Do You Believe In Magic?

It was “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” which hit the celluloid screens carving its way to the number one slot for the weekend. No surprise there. It's a world wide phenomena. Directed by David Yates and written by Steve Kloves, the film is based on the book of the same title from J. K. Rowling.

But it's not a movie about magic.

It's a movie about people and how they correspond with each other through feelings. There's greater interaction here especially between the three major characters who are older, a little wiser, and have a run of hormones going through them.

Naturally, it's to be expected. The three major characters, Harry, Hermione and Ron are all best friends who have spent much time growing up and the confusion of feelings would be... somehow magical? Quite the contrary. It's interesting to note that the feelings shared between the characters makes the drama of the film. It feels less of a children story now.

Mixed feelings are tossed around in a bag of confusion. Harry likes Hermione, Ron likes Hermione, Hermoine likes Harry, and so forth. And it helps to make this film more interesting even though the film is well laden with an extra package of special effects. The film moves at a steady pace.

Most of the supporting characters in the Hogwarts University and the Order of the Phoenix are wiped out during the first wave of the attacks including a wedding where many of the professors are seen celebrating with dance and drink. They get their pants pulled down in the middle of it all when the evil wizard Lord Voldemort makes his attack.

Harry and his two friends are forced to find refuge as they separate themselves from their families and loved ones. There is nothing left for them to do but run from the center of the storm. But by putting the three characters in the spotlight, it brings the children actors a greater chance to shine. There are many funny moments between them along with some dramatic impact.

There is one interesting scene where Harry tries to search for the pieces of the Deathly Hallows passed down to him through oral storytelling. The Elder Wand is one-third of power from a triangle of three brothers who once possessed the sword, a resurrection stone and an invisibility cloak.

However, Harry and his friends search for the Horcruxes that are created to help Vordemort regain his power… making him strong enough o destroy Harry. So they search for these lockets to destroy them.

When they needed to destroy a locket called a Horcrux with the sword of Gryffindor, Ron is treated to a vision that would haunt him: he would be shown how Harry and Hermione would become lovers while taunting him at the same time. His worst fears come to wound him. It was a test of wills that could have eroded their friendship. But instead Ron chose not to believe in the visions with the help of Harry.

And the film is really about the strengths and weaknesses of their relationship. They are childhood friends now growing up and trying to understand each other as adults. Some feelings of desire or anger would eventually swallow them.

At the same time, the film is setting up for the next and final chapter. So it's going to be a big payoff. And a very big send off which will resolve all the mystery surrounding the film series. The Deathly Hallows film did not choose to be big and bombastic like the previous entries. Instead, the film explored the minor impact of love and anger in a friendship that started so long ago. The films are coming to a conclusion and so is their longstanding friendship.

Will the next film be successful? There is a big build-up to the final scene of part one, so the next chapter will have to be a roller coaster of a ride for a finishing end. There are still a lot of unanswered questions. There are still plenty of feelings between the major characters. And there is still one major bad guy Voldemort who still needs to be fought. Will the film ending live up to the expectations? It's a tall order. But I'm feeling very optimistic because of the first part is a great character study. The next chapter should be an explosive one.

It was Dumbledore who has the Elder Wand still in his dead hands. The film ends with Voldemort seemingly victorious while standing over the long dead Dumbledore as the evil wizard grips the Elder Wand, one of the most powerful weapons… standing over a force of good if a blanket of shadow is casting over everything.

Grab a broom and a magic wand. And make a good wish that the films will find a satisfactory end.

A Northern Review

There are some movies that you come across by accident and it turns out to be a modest gem that you have to get the word out.

The film “Far North” is very much like this.

You want to make a movie very cheap. You do it like this. You get a couple of known actors, an isolated area and a few sets, nothing more. It isn't very expensive to make. But you are still able to make a statement just as well as any explosive, much hyped blockbuster movie doped with the stupid.

“Far North” isn't like that. The film is independently made and didn't get a very wide release. It's probably better this way. It was directed by Asif Kapadia and based on a Sara Maitland short story.

But I also argue that it is a horror film. Which is why the film “Far North” finds its way into the pages of my blogs.

Some might ask me, “A horror movie?”

Yes.

The film centers on nomadic Asian women, a mother and daughter, who goes across the northern regions looking for safe points to rest at. They are alone in the midsts of snow and ice. The mother, played by Michelle Yeoh, performs very well as a woman who is still haunted by her past. And moreover, the curse that was given to her family by a shaman telling her that harm will come to those she loved most. Then a third person, a man, played by Sean Bean, enters the foray and complicates matters... a sea of feelings begin to swirl as they fall into a strangest love triangle you have ever seen. But the feelings of desire becomes that of jealousy and rage.

It sounds like a drama movie. And it is. But there are many elements of horror to be found in the film that could be easily missed.

The film is set in absolute isolation. There is nothing here except for the vastness of snow banks and water that were iced over by the winter season. There are miles and miles of nothingness seen in every direction except for the large white hills and the rocky slopes trampled by low temperatures. It is a frightening place to be living.

There is only one way of getting food which is through hunting. So the skills of the hunter must be important to surviving in the winter trap. The world has become a forsaken place filled with torturous loneliness and it remains indifferent to those who live in it.

There are many scenes of animals being cut up and prepared for food. This is merely a point of the movie that is preparing for the worst in the end.

Michelle Yeoh's character has several flashbacks when she is a younger woman. Many people say that these portions of the film are stark and fake. But I disagree. The pieces of the past show a woman formed by loneliness as she watches as a young woman the only man she loved killed by poachers. And she was forced to kill someone.

Yeoh is a very good actress as seen here. There is no room for her to use her martial arts in a story like this. Nor would there have to be. The story is centered on motherhood. And the boundaries of motherhood that could push one over the edge. She saves her daughter from the poachers before she sets her life in hiding. Yeoh is to be commended here for making a convincing performance of a mother who is a little bit crazy.

But the horror of the film comes in the end. And I'm not giving anything away here as it is one of the bleakest things to hit the screens. If you do not wish to be spoiled by the ending, don't read on. But for others who may have a macabre interest, please do keep going. Because this is where fiction and reality becomes so blurred that it is like hell exploding in the middle of the wintry landscape.

Feelings and desire snap between the three people in a close knot together. Bean becomes attracted to both the mother and daughter. I don't blame them. They are both very beautiful in their own ways. But the daughter is teasing like a young girl discovering her sexual desires for the first time. The mother is discovering herself as if she is a young woman again. The mixed feelings become very dangerous and uncertain. There are times when the mother warned the man to stay away or there will be consequences.

It is what the mother does to the daughter that is very horrifying... you don't see the gore in the film. Nor do you have to. But she cuts her daughter up Ed Gein style and tries to pass herself as a younger woman in one of the most warped endings. You'll find that the character Sean Bean plays simply runs off in the middle of the lovemaking after he finds out what has befallen him... and he runs naked out in the snow.

It's a very brutal and savage movie. And therefore it takes a very small place in the realm of horror fiction. But it is a beautiful film too for all the location work done here. You'll find no explosions here or any action. You'll find no eye candy special effects masking themselves as a story.

What you'll find is a very disturbing story which explores the humanity of people. And what loneliness could do to someone if he or she remains on their own for the longest time. Such loneliness can takes it toll on anyone. People always want to be loved and felt like they belong to someone. Some people will do anything, anything, to have their feelings reciprocated. The butchery of humanity can often be an expression of feeling, however morbid.

Who is on the Shelves?

Sometimes Oshkosh surprises me.

Not often. But it’ll come up with a surprise like getting a small gift out of a Crackerjack box.

I made the bet that I wouldn’t be able to find the Doctor Who Fifth Season with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan out on the shelves in the Oshkosh Best Buy store. I have found that they were downsizing a lot of their stores to promote other electronic crap like big flat screen TVs or fancy cameras.

But I did find the Doctor Who set and bought it while on sale. So I was very pleased to see it on the shelf. So I’m still able to find something once in a while in the Best Buy store. Again, it doesn’t happen often.

The box set was released yesterday in commemoration to the Doctor Who anniversary which is Nov. 22. But the housewarming gift offers the first true glance at the episodes including the Eleventh Doctor and the erstwhile companion Amy Pond.

There are all thirteen shows of the series with plenty of special features. Not a bad packaging with a different design, being a little better put together nowadays. You’ll get a few extra items such as artist’s renderings of the TV show on cards. There’s a whole feeling of “new” here.

One of the interesting extras is the in-view commentary made by the staff of Doctor Who while watching the first episode “The Eleventh Hour.” It was an aptly titled show. More interesting, the show-runner and head writer Stephen Moffat mused on the idea of calling the episode in the original drafts “The Doctor Returns.” I’m glad he didn’t use that one. From a writer’s point of view, the title isn’t really as exciting. I like the title “The Eleventh Hour.” It’s better, classy, and very original.

And original is the key note of the fifth series. The long string of good writing can be seen throughout the stories. The scripts are tighter, it’s very fast paced and an interesting quality which keeps you glued to your seats. You’ll find new creatures and old… every bit of it taking part of the Doctor Who universe which is like a very large canvas on which you keep painting on. You’ll always find something new within these shows as they are very detailed and laden with great moments of television creativity.

So revisit the Weeping Angels and the Daleks once more here. And you’ll find the precious gems of my own favorite shows such as “The Eleven Hour,” the two part Weeping Angels episode, “Vampires of Venice,” “The Doctor and Vincent,” “The Lodger” and the final two part show with reveals the mystery of the series in a very masterful way. It is like watching the great designer Moffat piecing together all the puzzle and making sense out of everything. It’s great. And you’ll never go wrong with the Doctor playing football in the “The Lodger,” probably one of the funniest bits in the shows. Yes, the Doctor wears a shirt with the number "11."

But it is the one part at the beginning of “Vampires of Venice” where the Doctor pops out of a cake to wish his friend a happy marriage. But then he turns everything upside down by telling Rory that his companion Amy tried to make out with him. You get to wonder if the Doctor is really the biggest jerk in the universe. The scene stealing Matt Smith is like the cherry on top of the cake. He’s great in it.

And the thrust of his personality is very well established here. And you can explore further into the Doctor’s dark side in the following excellent episode “Amy’s Choice” where you learn of his worst qualities… a jealous man who wants Amy for himself. He is fascinated by her much like a scientist is interested in a lab test. This is the height of the series where you learn that the Doctor… is not really someone you can completely trust. It’s a brilliant episode. And a great performance made by the wonderful Toby Jones. You’ve never seen the Doctor quite like this before.

The overall series works very well and is still only a corner of the masterplan that Moffat still devises. There are still pieces that remain unsolved such as the “silence will fall” theme. And also the background of River Song who remains an integral part of the Doctor’s life.

But here is it. The box set that is spearheaded into the American market finally. You can enjoy it and relive the many fine moments throughout. Or you can bash the hell out of it in disgust. But I wouldn’t advise you to bash it. Give it a try. There’s some good science fiction here which takes the series back to its original roots.

The Doctor keeps on traveling. With all the extra baggage.

I Saw Enough in "Saw"

I’m a big horror fan.

But I hate the Saw movies.

That sounds like a juxtaposition. But it isn’t. My feelings about the Saw films are based on reasonable thought and common sense. I have never seen any of the Saw films all the way through. I can say it with some pride. I’ll never will. Not even if you force-chain me to a chair with my eyes kept open Clockwork Orange style.

Never. Never ever.

It’s based on all this mountain of anger that I won’t be going to the Saw 3D movie anytime soon. A film by Twisted Studios and distributed by Lionsgate films. My small hopes is that the film is going to do so lousy that I’ll never have to hear word of it again. It is said that the seventh film in this franchise is going to be the last entry.

Good.

However, I’ve heard that one before. When was the last time you heard they were going to make the final “Friday the 13th” movie? And yet they keep coming out with it like it’s being cranked out celluloid hell.

If this is going to be the last one, I’m all for it. The sixth and previous film didn’t do very well in the box office and led the series into a wind-down with an ending. The seventh film, apparently, is doing well enough in the box office tickets (with a gross revnue of $42,507,466 so far) that there is still elbow room for the higher-ups to reverse their decision in not making another film. I wouldn’t be surprised if they decide to go with another one sooner or later.

I’ve seen bits and pieces of the first and third entries of the series. One was enough. More than one was getting sickening. It is a rehash of murdering/torturing spree often involving sharp needles and knives. What fun. The basic idea of the series is very interesting: the idea of a dying man who somehow managed to survive his cancer treatment and decides to teach others the lesson of life. That’s all good and fine. There’s a good premise in it. The idea of the man wearing a pig mask could have some interesting symbolism too as pigs often are killed in butcher shops. They could have made something good out of it.

However, it is how the film is executed in a manner of gloating gore running amok. They like to take their gleeful time in showing torture methods in slow and bloody detail. I don’t take delight in watching someone slowly dying in the most violent ways possible. And it is true I am a horror fan to no end, and I have seen my share of bloody movies, it’s just the manner of which the Saw movies are made which repulses me.

I’ll give you an example of a very good horror movie that has a lasting impact on me.

Whenever I’m alone at my place during a trail-blazing thunderstorm, cluttered with shattering lightening, the entire block could be knocked out of electricity. I’ll be engulfed in darkness in the apartment by myself with the bombardment of thunder tearing through the skies. I’m alone in my apartment. There is nothing I can see except the black abyss that speaks in silence to me.

It isn’t Saw that I’m thinking of in my head.

It is the film Exorcist.

Why? The film has frightened me since I was a child because of the atmosphere created in the film. It is what the inner imagination can cause you to think. It is the notion of darkness and what hides in the far corner which bothers me most. Throughout my entire life, I have a small fear of long winding staircases of old houses… the very same kind of old staircases from the film Exorcist where the girl bellows with a demon like wail at the top. It is those thoughts which fill my head when the lights go out.

There is a long staircase in my apartment.

The Exorcist leaves those tantalizing fears still lingering in my thoughts.

But never the film Saw because it rides on making you grossed out. It relies on making you sick. It wants to make you have a gut-wrenching feeling after you watch it.

However, the film like The Exorcist plays on the threads of darkness that circles around you… and the idea of something living inside each and every one of us, including a little girl named Regan MacNeil, makes for frightening stuff. The Exorcist is able to create a somber mood that is relentless in its horror and grow very terrifying in its willful atmosphere. There is something foreboding about darkness in this film even after so many years.

There are other movies that makes for close second most frightening movies for me because of the way the films are made: filled with creepy girls with strings of black hair moving like insects in the Asian horror films such as “Ringu” which began the next generation of chilling effects. It’s very creepy how the ghosts would movie here, very different to our own ghosts… they move fast as if they are on webs while you stand in a captivity of fear. Other great Asian horror films inlcudes those made by the Pang brothers such as “Recycle” and “The Eye.” In fact, I’ve tried watching “Recycle” on Halloween night and found myself stopping about halfway… because it became simply too creepy. I managed to watch the rest of it the following night.

Other excellent horror films relying on the inner spirit of horror would be “Psycho” in 1960 which explored what could make a son go mad should he have a domineering mother who abused him.

These films work on mood and atmosphere.

There are two different approaches to the horror film. Number one, there’s the gory kind such as Saw which fails to impress me at any length. It only succeeds in sickening me.

And there is the other kind which opens the door to greatest weaknesses and makes you naked with fear.

It makes you think about how much the horror film approach has been perfected by the Asian culture which centers itself on mood without being explicitly gory. The filmmakers of the Saw series could learn a lot from the likes of such Asian endeavors in the horror field.

But I won’t be seeing Saw 3D anytime. Call me scared. Call me foolish. Whatever. You’ll have to kidnap and drag me screaming and kicking like a crazy loon before tying me to the chair. Even then, I’ll still find a way not to watch it.

I know what Saw 3D is going to be about anyway.

It’s doing rather well right now in the box office and may even garner another sequel. That is my greatest fear of them all.