The final chapter in the Harry Potter saga finds the Boy Who Lived waging the ultimate war against He Who Must Not Be Named with the entire realm of wizardry hanging in the balance. I'm a total Potter nerd and happy to admit it. In my opinion, this is the best installment in the one of the very best franchises in film history. Incredibly satisfying and filled with a number of heart-felt moments, Part 2 also includes some incredible special effects and an all-out battle scene that holds up against just about anything you'll find in a PG-13 movie.
In Home Viewing Recommendation: I have always stood behind my recommendation of this entire series for virtually anyone who likes movies. If you haven't given them a shot, you should definitely do so but don't start with this one, of course. As for me, I'm headed to my local Best Buy before the week is up.
The Change-Up (2011) - Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Mann
Two best friends, one a family man (Bateman), the other a womanizer (Reynolds), wake up to find that they've switched bodies. Basically the R-rated Freaky Friday. Very few movies were as universally panned this year like The Change-Up was. A 24% score on Rotten Tomatoes is one thing but even further, almost every review I read was scathing. Yikes. This goes to show that you can't trust Bateman no matter how much you like the guy (and I like him quite a lot). Also, I'm left to wonder if, given the poor reception this movie received plus the equally troubling showing of Green Lantern, Reynolds star is about to take a dramatic turn downward.
IHVR: If this were to show up on Netflix or HBO, I might give it a chance when if my DVR was empty. Otherwise...
Life in a Day (2011)
A time capsule documentary featuring people and places all across the globe designed to show future generations what life was like on a single day in 2010. This is one of the cooler documentary ideas to come down the chute in some time and it received appropriate positivity from the few who saw it. Looking forward to checking this out myself.
IHVR: There's a great chance this movie will show up on Netflix Instant so I'd hold out until then but I think it's worth a look.
13 (2010) - Jason Statham, Michael Shannon, Sam Riley
Desperately in need of money, a man (Riley) enters as a contestant in an underground betting ring that places money on the lives of those involved in their blood sports. How many movies like this come out each year? I feel like I wrote about this same type of thing like two weeks ago...wait, what? Oh, that's right, I did. In fact, it was this very film which received a meaningless limited theatrical release last month. So there's that.
IHVR: At best 13 is Netflix fodder and nothing more.
New to Blu Pick of the Week
The Fisher King (1991) - Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, Mercedes Ruehl
Probably the first and only time I'll make a Pick of the Week for a film I haven't seen all the way through. But the other Blu-Ray releases this week are all mediocre or I've never seen them at all so...here we are. What I remember about The Fisher King is very good and I'm always down for giving a Terry Gilliam film a chance (not saying I like everything he does, just saying I'll always make time for Gilliam). So there you have it.
Also New
Blue Velvet (1986) - Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper (Blu-Ray)
Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) - Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard (Blu-Ray)
One Eyed Jacks (1961) - Marlon Brando, Karl Malden (Blu-Ray)
Little Big Man (1970) - Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway (Blu-Ray)
Cannonball Run (1981) - Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett (Blu-Ray)
To Die For (1995) - Nicole Kidman, Matt Dillon (Blu-Ray)
Gia (1998) - Angelina Jolie, Faye Dunaway (Blu-Ray)
Executive Decision (1996) - Kurt Russell, Halle Berry (Blu-Ray)
Absence of Malice (1981) - Paul Newman, Sally Field (Blu-Ray)
Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl (2005) - Cayden Boyd, George Lopez (Blu-Ray)
Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 (2011) - Taylor Schilling, Grant Bowler
yes. very sad to see 13 on BD so soon after theatrical release...same goes for Trespass.
ReplyDeleteoh well.
Pretty much feels like a waste on both counts.
ReplyDelete