Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows : The End of Our Journey

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is the seventh part of the Harry Potter saga, and is currently the only film in this series that i haven't reviewed yet. The film is the first part of the two part finale detailing the seventh year of Harry and his friend's schooling. This is the first and only film not to feature any action at Hogwarts. The film features the wizarding world torn apart by war, its inhabitants living in fear of Voldemort and his death eaters.

The film begins with the order of the phoenix attempting to remove Harry from Privet Drive to a safe house, and features the wedding of Fleur and Bill Weasley. The remainder of the film recounts the story of Harry Ron and Hermione looking for Horcruxes, after realizing the locket they found in the previous film is a fake, they look for the real one, and upon finding it, they search for a way to destroy it, the film then shows their destruction of the locket and their search for the others, in addition to Harry finding out more about Dumbledore thanks in part to Rita Skeeter's tell all exposé.

The problem with splitting the final book into two films, is that while it pays off in the next film, creating a climax that is thrilling and frenetic, it leaves this film a little redundant, and while filling all the action into a single film would have been difficult and would have resulting in the omission of many important details, it leaves this film without much of a climax, while the skirmish at Malfoy Manor is used as the ending of the film, it fails to provide a satisfying conclusion, and is highly unsatisfactory.

Deathly Hallows was written as one novel, and there is really no suitable break point in the story without ruining the balance of the films, the final film of the series is really full with action and yet this film feels a little empty and unnecessary. The novel as it was planned by Rowling starts of slowly and builds momentum as it reaches a zenith with a satisfying climax, this film is only successful if viewed as the first part of a two part film, much in the same way as Kill Bill is, as otherwise, it is a little boring as a stand alone film. Deathly Hallows Part 1 is by far the least satisfying of the films, however it is saved somewhat by it's sequel. Rating: C+

Harry Potter is a fantastic and wonderfully complete adaptation of one of the most beloved literary series of british fiction, and so it only seems fitting to end this series of eight posts with a quite from the sorceress herself:

The stories we love best do live in us forever. So, whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.- J.K. Rowling

Julia - A Review by P M Josse

Julia is a 2008 thriller film directed by Erik Zonca, starring Tilda Swinton in the title role. the film was loosely inspired by the John Cassavetes film Gloria, and is a thriller based in california and mexico, Swinton stars as the eponymous Julia, an alcoholic who goes to desperate measures to find money.

Swinton plays Julia, an alcoholic, whose partying lifestyle has cost her job and means she is rapidly running out of money. She agrees to go to AA meetings where she meets a mexican immigrant named Elena, who wants Gloria to kidnap her son from her ex-husband. Julia after much coercion agrees to partake in the plan, she kidnaps the son, and decides to force Elena's ex-husband in order to extort him for money, while she is with the son, she experiences a spiritual rebirth, finally ending up in mexico, where she will have a final showdown.

The film is much buoyed by Swinton's performance, in her role as Julia, Swinton is brash, visceral and real. The role is much removed from Swinton's other roles, especially at the beginning, we are presented to Julia as a woman who is not unattractive, and who certainly lives a superficially glamorous life. Her appearance is utterly transgressive and differs wildly from her other roles, her hair is red and buoyant and her clothing is showy and glamorous.

Her acting in this film is tense and often terrifying, she shows a level of commitment to her character which is admirable, and which is of benefit to this movie. The film however is troubling towards the end, firstly the film is overly long, clocking in at well over two hours, for a character driven drama, this is a little long to spend with one person. The film also has an unsurprising twist at the end, that is utterly too convenient, the character features a turnaround that it too handy, and which belies the action that came before.

Despite its flaws and it's bloated running time, Julia nonetheless features a superb performance by Tilda Swinton, in one of her best roles to date (which is saying something) in this superb character study. Rating: B-

Julia: Well, I'm not really down with the good neighbor shit.

Evolving The Batsuit

Last week i wrote an essay about the costume design of superhero films, however i barely touched on the design of the batsuit, worn by the eponymous Bruce Wayne. There have been by far more iterations of this superhero than of any other comic book character, and many different costumes, these costumes vary greatly in color, design and material.

The first costume to appear on the silver screen was worn by Michael Keyton, in the Tim Burton 1989 drama and it's sequel. The costume is fairly traditional, it features the immobile cowl, thus reducing movement of the head and neck, the iconic helmet with the ears and all but the mouth covered. The suit is made of a smooth matte plastic in jet black, molded and contoured, featuring anatomic muscles and abdominals. The suit features a golden utility belt, which stands out from the rest of the suit, and a logo in fluorescent yellow. The costume is highly reminiscent of the classic comic book suit, and treads a fine line between the campiness of the television series and the tough aesthetic of later films.

The next costume was worn by Val Kilmer, this version is not dissimilar from the Michael Keyton suit, the anatomical features of the suit are now more exaggerated, Bruce Wayne now looks like he is on steroids, the suit contains defined pectorals and even the legs of the suit are muscular and overly defined. The suit contains the same cowl and helmet of the first films, but the neck of the cowl is contoured and ridged. The same utilities are present on the suit, however the belt is black, and the logo is now a bronze color. The suit is still black, however it is now shiny and reflective.

The suit worn by George Clooney would make this next film infamous, Batman & Robin was released in 1997, and would feature Clooney wearing first a suit featuring anatomically correct pectorals with nipples added, and an enlarged codpiece and buttocks, the suit also features the bat logo in silver. This suit was reviled and mocked at the time, and remains undeniably camp. The second suit Clooney wears in this film, breaks the cardinal rule of Batman wearing only black or grey. For this adventure Wayne would wear a silver suit, featuring the same unfortunate codpiece, but including silver panels on the suit, and a huge silver bat logo. This film will go down in history, for the presence of these suits alone.

The Christopher Nolan films would present a tougher, grittier and edgier aesthetic. Filmed a decade after Batman & Robin, the film uses a batsuit supposedly invented for the military, the suit is a matte black kevlar, featuring flexible panels, and a utility belt in a dark bronze, tthe batsuit is also subtly incorporated into the costume. The second suit Christian Bale would wear in this series solves the batsuit's biggest problem, it allows Batman to turn his head, the suit uses interlocking panels to make it flexible. the logo is smaller and more discreet and the neck is slim and allows Wayne to turn his head. The suit overall is tougher and more realistic.

The batsuit has gone through numerous iterations from the ludicrous to the uninspired to the realistic, the Nolan suit is  realistic and by far the most removed from the source material, the most inspired and the most realistic.

Five Favorite Non Disney-Pixar Animated Movies

• Chicken Run

Another stop motion film, directed by the creators of Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run is a movie about a group of chickens living on a battery farm in Yorkshire, led by Ginger, the chickens launch numerous attempts to escapee, all of which fail, until an american rooster named Rocky crash lands on their farm, having escaped from the circus, the chickens launch a plan to fly out of the farm. The film is a hilariously irreverent comedy, featuring quirky and slightly twee animation, and great voice work.

• The Adventures of Tintin

Stephen Spielbergs first animated feature, prodiced by Peter Jackson is a delight, adapted from the series of graphic novels by Hergé, the film uses motion capture to present a mixture of three of Hergés classic stories, woven together to create one exciting rollicking adventure. The film uses a hyperrealistic style of animation, bypassing the uncanny valley which befells so many motion capture films, and propelling it into a graphically stimulating adventure, which is a faithful update of Hergé's adventures.

• Frankenweenie

Tim Burton directed this stop motion flick, which is a light parody and homage to hammer horror films of the sixties and seventies. The film, which is completely shot in black and white, is about a boy who successfully manages to resurrect his pet dog, only for the dog to set in motion a series of cataclysmic events which will lead to the destruction of his entire home town, the film contains some of the most beautiful and fluid stop motion work ever seen on celluloid, and the film is a tremendous achievement, and one of the best stop motion work seen in the past decade.

• The LEGO Movie

One of the newer films on this list, and i can't escape the feeling that i am shooting myself in the foot as in five years this film will already seem dated, however despite it's obvious status as a marketing gimmick, The LEGO Movie is a fantastically fun film, whilst not shot in stop motion, the film attempts to replicate the look of a stop motion film, and does this surprisingly well, the film is colorful, fun and irreverent.

• The Nightmare Before Christmas

Another film by Tim Burton, this time directed by Henry Selick,The Nightmare Before Christmas was one of the first commercially successful stop motion films released, the story of a land where is is always Halloween, and a man who is the master of ceremonies, Jack Skellington uncovers a land called Christmastown, where it is always Christmas, and he attempts to bring this tradition to Halloweenland, an endeavor ending in disaster. The film features exquisite animation, and fantastic music by regular Burton collaborator Danny Elfman.

Designing The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby was one of my favorite films of last year, sumptuous design coupled with wonderful costumes and fine acting made this film gorgeous to look at, despite it's narrative flaws. The film one two Oscars, both for design, one for set design and set decorating, and the other for costume design. I have always loved the twenties, art deco and art nouveau are two of my favorite movements, and having lived in Brussels, i have seen copious amounts of both.

One of the defining features of the twenties and indeed of The Great Gatsby is the architecture, the film takes place in various mansions around long island, and the characters are defined architecturally by the houses they live in. The Buchannans live on East Egg, and belong to the old establishment. Their mansion is a large regency brick building, rectangular and strong, showing the Buchannans place as old money, and their status. Jay Gatsby, on the other hand, lives in an Art Deco mansion, featuring turrets and towers. This house is much more ostentatious than the Buchannan residence, being more ornate, showing Jay Gatsby as a climber, concerned with appearances and status. Nick, on the other hand lives in a ramshackle cottage, overrun with tumbleweed and wisteria, clearly presenting him as a lesser member of society.

The interiors of the house also contrast, the Buchannan mansion features a hollywood regency style, with white stucco ceilings and classy, understated furniture, referencing the fact that they both grew up with money. Gatsby's house on the other hand is pure art deco, wood inlay floors, tall collumns and vaulted ceilings gilded with gold, the whole effect is more overstated and ostentatious, a sign of Gatsby's new money. Nicks cottage is in complete contrast with both of these interiors, it is a more arts and crafts inspired environment, and is overall a much more personal space. The apartment occupied by Myrtle is also different, being predominantly red and stuffed with flowers, the lack of taste in the interior showing Myrtles lack of class and status, the color red being significant of her blatant femininity.

The costumes of the film are also superb, Daisy is the character most obviously categorized by her clothes, her clothes make her look feminine, girlish and naive, they show a sense of immaturity, however they nonetheless show her as someone of status, and her clothes are embellished and fashionable. Gatsby, on the other hand, shows himself to be someone, again, concerned about status, he uses a cane, despite not needing one. Tom Buchanan, on the other hand is more conservative, wearing three piece suits in wool and tweed. Gatsby always wears light colored suits, while Tom always wears dark colors, showing their contrasting personalities and conflict.

The supporting casts costumes are equally distinctive, Jordan Baker wears trousers and pant suits, elegantly tailored, and unusual for a woman of this era, her wearing of more masculine clothing shows her golfing background and her dominant attitude. Myrtle's costumes are more feminine, her wearing much of the color red, wearing her skirts short and wearing fishnet stockings. Her choice of costumes show her as a sex symbol, and as a woman who flaunts her sexuality.

The Great Gatsby is a highly elegant film, the interiors show us much about the class and tastes of the people who inhabit them, their clothes are revelatory of their personalities and status, and of their interactions with the other characters.

We Need To Talk About Kevin - Review by Philip Josse

We Need To Talk About Kevin is a british drama film directed by Lynne Ramsay adapted from the novel by Lionel Shriver, and starring Tilda Swinton and Ezra Miller. We Need To Talk About Kevin is about the relationship between a mother and her son, who has recently killed nine people in his school with a bow and arrow, and whith whom she has a distant, unloving relationship.

The cantral figure in the film is the relationship between Eva, and her son Kevin, Eva was a successful travel writer in New York, who had her own imprint and earned a lot of money, she meets a man named Franklin, and suddenly falls pregnant, despite not wanting a child or, really, a relationship with Franklin. Upon the birth of her child, Eva fails to connect with the child, Kevin screams constantly even as an infant, he resists toilet training, and rebuffs her feeble attempts at intimacy and maternal affection. She moves with Franklin to a house in the suburbs at his insistence. In the suburbs, Eva is unhappy and lost, and she lacks direction in her life. She is openly hostile towards to Kevin, telling him that she doesn't love him, and breaking his arm as she lashes out.

As Kevin grows up he becomes even more cold and malicious, as Eva has a daughter, looking for some love in her life, and Kevin reacts to his sister with jealousy, killing her pet hamster in the garbage disposal, and burning her eye with cleaning fluid, leaving her blind. Subsequently Kevin kills nine students at his school, and Eva is forced to loose her house, and she ends up living in a rundown house near the railway line, working in a travel agency, being openly shunned and abused by her neighbors, the film shows her trying to understand the reason behind Kevins actions, and whether this was her fault, or whether he was simply a bad seed.

The film is unequivocal in it's presentation of Eva's guilt, her house is at one point splashed with red paint, and we see Eva washing her hands after having cleaned it, rinsing the red paint off her hands like a murder washing the blood off their hands. Eva is openly abused and is at one point slapped by one of her neighbors, however she doesn't react, and she takes the abuse as if she deserves it. Red is omnisciently present in the film, the film opens with the food fight in valencia showing red splattering and people running, the murder scene is presented similarly to this, with the police lights giving the scene a garish glow. The color red is present mainly after the murder, reminding her constantly of the acts her son committed.

Environments are also very important in the film, the apartment into which Kevin is born is a very personal space, curated over time and filled with memorable trinkets. The house in the suburbs to which they move is in direct contrast, it is cold, uninviting  and impersonal. In the house both of the children have personal spaces which represent them, even Kevin, Eva's only attempt at a personal space is ruined by Kevin, who sprays it with black ink. The rest of the house has a clinical feel, lacking personality or feeling.

The performances in the film are superb, Tilda Swindon is magnificent, playing a woman who is wracked with guilt, who feels responsible for the abhorrent acts her son committed, and who accepts her punishment with an almost saintly penitence. Ezra Miller is also fantastic as Kevin, a sociopath who feels almost nothing, a psychopath who doesn't know why he killed those people, and who acts out of curiosity. The lack of chemistry between Swinton and Miller is incredible, and their performances are subtle and complex.

However We Need To Talk About Kevin raises more questions than it answers, and the film is ultimately more of an exploration than a decipherment. Nonetheless We Need To Talk About Kevin is a visually intriguing and beautifully acted drama. Rating: A-

Eva: Whenever I see fat people, they're always eating. Don't give me any of this... 'slow metabolism, it's my glands' crap.

Five Favourite Movies Your Mother Would Like

• Ladies in Lavender

This quirky little known british drama, directed by Charles Dance, knwon to younger viewers as Tywin Lannister, stars Judy Dench and Maggie Smith, both incredible actresses, this film does little to stretch their dramatic chops, and in spite of it's simpering, the film is really rather good, Dench and Smith star as two sisters who find a young man on the beach, and manage to bring him back to health. The film is a fantastic vehicle for two magnificent actresses, both in their prime, and is a soothing and comforting watch.

• Calendar Girls

This is one of my favorites, starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters, and based on the true story of a group of womens institute members in Yorkshire, who decide to create a nude calendar to raise money for the cancer wing of their local hospital, and are met with much opposition. Julie Walters is one of my favorite comic actresses, her performance in this film is great and she is hysterical, the film is also a great showcase for the comic talents of Helen Mirren, who is not usually known as a comic, but who shines in this film, there is a twee provincialism to this film, and a comfort also present, the film is joyous and funny, and it's lead actresses are superb.

• Quartet

The directorial debut of actor Dustin Hoffman is a surprisingly british affair, the story of four musicians living in a nursing home in the english countryside, who were previously in relationships, and who have all given up their music, reunite for one magnificent performance. The film stars Maggie Smith, Billy Connoly, Michael Gambon, Tom Courtenay and Pauline Collins, the film, like most of the others on this list, is a perfect vehicle for it's stars, and despite the story being a little pedestrian, the chemistry and connections between the four leads is palpable and mesmerizing.

• Mamma Mia

The fact that this is a musical based upon the songs of ABBA makes Mamma Mia a perfect addition to this list. the music is fun and energetic, and the film overall has a great sense of energy and joy. Meryl Streep leads a superb cast of thespians, and the film does a fantastic job of adapting the show to the big screen.

• Pride and Prejudice

The 2005 version of this film, whilst not perhaps as beloved as the television serial starring Colin Firth, is still pretty fantastic, Kiera Knightley is by far the best Elizabeth Bennett seen on film, and the fest of the cast is just as excellent. Donald Sutherland stars as her father, and Judi Dench as Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Pride and Prejudice is a sumptuous and beautiful adaptation, that faithfully captures the romanticism and beauty of Jane Austen's superb novel.

Musings On... Sofia Coppola

Sofia Coppola is one of my favorite directors, her films have a timeless elegance and a calm solemness which is beautiful and soothing. Coppola is the daughter of legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, and this is apparent in her films, Coppola spent much of her childhood growing up in hotels, and thus many of her films deal with youth and loneliness. Both Somewhere and Lost in Translation are set in hotels, and deal with the isolation and shut off reality of hotels. Coppola also grew up in a privileged environment, and her films deal with this also.

One of the main themes discussed in her films is that of isolation, The Virgin Suicides is about five sisters who are isolated from society by their mother after one of them commits suicide. The film explores the cost of their isolation, and their loneliness. Her second picture deals with the same themes, and is the story of two tourists who meet in a hotel in Tokyo, and who form an unusual bond. The milieu of the hotel is an expression of their loneliness, as it is a world cut off from reality, and both the characters are lonely and lost in their marriages. Somewhere also deals with loneliness, much in the same way as Lost in Translation.

Other themes discussed in her works are ennui, which is discussed in Marie Antoinette, Lost in Translation and Somewhere, all these films deal with characters who feel despondent and uninterested with life. Her films also deal with characters who are often wealthy and privileged, but who gain little pleasure in their lives, and who feel like their loves are worthless, Marie Antoinette deals with this especially, as Antoine is rich and lives in a palace, yet she longs for a simple life, and loathes the pretense and lavish lifestyle of Versaillles. The Bling Ring stands out among Coppola's works, and it deals with a group of young people who are obsessed with fame and fortune, who long for riches and celebrity, and who steal from those they idolize.

Coppola is a true auteur, her films are highly personal, she wrote all of them, and they are highly inspired by her own life, childhood and experiences, her films mainly deal with loneliness, isolation and solitude, her films are visually stunning and poignant and are of particular significance to me.

Costuming Superheroes

Comic Book adaptations are very en vogue right now. With the global success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Dark Knight Trilogy, more and more characters are finally being adapted to the big screen. The first series to be adapted was the superman series in 1974 starring Christopher Reed, subsequently the Batman and X-Men series were released followed by an explosion of superhero films, seen this summer when over three superhero and comic book adaptations were released.

The first films adapted their comic books very literally, Christopher Reeve's Superman costume is virtually identical to the comics, and Michael Keaton's costume is highly similar to the now iconic Batman costume. Likewise the Spider-man films have followed their source material almost exactly, whereas most series, when they are rebooted, alter the costumes of the original series, in order to differentiate themselves. Spider-man didn't do this, and the costume in The Amazing Spider-man is almost identical to that of Sam Rami's original trilogy.

Other series have been less literal, the X-Man series offers one of the most radical alterations from it's source material, instead of the bright spandex costumes featured in the comics, the characters are instead outfitted in sleek leather costumes, which have much more consistency and which were more cohesive. The costumes of the comic books are brightly coloured, tight and iconic, Wolverines costume in particular is an iconic comic book image, yet even in his spin off movies, Wolverine sports his now iconic leather jacket.

Since 2006's Batman Begins, superhero costumes have taken on an even more utilitarian image, the batsuit used in this incarnation is like modern, military armor, sleek and jet black, with the batman logo noticeably disguised. After this series, costuming in superhero films became incredibly lifelike and more military inspired. Iron Man's costume is very grounded in reality and realistic, and evolves from a more amateurish armor to the sleek gold-titanium alloy seen in the later part of the film and it's sequels.

Other marvel films also take this route, Captain Americas costume is even upgraded from the spandex colors seen in the comics, to a less sleek and more realistic costume seen in the first film, and finally into the sleek kevlar inspired costume, less brightly colored than the comic book and more practical. The only exception to the mold is Thor, who retains his brightly colored red cape and slightly more ridiculous costume than the others on this list, however his costume is still slightly less ludicrous than in the comic book, the bright blue being downgraded to a subtle gray and the spandex being changed to a tough almost roman armour.

Modern superhero movies place a huge amount of importance on realism, their costumes are grounded in reality, made of tough and strong materials, and not from thin spandex or lycra. The colours of the costumes is also more subtle with bright yellows and blacks, royal blues and reds being replaced with jet black and gray and navy blues and burgandies, this gives the films a darker more sleek aesthetic which is refreshing and which is tonally more realistic.

HP6 - Review by Philip Josse

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is the sixth film in the Harry Potter franchise. I know i previously stated my intention to review all these films before the end of the summer, but to tell you the truth i still haven't gone back to university, and so hopefully i will complete them all before freshers week, only two to go. Half Blood Prince recounts the sixth year at Hogwarts School, and is the year in which Harry finally learns more about his past and his destiny from Dumbledore. The title refers to an old potions book which Harry founds, which was once the property of the mysterious Half Blood Prince, a potions genius from who he learns a great deal.

Half Blood Prince adds very few new characters to the series, as the work focuses mainly on Harry's past and future, and there is no 'mystery' to be really solved, however one fantastic addition is that of Jim Broadbent as Slughorn, i love this actor and he really shows both his comedic and dramatic range in this film. The movie is much more introspective, the pensive is a device used in other books and films which allows the characters to enter memories and explore them. Here Dumbledore uses the pensive to show Harry memories about Voldemort from his past, in order for Harry to understand Riddle's motives. Dumbledore shows Harry Voldemort's discovery of horcruxes and his childhood. The film shows us a lot about Voldemort's descent into psychopathy and the birth of his obsession with eternal life.

The second half of the film deals with the trios raging hormones first and foremost, the burgeoning relationship between Ron and Hermione, and Harrys growing affection for Ginnie. This part of the film also deals with horcruxes, and Dumbledores search for them. Harry and Dumbledore journey to a cave, where they find a locket and fight off inferi, upon their return to Hogwarts Dumbledore and Harry face off against a group of death eaters in the battle of their lives.

The film is much darker than it's predecessors, and this film continues the trend of desaturating the film of each subsequent installment of the series, becoming darker and less colorfull, to represent the happiness being sucked out of the world. The sets are beautiful in this film, and the movie is tender and poignant. The cave where Harry and Voldemort find the locket is a fantastic creation, and identically mirrors the illustration from the book cover. The film shows the same world as the first film, but with all the life, light and colour sucked out of it, and the future looks bleak as we gear up for the final battle. Rating: B

Harry Potter: Be brave, Professor. Be brave like my mother... Otherwise, you disgrace her. Otherwise, she died for nothing. Otherwise, the bowl will remain empty... forever.