The film “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1,” directed by David Yates, stars its returning cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and Ralph Fiennes. It also has the score of composer Alexandre Desplat.
The film starts out with the trio in their homes. The trio being Harry (Radcliffe), Ron (Grint), and Hermione (Watson). A few minutes later all the problems begin. The Order of the Phoenix find a way to get Harry safely to the Weasley’s house without the Death Eaters knowing. As soon as they are in the sky, they are attacked, and they must quickly go pair by pair to the Weasley’s. A few days later, a Patronus Charm is sent to the Weasley’s house to say that Death Eaters are coming and that the minister is dead. Everyone is hectic and this is where Hermione, Harry, and Ron make their escape to go on their way to find all the remaining horcruxes and kill them, with the help of their inherited gifts from Dumbledore’s will. Harry becomes the Ministry’s most wanted, since Voldemort (Fiennes) took over it, and Hogwarts school as well. Once they’re on the road, things become worse for the trio; nothing is going as planned and they are in constant danger, not to mention only seventeen and completely on their own.
What was great about this film is the acting. I’ve never seen Ron act so angry most of the time and yelling at Harry, like when Ron was wearing the locket for too long; Grint did an amazing job in portraying Ron. Also, how when Ron is angry, Grint also put in a physical movement to show it, like he’d have his shoulders slouched and just his facial expressions when he wasn’t talking. The special effects and CG was all very realistic. Voldemort’s snake Nagini was especially creepy since it looked so real, especially in the scenes with Harry and Hermione in Godric’s Hollow. All the flashes of light emitting from the wands were also very realistic and effective in all the battle scenes, as well as when you see Voldemort fly. The score also has an amazing impact in this film. Alexandre Desplat fit the music perfectly with the film; it always gave its cue to the audience on when to be happy, laugh, as well as be nervous and feel all the tension and suspense, like when Ron was trying to get on Hermione’s good side, and also in the first battle scene.
Some of the audience might think that there’s a lot of pointless action in the film, but there’s not. Every action sequence leads to something that helps the trio on their journey. For example, in Godric’s Hollow, Harry and Hermione are attacked by Nagini. If this scene didn’t happen, the characters would never have found out who the young boy was that Harry kept seeing in his dream. Also, if they didn’t have a battle in the Malfoy Manor, then the trio wouldn’t have rescued Luna, Ollivander and Griphook the Goblin. People might also think that the characters get away too easy, but this isn’t true either. If they escape, it’s narrowly escaping, and all the characters suffer as well. For example, when they disapparated after leaving the Ministry, Ron was splinched (which means you didn’t disapparate completely). Nothing came easy to the characters.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” is a great film. It really captures the audience and everything is shown spectacularly. I recommend this for all action lovers, people wanting to watch a great film, and of course to all the Harry Potter fans.
12.01.2010
Due Date and Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Comedic films with the characters on the road are always entertaining, especially in “Due Date” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” In these films there’s always something unexpected about to happen. Although there only seems to be similarities between these films, there are also many differences.
The most obvious similarity is that in both films, the characters are literally on the road to find their way home. Returning to family is the key objective to both businessmen (Robert Downey Jr. and Steve Martin). To these two characters, family is everything at the moment. They both have very unlikely pairs stuck together as well. The nicer person, who is always willing to help and give a ride (Zach Galifianakis and John Candy), are also the ones causing the most problems on the road. Candy’s and Galifianakis’s characters had someone close to them pass away, which affects how they are as individuals; Candy’s character lost his wife and Galifianakis’s character lost his father. Also, both the Downey and Martin characters have a sense of being “above” the Galifianakis and Candy characters. The road is always worse for these characters since they’re tight, businessmen with higher standards; people that are high in power usually have a hard time adjusting to living with little or no money, and not having everything going their way.
The main difference between these films is with the characters of Zach Galifianakis and John Candy. In “Due Date,” from the beginning of their journey the audience knows that he’s planning on going to Hollywood to become an actor. In “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,” the audience doesn’t really know why he’s on the road until the very end. I think the audience knowing in the beginning worked better because you know the character has a reason for going on this crazy journey. Another thing is that with Steve Martin and John Candy, most of the problems happen to the characters. For example, how the train breaks down, the weather prevented them to arrive in Chicago, and how they were robbed of their cash. Whereas in “Due Date,” basically all of the problems happened because of the characters, like when Galifianakis’s character falls asleep at the wheel, and when Downey picks a fight with a man in a wheelchair.
Both “Due Date” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” are good films with similar characters. Their situations are different, but all funny.
The most obvious similarity is that in both films, the characters are literally on the road to find their way home. Returning to family is the key objective to both businessmen (Robert Downey Jr. and Steve Martin). To these two characters, family is everything at the moment. They both have very unlikely pairs stuck together as well. The nicer person, who is always willing to help and give a ride (Zach Galifianakis and John Candy), are also the ones causing the most problems on the road. Candy’s and Galifianakis’s characters had someone close to them pass away, which affects how they are as individuals; Candy’s character lost his wife and Galifianakis’s character lost his father. Also, both the Downey and Martin characters have a sense of being “above” the Galifianakis and Candy characters. The road is always worse for these characters since they’re tight, businessmen with higher standards; people that are high in power usually have a hard time adjusting to living with little or no money, and not having everything going their way.
The main difference between these films is with the characters of Zach Galifianakis and John Candy. In “Due Date,” from the beginning of their journey the audience knows that he’s planning on going to Hollywood to become an actor. In “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,” the audience doesn’t really know why he’s on the road until the very end. I think the audience knowing in the beginning worked better because you know the character has a reason for going on this crazy journey. Another thing is that with Steve Martin and John Candy, most of the problems happen to the characters. For example, how the train breaks down, the weather prevented them to arrive in Chicago, and how they were robbed of their cash. Whereas in “Due Date,” basically all of the problems happened because of the characters, like when Galifianakis’s character falls asleep at the wheel, and when Downey picks a fight with a man in a wheelchair.
Both “Due Date” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” are good films with similar characters. Their situations are different, but all funny.
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