the transformation of Pitt’s body into an old man’s, along with sagging chest and flabby stomach. This efforts earned him an Oscar nomination, “Achievement in Makeup”.

For some reasons this movie reminded me of Tim Burton‘s Big Fish (2003). I guess it was the cinematography and the fantasy nature of the plot. There is a questionable yet believable feel for the events that transpire throughout the movie.

Pitt delivered his usual great performance, convincing the audience he was indeed the age the character was going through. Enough so that it earned him an Oscar nomination for “Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role”. One of his supporting actresses, Taraji P. Henson also had a great performance, earning an Oscar nomination herself for “Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role”. In total the movie racked up 13 nominations at the 81st Oscars to be held on February 22nd.

This is definitely a movie for fans of Pitt, but anyone into fantasy and stories of Eric Roth should not miss either.

Rating Legend:  
5Stars Not to be missed
4Stars Wait for the DVD
3Stars Buy from iTunes Store
2Stars Rent it on iTunes
1Stars Waste your time elsewhere