"The boy who lived, come to die."-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) Review

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Review

Director: David Yates

Genre: Adventure/Fantasy

Codestar30 Rating: 8/10

The tittle of this movie is really long!

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), 2 wizards and a witch, live in a world where magic is very much real. Harry's nemesis, the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has taken over the wizarding world. Harry, Ron and Hermione must find the last 3 horcruxes, objects in which Voldemort has placed part of his soul, and destroy them if they are to have a chance of defeating him and saving the world from his evil and tyranny. 

The effects and C.G.I. were all very impressive and believable. You were never given a moment to realise it was fiction. 

As usually the film was not as true to the book as it could have been, and of course chunks have been missed out, but as this book was split into 2 parts, these problems are not to the same scale as pervious Harry Potter films. The story is however good due to the renowned writing of J.K Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books.  IF you haven't read the books then you are likely to be more impressed with the story, but even if you have read them  the film does do the book justice.

The acting of Daniel Radcliffe disappointed me once again, and I feel as the movies have progressed, and he has aged, his acting has declined. The performance given by Ralph Fiennes was a little over the top, but never the less he makes an excellent Voldemort and plays the part very well. Although he did not have such a major part in this movie I wish to compliment Alan Rickman on his portrayal of Severus Snape. Emma Watson and Rupert Girt's acting was fine. Warick Davis, who played both Griphook the goblin and Professor Flitwick did so very well. 

This movie is the darkest of the Harry Potters by far, and boasts more blood and gore, more death, more violence, and more destruction than you may have come to expect from the series. I would suggest that you do not show this movie to smaller children who have seen the other films, as it is on an entirely different level.

This movie has been hailed as the best of the entire saga, and I would agree this description is not without merit. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was certainly among the best of the series, and yes perhaps even the best. Obviously I would recommend this film to anyone who has followed the saga so far, whether through the books, films, or both. However before recommending it to anyone else I would strongly suggest they see the first 7 films or the the books or they will simply be lost as to what is going on. This movie should not be watched as a stand-alone.  

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will cast a spell on you. 

"Welcome to the real world."-The Matrix (1999) Review

The Matrix Review

Director: Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski

Genre: Action/Sci-Fi

Codestar30 Rating: 9/10

By day, Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is a programer for a respectable software company. By night, however, he is the notorious computer hacker, known only as 'Neo'. Neo has sent some years in search of a fellow computer hacker, one has been branded a terrorist, known as Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne). Neo hopes that Morpheus will be able to answer the puzzled him for all those years; What is the "Matrix"? Morpheus contacts Neo, and when they meet Morpheus offers Neo a choice; He can take a blue pill, and he will forget it happened, or he can take the red pill, and discover the truth. 

'The Matrix' is widely regarded as the best Action/Sci-Fi film of all time. This reputation is well earned. The Matrix features some of the most iconic and referenced action sequences ever. Influence from this titan of a movie is noticeable in many action movies since. This is all of course due to the fact that the action sequences in 'The Matrix' are epic. This movie spews lead faster than Mini-Gun.

The acting is on the whole fairly good. Laurence Fishburne delivers and exceptional performance. Keanu Reeves could've been better. Carrie-Anne Moss, who plays Trinity, acts well. Hugo Weaving plays Agent Smith excellently. Joe Pantoliano portrays Cypher very well.

The special effects in 'The Matrix' were way ahead of their time, and are brilliant. This film is 12 years old yet it looks like it was made just yesterday. 

The story is mind blowing. The whole concept of the film is a stroke of genius, although it is impossible to describe in more detail without giving stuff away.

I would strongly recommend 'The Matrix' to anyone who likes action or science-fiction movies, and anyone who thought 'Inception' was good, because this film is Inceptions big daddy. 

'The Matrix' will really throw you don't the rabbit hole. 

"I told you I'd kill you, you little bitch!"-Crank (2006) Review

Crank Review

Director: Mark Neveldine and Brain Taylor

Genre: Action/Crime

Codestar30 Rating: 7.5/10

A hit man named Chev Chelios (Jason Statham), is injected with a poison that will kill him if his heart beats too slowly. Chelios must keep his heart beating fast enough to keep him alive by doing everything from having sex in public to sticking his hand in a waffle iron to keep adrenaline pumping through his veins, while he searches for the people who injected him with the 'Beijing Cocktail' so he can take his revenge before he is killed by the poison. 

I like this film because it is kept very fast paced. There is scarcely a dull moment, as Chelios must do stuff to keep himself exited to survive, so we the audience are kept exited to by his non-stop adrenaline fueled antics. There's a good amount of actions, with shoot outs, fist fights and car chases. So for those who don't enjoy slow paced movies this is the perfect film for you. 

The acting by Jason Statham is fairly good in 'Crank', and it's the first movie I've seen where I don't think he's crap in it. He suits the part well.

The effects are pretty bad however. For example, at the end there is a scene where Chelios is falling out of a helicopter. For this scene a green screen would have clearly been used to make it look like he's falling towards the ground, but the C.G.I is just terrible. It looks more like Jason Statham is laying on a picture of the earth from a distance, with a bind of wind blowing his clothes around a bit. 

Overall though I definitely enjoyed this movie and would recommend it to action lovers, people who love fast paced movies, and Jason Statham fanboys. Your heart beat won't slow down for a moment while watching 'Crank'.