Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

             Before I go on and review this movie it should be noted, if you don't know already, that I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I've read all of the books and seen all of the movies multiple times. I have also made the trip out to Orlando and been to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. So though that may cloud my judgement, I also think it makes me a tougher critic of these movies. Plus, after you read my review, I think that you'll find many other reviews out there to be along the same lines as mine.
             To begin, as soon as I finished the 7th and final book, I believed they should split the movie into two parts in order to do it justice. It just didn't seem feasible to try and fit so much information and action into 2 1/2 hours. Thankfully, they did split it up and I think anyone who goes on to see both movies will agree that this was the best thing they could have done.
             With the first movie being the "journey" film so to speak, part 2 is set up perfectly to the point where everything is going down. Compared to part 1, part 2 moves much quicker in my opinion because they aren't constantly moving places and plus there's just so much action that takes place. Part 2 picks up with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson), at the cottage on the beach determining what to do next. They decide they must break into Gringotts (the wizard bank) in order to find another Horcrux. This takes the viewer on a great ride as they travel into the depths of the bank on a roller coaster type experience (I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this somehow became a ride at the theme park in Orlando). All of this goes quickly however, as the majority of the film is spent at Hogwarts, where it all began, as Harry and the others prepare and fight Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) in the ultimate showdown.
              I won't go anymore into summarizing the story as most of you know what it is. But the way that this story is portrayed on screen is something all Potter fans out there can leave being completely satisfied with. Director David Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves do a fantastic job bringing in all of the reoccurring characters over the years and giving them their time on screen to say "goodbye." Yates captures the drama of this intense battle by acknowledging the important deaths that happen, but doesn't linger and try to get too much emotion from them. He lets the intensity of the moment do it for him. When it comes to the end of the film Yates ends it on a perfect shot that summarizes up the journey of the last 10 years. Plus, the quick 19 years later epilogue is done the best it could I believe, with makeup not being over done and the audience getting a sense of closure.
             This movie is a non-stop roller coaster of action and adventure with plenty of emotion along the way. Watching it I actually felt my heart racing at times, but then again this could be because I've been so invested in this franchise since I was 11. This however, is what makes this movie so good. It allows people like me, or people who've only seen the movies or none at all, to connect with the characters completely and enjoy every second of the movie.
             Of course if you haven't read the books or seen all of the movies when going into this one, things could become confusing for you. Things from the book are of course omitted and that's partly due to the fact most of the audience already knows about them and doesn't need them shown on screen. That is however, been the nature of these films since the beginning.
            Overall, I have to say this is easily the best film of the series. Of course this movie benefits in being the movie where everything gets concluded. We finally learn the truth behind Professor Snape who was played wonderfully again by Alan Rickman (I wish he had more screen time because he deserves an Oscar for his performance of Snape over the last ten years). We finally learn all of the information of the connection between Harry and Voldemort, as well as see the final battle between them. Then there's practically everything else that happens in the film.
            I give this movie a thumbs up 4 out of 4 stars.  Like I said above, I can't imagine a true Potter fan leaving this movie and not being completely satisfied with how this great story has ended. I've seen the film twice in IMAX 3D which I thought was done very well and I recommend it. However, I don't think you'll be losing anything by seeing it in normal 2D. Whatever you do though, go see it in theaters! Enjoy!

The King's Speech

            I-I-I-I-I r-r-r-e-eally enjoyed this movie. Now all stammering and poor (and perhaps tasteless) attempts of humor aside, there is a reason that this movie led this year's Academy Awards with 12 nominations. It's a great freaking movie from beginning to the end. It's funny how sometimes the best movies put out there are the ones that get by all of the big shots in Hollywood and were made on relatively small budgets and are independently produced. Just look at Slumdog Milionaire a couple of years ago and Black Swan this year as well. Both were produced by 20th Century Fox's offspring for independent films, Fox Searchlight, and The King's Speech went down a similar road of independent producing.
            But sometimes I believe the best things need to be those diamonds in the rough as it gives them that extra little appeal. The King's Speech centers around the true story of King George VI (played by Colin Firth) as he goes from being the Duke of York, and second in line to the throne, to being tossed into being King despite his reservations against it, at the outbreak of WWII. Oh and did I mention that during all of this he has a terrible stammer, which is really unfortunate to have when you're a part of the English monarchy and must constantly make public speeches.
            Now the movie spans over a good decade before WWII, as King George VI tries to deal with his speech problem. The King decides, with the pushing of his wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), to see speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) about his problem. The film follows brilliantly the ups and downs over the years of Logue and the King's work together, thanks in part to the great script written by David Seidler, who used his own experiences of having a stammer and actual journals from Logue to make the film as real and historically accurate as possible.
             As with a lot of British films the cast was stellar even down to the bit players. Michael Gambon (Dumbledore in Harry Potter) did a great job as King George V and Guy Pearce (LA Confidential) did a stand up job as King Edward VIII who forced the throne on his brother after resigning. Colin Firth is absolutely excellent in his portrayal as I can't imagine how hard it must be to act as if you have a stammer, and he won the Oscar for Best Actor quite deservingly so. Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter each deserved the Oscar noms for supporting actors as well. David Seidler won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and it was deserved, but I don't believe director Tom Hooper should've won the Best Director Oscar, though he definitely deserved the nomination. That's a debate for another time however.
             All in all I'm glad this movie won the Best Picture Oscar as it had my vote for it, if I had one that counted anyway. But in the end if you enjoy good acting and a good story then you should enjoy this movie. I give it a thumbs up and 4 stars out of 4! Go see this movie if you haven't already!

If you have any suggestions for my next review feel free to comment