The Matrix Revolutions Movie Review

So... we have Matrix 1 where the story is kinda interesting with descent action scenes... we have "Reloaded" where we have much better action scenes but lackluster story and now we get "Revolutions" where we get pretty much the same only worse.

Released in october 27th 2003 by being shoot back to back with Reloaded and released latter the same year; Revolutions is the final chapter of the Matrix trilogy... or at least Neo´s story. The stage is set and the stakes are high, this movie had plenty of high expectations back when it was coming out with pretty much everybody I knew being crazy about this movie... afterwards the world just slowly remained quiet about the movie; I couldn't tell why back then of course, but now, I figure what that means.

It takes place right after Reloaded and continues all the way through the fight at Zion between humans and machines and just has I expected; the problem with the movie is that I don´t care one bit!

Zion always seemed boring to me... even the scenes in the "real world" are totally "meh" feeling unnecessary in the big picture. The whole fight on Zion I am sure was meant to be the big epic battle, kinda like the "Battle at Helms Deep" in Two Towers, but it just doesn't click when I think of "The Matrix"... Where is the bullet time? where is the cool fight choreography? where are the stylish chases? Nothing that I associate with the Matrix franchise is present here.

The final fight between Neo and Agent Smith in the Matrix is like a parody of Dragon Ball Z; I mean, if we though that the cool fight on Reloaded where an army of Smiths are ganging up on Neo had too much CG, then clearly we never though of this movie doing it has well and making it even more corny. It almost feels like Revolutions is afraid of the world the franchise itself created so it keeps itself away from it  until the point of the "big epic fight" that is when we fatally enter the matrix one last time (after all the scenes in the real world were exhausted), it´s too short, too cheesy, ridiculously funny and just underwhelming overall... thats also not mentioning that is just not enough when this is the only "scene" where we are in the actual "Matrix" (The freaking title of the movie itself!) yeah we are in the matrix at the beginning of the movie but none of the coolness of the franchise is there... is just like when we are in the "real world" with all the lameness...

The ultimate problem I feel is that the movie is just not a satisfying experience... is not trying to be like the previous films showing interesting fight settings and overblown action with impossible circumstances that would never happen in real life... just what happened here? what was the mind set? what was being gained through this movie? I am sorry; but out of all the Matrix films this one feels like the worst... it´s ultimate crime is being painfully forgettable.

I can remember things from the previous two films; from the original I remember the cool concept of the world not being real and questioning our own existence, from Reloaded I remember the cool chase sequence and the fight against the Smith army in the alley but I remember nothing from Revolutions other than how underwhelming it was has a Matrix movie... it´s actually quite sad, like watching a ballon deflating hilariously in the air flaying all over the place.

In my opinion... this one is a skip...

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Animatrix is the last movie I will be looking at from the Matrix franchise, stay tuned!

The Matrix Reloaded Movie Review

Now we look at the sequel of the original "Matrix", and despite having a much less interesting story, it has superior action scenes being well recorded and well edited has well.

It was released on May 7th of 2003, that is almost 5 years after the original and the whole cast had returned to represent their roles, and is also directed by the same Wachowski Brothers; bringing in their same technique into the mix... this helps a great deal because it does make it feel like a Matrix sequel.

Reloaded continues the story of the original, where Neo continues his struggle to save Zion from the machines... much more convoluted stuff happens and basically is all about them trying to reach the core of the Matrix and see how to prevent the further expansion of the machine's dominance has well has the trapped human souls within the virtual reality.

When I say the story is convoluted I mean that it feels like it's going around in circles without telling me anything I need to know that is relevant to the main story without moving forward; like a dog chasing it's own tail before going finally going out to fetching the stick. It wouldn't be so bad if there was interesting character development in between, but the characters are so boring and dull that I sometimes wander who are the robots... The main characters specially are very stiff and boring to look at, I don't buy into the Neo/Trinity romance at all and the story is shoving down our throats that they are each others motivation to fight for a future.

However the action in this movie is very fun to watch, even better than that of the first film... is fast, is thrilling, you can tell what it´s going on (for the most part at least); is just a fun roller coster flick that is having fun along side with you... that is of course until it tries to tell the story it´s supposed to, but instead makes it hard to focus because of how it all lacks grip and instead has me wandering "When is the next cool action scene coming?"... you know it´s bad when you are less interested in the story of a movie than in the flashy combat.

If it wasn't called "Matrix" I probably would have associated this with another action film, but the esthetic and directing is what convinces me that the name is not just something placed in the title to sell movie tickets, but it really feels like it´s a sequel, I know I have said this before but it really clicks, it marvels me because I know when something like this is a true sequel or not... the same way I can tell with movies like "Terminator 2" or "The Empire Strikes Back". It´s hard to explain but just trust me when I say that the movie itself does make it into the sequel area.

The Matrix Reloaded is a good sequel to the original, maybe not story wise has the majority of the goods come from the action department but that should not be incentive to turn you off. Do what I did, I went to grab myself a snack when the talking wasn't doing it for me then come back to see all the cool fighting the movie has to offer!

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Revolutions and Animatrix are coming up next!

The Matrix Movie Review

Hello there! ^^

I know... I have been gone for quite a big while, but believe me, I haven't been with my arms crossed... aside from my personal project I have also been holded by life circumstances and other problems... ya know; life just love to annoy us sometimes. I know that there is a long gap that I have left between posts.

You see aside from all my personal life problems, what happens is that I don't like to just post anything here that is either short or something I don't feel is worth talking about, aside from the fact that when I am doing my work, I sometimes disconnect from discussion topics; if you are a storyteller or an artist you probably understand; It´s about me trying to organize my ideas for the content I want for the blog.

When I started I wasn't really sure how to approach to it, I am kinda new to the general concept of creating content for the internet in general... all while working on my project by myself. I have a bigger and wider idea of how to keep a general content base for this blog, has well has planning on branching out to other sites and maybe types of content production regarding movie analysis, anime, game commentaries and other kind of stuff.

I am sorry if you felt like I gave up or went MIA... don't worry I am still here: I am just starting to look at other ways to continue doing this while making more entertaining, informative and complete takes on this kind of commentaries.

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AAAAAAAaaaaaanyway... I have decided to get back on track with my blog posts once again and just like I did with Harry Potter I have found a new series to look at "The Matrix". Back when it came out, this movie was pretty much a big revolution; it made such an impact in the public and on the industry that we started to notice a difference in the action genera. Back in my high school days I distinctively remember class mates talking about this movies, everything: the characters, the combat, the action, the story... it was a phenomenon!

Naturally I looked at this movies and... well... back then I wasn't that impressed, I did made the effort to get into them but I just couldn't find myself marveled by these films... either the world or the story itself; I felt like an outcast, I sometimes asked myself if I was not understanding this movies or just was not on the right edge.

Now that I am much older and movie analysis is something that I am into, I have decided to look back at this movie series and once again give myself the opportunity to find what made this movie franchise such a success... so once again I will be doing a marathon of movies, not just the famous trilogy but also the anime sorts of Animatrix.

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The Matrix was released on March 21st 1999 and it was a critical and financial successes across the world, it didn't made has much has it´s followers in the box office, however, it is the best received critically, I believe even the fans feel this one is the best movie.

The story fallows Thomas Anderson, a young man who lives not only has another mortal citizen in the world but has a hacker that goes by the name of Neo... he lives wandering and perceiving that the world is not what it seems. His whole life is put upside down when he meets a man called Morpheus and he is about the discover the truth about the Matrix... and he is going to discover it the hard way.

When I see this movie I see two very distinctive aspect that I believe are what makes this successful and click with audiences; the first is the action scenes, there is no doubt that the Wachoski Brothers know exactly what they are doing when it comes to show what goes on in fights, shooting and chases, this is a big deal for me, particularly because when I watch an action movie with lot´s of fighting and stuff: I like to be able to tell what is going on, who is hitting who or who is shooting what, etc... this is particularly important to get right specially when you are making a movie with so much going of in it´s action scenes that have many details you want people to see and the Wachowskis did very well on that area.

The other thing I notice is some of the philosophy concepts, the idea of the world where we live in not being what it seems and everything being a lie and the reality being something that we don´t imagine or see... blah blah blah... is not particularly new or original but the way the exposition is shown is very good; I think is the way they make the characters talk to one another... is quite dynamic and is very interesting; Now... I will take a little while to talk about something I call "The Table Scene Demon".

Usually in movies, series, anime and many other forms of story telling we sometimes have moments of exposition (for does who aren´t familiar with this concept is when you tell the audience directly what is happening instead of them figuring them out themselves), when you want to show exposition to either give concept to the universe you are creating or a background story to something this kind of circumstances usually come in the form of sitting down on a table and just talking; if this kind of thing goes on for long periods of time it becomes aggravating, boring and unbearable to the point that you has a viewer or expectator loose interest this is a particular issue I find on anime, but that´s a whole different topic...

The Matrix handles it´s exposition scenes in a much more interesting and entertaining way, you are seeing things, moving around or the characters are just directly doing it while they talk about it and I particularly think this is very interesting and fascinating, when they tell Neo about how the real world looks, they aren´t sitting on some kitchen while eating they are in a safe program showing it to him while exposing the audience to the films universe and it works great because it takes advantages of the possibilities that the universe provides and gets away with them. What I am trying to say is that these scenes are particularly enjoyable for how they are.

The Pill scene is maybe one of the most popular scenes not only in the movie but maybe of all time; there has been meemes done based on this scene for a while now. I think that one of the reasons why it works is because of the way it´s delivered to the audience; it´s stylistically shoot, well edited and just overall well directed... it really puts you in the shoes of uncomfortability and just trying to interpret the moment on it´s own. I am taken away by the "Alice in Wonderland" constant reference... I don´t know why it just does not stick well with me... like trying to shove a square shape on a circle hole...

Now for the bad things... the first one is the characters, they are just not very interesting to watch; now i believe that Neo gets a free pass here, I mean; he is the main character that is the common blank slate that we can project ourselves into and on that regard I think is alright that they made him like that because of the story the movie is telling, but the others are kinda "meh": Trinity is boring, Carrie-Anne Moss is beautiful sure... but the character is boring, Morpheus is meh and the rest of the gang is just there being "meh" too. This could have worked better if they could have had more screen time and being more entertaining (like showing more chemistry with one another). The only guy I kinda like was Tank, the dude who handles the computers and who wasn't born from the machines for the matrix... I actually wanted to learn more about him than the other characters.

The story itself is also kinda messy; I get that the matrix is a virtual reality where people live their lives not knowing that they are oblivious to the truth about their existence that they are actually serving has a battery for the machines after humanity somehow blocked the sun (an event talked about in the movie)... I can buy the rules the movie has placed for itself... but there are some scenes where I am like "no way really?". For example: there is one scene where Trinity is about to die in a helicopter and Neo saves her... my problem was when the helicopter crashed against the building, the building goes wobbly before the big explosion... why? i get that it´s a digital world but why would a solid object that it´s supposed to be interpreting reality would react like that to the coalition of an helicopter? did the matrix glitched? can the people inhabiting the matrix who are unknowing of the truth see it? does this happen often? why at that moment? it doesn't make any sense... there are more moments like that or others where characters are being dumb that just takes me away from my immersion.

I can safely say that The Matrix is a good action movie that delivers on what is trying to do; however I don´t think it´s one movie that was meant to be having followups or comics based on it, it was a hit so sequels had to fallow and well... we´ll get to does when we get to does... until then just know that this movie on it´s own is a great action flick that is worth watching and you will certainly enjoy your time with it for what it is.

I know I did... I just don´t think is has amazing has my old classmates were saying, not then and not now.

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Saving Mr. Banks Movie Review

It´s good, not great or mind blowing... but good...

The story of how the film Merry Poppins was made is one that I don´t think has been dramatized before, and for all the things that Walt Disney did in his time, this is one movie I can think plays with the Disney man himself very well. I really don´t know how to address the movie really... it´s just good, I did liked it and I find myself relating to some of the main characters even if there were moments where scenes that are meant to be funny fall flat or some of the back flash backs failed to really hook me like they were trying to.

I do believe it was interesting how they shown Disney himself at times, there is one scene where he is drinking and smoking... that was really interesting and kinda unexpected...

By the end of the movie I just said "it´s ok" I don´t think is a great movie especially by the way it ends; I don´t know just how accurate it is to the actual making of this movie... but I am willing to bet they took plenty of liberties.

Why you should try Dragon Age Inquisition and give Bioware a chance...

I have been fallowing the development process of Dragon Age Inquisition has close has I possibly can; for the looks of it, it seems to be a great game, now of course part of my enthusiasm is because I am a fan of Dragon Age... hell Dagon Age Origins is one of my favorite games of all time, so you can guess that I am really looking forward to this game and I am very exited.

When I see the gameplay or feature videos showcasing the game itself and what it has to offer, I just have to read a little bit of the comment section to notice that, while there is indeed enthusiasm for Inquisition; there also is the significant group that criticize the game in multiple areas and not in the constructive and structured way... but in a destructive and malicious manner that show that the intentions behind this kind of comment there is nothing more than to cause pain and make a hostile accusation.

Granted there is a reason for people to feel bitter and even betrayed by Bioware... their latest titles haven´t really been meeting up to either the standards set by the company nor the expectations of their fans (just look at the reception for Dragon Age 2 and the reaction of fans to Mass Effect 3´s ending)... regardless of this missteps I can´t bring myself to either insult the people that work at Bioware neither be any less exited towards this game. I will take this small opportunity to talk about why you should give Bioware a chance and tryout Dragon Age Inquisition if you have lost your faith in the series or their work:

The Visuals: I personally am not a guy that would make a fuzz out of a video game if the graphics are not top notch or ultra realistic; of course I do believe is important for a game to look good... but that is called "presentation" and that is what I think Bioware is trying to get the game to have an impressive level of presentation and for it to be has clean has it can. All of the footage we have seen so far of the game is all in-game render, using the frost bite 3 engine is the right course of action and the best one they could use (frost bite 3 is also used on the popular Battlefield franchise since 3).

I think most RPG players don´t put graphics above everything else, but look at Dragon Age Origins for example... there the graphics look average at best; textures are muddy and blurry at times, some character models are alright although their textures do look subpar by today standards even if they look better than the environment´s... Dragon Age Inquisition looks not only improved but way better than the first two entries, not to mention that with the new hardware of the PS4 and Xbox One there is much more quality available in the visual department and of course sound.

The Gameplay: Inquisition´s presentations on gaming events have shown plenty of elements that make part of their big fantasy epic; for followers of the series it´s the same tactical combat of DAO where you command your companions the find the best strategy to defeat your enemies and exploit their weakness has well has the improvements added to DA2 with a much more hands-on approach to combat (though compared to DA2 is much more slower, but better for the feel of each impact). Customization is once again back to allow full control of the equipment that your character will have has well has that of your companions; this RPG element that was present on Origins was taken away in DA2 and with good reason, fans were not happy at all... people have gotten use to elements that DAO introduced and having this  being taken away from them is quite an issue... I know had that problem with DA2.

Not only is Bioware bringing this gameplay back in full, but they are making it feel much grander thanks to the work in animation and character model; this helps the game experience more than the common people think, by watching the game footage I can feel how each hit is impacting and hurting it´s target... how more realistic can you get in a computer game? maybe more, but for an open world RPG, this is a lot.

The Story: This is what Bioware is known for right? We know what Bioware can do with character development and interactions, not to mention the levels of motivation they can give the player with narrative elements is impressive; made so even more with interaction and choice. In Origins your character is tasked with defeating the darkspawn after being made a grey warden, is epic, romantic, thrilling and charming with a great cast of characters (if you recruit them of course)... DA2 on the other hand is one where the main goal is not clear exactly, you know who you are and what your status is has the story unfolds... there is an overarching story to fallow and to complete, but is hard to connect with your character when the dialog choices given to you don´t connect with what comes out of Hawk´s mouth, it really feels awkward. In DAI has the inquisitor you are in a social status that gives you a place of authority that others in the world don´t have, so from the get go you are in a position of power, but you are not without your goal and objective to fulfill; the vail that keeps the fade separated from Thedas has been torn asunder while the world itself is being consumed in total war, your position and status are exactly what the world need and is up to you and does who fallow you to save it.

It´s important to know that according to Bioware, this is the game they have "always wanted to make" since they created the franchise but they felt that Origins was the one they needed to make first to introduce the players into the world of Thedas (the different races, their cultures, religion, etc). While DA2 was actually codename to be released has "Dragon Age: Exodus" they wanted to make a bridge that connects both games together (Origins and Inquisition)... I think I understand what Bioware is trying to do artistically.

When you are telling an overarching story, you want the people to understand and feel that they are part of the world by slowly including them into the universe itself, I actually do believe that Bioware has done exactly that with this franchise.

The Character Creator: One aspect I have always loved about games like this is when they let you play has the character you want to be: you want to be an elf or a dwarf? you can be once again; DA2 did not allowed you to be other race than a human, that is a huge step backwards when compared to Origins where you could choose to be not only human but an elf or a dwarf has well... so when this elements are introduced to you, you don´t want to have does taken away. Inquisition have this problem being rectified but also adding to the mix the qunari race, that is much more interesting than you might think, specially for DA fans, because we have never gotten the chance to play has one let alone see a female qunari in any of the games before.

I know some people don´t like the idea of creating a character, they rather play has a pre-created protagonist and have his own motivations drive you has the player; however has someone who like to create characters myself and have him be the protagonist means a lot to me, it makes you feel more in the shoes of your protagonist. Dragon Age Inquisition is a role-playing game, you placed on the role of the character that YOU want to be and play out with your own choices having their meaning to you, for better or worst; makes a big difference to me has a player.

It´s Production: Did you know that Dragon Age Inquisition is the Bioware game with the longest pre-production process in the history of the company to date? What is pre-production? Just one of the most important processes when you are making any pice of entertainment like movies, video games, etc... is the part of the process where the team studies and analyze what is going to be the game itself, how are they going to do it, writing the story, making storyboards and much more goes into pre-production and is important stuff that will help the team to have a plan and a concrete idea of what is the final product going to be like.

I think this is important because for all the people saying that Bioware is being rushed by EA to release games before they are done (and yes they have, I don´t deny anything), then just look at the production time for this game being around 5 to 4 years in development, where games like Dragon Age 2 and Mass Effect 3 got less than 2 years and hey if does games were good, imagine what this team can do with 5 whole years of development! Time during game development is so important... and it seems like EA has finally realized that time is exactly what massive RPGs like Dragon Age Inquisition exactly needs (not to mention the reputation of the company also helped then realize that).

Dragon Age 2 and Mass Effect 3: I really want to talk about this games because I through heartily believe this games are not terrible or has bad like some people are saying; I have already made reviews for both of this games and I am sure I was clear on my thoughts however I will give my opinions on what they are... in quality we say.

I first want to talk about Dragon Age 2; yes is a tiny game, yes the environments are reused a lot, yes the story is less than stellar and yes the world becomes boring after 2 hours of straight gameplay... but was is a bad game? well no... I did enjoy my time playing it and my overall playtime clocked around 30 to 40 hours. It wasn't what I expected a sequel to Dragon Age Origins to be like but for what I got I can´t just call it a terrible game; the characters are memorable, the problems feel relatively genuine and the combat is improved and while it sure lacks on many of the things I came to like from Origins, is still a good game... just not great

Now I have to talk about Mass Effect 3; I am sure I have said before that Mass Effect 3 is in my opinion the best game of the Mass Effect trilogy, the characters are great, the story is great, the universe is interesting, the combat is fluid, the RPG elements are still there and oven expanded upon... If these are not the components of a great game, then I don´t know what is. Believe me, that when I got to the ending I hasten´t happy at all; it was incoherent, brought no closure to the story it presented, went against everything an ending to a story should have... however by the end of the game I don´t remember the way it ended but the journey, I remember the way the story played out more that the actual ending and while that of course is an important thing, (I´m not saying it isn´t) is what I ultimately remember about the Mass Effect Trilogy...

I will finish my thoughts with the fallowing: I am not trying to convince anybody of anything since you are the consumer with the money and you choose what you want to do with it, this is me trying to say why I believe that Bioware deserve to be given another chance with Dragon Age Inquisition because the negativity surrounding the release of this game is quite overwhelming being almost on par with the hype from the fans of the series.

Bioware has made a lot of mistakes in past, but I think is unfair to have all the blame placed only on the company when their time schedules are blame of their EA overlords... I say it´s better that we wait for the release of the game to give the judgement that every pice of media deserves and instead of buying it day one and complaint, you should wait a while for the reviews to come in and then decide if it´s something that you will enjoy and dedicate time to enjoy it...

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Movie Review

This is it the last Potter movie in the franchise, Part 2 of "Deathly Hallows" the film that wraps up every loose end in the series and gives a conclusion to this worldwide phenomenon... I gotta say, the movie does end on a good note and there is pretty much every every loose end tied up.

One thing I can say for certain is that the movie is actually quite short, or at least felt like it went by very fast, the final duel between Harry and Voldemort (I doubt I am spoiling anything here... is in every single trailer for the movie) felt like it lasted less than 3 minutes; not to say it had to last 20 minutes either but I do was expecting to see something has exiting has the duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort from "Order of the Phoenix"... something with more bite: instead of just an exchange of lightning bolts for a few minutes an actual battle of two powerful wizards casting various spells against one another!

The whole movie does take place pretty much for the time of the battle of howarts, witch is the main event, and there is a lot going on witch is great to see... even if we can´t truly witness everything, it does capture the essence that howarts is being torn apart and students are dying left and right, it is a very dark picture in contrast to the first films... but it is what they were building up to in the last 4 movies pretty much. The biggest moment was the reveal of Snape´s backstory and his real motivations throughout the whole series, even if the movies gave a little bit away every time about his past (specially in HP1, 3 and 5) and already created speculations; I guess it works because the most crucial points of his motivations are save till this very moment, even if the whole story is not really detailed like in the books; you end up filling for the men and will grow to even respect Severus much more has a character because of that.

The whole crew really seemed to had a ball while making this movie and even if I don´t really believe that it is the best, it is a worthy conclusion to the Potter saga, one that in my opinion worked very well for the kind of emotion they wanted to get from people... even if I find a few plot elements inconsistent or just plain ridiculous, fortunately none of that really dragged me away from the experience.

"Deathly Hallows" in general was pretty good and it is one of the best from the later dark films,  by the end you really feel like you got to know the characters and connected with them at some points, maybe not all of them, but yes at some level at least.

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Well... that concludes my series of reviews of the Harry Potter saga; I had a lot of fun watching this movies, even if some of them were... less than stelar to put it nicely; I have rewatched these movies again since I last saw then in theaters and it is without a doubt one of the biggest generation marking franchisees of all time because of how many kids have read the books and watch the movies with a passion... and I am sure JK Rowling is proud to know that her story got such a recognition.

If you sticked with me till the end of this marathon, than I hope you enjoyed reading through my posts and I am sure you have your own opinions; if you disagree with me... that´s alright, we all like different things for different reasons... right?

Thanks a lot for coming!

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Movie Review

I often hear fans saying that part 1 is more of a "filler" for the grand finale... and although I do believe this is correct, I appreciate the slow phase and seeing the actual storytelling elements unfolding naturally much more than in "Half-blood Prince" without any dumb romance getting in the way.

Harry, Ron and Hermione are now on the run because of Voldemort's relentless hunt for Harry who is also hunting down Voldemort's horocroxes, the source of his invincibility... is all a race against time to find all the pieces and end the dark lord before it's too late.

I like this movie quite a bit, is much more quiet and slow than the other Potter films, but I mean that in a good way; while this is not exactly what I would expect of a Potter film, it's definitely what it needed if you ask me. A fresh setting, a particular trek, core characters doing what they have to do, the feeling of danger lurking around every corner... it's all making the movie different yet thrilling.

This is when JK Rowling herself stepped in has producer for both parts of "Deathly Hollows", maybe her intervention did help a lot the movie to feel more like the story Rowling pictured in her book; is a minor thing maybe considering that she wasn't directing the movie specifically, but a producer is a high position to be in during the making of a film... so she must have gotten her influence across in some way.

I won't argue with anyone who comes to me and says that this movie is slow, because it is, but I do insist that this is what we needed after the clumsiness of the last film, the story does indeed move forward, the characters are behaving in the way I expected; the danger is genuine and is just an overall solid movie... with a big open ending but well of course is gonna end with a cliff hanger right?

Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince Movie Review

I have been wandering how was I going to tackle this film way before getting to it... but well, time has come and there is just no going back; I´ll say it... this movie is pretty weak... and this is me putting nicely...

Before "Half-blood Prince" the series had a solid run, but this one really came close to make lost interest in the series completely. This movie should have been called "Harry Potter and the Puberty Blues"; more than half of the movie is about the cock tease romance between teen agers! making the main plot be a distant second! Why is Harry so suddenly interested in Ginny? Where did this come from? Granted, Ginny is a quite pie... but what happened with Cho? Is Harry that quickly to passed over the poor girl? Is it because she betrayed him? It wasn't intentional you know! Why are Hermione and Ron here? They do nothing at all! Who is the half-blood prince? Why is he called that? Can he help defeat Voldemort? Where does he live? Is he in Howarts? Oh yeah, we do find out who this prince is... but why? no people, a single line of dialog is not gonna cut it; there is a complete lack of emphasis on important story elements that NEEDED to be explored...

I am honest guys... out of all the Potter films, this one feels like the worst... the teenage hormones just take over everything in this film; the visuals are uninteresting, the acting is average at best, the writing is plain lazy and the directing feels unfocused... I think the only reason why this movie was made was because it was a chapter of the Potter saga and they just decided to include it because they HAD to make it, almost like the people involved didn't wanted to make the movie at all...

There are rays of hope in the movie, of something that could have been great and that is Draco Malfoy´s story line that is just nearly untouched upon... We know Malfoy is a cowardly bully, but this is the first time he shows a more human side; he is assigned with helping lord Voldemort in his mission and you can tell he doesn't want to but he must; has the life of his family and himself are in danger; Tom Felton did an amazing job showing Draco´s plight, I can tell he is a very emotional actor, he did a great job... shame the script doesn't let this interesting story line be explored much more in favor of teen agers making out for Twilight audience members... I also did a little research about the "Half-blood Prince" book and there is plenty of interesting story elements that were not mentioned anywhere in the movie; including extensive details about who the Half-blood Prince is...

I can´t bring myself to call this movie a good one when it was a film made more for the sake of having it done than something where authentic feelings were putted like in the first 3 films... "Half-blood Prince" is in my opinion the weakest of the Potter movies; putting ahead unnecessary relationship issues instead of the actual dark story I am sure Rowling told in her novel.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Movie Review

Next stop is "The Order of the Phoenix", the fifth entry in the series... and is painfully average; despite having some good things it hurts me when I see just how cliché it can get at times.

So now that Voldemort is back, dangers are lurking even more and even the ministry of magic can´t do anything to help because they DON´T BELIVE THE BOY WHO SAVED HOWARTS MANY TIMES BEFORE!! *ahem*... instead they decide to interfere in Howarts and prevent the students of learning defensive spells because they believe Dumbledore is trying to destroy the ministry with his own "army"; so now is up to Harry to use his knowledge and experience to train his fellow students in combat magic.

The story is good at it´s core, however there are just too many dumb moments that it breaks my immersion, it sometimes breaks the continuity of the previous films has well... Why fly all over London risking being seen by moguls? Is it part of the plan to be seen? Why is Dumbledore a total dick to Harry? What makes him think that ignoring the kid will make Voldemort less interested in him? Why is Sirius risking being seen in public to give Harry a photo? What about the mission? etc...

Umbridge is a total bitch and you will love to hate her; I truly believe this is the one character they were really trying to get to be hated. The other new character is Luna Lovegood; she is quite attractive in that "quiet girl who seats at the end of the row" kind of way, has well has her crossed cables make her more adorable. There are also plenty of interesting magic elements, even if they make little sense of why they are there, but meh... I will just ignore that anyway...

David Yates becomes the new director and he is the last guy to be changed, this man will remain to direct the rest of the films, his style is very particular; I can´t say is bad, he knows how to fallow a script but he either has a bad sense of humor or no humor at all, for example: Emma Watson has some funny lines in the movie and while I think she is a good actress, the puns just don´t stick... I think the reason is because Yates is taking even the moments of tension relive has drama; I notice these by the passing... is just off for a humor moment; not to mention everything is just too dark, it feels lifeless, I know that things are bad at this point in the story: Shit hit the fan in the last film, Voldemort is back, people think Harry is a lair (even if they saw Cedric´s body at the end of Goblet of Fire)... but still, is just too ugly looking, everything is black, dark blue, dark sapphire blue or just plain white.

Order of the Phoenix is alright, there are to many things that unfortunately work completely against itself in the way everything is presented to us a audiences... fans of the book will sure tell me that everything is better explained by reading them, but the propose of a film adaptation is to have the story itself be functional has a stand alone film; Rowling´s story sure is an epic tale of good versus evil, but this film sadly squanders it.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Movie Review

Now up the forth Potter film, "Goblet of Fire"...

The slogan of the movie says "Everything will change" and it sadly does; because it takes a turn from fun and colorful into dark and grim...

That´s right this is the point where the Potter films become a dark series of films. Now just to be clear I like dark stuff, but you see, is not about this series becoming bad because of the serious approach, I am not saying that at all... they just turned into something I was enjoying for being fun and joyful into something much more edgy and serious. But again, the movie itself is actually very good; the beginning is fast and I mean that in a bad way; you nearly get the felling that the Wesley´s and Harry are having fun in the Quidditch World cup because it just flashes by in like 12 minutes of screen time!

After that it´s very good, I like how they represent the teen age like school life at Howarts and it works very well by almost putting you in the setting of the characters we are watching. If there is one thing I absolutely didn't like about this movie is the twist at the end... I wish I could talk about it in details but for the sake of not spoiling anything to anybody; let me just say that I am sure there was a better way to do it...

The best new character is Mad eye Muddy, he is just the most crazy teacher ever; has a matter of fact the scene where he is giving class to his students is maybe my favorite moment of the movie, is both fun and scary. Fleur Delacour (played Clemence Poesy) is very beautiful (even if she gets little development in the movie), Cedrid is likable and Victor is, well, muscular i guess...

Mike Newell is the director of this movie after Cuaron left, he actually did a great job with the movie if I have to be any judge, the script is probably more at blame here than him with the problems I personally have with this movie; this film also had a change of composer from John Williams to Patrick Doyle and his music kicks in way better at emotional moments and quiet scenes.

Goblet of Fire is a good movie, even if by the middle of it, it goes dark and leaves the fun behind... I know this is more about me but hey, I am being honest about how I feel for this movie and I can´t keep it quiet; has much has I enjoy the movie, this is the last of the fun ones if you ask me.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Movie Review

Well here it is, the one everybody loves apparently... "Prisoner of Azkaban" is the 3rd entry in the series and with it comes a new story and new situations. It´s hard for a third parter to be has good has the previous entries, considering that by this time is easy to perceive that there is beginning to be a missing part, thankfully this film not only manages to be good but a worthy kind of good.

A dangerous criminal named Sirius Black has escaped from the prision of Azkaban who happen to be a "loyal" follower of the dark lord Voldemort and now Harry´s life is in danger... again... but what is the truth behind the escape of Sirius?

The film has a different feeling than the previous entries in the series, there are plenty of grays and blacks... compared to the last two movies that were much more colorful and, dare I say, more full of life compared to this movie. The fact that is more dark (visually speaking) doesn't really add to the kind of story told here, it works very well when added to a scene that is indeed dark and edgy, but when it´s not it just does not stick well with the moment.

There are plenty of new characters and most of them are very much likable and welcome, like professor Lupin, he is very cool and is very competent at he does. The story is once again very strong and the characters are likable for the most part so there is no doubt there is a very good movie here and while is not the greatest (at least not for me), I did found myself enjoying it has much has the previous ones.

Chris Columbus is no longer directing and instead we have Alfonso Cuaron, who was producer in "Pan´s Labyrinth" and would also move on to make the film "Gravity". Although Cuaron does make his best to tell this story and he does a good job in my opinion, he does stumble a couple of times, he did got the main story across with success if you ask me. Actor Richard Harris, who played Dumbledore in the past two movies, sadly passed away; so they casted Michael Gambon and he would remain in the role for the rest of the series, he is good but I can´t help but feel that Harris´s Dumbledore came across has a wiser and even more likable than Gambon´s; but he still gives a good performance.

"Prisoner of Azkaban" is a great entry in the series, although I personally think is debatable if it´s better than it´s predecessors, I do am happy that I watched it, It´s a fun movie that scratches the dark surface of the Harry Potter universe.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Movie Review

The second movie of the saga is "Chamber of Secrets" and I consider this one somewhat better than the first but basically because of the foundation that it moves the story forward, is slightly more dark than it´s predecessor while still being comedic and fun to watch, not to mention takes slightly more risks.

Harry is back on Howarts for his second year and again danger is on sight when a hidden chamber is opened in the school endangering all the students with a monstrous criture roaming freely around the Howarts castle; despite the warnings Harry still decided to attend and now he must play the game of death and discover the chamber of secrets...

While I do stand by that this movie is very good, I can see the problems it has, most of the problems are because of the writing though... like for example: Why is the Whomping Willow so close to the school? such a dangerous killer tree should not be there, casualties of students would skyrocket! But regardless of does there is a strong story backing it up, it really made me wanna see what was the mystery all the way to the end; and the ending is really heart warming. The performances from the main trio really improves in this film, even Radcliffe has some really good moments on screen; and he should (he plays the main character after all). But if there is one thing I absolutely did not like about this movie one bit was the Dobby character, while not the most annoying character in the world he did came across has an obnoxious little pest at times...

Chris Columbus takes the director seat once again and like in the last movie I can notice his style of "friendly" but "serious" when it needs too be, even on visual terms I can see the style echoing has well, even more than in the last film, I can imagine he was maybe trying to improve over the last movie and I think that for the most part he did even if it may not really be for the compliance of everybody in his audience and I can respect that.

I can say that for the most part the changes in passing are for the best in contrast to does in the first movie, but I can tell when there are things good and when they don´t work like they should. Knowing that this movie is solid and that it holds up very well against the standards of the franshice is more than satisfactory for me. Chamber of Secrets is a good sequel, I know some don´t like it has their favorite but I know a good movie when I see it and this one was very good and worth a watch.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer´s/Philosopher´s Stone Movie Review

Harry Potter is one of the most popular franchises of all time, so is no surprise when you look at the overall numbers of sold movie tickets and seeing just how high they are; it matches that of big franchises like "Star Wars" and "James Bond 007".

So I have recently decided to look at every movie lunched from Harry Potter and I will be talking about each one of them, so consider this a marathon!

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Let´s start off with the first movie... "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer´s Stone" or it´s original name "Philosopher´s Stone" (Why change names I don´t get it); the title character is our protagonist and in this movie he discovers he is a wizard, so he is then invited to go to the most recognize school of magic, Howarts... and there, all sorts of things happen, the movie on it´s own it´s very good.

Of course the films are based on the hit book series written by JK Rowling, I will admit I never read the books except for Order of the Phenix and no other after that...

I like the world of magic and the Howarts school itself is very interesting, The fact that Harry himself is an outcast in the world where he discovers that he belongs later in the movie, makes him very likable, you find yourself connecting with him has the movie progress; thanks to the directing and the writing in general.

The special effects are beginning to show their age by today´s standards, the CG in the movie is really glaring when you see it, back then it looked great but now it´s really loosing it´s touch. The child actors are alright, Daniel Radcliffe does seem a little stiff in this movie but the problem is that despite his somewhat natural performance there is just too many times where he shows little emotions compared to Emma Watson or Rupert Grint; but he was a kid so it´s forgiven... child actors can be pretty hard to work with (I know that by experience).

John Williams, the composer behind themes for movies like Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones, ET, etc...

made the iconic theme for this movie has well, and is the theme that remained for the rest of the series even after he left.

I think is also import to remark that the director Christopher Columbus was the perfect choice to direct this movie, simply because in many of his past project he has shown he is very versatile with  "friendly" pictures and having a very unique sense of humor, but knows how to treat his own audience and knows when to slowdown and for this film in particular, he was just the man to make a proper introduction to the franchise in movie form no doubt.

I liked this movie, I still believe is a very good stand alone film, I am certain of that after watching it again now after almost 13 years later... I would suggest watching just this one if you are not interested in the whole series; It´s fun, colorful, with good characters and a good story.