First off, I'd like to pay my respects to the great WALTER CRONKITE, who passed away late last week. As a student of journalism and broadcasting, I was extremely saddened to see one of the all-time greats go. While I was too young to see Cronkite broadcast the nightly news, he was nonetheless a big presence growing up - on TV specials, in the classroom via any number of educational videos, or just in pop culture in general (he was the voice of Spaceship Earth at Epcot Center, and appeared in The Magic of Disney Animation at MGM Studios). Later, when I took college classes on the history of broadcasting, many of the biggest moments that we analyzed involved Cronkite's steady, measured presence: the moon landing, the Kennedy assassination, Vietnam. What struck you about these historic broadcasts was the sheer objectivity, the earnest reporting, coupled with just the right amount of gravitas. In today's world of opinionated pundits and talking heads, where everyone editorializes everything, Cronkite was one of the last true newsmen, who simply let the facts speak for themselves. He was the gatekeeper of the news, but more than that he was the trusted voice of an era. Those in journalism today would do well to try to emulate the great Walter Cronkite.
- Anyways, another weekend finito and another week startin' up. But this is no ordinary week, as come Thursday, I head down to San Diego for my third annual SD Comic-Con, southern California's mecca of geekdom. The past two years, I've had an absolute blast at the show. Between the all-star panels for film, TV, and comics, the great and absolutely insane crowds that show up, the after-parties, food, and other festivities, and just the great city of San Diego in general, Comic-Con is basically a guaranteed good time.
So, it's only natural that already my thoughts are turning to the show - what will be big, what will flop, and what surprises are in store. Here are a couple of questions that I have going into Comic-Con 2009:
1.) Will James Cameron's years-in-the-making AVATAR live up to the hype? Will it be an epic disappointment or the next Star Wars? This will likely be the panel to see at Comic-Con '09 - fans are dying to see a return to form for the director of T2, Aliens, The Abyss, etc. But the secrecy around this one means most have little idea of what to actually expect.
2.) What's up with FUTURAMA? Is the voice-cast really out? Is this a sick joke or just a bait-and-switch publicity ploy? If the voice cast really is being replaced, expect a riot. This one will be interesting, that's for sure.
3.) What does 24 have in store for Season 8? Will Jack Bauer be as badass as ever? What role will new cast-member Katee Sackhoff play? Will Aaron Pierce be there?!
4.) Can DC COMICS match the mighty Marvel in terms of big-screen hype? Will there be new news on Green Lantern, Flash, Superman II, Batman III, etc.? How will the first trailer for Jonah Hex look? Last year, DC owned the show with Watchmen - will they have any huge stunners in 2009?
5.) By the same token, can MARVEL once again be the talk of the show thanks to Robert Downey Jr., Scarlet Johansson, and IRON MAN 2? Will there be news about Thor, Captain America, Deadpool, etc.?
6.) Is KICKASS really all its cracked up to be? Will "kickass" new footage make fanboys forget that the comic book on which the movie is based has yet to reach issue #6 after over a year? Will Nicholas Cage go on an insane rant?
7.) Is HEROES officially DOA, or can a new trailer breathe some life back into the once-hot TV property?
8.) Will any new secrets of LOST be revealed? Might there be new footage from the final season, surprise new cast members, etc?
9.) Which of this Fall's new TV PILOTS will get the biggest reception, and which will be deemed as epic failures? There is a lot of new TV at Comic-Con this year - Eastwick, V, Flash Forward, The Middle, Human Target, The Prisoner, Vampire Diaries ... I was there two years ago when CHUCK became an instant Comic-Con hit - will any of these new shows fare similarly?
10.) Which Comic Book company will steal the show? Yep, despite the massive Hollywood presence, this is still COMIC-con, and it's a huge showcase for DC, Marvel, Image, IDW, etc. to generate hype and make big announcements. What does DC have in store for Batman, Superman, et al? What big talent will be working on Spiderman, The X-Men, etc? No doubt, fans at the show will be buzzing about BLACKEST NIGHT, DC's just-launched uber-event in which once-dead heroes and villains have risen from the grave as undead "Black Lanterns."
Other potential highlights: FRINGE makes its Comic-Con debut, KEVIN SMITH live and in person, living legend RAY BRADBURY holds court, master filmmaker and Monty Python member TERRY GILLIAM shows off Heath Ledger's final film - The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, pulpy genre movie SOLOMON KANE footage is shown, long-delayed horror flick TRICK R' TREAT screens, TIM BURTON debuts Alice in Wonderland, animation legend HAYAO MIYAZAKI makes a rare US appearance, and THE MIGHTY BOOSH invades the USA with their insane brand of surrealist humor!
Alright, if you made it through all that ... then you're clearly primed and ready for my HARRY POTTER Review, so let's get to it:
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE Review:
- You know, Harry Potter is one of those franchises that it's so easy to want to hate on. Its fans are rabid and annoyingly evangelical. And those who have read the books will constantly act smugly about the fact that yes, *they* have read the books, so *they* know the real story of what's going on in the movies. Of course, most of these people don't exactly read a lot of books, so they get a kick out of, for once, being in the know. Them and millions of other people who have jumped aboard the Potter bandwagon. I mean, when I bring up one of my many geeky interests in conversation, I usually assume that the other party is NOT familiar with whatever it is I'm talking about - and why would I? But not so for Potter fans - a Potter fan will dive headfirst into discussion of potions and magic spells and (gasp!) spoilers for the as-yet-unreleased-movies, and then react in shock (shock!) that you have no clue what it is they speak of. Not to be rude, but there's just something a bit off-putting to me about so many adults' sole claim to literacy being that they have read a series of books mostly aimed at children. And again, I'm not knocking the books whatsoever - I'm sure they're great, and at some point (likely after I've seen all of the films), I hope to get around to reading them. But let's face facts: adult Harry Potter fans are up there with hardcore Whedon-ites as some of the most annoying fanboys and fangirls around (and yes, they are as geeky as any comic-book lovin' uber-geek, if not more so).
So yeah, every time a new Potter movie rolls around, I always get a bit weary. Because, as someone who has thus far only seen the movies, to me, as a whole, they've been, well, okay. Not great, not spectacular, just okay. Now, that's not to rag on the movies ... I've enjoyed all of them to date, and in particular, the last two entries I think have been just on the verge of greatness. Certainly, you can't find fault in the absolutely stellar casts, which combine a group of up-and-coming younger actors with some of the best thespians around.
Now, with The Half-Blood Prince, we may just have the best Harry Potter movie yet. The direction from David Yates is darker, artier, more epic and sweeping than ever before. Despite being mostly setup for the big two-part finale, THBP is maybe the first Potter flick to really have enough meat where you feel like you can really sink your teeth into it. The characterization isn't just little kid stuff anymore - there's teen romance and lust worthy of the CW (and I mean that in the best way possible), but there's also true villainy and heroics that feel more like The Lord of the Rings and less like The Magic Schoolbus.
Take the big bad, Voldemoort, for example. Up until now, through five (!) movies, he's been basically looming in the background as the stock villain of pure evil. In this one, finally, we get some real interesting flashbacks to Voldy as a child, just coming to terms with his own evil-ness. These flashbacks are dark, creepy, and finally set the stage for Voldemoort to emerge as a truly worthy adversary of Mr. Potter and co. Again, a lot of credit has to go to Yates and his willingness to fill the new Potter with a lot of striking and unconventional visuals. These flashback scenes are eerily-lit, stark, moody, and very un-Harry Potter-esque. Another great example of the interesting visual experimentation is in the film's engaging opening sequence, where we see a brooding, teen-angsty Harry Potter sitting in a very modern-looking London cafe, chatting up a too-cool-for-school waitress. Wait, this is Harry Potter? For a minute there, it felt like Trainspotting. And I liked it.
And while there is a lot of new-school style to this latest Potter, a lot of the best aspects of the previous movies are back, and dare I say, better than ever. Take Alan Rickman as Snape. While his role is still relatively small here, he positively chews up every scene he's in. And finally, after five movies of mostly standing around and getting in a good line or two, Snape actually does something here, and becomes an impact player, if you will. Same goes for Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. Everyone's favorite gay wizard gets in some most-excellent scenes in this one, and is just a great overall presence in the movie. As always, the rest of the adult cast is tip-top from top to bottom. Maggie Smith is another strong presence here. Helena Bonham Carter is memorably crazy-scary. New to the cast is Jim Broadbent as a bumbling potions professor with a dark secret. Broadbent is great throughout the movie, and it's a lot of fun seeing him in the mix with the rest of the talented cast members.
In addition, you have to give it up for the younger cast members, who I have praised before but have to mention again. It really is amazing how well-chosen they all were way back when, and how each of them hsa grown into a pretty darn good actor in their own right. The two standouts here are once again Daniel Radcliffe as Harry and Emma Watson as Hermione. The two not only have great chemistry with each other, but actively make the other younger actors around them better. Rupert Gint helps to round out the trio, and has some legitimately funny moments as Ron, and Tom Felton as the sinister Draco Malfoy is suitably hate-able as an in-over-his-head acolyte of Voldemoort.
My issues with the movie are basically the same ones I've had with many of the other entries in the franchise. Primarily, each movie you can almost tangibly see the script struggle to both tell a coherant, self-contained story and also to fit in all of the details and favorite moments from the books. To that end, a lot of potentially important background information seems to get rushed through in order to focus on the big moments. Meanwhile, characters who were once quite prominent, like the Order of the Phoenix, Haggred, Cho Chang, etc. are barely there. By the same token, someone like Ginny Weasly is all of a sudden a featured player. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but again, these movies often leave me feeling like I missed something. And that applies to some of the movie's internal logic as well -- a scene where Harry and Dumbledore are attacked by a legion of gruesome monsters while searching for a valuable artifact is riveting, for example, but I was hard-pressed to figure out what, exactly, was happening, exactly.
Ultimately though, the movie left me surprisingly satisfied and really left me eager to see the first of the final two films. Like I said, I really felt like this one had some real meat to it. It was setup, but fun setup, creating a real sense of anticipation. Finally, Voldemoort felt like the kind of epic villain that I was told he was supposed to be. Finally, Harry had the kind of emotional heft and gravity to his character that elevated the material beyond the whimsical and into the realm of epic fantasy. So despite me acting like a hater in my opening paragraph, make no mistake, this was a great summer surprise, a Potter that truly delivered.
My Grade: A-
- Alright, back soon with a lot more. Until next time ...
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