Reviews

All good things must come to an end, a wise man once said. After a full decade of the magical HP franchise we all know and love, it all ends here with this final film. I have to say just walking into the theater I was a bit teary-eyed, I had grown up right along with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint and watched as they matured both physically and emotionally, so this has been a whole full circle moment. I'm sad to see it end but I'm proud to say it ended on spectacular high note.

Part II picks up right where Part I left off, with our beloved trio hunting down and destroying every last one of Voldemort's horcruxes, so that he could be rendered mortal and finally be killed off once and for all. This leads to a surprisingly comedic scene where Hermione disguises herself as Bellatrix Lestrange so that they can gain access to her bank vault, where one of Voldemort's horcruxes is kept. Watching Hermione wobble and nearly trip over herself in Bellatrix's heels while trying to act like her was very laughable. The other memorable moments (of which there are so many) include the final battle at Hogwarts where the students and professors defend their school and each other against Voldemort's Death Eaters, Neville stepping up to the plate as a hero with an unbreakable spirit, and Hermione and Ron's long awaited kiss.

The actors all did a superb job here. Alan Rickman gave the character of Severus Snape redemption in this last film. In his dying moment he gave Harry his memories, where we finally see Snape's true motivations. It was Dumbledore who orchestrated his own death, he asked Snape to kill him (A) as a mercy killing so he wouldn't die a slower, much more painful death due to the curse inflicted on him and (B) to set up a chain of events which would make Harry the rightful owner of the Elder Wand so that he would gain the winning hand in defeating Voldemort.

And Daniel was outstanding in his final performance as Harry. He captured Harry's character perfectly, he conveyed both vulnerability and strength all at the same time. Harry willingly sacrificed his own life to Voldemort, as a bargain to save the lives of everyone else at Hogwarts(and also to destroy the horcrux that Voldemort had unwittingly made Harry into when he first tried to kill him as a baby). He went willingly knowing he would die. By showing both how scared he was and yet still finding the courage in him to face Voldemort, Daniel made Harry a real flesh and blood hero. After that, Harry's resurrection and his final duel with Voldy was just the icing on the cake. Altho it was cool to see Harry come out victorious and Voldy getting his just desserts.

The only slight complaint I have is that a few of the scenes were rushed. The battle scenes were longer and harder fought in the book than was shown in this film, but I can definitely forgive that. It would probably be over 4 hours long if they set out to make it exactly like the book. Nevertheless, this film did its job and captured the true essence of its characters and its story, and my emotions ran wild with every high and low. I urge you all to see it, its an experience that you just have to have.

This latest film to join the X-Men franchise injects new life and vigor into the saga. It is as much of a prequel as it is a reboot. From a strictly time-line point-of-view it is a prequel, being set in the early 1960s during the Cuban Missile Crisis. But from a storyline point-of-view, it is very much a reboot, with a whole new younger cast along with whole new interesting stories and relationships to involve them in.

The film goes all the way back to the beginning in 1944, in Nazi occupied Poland. Here, we are introduced to young Erik Lensherr. Erik is forced to watch his mother be shot right in front of him by Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). The uncontrollable rage Erik then feels unleashes his powers and he then goes on to trash every metal object in the room. However, he is unable to focus and use his powers against Shaw, and so the main plot of the film becomes Erik's quest for vengeance.

In contrast with Erik's tragic childhood, we see the wealthy opulent lifestyle that Charles Xavier enjoyed. In this film, he meets young Mystique, and quickly adopts her as his younger sister.

Cut to 1962 where the rest of the film takes place. Adult Erik, played excellently by Michael Fassbender continues on his quest for revenge against Shaw. In this film, he has not yet become Magneto. He is not the villain, in fact he is a character we all sympathize with. Inside he is still the traumatized boy who watched his mother get killed right in front of him. What I love about X-Men First Class is that it finally adds layers to Magneto's character, he isn't just a one-dimensional cartoon villain.

And James McAvoy breathes new life as young adult Charles. Here, the young Professor X is a dashing English gentleman who uses witty pick-up lines on pretty college girls and chugs whole pints of beer. His expertise on mutations is what leads to his recruitment to the CIA by Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne). And it is through the CIA that brings Charles and Erik's paths together.

McAvoy and Fassbender have amazing on screen chemistry together, and this is clearly reflected in Charles and Erik's fast developing friendship. These two men are not just friends, they really see themselves as brothers. The casting for both Charles and Erik could not have been more perfect, you can definitely see how even decades later Professor X and Magneto stay lifelong friends even if they have opposite philosophies.

The other relationship that must be mentioned is the romance between young Beast (Nicholas Hoult) and young Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence). Their short-lived relationship is tragic yet poignant. It falls victim to self-hatred and the struggle for acceptance in a human society that all too often shows absolute cruelty to those who are different...........that is the key message of the X-Men and it is so beautifully played out by these two doomed lovebirds.

From watching this film, you actually want Erik and Charles to continue being best friends without any of the tragedy and mutant-against-mutant fighting. But alas, we all know how it all ends, so the ending of film can't show anything different. You finally see how Charles becomes paralyzed, the whole lead-up to that scene is just epically sad yet beautiful at the same time.

This was a wonderfully acted project and it also contains just the right amount of action scenes that we all love and demand from an X-Men film. I encourage you all to see it if you haven't already.

This is a beautiful film that you simply MUST see if you've ever experienced heartbreak which I'm sure you have at one time or another. This movie is like an open diary to the hearts of anyone who is suffering from or has suffered from unrequited, burning, all consuming love.

The movie stars both Joseph Gordon Levitt, better known as the adorably hilarious teenager from 3rd Rock from the Sun as Tom, an actual honest to God sensitive handsome young man that most young ladies would snatch up in a heartbeat. He is literally everything you could ask for, handsome, intelligent, does relatively alright for himself and most and foremost he is a true believer in love. However, he meets and falls completely head over heels for Summer (Zooey Deschanel), a stunning brunette with gorgeous blue eyes with an irresistible quirkiness about her. However, this particular girl that Tom has completely fallen in love with is a love cynic, she unfortunately has been burned badly by past relationships(she never explains exactly how to Tom but we the audience can get a clear sense that she's been hurt very badly and this is how she comes to be so cynical about love) and is very reluctant to let Tom into her life. She later does bring down her walls and let him into her life, letting him stay over at her apartment, having hot shower sex with him, and inviting him into her private world that she normally hides from everyone else. Joseph truly deserves an Academy Award for literally placing us, the viewer right into his shoes......every height of ecstasy he feels when he interprets a kiss from Summer or a sweet and touching hand holding session as a declaration of love(sadly reading more into it than is actually there) to every agonizing low he feels when Summer leaves/breaks up with him. They go off and on again in an angst filled relationship for as the film is titled, 500 days.

Now this movie DOES NOT have your typical Hollywood ending where the boy meets the girl and despite going through trials and tribulations they end up happily ever after just like every other Disney movie. This movie is about A relationship, A great love of your life but not THE ONE TRUE love of your life that you end up being with. In real life, we will all meet and fall in love most likely with more than one person in our lifetime. Just because you do not end up married to your previous significant others for the rest of your life doesn't mean that the love you shared with those people wasn't real. The beauty of love isn't that it MIGHT last forever because sadly it doesn't always happen. The beauty of love is that it happens AT ALL. The beauty of Tom and Summer's relationship is measured in the childlike foolishness they engage in when they both shout out the word penis within range of public hearing(private joke between the two), the subtle but heartwarming way Summer knows that Tom is looking for validation from her so she takes her hand and holds his hand, how she went back to his apartment after he gets in a bar brawl with an a$$hole of a guy who was hitting on Summer( Tom and Summer are at a bar when this jerk starts hitting on Summer and even after seeing that she is with Tom he continues to harass her, so Tom being a stand up gentleman throws a good punch to his face, unfortunately this man is somewhat bigger than Tom and he proceeds to punch Tom back and beat him up quite badly) to show him that he DOES MEAN something to her. The love that Tom and Summer had was definitely real for BOTH of them, not just for Tom only as many other posters here have come away believing. Unfortunately, Tom and Summer weren't each others ULTIMATE love, and on an instinctive level Summer felt this but Tom did not, he wholeheartedly believed Summer was the one for him and you seriously couldn't blame the guy. At the end of the film, we find out that Summer does in fact get married.......but not to Tom. But this isn't actually a sad ending at all. The fact that Summer got married to ANYONE AT ALL is a miracle in itself, and she meets up with Tom again in the same spot in the park(she clearly did love him on some level as she remembered that Tom loved to sit in that particular spot in the park)specifically to find him and to give him a sense of resolution because she clearly does care for him. She tells Tom that their relationship taught her that she was wrong.....lasting love is real and she found it. No, it wasn't with Tom but it was thanks to Tom that she came to realize that kind of love can and does exist. Sensing that Tom is desperately yearning just for an answer, she gently reaches out with her hand to hold his.......to show him that he was right and that he wasn't wrong for loving her. At the very end of the film he meets another young woman named Autumn at an architect company who is applying for the same job he is. A quick conversation between the two reveals that she has many of the same interests that Tom has, and the film ends there hinting that perhaps Autumn is in fact Tom's ultimate love.

This is a true gem of a movie that any adult who has experienced both the joys and heartaches of a real relationship will completely empathize with. Indeed, you must go out and see it!

This is one of those good late night TV movies that you happen to come across and then decide to watch all the way through. It stars Yancy Butler as the murderous psychotic sociopath and an already badly aged Nick Mancuso. Deidre(Butler's character) has a history of violence and mental instability, and later on in the film its revealed that she even drowned her own sister back when they were teenagers because Deidre liked the same guy that her sister liked. David(Mancuso's character) once also led the same kind of life that Deidre led and still leads, one of alcohol and kinky S and M types of sexual pleasure. They were married for three years, but even David couldn't handle Deidre's chaotic personality. David eventually divorced Deidre and moved on with his life. David is currently re-married to Molly and has a young son named Michael. The problem is, Deidre hasn't moved on. In fact, she is even more obsessed with David than ever. She does everything including impersonate her psychiatrist, murdering that psychiatrist when she is caught, murdering a few other choice people, moving into the apartment across from David and Molly's to let them see her from the window, frame David for beating her to discredit him from the police and his own lawyer, to showing a kinky sex tape to David's lawyer of David and Deidre that was made when they were still married. This is more or less the poor man's version of Fatal Attraction. And the ending, well I won't give it away completely, but I will tell you that you won't underestimate little children anymore after you see it. All in all, its a great little movie that will keep you up late at night if you happen to catch it on some cable channel or you somehow happen to find in on DVD or (gasp!) VHS if they still exist.

Usually sequels turn out progressively worse as time passes by and different directors, producers, and actors all put on different airs that the original storyline and characters become lost as each remake takes its own spin. Thankfully, Superman Returns pays complete homage to its predecessors. From the opening credits that use the classic "blue light and capital letters" font to the very last scene in which Superman flies off into the blue sky to soak up our yellow sun, we clearly are getting a "new school" remake of the classic Superman franchise. And the scenes in which he rescues everyone from Lois Lane to just about everyone else on the planet from certain death will both glue your eyes to the screen and make you wish you were a victim in the movie just for a chance to have Superman save your life. Brandon Routh has successfully portrayed the Clark Kent and Superman role that the late Chris Reeve had synonymously fused into his character. Though he is a newcomer, at no point did I feel uncomfortable with his performance. Instead, I felt safe with him, you know the kind of stranger that you can tell is a good guy and is no longer a stranger the second you meet him. Everyone Superman fan or not will enjoy this superb addition to the Superman film franchise.