Popcorn time

OK, so I've found it hard to write about stuff. I think perhaps the hardest thing about blogging would have to be finding material you deem worthy of posting about. I think much of it has to do with my own standards. Much of the stuff that I could talk about somehow seems so trivial. But then again, I guess it's how one approaches the subject, eh?

So what have I been up to? Well, I watched a bunch of movies. Transformers? Awesome. Michael Bay did a great job. I would give a review, but Nick beat me to it. Ages ago. Yeah, I'm slow. Suffice to say that if you loved Transformers as a kid, you'll rediscover that love all over again when you hear Optimus Prime (voiced by the incomparable Peter Cullen) open up the movie in all his Voltron save-the-universe glory. Even if you're not a fan, there's nothing better than watching a bunch of giant robots transforming.

I went with my brother to watch Die Hard 4.0 a couple weeks back. Free dinner, free movie, free popcorn and drinks! Never been a Die Hard fan, but this was an offer I couldn't refuse. During the movie I remember thinking that John McClane is the only person who can pull off multiple death-defying stunts and not break a single bone. If I was a stickler for realism, I'd walk out of this movie bitching about how implausible all the stunts are. But I'm not like that. I'm all for popcorn-munching action flicks. So it's a great movie, especially if you watched the first three (I haven't. So sue me!).

Moving on-- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. If you didn't know the full title, then chances are you're probably not really a Harry Potter fan and hated much of the movie because you felt it was too slow and had too much talking and not enough magic. I've heard many people comment about how they didn't really like it and found it boring. As someone who has read all the books and is eagerly awaiting the finale, I can say that this is the first Harry Potter film I've truly enjoyed since Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets. In Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire, I felt like I was being rushed through the story. I enjoyed them to some degree, but I ultimately felt very..... unfulfilled.

Of course, a major part of what made the first two movies so great was Richard Harris. His portrayal of Dumbledore was so uncannily perfect and spot-on in every aspect. Frailty belying power, sternness tempered by compassion, wisdom to match wrinkles. Then he died (Chamber of Secrets was his last film), and this new guy came in and turned Dumbledore into what can only be described as an angry old man. I don't even know this actor's name, and I don't really care. So, obviously, the fact that I enjoyed HP's latest magical adventure has nothing to do with whatsisface and his magically geriatric take on Dumbledore and everything to do with the director's plot pacing. This new guy, one David Yates (See? I know his name!), actually did a very good job in picking the parts to be included this time round. Naturally, given the vast differences between paper and the silver screen, there's always a lot left out of the movies that fans always complain about. But this time it felt like Mr. Yates included all the right parts and gave the movie a lot of substance. Plus, lots of people felt that OotP wasn't the greatest of the books anyway.

So all in all, if you go in expecting the same magic and wonder of the first film, you'll be disappointed. However, OotP succeeds in giving the anthology some much needed depth in plot and character development. Case in point-- Dolores Umbridge. Pure evil. And she really got on my nerves. It all centered on that tittering giggle of hers. If you've watched this movie, you know what I mean.

By Chester with 3 comments