Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) review

The Harry Potter series is a franchise that needs no introduction at this point. The brainchild of author J.K. Rowling, this is very much one of the best ‘success stories’ in recent memory. After a few years spent struggling to get by as a single mom living in the U.K., Rowling published her first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (later retitled Sorcerer’s Stone for the U.S. release) in 1997, having come up with the idea for Harry Potter while on a delayed train ride to London. While it was initially rejected by 12 different publishers (who I’m sure are now fully regretting that decision), the book became a worldwide best-seller, as did its six follow-ups. With over 500 million copies sold to date, it is the best-selling book series of all-time. That success was then equally translated into film when Warner Bros. bought the film rights in 1999. The film adaptation of Sorcerer’s Stone was released in 2001 and the series would continue up until 2011 with 7 more films, including a two-part adaptation of the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. And like their book counterparts, the films were a massive critical and commercial success. It’s legitimately one of the rare franchises in which every entry in the series is great and the series ended up grossing over $7 billion worldwide, with the final entry, 2011’s Deathly Hallows Part 2, even going over $1 billion. And at that time, it seemed as if the series had come to an end. While Rowling has expanded the series since then through various forms of media, including a recent stage play titled Harry Potter and the Cursed Child that serves as the eighth installment of the series, it seems as if the story of Harry Potter, ‘the boy who lived’, has come to an end.

But this isn’t the end for the wizarding world, though. In 2013, it was announced that Rowling was writing a screenplay for a new film set within her wizarding world; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. This new project was particularly interesting given its ‘source material’. Instead of being based on a full novel like the Potter films were, this film is inspired by an in-universe textbook of the same name by author Newt Scamander that was one of the many textbooks that Harry Potter owned while at Hogwarts. Rowling even released the book for real in 2001. Obviously, the idea of a film that was inspired by a ‘textbook’ seems like a weird concept. But, we are talking about J.K. Rowling here, who makes her screenwriting debut with this ‘spin-off’ of the Harry Potter series that is set in 1920’s New York and follows the adventures of Newt Scamander. After spending a whole series overseas, we’re finally getting to see the American side of the Wizarding World. And not only does this film see the return of some of the franchise’s primary behind-the-scenes players, including producer David Heyman and writer Steve Kloves (who, for the record, is only a producer here), but also director David Yates, who helmed the final four Potter films. With that kind of pedigree, it seems like this should be another full-on success for this beloved franchise. And, ultimately, you would be right on that one, as Rowling and co. give us another highly entertaining adventure in the wizarding world that truly manages to stand on its own merit.  

In 1926, around 70 years prior to the events of the Harry Potter films, magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) arrives in New York City by boat. His primary possession is a suitcase containing various magical creatures that he has collected over the years. Things get rather complicated, however, when a run-in with No-Maj* (the American term for what the Potter books referred to as ‘Muggles’, AKA ‘non-wizarding folk’) Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) ends up resulting in their suitcases getting switched and some of the creatures getting loose. And, unfortunately, this happens at a very bad time, as the American wizarding community, specifically the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA), is in the middle of dealing with the possible threat of exposure to the non-wizarding community. This is primarily due to a mysterious force that has been attacking the city and may or may not be connected to the dark wizard Grindelwald. And because MACUSA has instigated a ban on owning magical creatures, that puts Newt’s creatures in even more danger as they’re being blamed for the incidents. Thus, Newt and Jacob team up with MACUSA employee Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) and her sister Queenie (Alison Sudol) to find his creatures before any harm can come to them.  

Despite a change in scenery, the world that this film creates is, for lack of a better term, just as magical as what we saw from the Potter films. Once again, you are fully immersed in the world that Rowling creates and the new setting of 1920’s New York provides plenty of creative scenarios that feel both new but also familiar (in a good way). And being a film called Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, this film is very much full of ‘magical creature’-related sequences that are super fun to watch. But one of the coolest things about the film is that it is very much its own story. Sure, there are references to Harry Potter here and there (e.g. Dumbledore, Hogwarts, etc.) but they’re minor at best. And sure, these references might get more prevalent in future films. But for being the first installment of a new franchise, this film does succeed in standing on its own instead of having to rely on the arguably now nostalgic value of the Harry Potter films. Ultimately, though, the best thing that I can say about this film, as was the case with the eight Potter films, is that it does a fantastic job of balancing out the various traits of the story; the humor, the drama, the emotional depth, the charm, and the spectacle. That, my friends, is the sign of a great director and a great writer and this film has both in David Yates and J.K. Rowling, respectively. Yates’ direction is just as great as it was in the last four Potter films while Rowling’s writing, as usual, provides us with a terrifically-layered story that tackles strong themes like bigotry and prejudice amidst all the light-hearted magical adventures that the main characters find themselves in.

Speaking of which, one of the best things about this franchise in general has always been its ensemble cast. Every member of the Harry Potter cast was perfectly fit to play their respective roles. And the same can be said for the cast of Fantastic Beasts. The four main leads; Newt, Tina, Queenie, and Jacob, prove to be an excellent group of likable protagonists. They work well together and are well-matched in terms of their personalities, with Newt being the socially awkward main protagonist, Tina the kind but no-nonsense gal with a chip on her shoulder (as the result of an incident that led to her being removed from her position as an Auror (AKA basically a ‘wizard cop’)), Queenie the sweet flirt, and Jacob basically being the audience avatar of the situation; the No-Maj/Muggle (whatever one you prefer) who gets caught up in the wizarding world. In fact, this is basically the first time we’ve ever seen a non-wizard main character in this series. These four prove to be such an endearing group that, without giving anything major away, the way that the film closes out one of their story arcs is quite emotional. All in all, excellent performances from Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, and Dan Fogler. But like with any ‘Wizarding World’ film, this film also benefits from an excellent supporting cast playing an eclectic and interesting bunch of characters. There’s Colin Farrell as the rather sinister Auror Percival Graves, Ezra Miller as the mysterious young man Credence, Samantha Morton as Credence’s extremely bigoted No-Maj adopted mother Mary Lou who leads an extremist group looking to expose wizards, Carmen Ejogo as the stern president of MACUSA, the list goes on and on.

I’m not going to lie when I say that this was very much one of my most anticipated films of the year. Harry Potter is easily my favorite film franchise of all-time. Therefore, I was excited to see what would come out of a ‘Wizarding World’ film set in 1920’s New York with a screenplay written by J.K. Rowling herself. And I must say that the results are incredibly satisfying. Heck, I’m already imagining what they could do to implement this new side of the franchise into the ‘Wizarding World of Harry Potter’ lands at Universal Studios. Really, that’s the best part about the world that J.K. Rowling creates. It’s so imaginative that the possibilities are endless. But this is not just a prequel to Harry Potter. Aside from a few slight references here and there, this new film does stand on its own merit thanks to a great new cast of main characters and plenty of fun mayhem involving magical beasts. After all, this is called Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. But through it all, thanks to the always great direction of David Yates and the always fantastic writing of J.K. Rowling, this film perfectly blends the charming spectacle of it all with a well-written story that contains strong themes, dark moments, and heartfelt emotional depth. In other words, exactly what the Harry Potter films had been doing for a decade. All in all, this film is an impressively self-contained story, so much so that it’s actually rather unclear as to where this series will go next, especially considering that there will apparently be four more films after this. But I assure you that this Potter fan is very much eager to see more of this new side of the Wizarding World.

Rating: 5/5!

Top 20 Most Anticipated Films of 2016: PART 2 (Top 10)

Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s two-part post in which I’m listing my Top 20 most anticipated films of 2016. This is Part 2 and today I’ll be listing my Top 10 most anticipated films of next year. If you haven’t already read Part 1, you can check it out at the link provided below. But for now, here are my Top 10 most anticipated films of 2016 from Marvel heroes to escapades in a Galaxy Far, Far Away, or as others may call it, ‘Space… the Final Frontier’.

Kicking things off at Number 10 is the latest film from a legendary film duo.

10. HAIL, CAESAR! (February 5)

We all know of the many film classics from the duo of brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, from the 1998 cult classic ‘The Big Lebowski’ to their arguably superior 2010 remake of ‘True Grit’. As for their newest film, ‘Hail, Caesar!’ it is very much looking like the kind of quirky comedy that the two are known to make. My good friend Matt Goudreau noted that the first trailer made it look a lot like their 2008 film ‘Burn after Reading’. I’ll admit that I’ve actually only watched one of their films, their ‘True Grit’ remake, but I am really interested in seeing their new film. I guess you can say it’s due to the fact that the film is focused around 1950’s Hollywood which, as a film fan, I think is a pretty interesting subject to focus on. And of course, you can always expect a terrific ensemble cast from the Coen Brothers and this film is no exception. Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Jonah Hill, Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum, and so on and so forth. The film is getting released in February, which may or may not be a good thing given the usual quality of films released during that time. But of course, this is the same duo that brought us classic films like ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ and ‘No Country for Old Men’ so I think we’ll be fine.

After ‘Moana’ landed the #15 spot in yesterday’s post, Disney Animation’s first film of the year lands the Number 9 spot on this list.

9. ZOOTOPIA (March 4)

It’s great to see that Disney is currently in the middle of what can arguably be regarded as their second ‘Renaissance Era’. I’d say it got started around the time when John Lasseter become the animation studio’s Chief Creative Officer. Slowly but surely the company returned to top form with hits like ‘Tangled’, ‘Wreck-it Ralph’, and of course ‘Frozen’, which became the company’s biggest animated film in nearly two decades. Anyway, for the first of Disney Animation’s 2016 slate, we have ‘Zootopia’. The directing duo behind this film consists of a pair of directors that were responsible for some of the studio’s recent hits, Byron Howard (‘Tangled’) and Rich Moore (‘Wreck it Ralph’). ‘Zootopia’ is described as a buddy comedy set in a world designed entirely by animals, for animals. I’ve liked quite a few of the ‘buddy comedies’ Disney has done in recent years like ‘Tangled’ and the highly underrated ‘The Emperor’s New Groove’ so I’m definitely interested in seeing how this one turns out. And of course like many Disney animated films, it’s got a really nice ensemble voice cast, including Jason Bateman, Ginnifer Goodwin, Idris Elba, J.K. Simmons, and of course Disney’s ‘John Ratzenberger’; Alan Tudyk. For the record, I refer to him in that way because just like how Ratzenberger is the lucky charm for Pixar, Tudyk has starred in the studio’s last three films, mostly in villainous roles, and will also be a part of the voice cast for ‘Moana’.

Speaking of Disney…

8. THE JUNGLE BOOK (April 15)

If you recall my Top 10 most anticipated films list for 2015, you might remember seeing this film amongst the ‘Honorable Mentions’. But, as could happen with any of the films on this list, it ended up getting pushed back and is now set for release this April. I’m guessing this was to allow extra time for the filmmakers to finish this new adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s classic story and ‘remake’ of Disney’s 1967 animated classic. Obviously there’s been quite a bit of frustration that some have had with Disney over all of the big live-action remakes that have been getting announced these past few months but I’ve been more optimistic about them due to how much I loved ‘Cinderella’. If that film could turn out so fantastic then I’m confident that at least one or two of these upcoming ‘remakes’ are going to be too. And I’ve been a fan of most of Jon Favreau’s films; the first two ‘Iron Man’ films (yes I even like the second film), the modern Christmas classic ‘Elf’, and 2014’s charming indie flick ‘Chef’. Pair that with a terrific ensemble voice cast that includes Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, and Scarlett Johansson and some damn good looking visuals (as evident from the recently released first trailer) and you have what looks to be a really fun jungle adventure that, like ‘Cinderella’, will be highly respectful of its original adaptation while managing to be its own thing.

Number 7 is shaping up to be one of the most unique entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

7. DOCTOR STRANGE (November 4)

‘Doctor Strange’, Marvel Studios’ November 2016 release, is set to introduce one of Marvel’s most spectacular characters, the ‘Sorcerer Supreme’ Dr. Stephen Strange, to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As such, the film will start to explore the mystical, or as Kevin Feige put it, ‘supernatural’ side of the MCU, which is sure to produce quite a lot of stunning visuals as evident from what was shown at D23 this year (from what I’ve heard, for the record, having not actually been there). Serving as the director of the film will be Scott Derrickson, known for horror films like ‘Sinister’ and ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’. Definitely an ‘out-of-left-field’ choice for Marvel but of course that hasn’t stopped them before. And as far as casting is concerned, you really can’t do much better than Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role. But then you also have some other big names like Tilda Swinton as ‘the Ancient One’, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo, and a few ‘soon to be named’ characters played by Rachael McAdams and, so it seems, Mads Mikkelsen. This film is definitely compiling an exceptional cast that, along with Derrickson and writer Jon Spaihts, will surely continue the terrific run of Marvel Studios as it begins Phase Three. Though of course it’s not the first of Marvel Studios’ outings next year… that one’s coming up later on.

A much more outgoing superhero hopefully gets redeemed after a disastrous film debut in my Number 6 pick.

6. DEADPOOL (February 12)

‘The Merc with a Mouth’ first made his live-action debut in ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’… where he was ruined by having his mouth sewn shut by scientists and given all sorts of mutant powers that the character clearly did not have in the comics. Thankfully it looks like Fox will finally fix that mistake and Deadpool will be done proper justice in this brand new film, which again sees Ryan Reynolds returning to the role of mercenary Wade Wilson which is good because despite what happened to the character in ‘Origins’, Reynolds was definitely a perfect choice for the role. Now it looks like he’ll finally get the chance to be in a ‘good’ superhero film with what is clearly going to be a no-holds barred violent and crass R-rated film. And given the nature of the character in the comics, I’m perfectly fine with it being that way (see my last post, specifically the part about ‘Batman v. Superman’, for my rant about how I’m hesitant about studios like DC going a darker route for characters that are unfit for that kind of mood and atmosphere). While Fox may have struck out big time with their recent ‘reboot’ attempt of the Fantastic 4, they’ve had much better luck with the X-Men franchise and being that this is a part of that franchise, I’m confident that ‘Deadpool’ will end up being a fun smaller-scaled entry in the superhero genre that packs a bigger punch than some of its fellow superhero films.

‘Harry Potter’ is very much the ‘Star Wars’ of my generation and taking the N umber 5 spot is a brand new adventure set in the magical world of J.K. Rowling’s iconic franchise.

5. FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (November 18)

In recent years there have been quite a few Potter fans who have been clamoring for J.K. Rowling to write another ‘Harry Potter’ book. But whether or not she ends up doing that, we will be getting another cinematic adventure set within the world of wizards in the form of ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’. Inspired by the fictional in-universe book of the same name, this new film sees the return of ‘Order of the Phoenix’ through ‘Deathly Hallows’ director David Yates to the franchise while Rowling herself serves as the film’s screenwriter. Set in New York in the 1920’s, the film will follow the ‘author’ of the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ book, Newt Scamander, played by one of my favorite up-and-coming actors, Eddie Redmayne, as he tries to track down all sorts of dangerous magical creatures at the risk of threatening the state of relations between wizards and Muggles (referred to in this film by an American term, ‘No-Maj’). Aside from Redmayne, the cast also includes Katherine Waterston, Colin Farrell, and Ron Perlman. I’m legitimately interested in seeing how this planned film trilogy is going to turn out given its roots as an in-universe textbook. But quite simply at the end of the day, I’m definitely excited to see more films set within the magical world of the ‘Harry Potter’ universe.

After a phenomenal series high-mark in 2014, Fox’s star superhero franchise is set to continue next year with another highly promising superhero epic.

4. X-MEN: APOCALYPSE (May 27)

The ‘X-Men’ franchise returned to top form after a few disappointing entries in the late 2000’s with 2011’s ‘X-Men: First Class’. Part of the success came from the return of the series’ original director, Bryan Singer, even though he only served as a producer/writer for that film. But he would subsequently return to the director’s chair for 2014’s ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’. That film defied all expectations to become the series’ best installment to date, inspired by one of the classic X-Men comic storylines while also erasing some of the series’ past mistakes… namely those that came in ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ and ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’. Now Singer is back for ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’, which is seemingly set to be the final installment of this pseudo trilogy that started with ‘First Class’. This time around, it’s the ‘First Class’ era cast leading the way after ‘Days of Future Past’ featured characters from both that era and the ‘2000’s films’ era. And as the title suggests, this film sees the X-Men going up against the ‘first’ mutant, En Sabah Nur AKA Apocalypse (played by Oscar Isaac, a great choice in my opinion). Of course many of the returning regulars of the series are returning, including James McAvoy (Professor X), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), Nicholas Hoult (Beast), Rose Byrne (Moira MacTaggert), and Evan Peters (Quicksilver). As for newcomers, there’s Olivia Munn as Psylocke and Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, and Kodi Smit-McPhee as the younger iterations of Jean Grey, Cyclops, Storm, and Nightcrawler, respectively.

Remember back when ‘Days of Future Past’ was coming out and a lot of fanboys got pissed over the look of Quicksilver when the marketing started up? Well hopefully most of those fanboys ended up getting proven wrong when Quicksilver ended up being one of the best parts of that film. But the fanboys are back again with this film as there’s been a lot of negative buzz over the first look of the main villain Apocalypse. Given his purple skinned appearance, there were quite a few comparisons made between him and Ivan Ooze, the main villain from the first ‘Power Rangers’ film. That seems to be the common thing on the internet nowadays, isn’t it? People comparing things to other things, usually in a negative manner. Well thankfully I’m not one of those people and I feel that the fanboys are seriously overreacting. Isaac has stated that the character’s design was going to be a combination of practical and digital effects. And of course it should be noted that this film is still a few months away so the ‘effects’ on display at the moment aren’t necessarily going to end up being the same in the final product. And at this point, I find it ridiculous to doubt this franchise after one of the biggest superhero films of all time. It’s clear that Bryan Singer, who if you recall first came into this franchise being rather unfamiliar with the series, is one of the main driving forces of this franchise’s success so I’m hyped for the next installment of the ‘X-Men’ franchise now that Singer’s back in charge of the franchise that he kick-started way back in 2000.

Following in the footsteps of ‘The Force Awakens’ is the first in a series of upcoming spin-offs that are set to expand the ‘Star Wars’ universe.

3. ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (December 16)

While everyone is currently buzzing over ‘The Force Awakens’ and the new trilogy of ‘Star Wars’ films, Lucasfilm is also developing a series of spin-offs that take place in the ‘Star Wars’ universe but are not intended to cross over with the main trilogy. At this time, we already know of some future ‘Anthology’ films, including a Han Solo film directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller and a Boba Fett film that was originally supposed to be directed by Josh Trank before he dropped out of the project. But first, we got ‘Rogue One’, directed by Gareth Edwards, fresh off of 2014’s summer hit ‘Godzilla’. If you recall my ‘Star Wars Month’ post back in May in which I listed my Top 10 favorite Star Wars video games, one of the games that I listed was the 1995 first person shooter game ‘Dark Forces’. The opening mission of that game had main character Kyle Katarn finding the plans to the Death Star for the rebels. This new film obviously won’t follow that story route but it is the same general plot. Set in between the events of Episode III and IV, this film will follow a group of Rebels in their quest to steal the plans to the Empire’s new powerful weapon. The diverse ensemble cast is headlined by Felicity Jones and Ben Mendelsohn but perhaps the biggest selling point of this new film is that it’ll primarily focus on a group of characters who aren’t Jedi. They’re just regular people thrust into a grand situation which should result in a highly compelling adventure. I’ve always been wanting this franchise to branch out from its usual storylines so I’m very excited to see what Lucasfilm has in store for all of these new ‘Anthology’ films.

While I’m confident that these new ‘Star Wars’ films are going to be awesome, I’m equally excited for the next installment of the other ‘Star’ franchise, even if J.J. Abrams isn’t ‘in the Captain’s chair’ this time around.

2. STAR TREK BEYOND (July 22)

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m a major fan of J.J. Abrams’ two ‘Star Trek’ films. The 2009 series reboot is legitimately one of my Top 10 favorite films of all time and the 2013 sequel, ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’, is not too far behind. But it seems like I’m in the minority amongst Trek fans when it comes to liking these films because there are quite a lot of vocal Trekkies who HATE these two films with a burning passion. This is primarily because they feel that these are not ‘Star Trek’ films… despite the obvious fact that they helped save the franchise after it had suffered the one-two punch of the critical/commercial disappointment of ‘Star Trek: Nemesis’ and the cancellation of the series ‘Enterprise’. It wasn’t that big of a deal with the 2009 film at first but then came ‘Into Darkness’. Once Trekkies found out that the film oh so dared to make a few callbacks to ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan’ (though seriously not as much as they claim), they became even more vocal in their disdain towards these films and now suddenly the 2009 film started getting a lot more flak. There was even an event at Las Vegas in which the film was labeled as the worst film in the franchise. Yes, those Trekkies viewed this film as being worse than ‘Star Trek V: The Final Frontier’, ‘Star Trek: The Motion-Less Picture’, and ‘Star Trek: Insurrection’. Talk about a case of over-reacting. 

Regardless of all of that overly critical bashing, I still love both of J.J’s ‘Trek’ films for being highly entertaining fast-paced sci-fi adventures that, contrary to what some people say, still very much feel like ‘Star Trek’ films but now come with the energy of the ‘Star Wars’ films. So with that in mind, I’m very excited for the next installment of this new ‘Star Trek’ series, ‘Star Trek Beyond’. This time around, however, J.J. isn’t directing the new ‘Trek’ film for obvious reasons. Instead, Justin Lin will be taking over as director and while I’m certain that many of those hardcore Trek fans are upset with having yet another ‘action director’ taking on the franchise, apparently they forgot that Lin is one of the best action directors in the business today for his work on the recent ‘Fast and Furious’ films, particularly the fifth and sixth films. Plus, from what I’ve read, he’s a major ‘Star Trek’ fan. Admittedly, J.J. has stated that he’s more of a ‘Star Wars’ fan than a ‘Trek’ fan but I don’t see why that was such a big deal. But this time around, a definite ‘Trek’ fan is in control backed up by a screenplay co-written by Scotty himself, Simon Pegg. It seems like this new film will be much more based around the theme of exploration which should definitely please fans of the franchise. But as for me, I’m just excited to see the next installment of one of my favorite series of recent years (the reboot series, to be specific) which I believe couldn’t be in better hands.  

Okay I’ll admit it… My Number 1 is totally obvious

1. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (May 6)

Yeah I know, I’m very predictable given how much I adore the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But when you have a franchise that has had a run that is as great as the MCU has had since its inception in 2008, can you blame me? And to kick off Phase Three of the MCU we have ‘Captain America: Civil War’. ‘Winter Soldier’ directors the Russo Brothers return for this film which is set to be based around one of the biggest Marvel comics storylines of recent years, ‘Civil War’, in which the Avengers find themselves on opposing sides of a new act that is meant to regulate superhero activity following all of the international incidents they have been involved in over the years. Leading the charge for each side will be, of course, Captain America and Iron Man. We’ve definitely see the rivalry between them come into play in the ‘Avengers’ films, with Cap being the honest and patriotic hero while Iron Man is much more brash and arrogant. For the record though, that doesn’t mean that Iron Man is the ‘villain’ of this film nor are the Avengers that are on his team like Black Widow, Vision, and War Machine. Ultimately the main idea of this story is that it’s a conflict of ideals. Those on Cap’s side oppose the new act while Iron Man and his team support it. Sure in the ‘Civil War’ comics, Iron Man’s team became authoritarian and tried to capture all unregistered super-persons but I’m pretty sure that Marvel isn’t going to make them go ‘that far’.

Now with that said, while this is being marketed as a Captain America film, many fans have pointed out the obvious fact that… there are a hell of a lot of superheroes in this film. Not only are Captain America and Iron Man in it, but then you also have Black Widow, Falcon, Bucky AKA ‘The Winter Soldier’, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Vision, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, as well as the MCU debuts of Black Panther and Spider-Man. Obviously I’m not too worried about that given Marvel’s efforts in establishing these characters beforehand before throwing them all together into one film. But with that said, I am genuinely curious to see if they really are able to keep the main focus on Cap given how many other characters are in this film. Because if this ends up not being the case, then this probably should’ve just been called ‘Avengers: Civil War’. But with that said, if this film is able to make it work (and I don’t see why it won’t because of obvious reasons (Marvel, duh!)) then it’ll prove that the Russo brothers are the perfect choice to follow Joss Whedon as director of an ‘Avengers’ film. They’re currently slated to direct the two-part ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ so you can pretty much consider this film to be their test project just like how J.J. Abrams’ ‘Star Trek’ films led the way to him directing ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’.

So those are my Top 10 most anticipated films of 2016. What other films are you looking forward to seeing to next year? Sound off in the comments below.

The Maze Runner (2014) review (250th Post!!)

One of the big film genres currently dominating Hollywood is the ‘Young Adult’ genre AKA films based off of best-selling books. I guess you could say it really got started when the first ‘Harry Potter’ film was released in 2001. Of course we all know how successful that franchise was and in the early years of its existence, other studios tried to cash in on the success of ‘Potter’ by adapting other best-selling book series to film like the ‘Inheritance’ trilogy, the ‘Alex Rider’ series, and ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’. However, none of those series were really able to match the success of ‘Potter’. The first real franchise to do this was the ‘Twilight’ series though really that’s more from a commercial standpoint because well, to put it quite simply, those movies are straight-up terrible. And once Twilight become popular, the ‘Young Adult’ genre cycle started up again and once again we saw numerous franchises like ‘The Mortal Instruments’ and ‘Beautiful Creatures’ attempt to cash in on ‘Twilight’ and of course most of them struck out big time. Now that ‘Twilight’ is over, ‘The Hunger Games’ has become the next major successful ‘Young Adult’ film series. ‘Divergent’, released back in March, managed to be successful enough for a follow-up and this month it looks we have another new franchise on our hands in the form of ‘The Maze Runner’, based off of the 2009 book of the same name by James Dashner and I can safely say that this is easily one of the better films of the ‘Young Adult’ genre.

The film begins as a boy named Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) finds himself in a dark elevator with absolutely no memory of who he is or what has happened to him. He ends up in a mysterious grassy area where he comes across a group of other boys who have established their own community in this area, which they refer to as ‘The Glade’. Thomas learns that they have been trying to escape via the large maze surrounding ‘The Glade’. However, for the last three years they have been unable to find a way out for two main reasons. First of all, the maze changes every day but what’s worse is that at night the doors leading into the maze close. Those who end up trapped inside then have to deal with a bunch of strange creatures known as Grievers that inhabit the maze. Thomas soon manages to prove himself when he becomes one of the first Gladers to ever survive a night in the maze and as he gains the trust of the others, he soon begins to try and figure out not only why they are all here but to also find a way to escape this place with the help of some of the other Gladers, including ‘Runner’ (The term used to describe the Gladers who try and figure out a way out of the maze) Minho (Ki Hong Lee) and the one and only female Glader Teresa (Kaya Scodelario), who apparently connected to Thomas in some way.

I just want to preface this review with a quick disclaimer: I have not read ‘The Maze Runner’ so this film basically served as my official introduction to the franchise and overall I must say that it was a very satisfying first look. One of the biggest reasons for this is that the story is pretty compelling. You are as much in the dark as Thomas is when it comes to why he and the other Gladers were put in the Glade so you’re interested in finding out the truth. Without giving anything major away, the final payoff may be hit or miss for some people but I found it to be pretty intriguing even though it does sort of introduce a major plot-point in just the final few minutes of the film and from what I’ve read online, this plot-point isn’t even introduced in the books until the second novel, ‘The Scorch Trials’ (that and the film does have one of the more obvious ‘sequel-baiting’ final lines in recent memory). Still, the movie does hold your interest from beginning to end and I am very much interested in seeing how the rest of the story is going to play out. The visuals are pretty solid in regards to the overall production design, especially when it comes to ‘the Maze’. And that’s not that surprising considering that the film’s director, Wes Ball, has mostly been known for his work in visual effects. Ball makes his feature-length directorial debut with this film and overall he makes a pretty solid first impression in regards to his directing.

Another one of the film’s biggest strengths is its cast. The character of Thomas is a pretty likable lead character and O’Brien certainly has the right amounts of charm and likability that makes him perfect for the role. As for the rest of the cast, one of the big things about the story is how the rest of the boys in the Glade have established a perfectly functioning society. The arrival of Thomas in the Glade results in some of the Gladers, most notably Gally (Will Poulter), believing that Thomas’ behavior/actions will end up ruining the peaceful existence that they have been living for the last few years. It’s an interesting story dynamic and the main members of the cast do have excellent camaraderie with each other. It really does sell the whole idea of these boys having made their own personal society in a way that has been described as ‘Lord of the Flies mixed with Lost’. Also, it is pretty nice to have a Young Adult film franchise centered on a male lead for once whereas other films in the genre (especially in recent years) have primarily been led by female leads (e.g. ‘Hunger Games’, ‘Divergent’, ‘Twilight’, etc.). That’s not the case of ‘The Maze Runner’, which features a pre-dominantly male cast save for two female characters. In other words, you can sort of refer to this film as ‘Hunger Games for boys’ and I’m perfectly fine with that.

So unlike ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘The Hunger Games’, I went into ‘The Maze Runner’ having not read not the book beforehand. But after seeing the film, I can safely say that I am now very much interested in checking it out because ‘The Maze Runner’ is certainly one of the better films of the ‘Young Adult’ genre. Of course having not read the book I can’t really say anything about how faithful this film is to the source material. However, I can say that the film greatly benefits from having a story that is pretty compelling that will keep you wondering what’s happening until the very end. Plus, the film has a pretty solid cast, with an excellent lead in Dylan O’Brien’s Thomas and a group of boys with great camaraderie with one another. And like I said earlier, it is good that the ‘Young Adult Book Adaptation’ film genre will now be a little more balanced thanks to this film being centered on a male lead and featuring a mostly-male cast. I assure you that I will be there next year when the second film of this series, ‘The Scorch Trials’, hits theaters and I’m glad to see that one of the better films of the Young Adult genre is experiencing the success that not every Young Adult film franchise has had.

Rating: 4/5

Top 10 Films of 2010

Since we are nearing the end of 2013 and I’m already starting to develop lists for both my Top 10 Best and Worst films of the year, I decided to take a look back into the past and do Top 10 lists for the best films of the year for both 2010 and 2011. I chose these years in particular because these were the first two years where I really started to get into the ‘film critic’ business. I have done lists for both of these years in the past, but these lists have no doubt changed since then. First up, here are my picks for the Top 10 best films of 2010; overall, this was a very good year of movies overall thanks in part to some great sequels, surprising remakes, and compelling dramas. Before I get into the actual Top 10, I have three honorable mentions.

Tron: Legacy

1982’s ‘Tron’ is well regarded as a cult classic of the 80’s but it took 28 years to make a sequel. However, in the end, I think the sequel does manage to be as good as the original. The visuals are spectacular, the film’s techno-based soundtrack by Daft Punk is one of the best film scores in recent memory, and while the writing may not exactly be great, the acting is pretty good all around, primarily from Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde, and Garrett Hedlund. Like with this year’s ‘Oblivion’, director Joseph Kosinski does an excellent job at setting up the universe of ‘The Grid’. However, also like with ‘Oblivion’, he needs better writing.

The Karate Kid

This was a film that, at first, I wasn’t particularly interested in; maybe because it was a remake of a classic underdog story or because it didn’t really appeal to me. Thankfully, I was proven wrong as this movie is one of the rare remakes that are just as good as the original. This film has incredible cinematography, which is mainly thanks to the film’s backdrop; China. Both Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan do terrific jobs in the lead roles and the film does a great job at detailing the relationship between student and master in which they work together in order to succeed. I have to give this movie a lot of credit because it truly did catch me off guard.

Unstoppable

Here’s another movie that sort of caught me off guard, but in the case of this movie, it was in the sense that this film actually got really good reviews from critics when it was released, which I really wasn’t expecting from an action movie about a runaway freight train. In the end, this was a very entertaining popcorn flick. It has you at the edge of your seat from beginning to end, and Denzel Washington and Chris Pine both do excellent jobs; the two have great camaraderie. It’s the final film from director Tony Scott, two years before he tragically committed suicide, but it’s perhaps one of his best efforts.

Kicking things off at Number 10 is a sequel that, while not as good as the original or its successor, is still a very entertaining entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

10. Iron Man 2

From a series standpoint, ‘Iron Man 2’ is the weakest of the ‘Iron Man’ movies. That’s mainly because the filmmakers went a little too far in ‘upping the ante’ for the sequel. The main problem with the film is that there are just too many characters in it, meaning that some don’t get the proper character development they deserve, particularly the main villain Whiplash. However, despite this, the movie is still very entertaining as a whole and Robert Downey Jr. is still excellent as always in the role of Tony Stark (although this film plays up his arrogance just a bit too much). In the end, while the writing could have been better, this is another entertaining entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and another step towards what would come later with ‘The Avengers’.

At number 9 is the most underrated film of 2010, as it performed pretty poorly at the box office despite solid reviews from critics. It’s a real shame because this is a really creative and entertaining film.

9. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

First off, let me just say three things about this film. Yes, it is incredibly weird. Yes, the first 30 minutes or so are rather slow and boring. Yes, the main character is rather unlikable because he abandons his sweet and caring girlfriend for someone else. Despite all of these ‘disadvantages’, the movie is just awesome. Director Edgar Wright’s slick and kinetic direction is perfect for this adaptation of the graphic novel series of the same name. As for the slow opening, once the first of Ramona’s evil Exes appears, the film picks up the pace and immediately improves as a result of it. The film’s many references to video games make it one of the best ‘video game’ movies out there. The irony about this is that it’s not even based off of a video game. Again, it’s too bad that this movie didn’t perform well at the box office because it’s another excellent film from the director of some of the best comedies in recent years; ‘Shaun of the Dead’, ‘Hot Fuzz’, and ‘The World’s End’, three films that could also sort of be called ‘underrated’ because they didn’t really perform well commercially here in the U.S.

In between ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, Christopher Nolan made this awesome movie, which earns the Number 8 spot on this list.

8. Inception

As a director, Nolan has been known for movies with complicated plots and storylines and this film is no exception. You really have to pay attention during the movie; otherwise you’ll get lost pretty quickly. Thankfully, the movie is incredibly entertaining from beginning to end with some incredible action sequences, the standout being the scene where Joseph Gordon Levitt’s character Arthur fights off bad guys in a rotating hallway. Acting is rock-solid all around and Leonardo DiCaprio is excellent as usual in the lead role of Dom Cobb. My only real complaint is that at times the movie is a little slow. It’s only 2 and half hours long but when I saw it in the theater, it felt like four hours. But in the end, Nolan delivers an exciting and overall very smart sci-fi film; one of the best of the last decade.

Number 7 is a film where, technically speaking, it mainly consists of its lead actor being the only one on screen for the majority of the film. But in the case of this movie, is that really a problem?

7. 127 Hours

‘127 Hours’ is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston’s accident in 2003 when he was trapped by a boulder while traveling through a canyon in Utah, ultimately having to cut off his arm in order to survive. That scene in particular is obviously not for the faint of heart, but the whole movie in general is backed by a terrific performance by James Franco as Ralston and director Danny Boyle’s top-notch direction.

From one movie that’s not that easy to watch to another, Number 6 is ‘a love story’ that is anything but one.

6. Blue Valentine

Let’s be honest; this film is rather tough to watch. It’s about a married couple whose marriage is in heavy decline. Not exactly the best film for a romantic ‘date night’, is it? In fact apparently this film is sometimes put in the ‘romance’ section of video stores; talk about misleading. Trust me guys, you don’t want to watch this movie with your loved one unless you want to be sleeping on the couch for the night. But despite that, this movie is still very good mainly because of the execution. Yes, it’s a movie that focuses on a declining marriage but director Derek Cianfrance also does a great job of showing what happened before all of this, when main characters Dean and Cindy first fell in love. But the best part about this whole film is the performances from Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as Dean and Cindy. Because the film was shot in a way so that the two of them can get more acquainted with each other during shooting, their performances feel even more real. This is one of the best dramas to come out in recent years though, like I said, it’s not the best recommendation for ‘date night’.

Starting off the Top 5 is the film that may have come out more than a decade after its immediate predecessor but nevertheless it was a fitting conclusion to one of the best trilogies ever.

5. Toy Story 3

It’s rare when the third film in a trilogy manages to be just as good as the first two films, but ‘Toy Story 3’ succeeds at doing that. The writing is once again excellent and also very mature at the same time; none of the emotions that are conveyed in the film feel cheap; they feel very real (and this is a movie about living toys, for crying out loud). Of course, this film isn’t afraid to take some dark turns, namely the ‘fake-out’ near the end and yes the ending of this movie is guaranteed to have you fighting back tears. It ends the series on a high note and while it’s not really the best in the series, this is probably the only true trilogy where every entry in it is fantastic.

As I mentioned earlier, ‘The Karate Kid’ was one of those rare remakes that managed to be just as good as the original. In the case of Number 4, dare I say it, this film might actually be better than the original.

4. True Grit

The original ‘True Grit’, starring John Wayne, Glen Campbell, and Kim Darby, is a classic in the western genre but in a way, the Coen Brothers’ remake is superior because of the change in overall tone. For lack of a better term, this version is ‘grittier’, with a more determined Mattie Ross, a more pathetic but still badass Rooster Cogburn, and an ending that is far from being a happy one. My only real complaint is that the villains were rather lackluster compared to their counterparts from the original film, despite very good performances from both Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper. Still, this remake succeeds by taking the bold route and not going with a traditional happy ending.

When it was first announced that the final entry in this famous series would be split into two movies, I was rather hesitant but in the end this ended up working in the series’ favor.

3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

This film is proof that you can split a film into two parts if you have enough material to work with, unlike other certain films (I’m looking at you, ‘Breaking Dawn’).  Compared to ‘Part 2’ and the final battle of Hogwarts, ‘Part 1’ may seem rather uneventful seeing how most of it consists of Harry, Ron, Hermione on their travels to destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes. But as a whole, I like that this one was a change of pace from the previous films where it was always them going to Hogwarts and then fighting Voldemort and/or his evil forces at the end. This film also gives leads Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson a chance to shine in their respective roles, especially seeing how they’re usually the only ones on screen for the majority of the film. The film serves a great set-up for the finale and another fantastic entry in the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise.

At Number 2 is the film that proved the following fact; Ben Affleck’s career was back on track after it was on a severe downturn in 2004.

2. The Town

On the surface, ‘The Town’ is sort of your traditional heist/thriller film but with Affleck behind the camera as the director, the film holds your interest from beginning to end. It’s also very well acted; in the lead role, Affleck proves that he’s improved as an actor by giving a very reserved but strong performance as career criminal Doug McRay. But the one who steals the show here would have to be Jeremy Renner as Doug’s ‘loose cannon’ best friend and co-partner James Coughlin. Thanks to films like this, ‘Gone Baby Gone’, and ‘Argo’, Ben Affleck has become one of the best directors working today.

Finally, at Number 1 we have the film that manages to be something more than just being about the beginnings of its eponymous creation.

1. The Social Network

The idea of a movie about Facebook seems rather ridiculous, but director David Fincher succeeds at bringing one to the big screen. How? Basically, it’s by making a movie that manages to be more than just the story of how Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook. It’s also the story about how Zuckerberg made many enemies in the process of becoming the world’s youngest billionaire, whether it’s ‘stealing’ the idea from the Winklevoss twins or getting his friend/business partner Eduardo Saverin’s shares in the company diminished. Add in Fincher’s unique visual style, Aaron Sorkin’s superb writing, and terrific performances all around and you have yourself a movie that may not be entirely accurate but is easily one of the best dramas in recent years and my pick for the best film of 2010.

Check back later this week for the top 10 films of 2011.

Harry Potter Film Series Retrospective

 

One day in 1990, British author Joanne ‘J.K.’ Rowling came up with the idea for a young boy wizard named Harry Potter while on a train back to London. What followed after that is something that can only be described as ‘magical’ (no pun intended). In 1997, Rowling published the first in the Harry Potter series, ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ (renamed ‘Sorcerer’s Stone’ for the U.S. market), and it became a worldwide phenomenon, resulting in six more books over the next decade. Four years after the first book was released, Warner Bros released the first of eight films based off of the books and just like their source material, the films were huge hits. Right now, the Harry Potter film franchise stands as the highest grossing film franchise of all time, having grossed over 7.7 billion dollars worldwide, beating franchises like James Bond and Star Wars. Two years ago on this day, on July 15^th, 2011, the final film in the Harry Potter series, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2’ was released, effectively ending a film series that had been running for a decade. Today, I’m here to honor my personal favorite film franchise of all time. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while, especially considering that I started this blog back in May 2012; a little less than a year after the series came to a close. Let’s not waste any time and get started…

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE (2001)

Straight off the bat, the best thing about the first film in the series is that it does a fantastic job at establishing the magical world our protagonists live in, something that is definitely essential for any major fantasy film series. But while the film is very entertaining, well-acted (every actor/actress is perfectly cast), and the film’s visual effects still hold up even after a whole decade, I can’t say this film is as good as the films that followed. That’s mainly because the film is a bit too family friendly (you can sort of attribute that to director Chris Columbus, who had previously directed films like ‘Home Alone’ and ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’). Sure, there are some darker moments but for the most part, the film is generally light hearted. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, however. It just shows that this series got better and better as time went on. All in all, the first Harry Potter film is a terrific family film, effectively setting up this franchise and while, in the end, it’s not the best in the series, it just got better from here.

Rating: 4/5

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS (2002)

In their ‘Honest Trailer’ for the entire ‘Harry Potter’ series, Screen Junkies referred to this film as ‘the one everyone hates’. I have to admit, before I started re-watching all of the films, this was probably my least favorite of the series (which is ironic considering that, when I was a kid, this was the one I watched more than the first one). But, looking at it now, I do like ‘Chamber of Secrets’ more than ‘Sorcerer’s Stone’. The story is much darker than its predecessor, and even though the ‘family-friendly’ tone is still generally there like in the last film, Columbus does a better job at maintaining a darker atmosphere. Probably the only problem I have with the film is that it is a bit too long, which is interesting considering this is one of the shortest books in the whole series and yet it’s the longest film. Because of this, the film does drag at certain points. However, looking at it now, I don’t think they could have removed anything from the final cut. So, even though it’s not really my personal favorite in the series, I have to say that I think this film is better than its predecessor.

Rating: 4/5

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN (2004)

A few changes were made once the third film of the series went into production. Chris Columbus stepped down as director, and taking over for this film was Alfonso Cuaron (director of 2006’s ‘Children of Men’ and the upcoming thriller ‘Gravity’). Because Richard Harris (the original Albus Dumbledore) had died after the second film was completed, he was replaced by Michael Gambon. These changes were for the better, as this is easily one of the best entries in the series. Cuaron succeeds at taking this series into darker territory in terms of story and character development. From a visual standpoint, the film is one of the best-looking in the entire series even amidst a generally bleak color palette.

The new additions to the cast are fantastic (as they are, technically, in every film), including Gambon (who is probably the best Dumbledore because, with no disrespect to Richard Harris (who was also great in the part), he was getting up there in age) and Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, the mysterious ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’ who is revealed to have a deep personal connection to Harry. Though we are told that Black is a murderer who also betrayed Harry’s parents to Voldemort, in reality he did not and he is also Harry’s godfather. The scenes between Oldman and Daniel Radcliffe are probably the best scenes in the movie and you can see the connection that they have, as Sirius sort of becomes the father that Harry never had. With all of this in place, ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’ is one exceptional entry in the series and the first one to officially establish the identity of the Harry Potter series.

Rating: 5/5!

HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE (2005)

‘Goblet of Fire’ is my personal favorite entry in the series for a few reasons; the main reason being that it is never boring. This film has some very good action sequences, namely the three ‘tasks’ that Harry is forced to face when he is unexpectedly chosen as a Triwizard Champion for the event known as the Triwizard Tournament. I especially like the final task, where the champions have to go through a maze in order to find the Triwizard Cup. It’s a bit different from the book (the maze is quite larger and instead of magical creatures that appear in the maze, the maze actually keeps changing while the champions are still in it), but it actually does work better in terms of the film. It all ends with a terrific climax, as Lord Voldemort is ‘reborn’ (the film marking the series debut of Ralph Fiennes in the role). That is why ‘Goblet of Fire’, while not the best in the series, is my favorite film in the entire franchise.

Rating: 5/5!

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (2007)

Despite the fact that Order of the Phoenix is one of the longest books in the series, it’s actually one of the shortest. Also, this is the only entry in the series that was not written by its main screenwriter, Steve Kloves. However, I’d argue that this is the best written Harry Potter film in the entire series. The writers do a fantastic job at establishing how Harry pretty much becomes an outcast in this film because the wizarding world does not want to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned. Even the Ministry of Magic, who are supposed to be ‘the good guys’ feel like the enemy in this film, especially when a Ministry official, Professor Umbridge, becomes the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts and begins to take over the school.

Because of this, Harry has to become the leader of a secret organization known as ‘Dumbledore’s Army’ to take on Voldemort when Umbridge refuses to teach them anything. Imelda Staunton does a fantastic job in the role of Umbridge (admit it, you wanted her dead more than Voldemort) along with Helena Botham Carter, making her series debut as Bellatrix Lestrange. Finally, this film has one of the best final fights in the entire series; there’s great tension and suspense, especially with the death of Sirius because, like with the third film, the scenes between him and Harry are excellent. I’d say this is the best entry in the entire Harry Potter film series and a great debut for director David Yates (who would later go on to direct the remaining three films in the series).

Rating: 5/5!

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (2009)

I will admit that, when I first saw this film, I wasn’t really that big on it. Admittedly, it was for a rather unfair reason because at the time, I though there wasn’t much action in the film. But really, that’s the point because the book is not an action-packed story. In fact, the filmmakers decided to cut the final battle in the book because it would be way too similar to the final battle in the last film. So why is this film still great? That is because it does a fantastic job at doing something else; drama. Rowling’s writing shines in this film particularly well as each of the main characters start to go through changes and develop ‘romantic’ feelings for each other. This is also probably the funniest entry in the series (my friend Matt referred to this one as ‘Harry Potter and the Breakfast Club’) with some well-placed humor, which is good considering that, like with the last film, it continues to get grim from here on out. So, while I originally wasn’t a big fan of this film, recent viewings have changed my mind and this is another great entry in the series.

Rating: 4.5/5

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 (2010)

So we have come to the final book in the series… but not the last film. Yes, the filmmakers decided to do something very bold by splitting the final book into two films in order to keep as much as possible, which would have been impossible if it was just one movie (apparently, the first cut of both films combined was about 5 ½ hours). At first, I really wasn’t big on the idea because I didn’t think it was possible but like everyone else, I was proven wrong. That is because ‘Deathly Hallows’ is a book that is big enough to be two films (unlike another series (*cough* Twilight *cough*)). Also, both films are different in their own way, although together they definitely like one single film.

Deathly Hallows Part 1 is a road movie, and that is why I really like this one. It does something different instead of just being another ‘going to school, and then taking on evil’ film like the last six films were. Also, because this film is mainly focused on the three leads, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson all shine in this film. Finally, this film ends on the right note to set up the events for Part 2. Screen Junkies referred to this one as ‘the one you can skip’, but even though this film is admittedly a little slow, I never found it boring.  It gets things off on the right foot for the finale to the Harry Potter series.

Rating: 5/5!

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 (2011)

Speaking of the finale, now we have officially come to the final film in the Harry Potter series… and boy what an ending it was. The final ‘Harry Potter’ film does not disappoint. The final battle of Hogwarts is easily one of the best final battles in the history of cinema, with great tension and suspense throughout the entire film. Everything so far had been leading up to this one moment, and it all comes together perfectly. However, there’s one little problem with this film. For those of you who haven’t seen the two Deathly Hallows movies or read the book, a lot of characters die in this movie and their deaths are just really glanced over. This is one of the shorter films in the series so they could have added scenes where these deaths got more attention. However, one death certainly got a good look at and that is Severus Snape because after he is killed by Voldemort, Harry learns the truth that Snape has been hiding all of these years; that he was in love with Harry’s mom and still was all the way to his death. This is easily the best moment in the entire Harry Potter series and this is the guaranteed tear-jerker moment in this film. The way the film ends is also done very well. That final shot of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny watching their kids go off to Hogwarts 19 years after the events of the film with John Williams’ music (‘Leaving Hogwarts’, a track from the first film’s score)… there’s nothing better. This is a fitting conclusion to one of the greatest film franchises of all time.

Rating: 5/5!

Now, the tough part… is ranking them all… especially considering that I’ve given five of the films perfect 5 out of 5 ratings. However, I believe I was able to figure this list out…

8. Sorcerer’s Stone

7. Chamber of Secrets

6. Half-Blood Prince

5. Prisoner of Azkaban

4. Deathly Hallows Part 1

3. Goblet of Fire

2. Deathly Hallows Part 2

1. Order of the Phoenix