No longer a disney magic kingdom Hogwarts, but a mystical place of the imagination. Not a rote by the numbers read along with the story film, but a cinematic vision of the book. Of course there are more differences but the spirit is truer. It will get harder and harder to keep all the details of each book as the books get longer and longer. This director took the bull by the horns, wrestled with it, and put his stamp on it. I find myself so enthralled with his vision that yesterday I just had to visit Hogwarts again and took an extended lunch hour to see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for the 4th time. Went back to work humming Double Trouble. I do think that the Mauraders Map and the relationship of Prongs, et al. especially with the shape of the Patronus could have been explicated in just a few more lines with Sirius and the final Lupin scene, and needed to be. But when I compare how rote the other films were, especially the 2nd, and I think of Buck Beak dragging his claw in the loche and the four seasons of the whomping willow, Harry's talks with Lupin, all the details that just melt into the affectionate yet dangerous landscape, well I just sigh with happiness that there is finally a HP movie that I like as much of the books. I had almost given up. Gets a 92 from me!
Reviews
6 Reviews
Rizoto
(2000)
Directed like an MTV beer commercial
28 October 2002
Tits and Ass shots abound while seemingly addressing "serious" dual career couple issues. Plays like a bad TV sitcom. Only one scene in the whole film was real, the one where you enter back into your real life and problems after a vacation. Otherwise, seriously insulting and stupid. Worse than a romance novel.
Werckmeister Harmonies
(2000)
Contemplative Film
28 October 2002
made entirely of longshots of 2-4 minutes in duration. Layers of symbolism in poetic images. It's not a movie, it's not entertainment. It's film, and you have to engage and ask questions about what you are seeing. Why did only 2 people saw the whale? What was the significance of that? How did the riots get started? Who were the insiders and who were the outsiders? How could you tell? Why the hospital? Why do humans always need a causation? Why was the Prince's speech in a different language? What did the Prince represent? What did the Whale? A viewer may not want to be taxed with these questions but given the way the world is, these questions are worth thinking about. I've only seen one other "contemplative film" which is Angelopoulos' Ulyssey's Gaze, which I deeply cherish. This didn't get to me as deeply as it's images weren't as evocative to me. This is probably due to my being able access the cultural symbols of Angelopoulos more easily (though that film isn't "easy" either,it's just that I have more background in modern Greek poetry, etc.). Recommend this film as a unique chance to think of an alternative use of celloid, don't be intimidated.
8 Women
(2002)
Okay, I didn't get it
20 October 2002
I will be the first to confess that I didn't get 8 women, and my thought leaving the theatre was "Thank God for the French, because at least US is not the weirdest culture on the planet." I suspect that there were too many inside jokes and that the film should never have left French shores. My take was that it was essentially a drag queen farce that, except for a few moments of fun, forgot the farce. To view it any other way would to be offended by cardboard misogynist stereotyped characters even if played by many of the great French actresses. So is there something really sophisticated going on by having Catherine Deneuve and Fanny Ardant acting like drag queens????!! I did like the songs though.
Just a Kiss
(2002)
Tied with Men in Black II as worst movie of the year to date
20 October 2002
My only positive thoughts were that someone is going to make brilliant use of this type of animation in a film someday (but this isn't it) and Marissa Tomei needs to get more roles. Truly don't know where to start with such a mess of a movie. Could see that it was trying to be a black hip comedy about how one decision changes everything, but the characters had no connections to human beings and it wasn't funny in the least. Twas more superficial than TV commercials.
Masterpiece of German Silents from Expressionist 1920's
9 September 2002
Caught the incredible performance of Brigitte Helm in this forgotten classic at the 2002 Telluride Film Festival. Experience was enhanced by live orchestration by Mont Alto Orchestra. Helm, who was also great in Fritz Lang's Metropolis, goes from ice queen to awakened woman in love with fluidity. The finale is bittersweet. Catch it if you have the opportunity. You won't be sorry.
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