Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

The annual anticipation for the next installment of the Harry Potter saga is now over, and like all the other films, this one does not disappoint; in fact, it shines. Aside from the inevitable box office success, this film seems to encompass its novel counterpart better than its prequels. I've seen the movie multiple times now and though this movie holds true to its predecessors, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is the best Potter film yet.

What stands out from the earlier installments was the dialogue between the young movie stars (Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Emma Watson as Hermione, and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley) that have grown up in front of our very own eyes. Previously, we accepted their less than impressive acting chops because they were young and charming and looked strikingly like the books' descriptions of their respective characters. But with this go around, the conversation that seemed forced and awkward in the past, was delivered quite smoothly. And of course much of the credit for this obvious improvement goes the script writers, but the acting was a real positive in this movie, unlike its prequels.

Another thing that I loved about the movie might be a bit specific to my particular tastes. Professor Slughorn, a character I was not particularly fond of in the book, was played by Jim Broadbent, an actor who is not particularly one of my favorites. But he was HILARIOUS. The second time I saw the movie, he made me laugh more than the first. And of course, the great Alan Rickman was nothing short of spectacular as Professor Snape.

The action sequences were much more in depth and intense than usual. It's refreshing, because this is more or less a kid's movie, but nothing was taken for granted and the intense or scarier parts of the movie were done quite well.

While this movie made improvements in the necessary areas, it also matched all of its strengths that we have come to expect from the franchise. The look of the movie was great, the music was fantastic and there was a perfect blend of suspense, romance, action and comedy. As it seems with each passing Harry Potter film, The Half Blood Prince raises the bar from what we've seen in the past and sets high expectations for the two movies that will conclude the saga.

Muller's Grade: A-

If you liked this flick, check out: all the other Harry Potter movies, The Chronicles of Narnia saga, and The Golden Compass

Public Enemies

Public Enemies is a movie I have been looking forward to for a very long time. What an incredible idea, paired with an all star cast under the direction of Michael Mann, you can see why I was excited. However, even with all the potential, Public Enemies, to me, came up way short.

The most glaring problem I had with the movie was the pacing. Besides the first scene, much of the first half of the film was devoted to developing the plot line and the main characters, but done so with little care and focus. I had no idea who was doing what and why. It was also slow and monotone. Just boring. Furthermore, I felt none the wiser after all that half assed exposition, which ended abruptly with a flurry of machine gun fights left and right. I know that sounds awesome, but the action sequences needed to be spaced out more; I felt like I was watching two different movies that were desperately searching for it's counterpart.

The other problem I had was the lack of storytelling. I was itnroduced to too many characters, too quickly and done so too carelessly, that I missed the significance (and often the name as well) of said characters.

Having said all this, the movie wasn't bad. The action, though cluttered and a little heavy at the end of the movie, was engaging and realistic. It kept me on the edge of my seat. Plus, star power alone was going to make the movie average at the very least. Johnny Depp was good in this one, but inconsistent. Early in the movie, he was throwing away his lines with the same dry tone, but then at the end of the movie, he showed some serious range. Christian Bale was fine, but it was often confusing how much authority his character was meant to have. The real gem, however was Marion Cotillard. Her performance may draw more oscar consideration after she brought home the hardware last year. She was fantastic and compelling and she made her character's story line most fulfilling. 

This movie cold have, and probably should have, been a lot better. It felt slow at times and rushed at others, and hastily started way more story lines that they wrapped up.  All of this could have been remedied with better pacing and better focus on character development and plot lines. What saved it was fantastic by Marion Cotillard and two big name stars. All in all, it was largely average.

Muller's Grade: C

If you liked this flick, check out: American Gangster, Donnie Brasco, Heat