Tag Archive for fantasy

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Guide: Films for a Harry Potter Fan

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Sad that you’re favorite series has finally finished its transition to the big screen? Looking for more entertainment that plays on the themes, storylines, and character types of J.K. Rowling’s fantasy novels? Then have I got the guide for you.

For the Young Harry Potter Fan: Halloweentown Series

Halloweentown is one of the sweetest little series about a young witch you’ll ever see. The series follows the adventures of Marnie, a young girl who has no idea she has magical powers, as she is brought into the training school by her grandmother Aggie. Aggie has an ulterior motive for bringing Marnie to Halloweentown. Something evil is growing in the once good town and Marnie might be the only person who can stop it. While the world is not as expansive as the Harry Potter series, it does offer plenty of fun for young children. It’s also clever and well-made enough to keep adults entertained. There are four films in the series and they all play into the same lighter territory as the first three Harry books and films.

For the Fan of the Fanciful Exploration of Growing Up: The Company of Wolves

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Film Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (2011)

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This is it. The definitive end of a long-running film series. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 ties together all of the characters, stories, and looming threat of an actual attack by Voldemort’s army started all the way back in 2001 with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I think it delivers in a big way.

It’s almost unfair to review this film by itself. It feels–much like Kill Bill Vol. 2–like someone decided one long film wouldn’t work at the box office. So, we get two films, each over two hours long, that conclude the series. The big Part 2 in the title lets you know that it’s a continuation of the story and it does not lie. The film picks up immediately at the end of the last film, even reusing the shots of Voldemort acquiring the Elder Wand and Harry finishing Dobby’s grave.

From there, it’s straight into new plot developments. The action leads Harry, Hermione, and Ron to the vaults of Gringotts and through the back door of Hogwarts. They still have three Horcruxes to destroy before Voldemort is able to die. Part 2, wisely, opts not to spend too much time on the myriad of bad guys introduced in the conclusion of the story, giving the audience just enough information about them to know who they are, what they’re doing, and why Harry has to fear them. Instead, the focus is on action, plot, and emotional closure.

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Saying Goodbye to Harry Potter: A Ranked Guide to the Films

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I’ll be forward with you. I have not read all of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels. I read the first three a few years back and quickly lost interest. It’s not the style of prose I’m drawn to.

I will say, however, her ability to create characters, environments, and engaging conflict is strong. It’s why I’ve been drawn so much to the films. I’ve seen them all in theaters and enjoyed myself at all of them. Sure, some are better than others, but there was something to the world created onscreen. Hogwarts is gorgeous, the official school knitwear is beautifully made, and the music is always good.

On this, the week of the final Harry Potter film release, I figured it would be a good time to share a few thoughts on each of the films. Then I thought I could have much more fun by ranking the films from best to worst without any real knowledge of whether the adaptations are faithful or not. This is the ranking guide for a Harry Potter non-fan drawn into the world.

Let’s get going.

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Film Review: Midnight in Paris (2011)

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Let’s get this out of the way. If you, like me, are a big fan of the explosion of new literary, artistic, and musical works between WWI and WWII, you’ll love Midnight in Paris. It’s a Modernist’s dream brought to life with wit and style. Where else are you going to see Hemingway, Stein, Fitzgerald (the lady and the gentleman), Dali, Picasso, and a slew of others interacting in a believable way onscreen? If this sounds great, go as soon as you can to see this film.

Midnight in Paris is a sweet little romantic comedy fantasy film from writer/director Woody Allen. Gil is a modern Hollywood screenwriter trying to create his debut novel. His fiance, Inez, just wants him to focus on their wedding and get back to his successful career. The two are on vacation with Inez’s parents in Paris. Gil is filled with the romantic notion of 1920s Paris, with the cafes and salons and the unending excitement of an artist’s city. He’s so filled with this notion that he discovers a way to travel back in time and befriend all his literary idols, but only during the night. Once he walks away from a party without anyone to guide him, he’s back in 2010.

Woody Allen’s screenplay is one of the most charming and uplifting I’ve seen since The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio.

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Film Review: Sucker Punch (2011)

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Sucker Punch is not a great film. It’s not even a really good film. Zack Snyder’s latest directorial effort is a visually intriguing presentation of a lackluster story saved by excellent editing and use of music.

The opening scenes, taking place over the span of one somber song, are the most effective, beautiful, and heart-wrenching scenes in the film. In them, Baby Doll and her younger sister find out their Mother has died and their Stepfather is their new caretaker. The Stepfather, enraged that his former wife would leave everything she owned to her two children, decides to eliminate the girls. He locks Baby Doll in her room and goes after the younger sister. Baby Doll escapes down a rain gutter in the rain, picks up her Stepfather’s gun, and shoots at him, only to discover her sister was already murdered. Covered in blood, Baby Doll runs to her mother’s grave that is still covered in the fresh floral displays from the funeral. The police apprehend her and, with her Stepfather’s permission, bring her to an insane asylum for evaluation. Here she discovers that her Stepfather is paying extra money to have her lobotomized in five days so she can never testify against him in court.

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Film Review: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

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Have you ever seen one of your favorite novels adapted for the screen in such a way that you are blinded to any flaws? The kind of film adaptation where so much is thrown in from the book that you spend the entire time going “I remember that, and that, and that, and that…” until the credits roll? The kind of film that can bring you back to where you first enjoyed the story no matter how many years have passed?

For me, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is almost that film. 

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