Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Grade: A+ 

Profanity: One or two... not bad

Graphic content (sex, murder,etc.): A little more gruesome than the previous ones... some blood and lots of dead bodies



** BIG SPOILER ALERT ... YOU MAY NOT WANT TO READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE OR READ THE BOOK **

Okay, so... wow! It was sooooo good!!! I ended up going to the midnight showing after all, and it was worth it! : ) And I've already seen it two more times. I went Saturday w/ my cousins Summer and Heather, and I went last night w/ my hubby, Matt. And it was just as good the 3rd time as it was the 1st! I also saw it in both 2D and 3D, and I actually preferred it in 2D... I didn't think the 3D effects made the extra $$ or headache from wearing those glasses for so long worth it.

Matt said he thought this was the best movie of the whole series... I'm still thinking about that one. It would be easy for me to say that right now and wholeheartedly believe it, but to be fair to the other movies, I'm going to wait a little while for the excitement of this one to wear off. ; )

I was a little worried about some of the key points in the book changing in the movie, but it stayed pretty true to it. Some things were changed a little, and a few things were added, but I thought everything flowed well for the most part. I did notice the 3rd time I watched it that the young Snape had bright blue eyes... But doesn't Snape have brown eyes??

And I wasn't that crazy about how Voldemort died. In the book, Harry has figured out that he's the master of the Elder Wand, and he tries to talk Voldemort out of doing anything stupid because he knows the wand won't work for him... but Voldemort tries to kill Harry anyway and the spell backfires, killing Voldemort. So ultimately, Voldemort kills himself. But in the movie, Harry and Voldemort cast spells at eachother, which causes those connected Ghostbuster Proton Pack-like streams, then the Elder Wand is propelled out of Voldemort's hand and lands in Harry's. For a moment, I was worried that Harry was then going to use the wand to kill Voldemort... I would not have liked that at all. Harry wasn't a murderer. But instead, Voldemort just turned to ash... I didn't think it was made clear enough what had killed him. Matt, who hasn't read the books, confirmed that when I asked him. He figured the horcruxes were Voldemort's life force, so that when Nagini was killed (the last horcrux), Voldemort automatically died too. So again, I thought that should have been made more clear.

I was also worried when Neville first pulled Gryffindor's sword out of the Sorting Hat. In the book, he kills Nagini right then and there... So in the movie when that didn't happen, I was nervous that he wouldn't be the one to kill Nagini. That wouldn't have sat well with me either, since that was one of my favorite parts of the book. But Neville did kill Nagini, so it all worked out. I also liked the part they added where Neville admits he has a crush on Luna. : ) What a great couple they would make!

I bawled in all the places I knew I would the 1st time I watched it, and I surprisingly cried just as much the 2nd time... but I was able to hold it in while watching it w/ Matt. He's not a big crier, and I didn't want him making fun of me. ; ) The biggest cry came, like I knew it would, when Snape died, along with when Harry sees all Snape's memories. That was such a touching part of the book, and I always cried while reading it, so I figured I'd do the same when seeing it on the big screen... Other parts that I knew would make me cry: when Fred, Lupin, and Tonks died and when brave little Neville stood up to Voldemort and killed Nagini. What can I say... I'm a softie.

I loved that they ended the movie the way the book ended as well. I know there was a big controversy a while back when scenes from the ending were leaked, and people thought the makeup used to make the actors look older was horrible... I can't remember if I checked out the leaked photos, but I thought they did a pretty good job in the movie. (Although I believe they reshot that scene after all the bad feedback.) Matt liked that ending too. He thought it brought a sense of closure to the Harry Potter series. And even though I hate that it's all over now, I agree. : )

So, hopefully if you've read all that, you've already seen the movie, or else I completely ruined it for you... But on the off chance you haven't seen it yet, you really need to!! And if you have seen it, what did you think? Did I get all my book vs. movie facts right? It's been a while since I've read them...

The Adjustment Bureau

Grade: B

Profanity: A handful... including a couple F-bombs

Graphic content (sex, murder,etc.): One sex scene but short w/ no nudity

*** WARNING: THIS REVIEW IS SEMI-SPOILER-ISH ***

I really didn't know what to expect with this movie, but I thought the previews looked pretty good. I had gathered from the previews that there was some sort of agency that went around adjusting people's minds in order to keep them on an appointed life path, and that Matt Damon's character accidentally became aware of this fact and went on the run w/ his girlfriend from the "adjusters."

I assumed the agency was controlled by the government, so I was pretty surprised when it turned out to have more of a spiritual aspect. I won't go into too many details about that, so as to not totally ruin it for you. I will say that it was a pretty interesting concept if you looked at it from a secular point of view. It focused too much on the idea of pure chance in my opinion to be considered a Christian perspective. But looking at it as  strictly fictional, which is the point, as a Christian I wasn't offended or anything...

I thought Emily Blunt, Damon's love interest, did an outstanding job. Not sure if that was really her dancing (think it was) but I loved those scenes. She and Damon had a great connection, which was good since the movie ultimately turned out to be more of a love story than anything else. And as a romantic, I'm always up for a love story. : )

I Am Number Four

I Am Number Four

Grade: A

Profanity: Not bad... No F-Bombs that I recall

Graphic content (sex, murder,etc.): Some violence, but nothing too graphic

Okay, I was pretty excited to see this one... It looked good from the previews, plus it had a Glee cast member in it! Matt didn't think he'd like it, but afterwards he said he did. : ) One of these days he'll realize that I'm always right... (j/k)(or am I?)

 In case you missed seeing the previews, it's about this guy, who happens to be an alien, who is being hunted by other aliens. The bad aliens have to kill the good aliens in order, and this guy is #4 on the list... Throw in a little love triangle and high school drama, and you're all set! Ok, so that summary sucked. Here's what imdb.com says:

John is an extraordinary teen, masking his true identity and passing as a typical high school student to elude a deadly enemy seeking to destroy him. Three like him have already been killed ... he is Number Four.

Wow, that wasn't much better than mine, was it? Oh well... Just go watch it for yourself! ; )

Like I said, I went into it with high hopes, and I was pleased with the outcome. The effects were great, and the soundtrack was too. And I loved the chemistry between Alex Pettyfer and Dianna Agron. SO cute together!! I heard a rumor that they are dating in real life...

There were a few holes in the storyline in my opinion. But they weren't bad enough to ruin the movie, so I won't go into them... Just things my analytical mind thought of once the movie ended.

All in all, one of my faves so far this year. I'll most likely be getting the DVD, especially if it ends up being a series! And I hope it does! : )