Monthly Archives: April 2013

Review: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – from the heart of an obsessive fan

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Hogwarts at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

I recently visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando, FL for the first time.  I’d been to Islands of Adventure many many times before, but the WWoHP was still under construction the last time I was there.  I had read a lot about the WWoHP and I was very curious as to what my reaction would be, considering I’m a hugely obsessive Harry Potter fan.  Unlike some other fans, however, I’ve never shown much of an outward expression of this obsession.

I don’t own boatloads of Harry Potter merchandise, I’ve never dressed as a wizard or drawn a scar on my forehead, I’ve never been to a Wizard Rock concert or to a convention.  Other than the ring I wear every day that has the sign of the Deathly Hallows on it, my HP obsession has always been inward.  I have a deeply personal connection to the books, and while I’ve occasionally written about it, it’s not something I share or talk about much.  Of all of the things I love, it’s the one that I have the most trouble finding the right words to express the depth of my feelings, and I’ve so often been antagonized for it that I’ve mostly given up.  (I’ve written about it a bit on my blog, but I’ve never been very satisfied with how it turned out.)

It was with a mixture of excitement and nerves, therefore, that I first entered The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Continue reading →

Trailer Tuesday: The Philosophers

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Welcome to “Trailer Tuesday” where I talk about trailers for upcoming movies, since I’ve always found trailers to be endlessly fascinating.

Today I’m bringing you a trailer you probably haven’t seen before.  It’s for The Philosophers (Note: title changed to After the Dark), and it caught my eye a while back for being something different and original.  It’s set to come out sometime this year, but doesn’t yet have a firm release date.  Check it out below, and then read on for some of my thoughts:

The Philosophers initially came to my attention when I read that it was Bonnie Wright’s (Ginny Weasley in Harry Potter) next film. Continue reading →

Friday Favorites: Favorite Moment – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

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slavecrusade

Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.  It could be a favorite character or casting choice, a favorite song or score, a favorite scene, line of dialogue, shot or simply a moment.  Anything is possible (costumes, sets, etc) and I’d love to hear your suggestions.  Note: Just because something appears here does not make it my absolute #1 favorite thing in that category, but it is simply “one of my favorites”.

I talk about “movie moments” a lot.  My definition of a moment is pretty amorphous, but it’s generally anything in a movie that makes a sharp impact.  It can sometimes stretch to an entire scene, and sometimes is as quick as a blink.  It can be a line of dialogue or a particular look, a bit of action, a single shot or something longer.  It’s almost impossible for me to define what I consider a moment without using the word “moment”.  It’s what makes your heart skip a beat, or that brings tears to your eyes or a sob to your throat, it brings you to your feet, makes you hide your face, causes you to burst into applause or just to laugh with abandon.  Movies are a string of moments, and everything between is providing context and connection between them.  They often occur at great moments of change, either to character or story, or as the culmination of a plot.  In a way, they’re tiny (in duration) climaxes to one section of story.  Some movies only have one moment and spend the entire film building to it, others have many; some are like a tsunami, others are barely a ripple.  Moments are the moments that stand out, that we remember, that are burned into our minds.

I have a personal connection to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Continue reading →

Trailer Tuesday: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

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Welcome to “Trailer Tuesday” where I talk about trailers for upcoming movies, since I’ve always found trailers to be endlessly fascinating.

Today we have the new teaser trailer for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.  Go ahead and watch it and then read on for my thoughts:

Continue reading →

Friday Favorites: Favorite Character Intro – Pirates of the Caribbean

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Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.  It could be a favorite character or casting choice, a favorite song or score, a favorite scene, line of dialogue, shot or simply a moment.  Anything is possible (costumes, sets, etc) and I’d love to hear your suggestions.  Note: Just because something appears here does not make it my absolute #1 favorite thing in that category, but it is simply “one of my favorites”.

Few movies spend enough effort on character introductions, in my opinion.  Just like in real life, the first impression of a character can have a lasting impact, sometimes setting the standards so high that the rest of the film is a disappointment and other times ruining a perfectly good character from the beginning.  The best character intros are the ones that play with expectations, and engage the audience by making the character both memorable and something of a mystery.

There are a few character intros in film history that stand out above the rest, and one of those near the top is the introduction of Captain Jack Sparrow. Continue reading →

Trailer Tuesday: Oblivion & After Earth

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Welcome to “Trailer Tuesday” where I talk about trailers for upcoming movies, since I’ve always found trailers to be endlessly fascinating.

Hollywood loves to compete with itself, releasing two movies within a short time that have similar stories.  Tombstone and Wyatt Earp in 1993/4.  Volcano and Dante’s Peak in 1997.  Deep Impact and Armageddon and Antz and A Bug’s Life in 1998.  Mission to Mars and Red Planet in 2000.  The Illusionist and The Prestige in 2006.  No Strings Attached and Friends with Benefits in 2011.  This year we have two post-apocalyptic, “fallen Earth” stories coming out within two months of each other: After Earth and Oblivion. Continue reading →

Review/Analysis: The Croods

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The Croods live in a cave.  That should be too surprising, considering that they are cave people.  But beyond just living in the cave, they define their entire lives by it.  The last surviving family of Neanderthals in the valley, the Croods spend almost all of their time in the cave, emerging only to hunt for food.  The cave has kept them safe, as have the rules implemented by Grug (Nicolas Cage), the father of the family.  Inside the cave live Grug and his wife, Grug’s mother-in-law and the three kids.  Eep (Emma Stone), the oldest child, hates the rules, the cave, and her family, and longs to explore new things, in contradiction to her father’s mantra, “New is always bad.  Never not be afraid.” Continue reading →

Friday Favorites: Favorite Speech – Lincoln

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Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.  It could be a favorite character or casting choice, a favorite song or score, a favorite scene, line of dialogue, shot or simply a moment.  Anything is possible (costumes, sets, etc) and I’d love to hear your suggestions.  Note: Just because something appears here does not make it my absolute #1 favorite thing in that category, but it is simply “one of my favorites”.

There are few things I love more than a good movie speech.  My first memory of intentionally memorizing dialogue from a movie came when Independence Day was released on VHS and I watched Bill Pullman’s speech before the final battle over and over, writing it down and reading along, trying to get both the words and delivery as exact as I could.  A great movie speech can be anywhere from a couple sentences to pages of dialogue, and can be delivered to huge crowds or as a monologue in solitude.  Speeches have been the basis of entire movies (The King’s Speech being the most obvious example).

Lincoln is full of speeches, as you would imagine a movie about politicians to be. Continue reading →

Analysis: The Musical Climax

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I love musicals, but I love musical climaxes even more.  No, not like that, get your mind out of the gutter!  I’ve always enjoyed movies that have either the climax of the story, or at least a major plot point, revolve around a musical number, particularly when it is unexpected.  I don’t mean in musicals, but in movies that otherwise have no musical numbers and are not about music.  In other words, not movies like Crazy Heart, Ray, or A Prairie Home Companion, all of which are in some way about music.

I also don’t mean scenes set to music, either as a montage or to set the mood for the scene, like in Rocky, The Breakfast Club or Cruel Intentions.  I’m not even talking about musical climaxes that are the obvious result of the plot, like in Dirty Dancing, Sister Act, or Little Miss Sunshine.  What I’m talking about are moments when characters in otherwise non-musical movies have some sort of musical performance/dance number/song that resolves their issues, expresses their feelings, or advances the plot in a way that’s unique compared to the rest of the film, and is often unexpected or completely surprising.  Here are some examples of what I mean: Continue reading →

Trailer Tuesday: The Great Gatsby

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Welcome to “Trailer Tuesday” where I talk about trailers for upcoming movies, since I’ve always found trailers to be endlessly fascinating.

Today I’m offering up three trailers from the upcoming 3D film, The Great Gatsby.  All of the trailers use interesting musical choices to highlight the setting and emphasize the emotion of the classic story, and the music is the biggest difference between the three.  Here’s the first one, read on after the jump for my thoughts on it and for the other two:

Continue reading →