inFLICKted

Freedom Writers, Alpha Dog, Stomp the Yard, The Hitcher, Catch and Release, Music and Lyrics, Bridge to Terabithia, Zodiac, Premonition, The Hills Have Eyes 2, Hostel 2, Disturbia, In the land of Women, Spider Man 3, The Ex, Shrek The Third, TNMT, Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End, 300, Ocean’s Thirteen, Die Hard 4.0 and Transformers. These are just a few of the movies (which received a wide international release) I’ve seen this year. Definitely, it is shaping up to be a great year for movies. I think it’s much better than last year, but 2006 had brilliant offerings (Thank You For Smoking, V for Vendetta, Little Miss Sunshine, The Descent, The Queen, The Departed, Babel, Stranger than Fiction and Pan’s Labyrinth to name a few).

I’m a self-proclaimed movie buff. I watch whatever I feel watching. Whatever reviews it got, if it interests me, with all certainty, I will watch it. In order to repay an industry that has provided me with great entertainment through out the years, I try to watch via the silver screen. As much as I want to continue my support by buying original DVD copies, the steep price (when calculating the vast number of movies I love and its current price) cannot be shouldered by my limited fiscal resources. But not having an original DVD collection of movies will not deter me from enjoying them. I love analyzing films, breaking them down to get into its deeper essence. On the other hand, just watching the flick and not thinking of its logic or symbolism is also a great experience.

That is why, I have been thinking lately of setting up A SEPARATE BLOG just for my movie reviews. This is to prevent myself from flooding this blog with rants and raves. Movies have taken over my current disposition. I am compelled, engrossed, and obsessed. I am INFLICKTED. And now, I am inviting all other bloggers who are as inflickted as I am, to be a reviewer in my future blog. Do not hold back, everyone’s opinions matter. That’s the reason why I’m inviting other bloggers; my own opinion cannot accurately reflect those of others.

A movie review seems to me, a fitting ending...hehe...

It is the fifth installment of the very popular children’s book which can’t seen to keep itself from further diving into an even darker, scarier storyline. It is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

This year, Harry is looking manlier, Hermione is lovelier than ever and Ron doesn’t look like the Weasley he once was. Unfortunately, that’s about all that I can say for Mr. Potter’s closest friends because they were nothing but cheerleaders in this movie despite the fact that in the book they have a major conflict with the hero.

Luna Lovegood casting the Patronas Charm

This was also the shortest among all of the HP movies (only 138 minutes), however, the 5^th book, where the movie is based from is considered the longest (870 pages) of J.K Rowling’s novels which just doesn’t make sense. Which brings me to its new director David Yates, and screenwriter Michael Goldenberg. The screenplay of the 5^th book is faithful to the main story, even to the text found in the book. But to be sure, MUCH is lost. It was fast paced, and not the good kind. It felt like being fed handfuls of information without getting the chance to properly digest it, even more so if you haven’t seen or read previous installments. Alfonso Cuaron and Mike Newell definitely did a better job with the previous two movies.

Inquisitor Umbridge fires Professor Trelawney and Professor McGonagall comforts her.

The continuous visions and dream sequences can be a bit tedious. This is the only movie among the five that can’t stand on its own because of the several references to previous movies. This movie also crammed so many characters that a lot of the good ones were reduced to nothing but cameos. I have the greatest fondness for British actors. Maggie Smith, Gary Oldman, Jason Isaac, David Thewlis and the astonishing Emma Thompson are great British actors which barely had the time of day in this movie. In contrast, Alan Rickman and Imelda Stauton made lasting impressions. One criticism to Stauton’s character, Dolores Umbridge, way too much footage was given to her character. She quickly wears out her welcome because she literally takes the magic away from the magic school and her villainy takes away the dread of the impeding attack of Voldemort. Plus, when she finally gets what she deserves, it seemed as if it wasn’t enough. But, that’s just me.

Don't think I forgot about that wet kiss!

HP 5 isn’t all bad, the newcomers were excellent. Dolores Umbridge, the fascist fully clad in pink is the type of villain you can’t help but love and hate at the same time. Luna Lovegood the empathic classmate of Harry was a refreshing personality to the ensemble. Bellatrix Lestrange, a promising new villain with an underlying sadism (Helena Bonham Carter was perfect for the Role!). Action scenes were plenty, but the only outstanding scenes was the battle between the good and the bad side and of course Dumbledore and Voldemort's bout. But I wanted to hear some of the spells from the book rather than just a bunch of sparks shooting out of their wands. Even the scenes I liked still needed work.

All in all, the movie felt like 70% talk and talk and talk and only 30% action. I actually couldn’t wait till He-Who-Must-Be-Named appeared for the battle. That last part was the only portion of the movie that actually had me spellbound. The latest installment had lots of special effects. Sadly, the magic from the previous movies cannot be felt in this one.