Reviews – Page 6 – Bradley's Old Fashioned Weblog

“Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” Review

July 18, 2009 Bradley Farless9 Comments

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was definitely the worst film out of the series so far. In fact, it’s the worst movie I’ve seen since that ridiculous thing they called a film and labeled “The X-Files: I Want To Believe”.

My first problem with this movie is that it felt entirely disjointed. This was especially true of the first half of the movie, where the scenes bounced back and forth, and a lot of things were presented with no explanation. Also, there were scenes that felt entirely unnecessary to further the plot. Also, I’m not sure even the directors knew what they wanted the plot to be. What I mean is that the trailers indicated that this would be a movie with a lot of action and a lot of important events, when in reality, nearly every action sequence in the movie was in the trailers. The rest was dry. It was like watching a high school love drama, complete with mushy kissing scenes, teenage angst, and jealousy.

Also, Harry Potter has always been about magic. Where was the magic in this movie? Again, the most astonishing thing you’ll see in the film was already shown in the trailers: Dumbledore summong fire. The rest is weak. Little balls of light flying from wands, and some steam coming from potions. The previous films were special effects masterpieces that thrilled the imagination. This, by comparison, was boring to the point of not even caring. No magical creatures, very few magical devices. Nothing imaginative in the least, which has been a staple of Harry Potter films. There is nothing in this film that compares with the giant spiders, the flying car, the magic train station… none of it. This was so sad by comparison. I just can’t emphasize enough how… dry it was. The whole thing lacked energy and seemed to deviate from what the story was really about.

Based on what we saw in the trailers, we were expecting some incredible event. The trailers hinted that there would be some sort of magic spillover into the real world. There was, for all of about 4 minutes. And… what was the point of the whole bridge collapse anyway? Just to have something exciting happen to keep the audience awake? Just to use in the trailer? I fought boredom for the duration of the film, constantly in anticipation of the action sequences that never came.

The last thing I’d like to know is where is the character development? Harry Potter is supposed to be The Chosen One, but his abilities are, in most cases, less than extraordinary. Shouldn’t he have learned something new by now, or at the least become powerful enough to defend himself? Sure, he’s still in school, but… come on. He’s The Chosen One right? He’s supposed to defeat Voldemort, but he still has a hard time beating someone who’s supposed to be less than his equal, like Malfoy.

In the end, the film ended abruptly, leaving me entirely disappointed and in disbelief that a Harry Potter movie had been so bad, so dry, so … worthless. This movie really sucked the life out of the series for me. I’m not looking forward to the next Harry Potter movie anymore, and I even wonder if there would be any point to reading the books at this point. Books are always better than the movies, but in this case, if the series gets this bad towards the end, I’m not sure I want to bother.

“Knowing” Review

July 9, 2009 Bradley Farless2 Comments

We finally got around to watching “Knowing”, with Nicolas Cage. Nic has done some bad movies recently, which is unfortunate since he’s such a good actor, so I wasn’t expecting a lot. It turned out to be a lot more engaging and entertaining than I thought it would be, though.

The movie focuses around a sheet of numbers that a little girl puts into a time capsule as part of a class project. 50 years later the time capsule is dug up and the envelope with the string of numbers is handed out to Caleb Koestler (Chandler Canterbury). When he opens it he’s intrigued, thinking it might be a puzzle. He mentions this to his dad, John (Nicolas Cage) and later that night John discovers that there is indeed a hidden meaning to the numbers.

The movie has some light religious undertones and some strong scientific themes and invite the viewer to consider some pretty deep questions about life. The movie also deals with a lot of personal issues between John and his son. Instead of detracting from the movie it adds to it. Another thing I like about it is that the plot twists aren’t typical and it’s not going to end the way you might think. It keeps you guessing the whole way through, right up to the end. There’s also a lot more action that I thought there would be, and the imagery is very vivid.

I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen it, but the movie does a great job of building suspense and mystery concerning the numbers, what they mean, and who the “whispering people” are. The acting is really good and so are the special effects. The special effects are really good in fact!

The end of the movie left me with a lot of questions, but one more than others. Why rabbits?

Worth watching!

Coraline Movie Review

June 17, 2009 Bradley Farless1 Comment

Coraline isn’t going to be released in theaters in Singapore until September 17th, 2009, but I managed to get a copy early and my wife and I watched it tonight. I have to say I’m quite impressed with it. First of all, it’s visually stunning! These snapshots are a little fuzzy because I took them without pausing the video, but you’ll get the idea:

When I first saw advertisements for Coraline, the story sounded really interesting and I wasn’t disappointed in the least. I’m not sure if this is supposed to be a kid’s movie or not, but it has a lot of deeper meanings and reminds me of classic fairy tales, where there’s always a lesson to be learned. Also in line with classic fairy tales the story has a dark, grim side to it.

Without spoiling the entire thing for a person who hasn’t seen it, the main character is named… Coraline of course! Coraline and her parents move to an old house for reasons that are never divulged. Shortly after moving in she encounters a strange young boy that lives nearby named Whirbie. The next day, he delivers a 100-year-old doll to her that mysteriously looks exactly like her. This doll will cause Coraline to open Pandora’s box (or in this case a tiny door) and send her on a wild and dangerous adventure.

Other things that I’d like to point out are that the characters in this movie are very well thought-out. They have depth and are all very entertaining. Also, I’m going to start looking for a way to get my hands on the original soundtrack. The music was spot-on and did a great job in setting the mood. Oh, and can I mention the great animation again? It really is fantastic. And it’s not just the animation quality either. The use of color and imagery will keep your eyes darting around the screen constantly.

This is a definite must see, whether you have kids or not!

Land of the Lost Review

June 15, 2009 Bradley Farless1 Comment

On Sunday afternoon my wife and I went to the Golden Village theater at Tampines Mall to see Land of the Lost (2009). We weren’t really expecting much from this movie, but it looked entertaining and we weren’t disappointed.

The movie has a fairly simple plot. Don’t go into this looking for a complicated story. This is a comedy. In fact, this movie is so packed with comedy that it’ll have you laughing the whole way through! I don’t recall going more than 5 minutes without at least chuckling at something. That was actually surprising to me. Will Ferrell typically stars in movies that push a certain type of comedy that doesn’t appeal to me.

This movie was fantastic though. The jokes were well thought out and right on schedule. You’ll see everything from trans-dimensional narcotic fruits to lizard people getting it on, to a relatively intelligent tyrannosaurus. A lot of the jokes in the movie seem to have a sexual theme to them though. It’s nothing serious but you may want to think twice about bringing your kid with you, unless they’re over the age of about 12. I kinda wondered how this movie got a PG rating.

One last thing worth noting is that I have an idea that this doesn’t follow along too well with the story-line from the old TV show. I vaguely remember watching it as a kid oh-so-long ago, and I think the family there (a real family, not a thrown together crew like in this film) was actually stuck in the past and lived in a treehouse.

Over-all it was well worth the money we spent to go see it. I haven’t laughed that much in a long time!

How Real Are Friends On Social Networks?

June 1, 2009 Bradley Farless7 Comments

I remember asking myself this question a few times, but not any time recently.

When the internet first became popular, and I was delving into the world of AOL chat rooms, the people on the other end of the screen names popping up on my monitor seemed… well, impersonal. It was always like talking to a group of random strangers, and the idea of making friends with people I’d never met in person was ridiculous.

Well, that was 13 years ago. The times, and my opinion, have both changed. I’m sure that most people who have grown up with internet access would find it odd to not make and keep online friends. It seems only natural nowadays to stumble across an interesting person, strike up a conversation, and create a lasting relationship.

I have plenty of friends that I’ve never seen in person, but have known for a long time through various methods of internet communication. In fact, one of my oldest friends is a friend I made through an online game called Dark Age of Camelot. We’ve been chatting off and on for about 7 years. I’ve never know anyone else outside of my family for that long. I also still communicate with the people I played World of Warcraft with two years ago.

I suppose you could say, “Well how well do you really know these people?” Sure, that’s a good point. How well can you know someone who you only communicate with via the internet? A person can tell you one thing but actually do another, and you’d never know since you weren’t there. But, I suppose that takes a leap of faith initially, and a little trust. Also, with the more recent explosion of “real time” social networks (think Twitter) it’s becoming easier to get to know a person you’ve never met.

People Tweet about all kinds of things, from what they have in the morning, to what they do at work, to the last time they were able to successfully take a crap. That’s pretty personal. On top of that, people Tweet photos and videos. I think there are even geo-tagged Tweets now? Also, programs like Google Latitude are becoming popular. It’s becoming more and more simple to connect and get to know your online friends.

So, I would have to say that I know plenty of people that I would think of as friends, that I’ve only chatted with online. What’s your take on it? Have any interesting stories to share about meeting people online? Or do you think it’s bad or dangerous?

(Image Source: Kikolani.com)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

May 1, 2009 Bradley FarlessLeave a comment

It had been a long time since my wife and I had gone to see a movie at the theater, but we’re both action movie and X-Men fans, so we decided that going to see Wolverine was something we just had to do! Lucky for us, we went on a night when the theater had multiple screens showing the movie, so there were good seats, and the prices were even discounted. Typically a ticket in Singapore costs 10 to 11 bucks, but our tickets were only 8.50. We booked our tickets 21 hours in advance of the showing, which was a smart move because they were selling out fast.

I didn’t really know what to expect going into this movie. The third X-Men movie was sort of a let down. It didn’t seem to follow along with the story in the comic at all. Also, I’d scanned over a few articles about the movie and I saw a lot of negative comments.

Luckily, we decided to find out for ourselves. Wolverine is definitely worth seeing on the big screen! It was packed with action and gave a lot of background history to one of my favorite characters. I say I’m an X-Men fan, but I stopped reading comics over a decade ago. Still, I remember being excited any time Wolverine was involved in a story. I always wondered where he came from, and when I watched the other X-Men movies it renewed my interest in where he was from and why he did the things he did.

The first few minutes of the movie give a brief overview of Wolverine’s first hundred or so odd years. I remember reading someone’s complaint that they felt it was unnecessary, but I think the movie would’ve been a bit confusing without it. You’ll get a rough idea of how old Wolverine is, how his powers first developed, why he has such an aggressive personality, and what his relationship with Sabertooth really is.

The rest of the movie played out nicely and filled in a lot of the gaps about the years just prior to his meeting Rogue. The only part that confused me a bit is why Professor X didn’t recognize Wolverine when he met him later (in the first X-Men movies). He was present at the island and was in mental contact with Scott Summers, which means he should have been able to detect Wolverine’s presence as well. On top of that, why didn’t any of the people present there every mention Wolverine to Professor X? Why did no one ever make the connection?

Despite that, the movie is still fantastic. You get backstory, action, some new characters (like Gambit) and it leaves you excited to see what they’ll come up with next.

This is a bit off-topic, but I just wanted to use this opportunity to point out that taking infants or 3 year olds into a movie theater isn’t the brightest thing to do. Some little punk was kicking my seat, hanging off it, hanging off my shoulder, and making noise right behind my head during the majority of the movie. I kept having to turn around in my seat and stare down his parents before they would grab the kid and sit him back down. Then, they would apparently get caught up in the movie and there he would be, hanging off my chair or shoulder again. If you’re going to take your kids into a theater, try to make sure the only one they’re bothering is you, or someone (not as nice as me) may lose their temper and club them like a baby seal. I mention infants because at the start of the movie I heard a baby crying. Wolverine isn’t a kid’s movie.