Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince review

...in haiku:

Slow darkness misting
Persistent worries, shadows
of fate and courage.

A very impressionistic movie. Read the book first, and don't try to watch it if you're tired.

New in Town

We recently watched the movie New in Town starring Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. It had some funny moments, and Harry Connick Jr. was handsome. HOWEVER, why didn't they film it in Minnesota?? The movie is full of Minnesota jokes and references to New Ulm events and structures, yet the movie was filmed in Canada. We never see New Ulm! A city with its own unique German heritage and a tourist destination in its own right! Lame.

This film is a caricature of Minnesota cliches; it's like the movie makers were trying to turn Fargo into a "rom-com", leaving out most of the senseless violence. The so-called Minnesota accent was overdone. I'm married to a Minnesotan and have lived in and visited that lovely, sometimes very cold state; people in the Twin Cities area, at least, don't speak with the strong accent this movie had them using. And while scrapbooking may be popular there, I can't imagine a Minnesota woman pulling out her scrapbook and showing each page thereof to her new boss right off as her boss drives at night on unfamiliar, snowy roads.

MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday

We just watched MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday. I knew who one of the bad guys was from the start. This made-for-TV movie was too predictable and very slow-paced. It was as though they took a regular MacGyver episode and just STREEEETTTCHED it to add another 30 minutes or so. I actually went and washed dishes, I was that bored with the lack of action. So, watch it if you're a MacGyver fan, but have something else to do with your hands while you wait for the movie to get where it's going.

The Proposal

Dh and I went on a date last night! First we stuffed ourselves full of German food at a local restaurant, then we went to see the movie The Proposal.

It was an OK movie. As someone who used to work day-in, day-out with fiancee and spouse visa applicants, I found I was rooting for Sandra Bullock's character to get deported and barred from the USA for fraud. She's one of the protagonists of the film, so I'm fairly sure my feelings on the subject were quite different from how the film writers imagined audiences reacting. Honestly, though, what's so awful about her having to spend the rest of her life outside the USA when she didn't even care enough to return her immigration lawyer's phone calls before it reached the point where her status expired? It's not like having to live in Canada is some sort of lifelong torment.

I really enjoyed the nods to While You Were Sleeping, which is one of my favorite movies. Bullock's co-star, Ryan Reynolds, did a good job and seems to have promise for more good roles. And the Alaskan scenery was lovely.

{Proof}

Last night I watched {Proof}, the movie based on the play Proof that I saw last month. I thought I would enjoy the movie more than the play because the movie had Anthony Hopkins and Gwyneth Paltrow, both very good at acting, while the play was a college production thrown together in a month. Surprisingly, I liked the college play better. Anthony Hopkins was underused, and Gwyneth Paltrow, playing Catherine, had some of her character's best lines cut out of the movie. In the play, I believed that Catherine was basically sane and just having a hard time after her father's death. In the movie, Catherine came across as genuinely headed down the path to insanity right after her father; it's not a satisfying ending for a person in such a state to try to live on her own--isn't that often how someone ends up becoming a homeless person?

Fireproof

I just watched Fireproof with my husband a couple of nights ago. The acting was sometimes rather amateur, but by the end, I forgave that shortcoming and decided I liked the movie. It has great lessons about sacrifice, decisions, commitment and faith. And it reminded me how gut-wrenching being served with divorce papers can be (I did a little process serving once, and hated the look on one guy's face when I finally caught up to him with his wife's petition for divorce.) I highly recommend it.

Bride Wars

We just watched the movie Bride Wars.

Here's what I liked about it:
1) Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway are just cute, especially when they have blue hair or orange skin.

Here's what I didn't like about it:
1) Completely over-the-top characters and scenarios
2) Reinforcement of the stupid idea that a) one should spend more time fussing over wedding arrangements than making sure that one is marrying wisely and b) wedding celebrations should cost more than your average house down payment.
3) One of the brides breaks up with her groom, even though most of the foreshadowing of the breakup makes it look as though he's the one dissatisfied with what's going on and we never see him mistreat her. To be consistent, he should have done the breaking up.

Shakespeare Retold: A Midsummer's Night Dream

Since when was A Midsummer's Night Dream all about the relationship between Theseus and Hippolyta? Too many unnecessary and unfunny changes were made from Shakespeare's play. And where was the final play about Pyramus and Thisbe? That's the highlight of Shakespeare's play, but it's nowhere to be seen in this Retold version. Also, this movie had a lot of unnecessary "intimate" moments. Except for my interest in Helena and whether Zander would realize that he really loved her, I didn't enjoy this version very much. Quite lame in comparison with the other three Shakespeare Retold movies.

Shakespeare Retold: The Taming of the Shrew

This version of the the Taming of the Shrew was a lot of fun to watch and surprisingly touching at moments. It was hard to get past the "Moaning Myrtle" aspect of the actress playing Katherine, and the elevator scene when she first meets Petruchio was sadly inferior to Shakespeare's version of this meeting. But some other changes were for the better. Bianca, for instance, is hilarious in her self-absorption and subtle arrogance.

Shakespeare Retold: Much Ado About Nothing

BBC recently did modern versions of four Shakespeare plays, among them Much Ado About Nothing. In this version, Beatrice and Benedick are co-anchors on a news show. There are some very funny lines, and it's always great to see a new incarnation of Benedick get "gulled" into believing that Beatrice is dying for love of him. What an ego! And what great lines Benedick has right afterward! Fairly clean movie (no worse than the Branagh version) and simply enjoyable.

Up

I just saw the movie Up last night. It was so cute. I love the bright balloons, the talking dog "Doug", and the devotion of the main character to his wife. What a great movie. Why can't we have more of them? Seriously, do you feel better after watching a formulaic action/romance film with questionable morals or an artistic, meaningful movie like Up?

North and South

North and South is a recent BBC miniseries based on Elizabeth Gaskell's book by that name. It is one of the most wonderful media productions I've ever seen. Watch it for the historical value, the human stories, and even some romance. Just watch it. I saw it yesterday, and I just can't stop thinking about it.

The Incredible Hulk

Fun movie. I liked it more than Hulk (what was with that killer green poodle, anyway?). There were several cute nods to the original comic book Hulk, and the character playing Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk was more likeable than Eric Bana (too much brooding silence in Hulk for my taste). Check it out if you like comic book movies; it's a good one.

The Simpsons Movie

Yes, I actually watched The Simpsons Movie last night. After spending my early years turning it off when my younger brother tried to watch the show, I actually watched a movie-length episode of "The Simpsons". It's amazing how much society's standards have changed in the last fifteen years; irreverent humor that used to shock and appall me hardly fazed me last night. And I don't watch "South Park" or even TV! The movie made me laugh a lot, so I met my primary objective in watching it. Otherwise, it was drivel with nothing deep to say (most Americans come to realize we shouldn't litter way back in grade school).

Sima the Witch

This movie is from Israel. According to the back cover of the DVD, Sima the Witch is supposed to be a cutting spoof about Israeli society. Apart from the obvious focus on prejudice towards different nationalities, I'm not sure what was being spoofed and what was just being made up completely. I don't feel like I learned a lot about Israel from this movie. There were some entertaining parts, but there was also far too much foul and suggestive language and reprehensible behavior. Other than being very loving to her grandson, the main character doesn't have much to recommend her as a heroine. Don't run out to watch it, but if you happen to see it on your library checkout shelf, you might find this movie to be an interesting use of 103 minutes.

The Holiday

We just watched The Holiday with Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Jack Black, and Cameron Diaz. The warning on the cover about "strong language" isn't just empty words. And neither is the warning about sexual situations, so be cautious. I loved Kate Winslet's character (she is super nice to a sweet old man in the house next door to where she vacations), but Cameron Diaz's character was so selfish. It's hard to see what Jude Law's character can have really seen in her (they spend two drunken nights together and then one sober day and evening, and suddenly he's utterly in love with her). If you're curious about the movie, see it for Kate Winslet's character. She really is a nice, complex person, and (grrr, even though I hated Titanic) Kate Winslet does a great job playing her.

Sense and Sensibility

The world can never have too many adaptation of Jane Austen novels, in my opinion. So, of course, when I came across a 2008 BBC version of Sense and Sensibility at the library last week, I had to check it out. I enjoyed watching it. Good to decent acting by everyone, beautiful scenery and good period clothing, and Austen's characters brought to life quite well. However, it did seem to move more slowly than needed; the movie is 174 minutes long.

My husband thought the only worthwhile thing in the movie was that one of the characters was played by the actor who is Mr. Weasley in the Harry Potter movies. (Men just don't get obsessed with Jane Austen, do they?)

Mamma Mia!

I finally saw Mamma Mia! last night. I was really looking forward to seeing it because I love so many of Abba's songs. My short review of the movie is as follows: visually beautiful, musically mediocre, and plotwise very weak. If you watch it, try to see it on the best screen possible so that you can enjoy the visuals. And afterwards, do resist putting on flamboyant pantsuits! ;)

Schultze Gets the Blues

We watched the movie Schultze Gets the Blues last night. It had some fun moments, but it was far too long and seemed really unrealistic. I worry that Germans who have watched it might think they know something about the USA afterwards.

Twilight

We checked Twilight out from the library and watched it last night.

The book was OK, and the Twilight movie captured the book fairly well. In fact, pathetic as Bella is overall as a character, the movie seemed to make her look a tad less so than the book did. Still, I don't like heroines who muse about how nice death is and can't wait to turn into bloodsucking immortals who have to hide in the shadow and move residences every few years. Edward was pretty good, but I hate the hairstyle! My husband was unimpressed with Edward; he thought Bella should have gone to prom with Mike Newton.