Harry Potter Summer!

This is the biggest Harry Potter Summer ever. The 5th film and the 7th book all in the same month. Someone must be smiling upon Harry Potter fans everywhere. The long awaited final book of the Harry Potter series is out on the 21/07/2007 but until then Harry Potter fans can be contented with the 5th film. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is based on the 5th book of the series bearing the same name. The longest of the books so far with so many twists you'd easily lose your way. So how does the film live up to the legacy of the book? Is it a disappointing or aggravating version with so little in common that Harry Potter fans are left screaming "That's not right!" Well...

I was not disappointed. Although there were slight inaccuracies from the book but they could be forgiven for the quality of the film as a whole. The book was good and the film matched that reputation. It had the right mix of light and dark while not being overly "childish". Considering how dark the book was to read, I found myself laughing at very inopportune moments.

Harry Potter mania aside, as a film this was beautifully done and well worth watching for the art of it. If you don't like the Harry Potter madness then watch it as a film for what it is. The director went for a very artistic take on the story. The parts that had been left out or changed worked and the young cast has grown so well in their roles that the acting now seems second nature compared to the first film.

Daniel's portrayal of the disturbed teen was magical in itself. Couple that with the conflicted feelings portrayed by the other cast members and it all adds up to a deeply emotional film.

Easily the best film yet in the Harry Potter collection. Will the final book keep up this level of greatness?? Only time will tell.

Film Review: Shrek the Third

This is the third and apparently final installment of the Shrek films. Built up beyond belief on the back of the previous two. If it was going to live up to the Shrek name it had to be good. A tough task by all accounts.

The cast of Shrek returned to tell us the next part of the Shrek and Fiona story. Characters that made a welcome return included, the Gingerbread Man, the three blind mice, Prince Charming and many more. Plus it introduced Art voiced by none other than Justin Timberlake (put the torches and pitchforks down please).

So how does this one shape up? Can this final installment be everything that we hoped it would? Well to tell you the truth I was disappointed, not surprisingly, but I was. The story was good, but I can see children getting bored easily as there was no where near as much "action" as there was in the other two. This film had a moral and important message, however I don't really think that this was the sphere to tell it.

Musically the first two were fantastic, the music within them was used to perfection. This installment was not up to standard. In the first two the music was so memorable, but this didn't seem to have anywhere near the caliber of the other two.

Overall as a children's film it fulfilled its role to a good degree. As a family film it was OK but it was trying to hard to have "adult" parts within it. As the final installment, it completes the story quite well. If you enjoyed the other ones then I suggest you watch it for completeness but I give you this warning IT IS NOT AS GOOD AS THE FIRST TWO!!

I'd give it a 7/10