HP&theDethlyHallows,PartIISE(2-Dsc)(DVD)

great movie for the teens

In this superb conclusion to the tale we've been following for over a decade, the intrepid Harry Potter finds that only by satisfying his hankering for Horcruxes can he hope to defeat the dark lord. Most of the film is spent following his search for these last few objects, and what could have been a tedious series of fetch quests is kept from falling into the realms of boredom by a sense of pacing so perfect the future film student in me started taking notes. Admittedly, my last movie experience was Transformers: Dark of the Moon, a "film" with such atrociously jarring momentum that I nearly disgorged my five dollar hot dog (but five dollars is five dollars, so I willed it down). Even though anything will seem well-paced by comparison, I haven't been so blown away by such artful interweaving of action and calm, fear and love, and an ensemble cast, since, well, ever. [Warning: Contains SPOILERS!] The most powerful example of this is when Harry ends up alone in the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the giant showdown between good and evil. After seeing young students cut down by death eaters as they tried to hold their own in a war that was far beyond them, after witnessing stone statues come to life and make battle with club-wielding giants, after bridges burn, forcefields collapse, and spirits break, after dementors are driven off by those who refuse to relinquish their hope, we find ourselves in a clearing of silence. Turning the resurrection stone in hand, Harry is suddenly accompanied by the ghosts of those he cares most deeply for: Sirius, Lupin, and his parents. Their undying love for him brought tears to my eyes, for it is a love that continued into the afterlife not thanks to some magic, but because all those who have left us live on in our hearts. The writing was beautiful, the acting sublime. The calm in the center of the storm, this one scene is a masterpiece of pacing. The rest of the storm was nothing to shake a stick at either, not that shaking a stick at a storm is really that common of an activity. In fact, I'm not sure that it would accomplish much of anything, unless the stick is a wand and you have control over the weather. Then it would definitely help. Anyway, the point of all this is to say that, while the emotional punch packed by Deathly Hallows Part 2 is nothing to shake a wand at, the visuals are equally impressive. For instance, cast your imagination gaze on Gringotts. Its labyrinthine rollercoaster-tangle transportation system is a wild ride that puts every Six Flags everywhere to shame, especially since it ends with a dragon. Now, a lot of movies have done dragons (Harry Potter included), but this was potentially my favorite CGI beastie ever (don't worry, Toothless. No one can replace you). The dragon was not a glorious mount of yore, but rather an emaciated, abject figure, trapped underground for his natural life, chains cutting into his majesty and leaving nothing but raw, bloody hopelessness. The creature instantly evokes overwhelming pity, something I've rarely witnessed from CGI. Dragons are basically my favorite, but if there's one thing I love more, it's love itself. We all knew the Ron Hermione romance was going to come to a head. The only question was, after so many years of buildup, could the climax do it justice? I, for one, say that nothing has ever been more just. You know that moment in truth or dare when someone asks you your most seductive fantasy and you finally let spill the secret you've never told anyone? You launch into graphic detail, explaining that it's all about thrusting your basilisk fang into a goblet-shaped Horcrux in the Chamber of Secrets while under attack from a giant watery snake that eventually comes crashes over you? We've all been there. Everybody gives you these weird looks, as if that's somehow not the hottest thing ever. Ron and Hermione certainly thought it was, because they immediately launch into a passionate kiss that had the theater cheering up a storm. Perhaps the most beautiful scene is the one bathed all in white. Halfway between life and death, Harry finds himself in King's Cross Station, his own personal limbo. There, the sage and mysterious Dumbledore delivers some of the most compelling wisdom in years of cinema. The English major in me rejoiced when such a beloved figure told us that words are the most powerful magic, able to do great harm but also to heal. I'm using words right now, and man do I feel mighty. And when Harry asked "Is this all just in my head or is it real?" and Dumbledore responded with "Of course it's in your head, but that doesn't mean it's not real." Gah! So sagacious! But enough nonsensical gushing. As perfect as this movie was (and it was), there were still a few things that I would've done differently. The whole series is about the battle between Harry and Voldemort; this is a showdown ten years in the making, and I wanted it to be perfect. The buildup was there, but when the final blow was dealt, it felt understated. Voldemort simply drifts away into nothingness. If it were me, I'd have Harry explain the entire Deathly Hallows wand switching thing while the two of them struggled against each other, beams of energy locked in a pulsing impasse. Then, as soon as it became clear that Harry was going to win, he'd shout "Avada Kedavra!" and Voldemort would EXPLODE. That's how a dark lord goes out. In fact, I could go for a lot more spell shouting in general. Aberforth Dumbledore should've bellowed "Expecto Patronum!" before taking care of all those dementors, and Molly Weasley definitely needed to scream some serious stuff at Bellatrix before the end. And I know it would've gone against the books and fans everywhere would have gone on a David Yates manhunt, but I could've done without that 19 years later scene. I just don't think it works in the film version. After having been underwhelmed year after year by subpar adaptations of the formative novels of my youth, finally have I received the cinematic experience I've long craved. At long last, we are given epic battles of half-giant proportions, momentous stakes that belie the series' light-hearted origins, and characters whose superb performances tug at our dragon-heart strings. At long last, we have a film that is truly magical. Score: 5/5 ¢ Also, let it be noted that Neville is a champion. Check out more on "The Nickel Screen" (Google it!)

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS Part 2 moves forward where it left off with Dobby's death toward a stunning conclusion with the final violent confrontation between Harry and Lord Voldemort. The richly crafted characters bring a lot of warmth and humor between all of the tense situations, which makes the whole project such a delight to watch. However satisfying the conclusion is, winding up the tale nineteen years later with a grown-up Potter and friends seeing their children off to Hogwart, I found some discomfort in the decision to play many key scenes in almost complete darkness. I repeat here what I said in my review of Part 1: "Many of the 'dark' scenes are too dark for eye comfort, but then the whole story has a dark atmosphere of brooding and impending evil about to erupt." Still, I think the contrast between light and dark was "off" once again in the DVD transfer and too many scenes are underlit and obscured by bad lighting techniques. Having said that, the performances are all first-rate, with all of the British thespians doing fantastic jobs in both leading and pivotal roles. But the standout among all the players is Alan Rickman as "Snape." His character is revealed to be much more than the one-dimensional man he seemed to be in earlier chapters. He speaks every word with great authority. And, of course, the other standout is Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort, hissing his lines in a threatening manner accompanied everywhere by a slithering snake. Seeing him get his comeuppance is one of the major satisfactions in the whole story. An almost unrecognizable Ciaran Hinds turns up as Aberforth Dumbledore, one of the many "surprises" among the supporting players. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint do their usual ensemble playing with finesse, embodying their characters more completely than ever. Alexandre Desplat's background score is stirring whether it's being forceful or gentle and is a pleasure to listen to under the closing credits. Summing up: A very satisfying conclusion to an epic series.

The movie was an entertaining version of the book and easily held my attention all the way through; while it is somewhat dark and menacing it tells the story of Harry's final battle with Voldemort in an exciting fashion which will be enjoyable to watch repeatedly. The Epilogue, "Nineteen Years Later" is faithfully presented at the end of the movie as it is in the book. Both sound and picture are good and contribute to the telling of the story. I've now watched all three discs and downloaded the movie to my computer and it all worked just fine. The download is a formidable 2 GB's and takes a few minutes on a cable connection but it downloaded and played back. The download instructions tell you that Flixster and Adobe Air must be installed on your computer and automatically starts the process if those two programs aren't already on your computer. I didn't have either of them so I had to download and install them after which I downloaded the movie. The movie is now downloaded to my computer and plays back through the Flixster software; I've played the first few minutes and it seems to be going well. When I first tried the Blu-ray disc my player (OPPO BDP83-SE) froze and wouldn't do anything; I had to cut the power to the player then restarted the player, ejected the disc and then reinserted it at which time it played perfectly. I have no idea why it froze the first time and played perfectly the second time. Since then I've played the DVD version and replayed the Blu-ray version as well as the Special Features disc all with no problem. The movie is based on the book, not a movie version of the book; having said that I think the movie version has merit which can be enjoyed for what it is even though it varies from the book's version of the story. All of the key elements of the book's version are there but just packaged to get there by different routes. In her conversation with Daniel Radcliffe, J.K. Rowling makes some comments on the differences between her book version and the movie version; the movie's version of the story obviously had the author's apporval. The Special Features disc included some excellent resources including a conversation between Daniel Radcliffe and J.K. Rowling. This conversation provides some fascinating background on the writing of the books and the making of the movies. If you have an interest in the franchise this is a conversation you don't want to miss; J.K. Rowing explains a lot of her thinking that was influential in the production of the movie and the writing of the stories. Normally I don't download movies that I have on Blu-ray to my computer; in this case I made an exception because of the various comments from other reviewers. I was really curious how it would work out with Flixster and the downloaded version of the movie. So far so good; I'll set aside some time to watch the entire movie on my computer and if anything noteworthy occurs I'll update this review. One thing I did notice was when I stopped the movie and later went back to it the movie started again at the beginning, not the point where I stopped it. On balance I think the movie is effective, powerful and even has some touching moments; those who appreciate the characters involved in the story will probably find the movie well worth their time.

I knew coming into this that the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" was going to be incredible. I had heard from others that had seen it that it was very true to the book. They were right. I was amazed to see the 2nd half of the book come to life on the big screen. The special effects were incredible! I do remember crying a few times during a few scenes... Which is a good thing of course. The acting was great. Of course Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson were terrific as always (loved them in the epilogue). But the one person's performance who I just adored, even though he wasn't in the movie much was Alan Rickman as Severus Snape. Talk about a riveting performance. He deserves an award for the scenes he was in! The scene between him and Harry was just so emotional and perfect. You really learn to love Snape in this film. I know everyone probably knows what happens but just in case, I'm not going to say. I understand that many people are not happy with the ultraviolet digital copy of the movie that comes with this. I have never used the digital copy of the movies I have purchased on Blu-Ray/DVD combo packs so this doesn't really affect me but I do understand why others are unhappy...who wants to pay for a digital copy of a movie they have already bought?! Anyway..... All in all this was a great ending to an incredible decade of Harry Potter. I still can't believe it's been 10 years since The Sorcerer's Stone came out. Definitely buy this, whether on DVD or the Blu-Ray combo pack...you are going to LOVE it if you haven't seen it already!

Siempre miro estas películas

Even if you never cared much about the "Harry Potter" movies this one is worth seeing/buying. A+ hit...out of the park! I was skeptical of these so-called children's books being produced for the big screen, at first. But after my nieces & nephews talked me into making the 90min. round trip to our local theater a few times, all of the sudden I was hooked. Nothing like LOTR's, but never was intended to be. This last chapter in the "HP" series has got to be the biggest surprise to me of all. I expected a freeze dried ending with a little icing on top (after DH1). Could not have been further from the truth. Great ending & some nice twists and turns between. A movie in my opinion well worth owning on it's own merits.If you watch "DH1&2" back to back...this gives the viewer a better idea of what I think the screen writers are trying to convey and absolutely gives the movie more of an even flow from beginning to end. Sounds excellent... I have a Bose 5:1 surround system and for visuals a Samsung LN46A650 and the visual are also A+ for this very well done blu-ray. It really is a keeper. Oh almost forgot the extras...you will need plenty of time examine them all. The DVD is also a nice touch. Put the blu-ray disc up for big people and the DVD a little lower for small hands on our precious little ones...is that not what our lives are really all about...they are our future. Change is Inevitable, Growth is Optional

I do not give a hoot about the availability of digital copies, it is not something I use or care about since once a film is 10 or 12 years old it will be streaming all over the place on my subscription service anyway. For me blue ray is fine and having the standard DVD with it for now is nice if you still have devices that don't have blue ray drives on hand like I do. So all the issues people were having w/ Ultraviolet and digital rights/availability are not an issue for me and my rating is based on the film itself. This is now one of my favorites of the Harry Potter films, perhaps the one I like the best of all. Well done! A really fitting end to this series, it doesn't disappoint, brings all the loose ends together neatly and retains the "epic adventure" aspect of the earlier films. Plus, it offers a more mature moral, ethical, and philosophical "message" in its content that is understated in the other films but rightly so. The characters are just now at adulthood where the depth of these issues becomes meaningful and realized. After watching it I went back and watched Part 1 again. I was disappointed in Part 1 the first time around and did not find it up to par with the other films - thought it was dull, the plot dragged, and lacked the innovative and engaging aspects and little details of Rowling's "world" that the other films demonstrated. I have to say that Part I seems much much better to me after watching Part 2, especially given the culmination of the deeper messaging I just described in the above paragraph of this review. Overall I have been really pleased with this series of films and found the end of the story to be well executed and satisfying despite that they are a children's story. But then again this was the original intent of Star Wars and Tolkien wrote the Hobbit initially for his own children. Adult friends of mine suggested I read the Potter books and so I have started on the first, breezing through it of course. Rowling is no Tolkien, let me just say that. The story elements engage, but the writing is remarkably curt and pedestrian, even for a children's novel. I have been told this improves/becomes more age appropriate as one moves on through the books, though. I must say I enjoy and am thoroughly entertained by the little world and characters Rowling has created and so enjoy the films immensely no doubt due to the high quality of the productions as far as script, direction, acting, costume, sets, and effects are concerned. Top notch all the way around. I recommend the entire series if you enjoy the fantasy genre but struggle to find HIGH QUALITY production outside of the LOTR series.