In Defense of Fantasy and Sci-Fi B-Movies

In which I opine on the merits of B-movies of yesteryear, their decline, and how they haven’t really gone extinct.

Being a child of the 1970s, I was fortunate to grow up during a transitional period in cinema and before VCRs (along with cable television) changed how we see movies. The only places to see movies were at the theater and on broadcast, so a lot of very old movies were my main diet. Hey, movie tickets cost money even at the third run small town theater. Unlike other kids, it was rare to go out to see a badly faded and scratched print.

So I got to watch the badly faded and scratched prints cropped to television box format via the miracle of pan and scan. Most of the movies were much older than I was, so black and white flicks were watched nearly as much as color. Do not get me started on Ted Turner’s colorizing old films in the 1980s. The words “brain dead” would be the beginning of the rant which would veer into zombie killing at some point.

So what is a B-movie?

Harry Potter DVDs and BD’s to Fall Under Cloak of Invisibility

Showing how bad things are in DVD sales, Warner Brothers have decided to milk as much money out of the Harry Potter movies they can in the short term. After December 29th, they will stop producing and shipping all of the movies in the series.

The article mentions Disney has done this with their animated films and I would not be surprised to see this trend expand. Home video sales have cratered and the studios are looking for a way out of the market, in my opinion. It would not be surprising if some in the industry would like things to return to the theater only model, but I cannot see that being viable.

With the death of DVD’s being proclaimed widely and Blu-ray not being very successful, it looks like the digital download format is the only option in the future. Since the studios hate that, it will be a messy transition.

I had thought of getting the last two films to complete my Harry Potter set, but now I do not feel like doing so. This sort of cheap stunt is really irritating, but I suspect it will work. I just do not want to contribute to it succeeding.

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 (2011)

The Harry Potter films come to an end with a movie filled with action, death, and 3D effects but curiously devoid of genuine emotion. Those disappointed with the previous film will find much to like and it stays fairly faithful to the book.

The movie starts out with the ending of Part 1, but this time processed into 3D. This means an even murkier and darker experience in the theater, but those who view it in 2D won’t  have much of a brighter experience. Most of it is set at night or indoors with reduced lighting with a bleached out palette.

Following the death of Dobby at the end of the last movie, Harry and company gather some more intel on what Bellatrix Lestrange was up to. Critical information comes into their hands thanks to a kidnapped goblin and so they decide to stage another infiltration of a highly guarded institution. I have to say Helena Bonham Carter did a great job of mimicking Emma Watson’s mannerisms while playing the polyjuiced Hermione masquerading as Bellatrix. Oddly enough, that was one of the highlights of the film for me.

The raid goes disastrously like all their plans do, which is actually mentioned by the characters later in the movie. But it does give us, the audience, some fun with a very well rendered dragon and I always give extra credit for well done dragons. From there things move to infiltrating Hogwarts, which has become something run like a concentration camp or gulag. This is where all the real action takes place and things morph into a war movie, but with magic instead of guns.

The preparations for combat and Voldemort’s assault on Hogwarts are quite well executed. Chaotic battles, heroic sacrifices, and deaths of characters we’ve gotten to know fill the second half. But the deaths failed to have emotional impact for me, unlike the book. I suspect that is due to them being rushed, despite splitting the book into two movies. Some key dramatic moments suffer from it, especially near the end.

With little character development in this half of the book, The Deathly Hallows Part 2 suffers the same problem. Aside from Snape (Alan Richter) and Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), only Helena Ravenclaw (Kelly Macdonald) seemed to get anything meaty and she is a new character only briefly seen. Most of the supporting characters get what amounts to cameos despite their importance in the past. Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione get their expected moments, with Ron delivering comic relief.

While I was pleased with how Neville (Matthew Lewis) got his moments to shine, the last one was not handled well. It was played more for laughs than drama and it rang the wrong note. Likewise, Mrs. Weasely’s (Julie Walters) big moment was laughed at in the theater due to a lack of setup and once again being played for laughs. That was just criminal as it should have been something of great intensity. Those who have read the book will understand why I’m complaining.

The big duel was also disappointing and things kind of trail off after that. But the epilogue was nice and the CGI aging looked good. It seemed like a lot of the film was so geared at the 3D effects that they lost sight of effective pacing.

On the topic of the 3D experience, I thought it was a mixed bag. Anything involving spells and magic looked really good, especially the barrier put up around Hogwarts. But crowd scenes appeared jumpy, for a lack of a better word. Something wasn’t working effectively there and it was distracting. From that, I assume the 3D was done in post production rather than filmed with 3D cameras. Another film out this year that was done in post was Thor and it had a better feeling of depth, for comparison.

I didn’t go into seeing The Deathly Hallows Part 2 with any particular expectations or reservations. Though I could have used a reservation to get a better seat. Please forgive me, it is after 3 AM here as I’m writing this and things are getting stupidly amusing. Back on topic, the local small town theater got the movie for a midnight showing with little warning, so of course I had to take advantage of the opportunity to see the end of the Harry Potter film era.

So what is my final take on the flick? It was okay, but something of a disappointment. Most fans will like it better than the last, but I preferred the previous one. It had more heart and this one was strangely flat to me. The crowd at the theater applauded at the end, so that’s good enough. A big box office haul awaits it no matter what.

Speaking of the crowd, they skewed younger with teens predominating. All age groups were represented and I actually had to stand in line for tickets. Amazing for a midnight showing in a small town with a population of 1200 or so. Everyone was in a good mood and generally well behaved.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

Time to review the movie as I promised to earlier. 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was a large book packed with far too many events to wedge into one movie, which was a problem with some of the previous films. Thankfully, Warner Bros decided to split the book into two movies and even then there is barely room for most of the story.  Interestingly, I’ve been reading reviews claiming that the magic has gone out of the Harry Potter movies.  I disagree and the review will explain why.

First, The Deathly Hallows is about Harry and his friends being forced to grow up.  They end up alone in a bleak, frightening, and apparently hopeless world where Voldemort has taken over the Ministry of Magic and is terrorizing the magical world.  Keep an eye out for propaganda that resembles that of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union; the movie isn’t subtle about those references.  This isn’t a kiddie story anymore, instead it is about the beginnings of a war that doesn’t look winnable.

Deaths occur from the very beginning of the movie, which gets to fast start depicting the preparations by Harry and Hermione for the coming war.  Emma Watson has really grown as an actress and her scene with Hermione erasing herself from the memories of her muggle parents is well played.   Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry seems more uncertain and stubborn than ever, even as events start spiraling out of his control.  His wandering through the now vacated Dursely home is as symbolic as Hermione’s of having to leave home and become an adult.

There are moments of the humor so present in the previous movies, but it is clear this is a grimmer affair as the ending to the first action piece demonstrates. Blood is shed, characters die, and a momentary lull for a wedding doesn’t last long.  Quickly, Harry, Hermione, and Ron Weasely are on the run for their lives while trying to finish the late Dumbledore’s quest to find and destroy fragments of Lord Voldemort’s soul – the horcruxes.

One complaint will be made by many and that is the extended time in the wilderness being boring. Once again, I’ll disagree as this gave the young trio of actors wonderful character moments and conveys that they can’t count on older people to bail them out of trouble.  Rupert Grint as Ron shines brightest during these events as he has the greatest trouble adapting to the hardship. Ron always did lag behind the other two in maturity and it becomes painfully apparent that he has the most growing up to do.  This leads to conflict and a splitting of the trio as jealousies explode into the open. 

Along the way to the tragic ending of the movie, we are treated to an animated sequence that recounts what the Deathly Hallows are.  That part is pure magic, no pun intended.  It is a brief respite before the darkness comes and heroism fails.  The magic isn’t gone, but it has grown up.

The ending I liked, because it was a perfect place to split the material and because it reminds me a little of how Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back ended – except with less hope.  It left the audience I was with wanting more.

Was this the best of the films? No, but it was one of the best.  Seeing the change from school days to early adulthood in the main characters is something that added depth to the Harry Potter series and I appreciated seeing that greatly.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione are now having to make adult decisions and fend for themselves and in the end, that is what this movie is about.  Of course it is all set up for Part 2 as well.

There is blood, gore, and one “romance” scene that definitely makes this movie not for young kids.  The pervasive gloom of the story is punctuated by frightening battles and attacks, so expect lots of tears for nights to come if you make the mistake of taking a young child to it.

As a footnote, I have to say the special effects are the best by far in the series.  Watching it in digital HD, I was stunned by the effects involving a certain house elf.  The CGI masters have come a long way since Gollum!

If you are a Harry Potter fan, this is a must see film. 

Harry Potter Midnight Screening

The last thing I expected to be doing today was going to the midnight opening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1.  Okay, it was the second to last thing I expected.  The last thing would have to be going to it in the small town of Spring Grove, Minnesota. 

But this, in fact, is how my day ended.  Assisting my father in an aborted microwave installation in the afore mentioned town resulted in our passing the local state of the art movie theater several times. The first time I did a double take at what was on the marquee – after all, they don’t show first run movies, much less something this popular.  Upon returning home, a check on the Spring Grove Cinema’s home page verified that I hadn’t been hallucinating and that they would be showing it every night for two weeks.  An email reservation was required and on a lark I sent it in, the catch being that you have to show up fifteen minutes before show time or your seats might be sold.

The crowd wasn’t huge but along the numbers I’d seen at The Lord of the Rings midnight showings in a much larger city of La Crosse, Wisconsin.  It was a cheerful crowd that skewed young and the mood was good.  At six dollars a ticket it was more than a bargain.

So how was the movie, you wonder? 

A full review will wait until I’ve had some sleep, but this was one of the best entries in the series.  Fans of the book should be pleased at how faithful it was.  The performances were the best yet from the cast and there was a palpable feeling of dread throughout the film.  Also, it is not for small kids as there are deaths and gory maiming's in it, so please don’t think about taking them to it.

Somewhat off topic:

Two trailers stood out for me and they were for Tron: Legacy and Green Lantern.  Having seen both on the Web, only Tron had impressed me and Green Lantern disappointed on the small screen.  I’ve changed my mind about the latter after seeing it on the big screen and it looks dazzling.  Still not happy with the humorous bits that ring hollow, but the more serious parts look very good indeed.

Watching the End of an Era

I've never been such a dedicated fan of anything in my adulthood that I went and stood in line for an event. The only time I did that was the last two Lord of the Rings movies and actually didn't spend much time at all even for the midnight showing of Return of the King. In fact, that was the only time I went to a midnight event and it was a low key affair locally, La Crosse being a small city. So it was with amusement that I read the email notification from Barnes & Noble about the Midnight Madness event. While I'd reserved a copy, I had no plans to pick it up until later next week.

As the days went by, I pondered the fact that the Harry Potter series is most likely the last gasp of big event books. Like others, I'd placed a great deal of hope on it bringing more young people to books in general. It would be the thing that got kids going in an increasingly illiterate culture, for if kids would be willing to read 700 page books, they'd have to look for other books, right? Alas, that has not proven to be the case, kids are reading fewer books today than they did ten years ago. Oh yes, they would read Rowling's books, but that's it. To a bibliophile such as myself, this was painful to find out.

With that in mind, I realized that I'd most likely never see such an event again in my lifetime. This was a cultural "happening" that wouldn't be repeated, for there will be no more adventures of Harry Potter in the foreseeable future. So I drafted my dad to drive and off I went to B&N to watch the people there, as people fascinate me. While he went off to Sears to match exterior paint for our long overdue house repainting, I walked over to the book store to see how things were scheduled.

At 8:30 pm there were already kids in black robes wandering the store and the staff were in full costume. After inquiring about how the books would be distributed, I had my name checked against the reservation list and had a paper bracelet put around my wrist, an orange one with the number 95 written in green. Those with orange bracelets went first, with green to the mallside registers and red to the front registers. These were the first waves to get the books, I was told and they figured it would be less than an hour to get them all sold.

I left and returned at 9:30 PM after going to another store, the rest of the mall was officially closed with one of the exits open besides the B&N entrance. The parking lot was packed, the store was packed, and more people were arriving. Most were young, of course, with many a parent in tow with a smattering of adult fans present. Spirits were high and the mood was festive, entertainment began around 10 PM with activities for the kids. There had been a broomstick contest I hadn't been aware of, so all the fancy brooms hanging from the ceiling weren't just there for decoration after all. The pretty young lady who won the contest got to be the first buyer, which was a nifty prize. I didn't see the wand making activity, but heard about it, but the fun one looked to be the potions table. Hard to tell, the kids were packed tight around it.

As time went buy, fatigue set in and I began to hurt a great deal, but I was still wandering around, observing the festivities. Eventually, I parked myself in the military history aisle and started reading Machiavelli's Discourses, which I purchased along with Heinlein's Starship Troopers. Oddly enough, I was in a very small minority purchasing other books that night, so much for getting extra sales from the event. After awhile, I had to get up and stretch, circulating once again. It was around 11 PM and the young folks were starting to really tire, especially the under 8's and teenagers. The tweeners had more energy and I could see parents rubbing their faces. Even so, the mood was still good.

A bullhorn was used to announce some things and half the store couldn't hear it. Of course, that was the half I was in, so there was some confusion for awhile. I ended up asking questions at the middle of the store and found out I had to buy my other books right away, which I did. At 11:30, more muddled bullhorn announcements and finally they started lining people up, with the first 50 of each color going first. At 11:40, even more unintelligible bullhorning and I suspected my block was next. I snaked through to the center of the store and found someone in authority (she was standing on a table, so I automatically assumed she was).

Yep, time to get in line and since I was number 95 (I am not a number, I am a free man!), I was asked to anchor the line so people with lower numbers could go before me. Lo and behold, I'd been drafted without even going through the Sorting Hat routine! Ah well. Some of the best conversation on the night was held in the line, because it took forever to get moving once Midnight hit. People were well behaved, even those with astronomically high numbers such as 270.

Once the line did start moving, it got going fast and I was out of there by 12:20 AM. The store was rapidly emptying as was the parking lot, far too many of all ages were up past their bedtimes and wanted to go home.

There was a sweetness to this event that you don't run into very often these days. While it was rough on my health, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness an end of an era. I find myself somewhat saddened by it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

It is an end of an era that has spanned a decade for the Harry Potter book series has finally been completed with the release of Deathly Hallows. I was a latecomer to the hoopla, only getting into it after buying the first book for my sister in an effort to encourage her to read. Out of curiosity about the craze, I borrowed that paperback edition of the Sorcerer's Stone and was impressed with it. It wasn't great literature (at least it won't be considered that for some time), but it was an old fashioned ripping good yarn of the English variety. The adventures of Harry and his friends, Hermione and Ron, have been a welcome companion over the years, with each book becoming progressively more adult and dark. Yet there was always the intertwined themes of love and hope, which promised a happy ending after all the darkness.

So does the final book deliver on that and provide an entertaining story? I can say that it does in my opinion, but that light at the end of the tunnel only comes after harrowing setbacks and many deaths. This is a very grim book with only occasional touches of humor in it, as it starts off with loss of life and just keeps going, with more lives and innocence lost in the following chapters. Answers to the mysteries surrounding various characters are finally answered, many were telegraphed in the previous books but there are still many surprises to be found.

Some may be confused by the final battle, which is lengthy, but it all holds together in the logic of the Potter universe. The characters I wanted to see together got together, while others are tragically lost. What I liked was that Voldemort was shown to be as weak as he truly was, something I'd picked up on in the earlier books. While I can imagine people will cry foul at the resolution, I felt it to be realistic given the age of our protagonists.

The one spoiler I'll give is a simple one: Neville is the MAN. The boy finally gets his shining moment and after seeing the latest movie, I can't wait to see that young actor play it out on the big screen.