Movie Review: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1″
Rating: 90
Imagine how unlikely it is that the seventh film in any series could be the best — most franchises plotz on the third outing. But as any longtime Harry Potter fan knows, the movies based on J.K. Rowling’s wizarding series were just getting going on round three, and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1” is the knockout.
In a wrenching set of opening sequences, director David Yates sets the tone for the world Harry, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley inherit in “Deathly Hallows.” It is a foreboding place where Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour (Bill Nighy) warns that the forces of good have faced “no greater threat” than the incursion of Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and the Death Eaters. This is an environment where even the Dursleys, those most unsympathetic of all Muggles, can tug at emotions, and Hermione must make a tragic choice that leaves her, for all practical purposes, an orphan.
The plot structure for “Deathly Hallows” involves the search for six “horcruxes,” the talismans that hold parts of Voldemort’s soul. Just carrying one can elevate the holder’s anxiety to dangerous levels, a key source of mounting irritation for Ron (Rupert Grint), who is forced to confront the inevitable feelings of inferiority one must feel when Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is the omnipresent hero. Hermione (Emma Watson) is stuck in the middle of all this, a source of strength for the trio but also the focal point for irrational tension as the three collect the horcruxes in preparation for the inevitable war with Voldemort.
This gives Watson an opportunity to display nine years’ worth of accumulated acting skill. The nonstop production of “Harry Potter” films has had a hothouse effect on all three of the principal actors’ emotive abilities, but Watson is the clear breakout. It’s all in her subtle responses to the ramped up conflict around them. Watson always played Hermione as written, with all the precocity required, but the sighing and eye-rolling of the first two films is long gone, replaced with genuine nuance. The “Harry Potter” series, strong as it has been thus far, will probably not be the high point of this 20-year-old’s career.
But Watson does not exactly leave Radcliffe and Grint in the dust. Both prove immensely capable of the emotional heavy lifting required in “Deathly Hallows, Part 1” and are surrounded by some of the finest talent in British cinema. Nighy, Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter (as the demonic Bellatrix Lestrange), Rhys Ifans and David Thewlis all distinguish themselves.
Still, the star of “Deathly Hallows, Part 1” is director Yates, who does far more than establish tension: He allows these characters to breathe. Unlike the earlier films, “Deathly Hallows” is mostly shot on location in the English countryside, creating the illusion that this magical realm truly exists in tandem with the real world. Yates’ sense of dynamics serves him well. Magic is not on constant display in “Deathly Hallows, Part 1,” so the results often look like a pastoral British independent film, but then when magic is required, it comes on with startling fury.
As for how the final book in Rowling’s series has been split, that is one bit of magic that should not be revealed. What keeps “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1” from being a perfect film is the serialized story curse, which means that no one who has ignored the previous films or novels should bother parachuting into “Deathly Hallows” without the basic understanding needed to enjoy it. So, it does not stand alone. But as the beginning of the end for one of the most beloved stories in young fiction, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1” is a piece of beautiful cinematic sorcery.
— Lang
Video of the Day: Tommy Wiseau, “The Room” (dubstep remix)
Oh, hi Mark. You ah tearin me apawt, Lisa!
– Lang
Photos: Skating Polly CD release show
Kelli Mayo, 10, and Peyton Suitor, 15, are Skating Polly. The duo from Edmond rocked Guestroom Records in Norman on Friday night.
The band’s debut album “Taking Over the World” was released at the show and it’s nothing short of a punk rock gem.
Keep your eyes on this band. By the time they hit high school, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are halfway around the world melting faces.
-Nathan Poppe
Blu-ray Review: “The Exorcist”
Rating: 92
Some horror films lose their power to chill over time, a consequence of outdated effects or formerly scary ideas becoming quaint or commonplace. But after nearly four decades, William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist” is still nothing short of terrifying. Since its original run in 1973, audiences made do with increasingly washed-out prints and home video editions, although a 2000 restoration returned some of the vivid color of pea soup to the proceedings. But little will prepare longtime fans for this new Blu-ray version, which includes the original edit and Friedkin’s cut.
Styles of clothes and cars notwithstanding, this “Exorcist” looks like it could have been shot last year. The digital remaster means viewers can see every crack in the walls of the Iraqi ruins where Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) first encounters the ancient devil statue. Regan’s desiccated lips and self-inflicted wounds still shock, and the special effects hold up beautifully on the digital transfer — as Regan (Linda Blair) sends all her belongings flying across the bedroom and later levitates over her mattress, the effect is still just as seamless and horrific.
In addition to Friedkin’s fine director’s cut, which adds 10 minutes and slightly improves the film’s continuity, the Blu-ray offers great commentary tracks from Friedkin and the book’s author, William Peter Blatty, along with the feature-length documentary “Fear of God: The Making of ‘The Exorcist’” and a 40-page booklet. Comprehensive and generous as the extras might be, the star attraction is still the shockingly sharp restoration of the film itself. If anything, eliminating many of the signs of age makes “The Exorcist” even more immediately frightening — the distance of time can no longer protect you.
– Lang
Video: Sunday Lane singing “Find Your Way”
Tulsa native Sunday Lane met with me shortly after her EP release this summer and to film a song with her brother. I just got around to posting the results.
Lane goes to school in Florida so she won’t be playing in Oklahoma any time soon, but keep her on your radar. She has a lot of potential and she can sing without getting distracted by motorcycles.
Now that’s talent.
-Poppe
Photos: FreeTulsa! Day One
The first day of FreeTulsa! had me missing the feeling of having thousands of people swarming the downtown streets of Tulsa like at DFest, but at least the local talent was there to play.
Mayola and BRONCHO easily were the festival’s highlights. Having only 30 minutes to put up their instruments, play a set and remove their equipment, these bands still managed to perform at a level that can be matched to national touring acts.
Incredible stuff.
Look out for more pictures from day two of the festival.
-Poppe
Photos: The New Pornographers at Cain’s Ballroom with The Dodos and Imaad Wasif
Tulsa is brimming with local indie talent this weekend at FreeTulsa! music festival, but last weekend an old stalwart of the national indie scene paid a visit to Cain’s Ballroom.
The New Pornographers ripped through a lengthy set of classics and newer numbers, but I was really wowed by openers The Dodos and Imaad Wasif. The former had about as much musical talent as I've heard in any new band lately and the latter looked a lot like Jimmy Page onstage.
--Carney
Photo Slideshow: Sunday Lane
Tulsa native Sunday Lane released her EP “Bring Me Sunshine.”
Lane has been playing around Tulsa this summer before she heads back to school Florida.
She has a great deal of talent, so make sure to look out for her next summer.
-Poppe
Local musician Samantha Crain earns NPR’s attention
Weekend Edition Saturday ran a great interview with Shawnee’s finest folk singer, Samantha Crain.
When asked about her freak folk-tag, Crain chalked it up to her expressive voice.
I don’t know if I’m exactly part of that, I think the only reason I might get that genre stuck to me is my voice, which is a little odd. I’m not really looking for weird instruments or that weird of sounds.
–Carney
Review: Big Boi–Sir Lucious Left Foot, The Son of Chico Dusty
Since the 2003 release of “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,” critics have contrasted Big Boi with OutKast cohort Andre 3000, often exulting Andre’s space-funk flair and discounting Boi’s consistency as less creative.
Things didn’t bode well for the Atlanta emcee’s first solo venture when Jive Records refused to promote “Sir Lucious Left Foot” (dubbed “too artistic”) and forbade Andre’s appearance on the record. The resulting label divorce delayed “Sir Lucious” from putting his left foot forward for two years.
Big Boi transformed the struggle to inspiration for his signature spit-and-tumble delivery. “Tryin’ to block my shine just ain’t gon’ happen so don’t try,” he says on “Shine Blockas,” just before a smooth-as-the-hood-of-a-Cadillac assist from Gucci Mane, one of several new collaborators who invigorate Boi’s production.
From the guttural rumble of “Shutterbugg” to chanting cheerleaders on “Back Up Plan,” the album splurts and fizzles, rich with sonic elements that disappear the instant you realize they’re there, ambushed by a speedy high-hat or an ’80s synth riff.
Topically, Big Boi doesn’t venture into territory he hasn’t conquered, eyeing sexy women and pimping his reputation (“a true gift of God, the stars aligned when they made me”). But he’s clever about it, jumping double-Dutch with his wordplay and original similes. “It’s like the game is haunted cause there’s so many ghostwriters,” he drops after a blistering rhyme scheme intro on “Follow Us.”
So who was the victim in this case of record label influence? Our ears, which had to wait two years for the pleasure of “Sir Lucious Left Foot.”
–Carney
