Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire

Not quite as enchanting this year

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Site


Fantasy/Mystery/Thriller
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith
Rated PG-13 (for violence and frightening images)
Running Time: 157 Minutes
Released:November 18th, 2005


2 Out Of 5 Bites

Not exacting the same spell as its predecessors, it will seem preposterous to some die-hard Potterphiles that, if this installment is any indication, the series has alighted upon a plateau of mediocrity by Potter standards. The film is chock-full of magic and rife with various requisite tests and challenges for young Harry and the problem is that most of them are underwhelming.

The grand draw attending some of the buzz around Goblet revolved around the overall thematic "darkness" of the movie (in comparison to the previous three) and the maturation of the main cast, namely, Hermione, Harry and Ron who are now captive to their full-blown adolescence. The movie may only be darker by virtue of the fact that the tolerable limit of their main fan base for such imagery is commensurate with the on-screen apparent aging of the principals. You can expect the envelope to be pushed with each successive Potter flick, much like the innocence of many a young female starlet or crooner is peeled away by an overzealous handler in an effort to sell away sexuality to the oversexed masses. And incidentally, it might be a natural thing for the characters to begin to take on the common adolescent themes revolving around relationships and their sexuality. While it remains to be seen how the issue here will be handled (if at all) and I'm presupposing it can be handled with some careful guidance.

I would argue Goblet is no darker thematically than it ever has been, only excepting the graphic detail in visual and conceptual subject matter regarding the magical rites performed. Again- depending on which direction and to whom age-wise the producers will continue to cater- what's left is to up the ante in what you'll show.

Fourteen-year-old Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is somehow chosen to be a participant in the Triwizard Tournament wherein the participants are set up against three tremendous tasks. The successful completion of one builds into the next. Harry is set against a trio of other young marvels from other schools. Each task calls upon not only successful magicianship, but calls the contender to sort through choices involving character in the face of peril. To its credit, the film aims to assign TO Harry positive traits in each of these.

The problem with the tasks are that each become less impressive than the preceding and by the time you realize this, you are also confronted with the paltry developmental character treatment of Harry's cohorts. Hermione seems to erupt into diva-esque emotive tantrums at the drop of some elusive instigating issue, but that can be forgiven given her maturational place. Ron (Rupert Grint) doles out his jealous punishment upon Harry in what he considers to be Harry's underhanded attempt to gain glory and notoriety, but actually cold-shouldering himself into a less-than-amusing series of snarls and now-patented Ron Weasley-Upturned-Mouth-I'm-A-Poor-Reject look. I thought the camera relied a bit too much on it.

In fact, the supporting roles of Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron need to be imbued with more attention. Behaviorally, Hermione is sometimes a mystery (good) and at other times a wash-out, betraying her penultimate ball-appearance in a very complimentary dress (bad). She had an air of greater complexity as the book-wormish child earlier in the series, but there should be some curiosity as to whether Hermione's complexity will be grounded more in the overtly visual, the suggestion of more depth of character or a crafty mixture.

Of note, Brendan Gleeson, the Defense Against the Dark Acts instructor, Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody, weaves in some comedic achievement. Maggie Smith's staid and staunchy Minerva is right on in a scene with Moody after he's transfigured a pugnacious student.

Antagonists are often most effective when operating powerfully out of the shadows. Lord Voldemort's appearance in bodily form, though only for a short time, defanged him more than elevated him. It was somewhat of a treat to discover Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort, but Voldemort's form before this final embodiment was tantalizingly more grotesque. But see if Fiennes' voice doesn't sound just a little bit like the sing-songy Garrison Keillor.

Good Night, and Good Luck

Luck does indeed have a sense of decency, quite namely in David Straithairn's straight-laced and harrowed portrayal of Murrow.

Official Good Night, And Good Luck Site
Historical Drama
Starring David Staithairn, Robert Downey Jr, Patricia Clarkson, George Clooney, Frank Langella, Jeff Daniels
Rated PG (for language, thematic elements)
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Released:Octber 7th, 2005


4 Out Of 5 Bites

For some unenlightened, younger moviegoers, the subject matter of Luck might not ring with as much familiarity as with those who experienced it in its time or the more avid history-buffs amongst them. There is enough in its compact ninety-three minutes to inform and engage and it stands out in its simple black-and-white, even while mostly taking place in the Columbia Broadcasting System's studios.

Contained as a major heading in most 20th century American history texts, McCarthyism is a moniker denoting a period of time from roughly around 1950-1954 where the fears of the Cold War were gripping the nation. Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy (a Republican) headlined an effort to out and eradicate suspected general sympathizers and members of the American Communist Party movement, banking on an earlier Communist scare from the forties. His six-hour speech on the Senate floor in 1950 pointed to around eighty State Department individuals suspected of ties to the Communists and fueled the snowballing efforts to corral them.

By the time revered CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow reported on McCarthy on his show "See It Now," much of the public support for McCarthy had subsided. Many had seen ABC's running of the congressional hearings and saw, first-hand, some of McCarthy's demeaning tactics. From one famous exchange came the oft-quoted words of the Army's Attorney General Joseph Welch to McCarthy: "Have you no decency sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"

Luck does indeed have a sense of decency, quite namely in David Straithairn's straight-laced and harrowed portrayal of Murrow. His Murrow is so dead-on that you'd say the same of McCarthy's character, if you didn't know it IS McCarthy cleverly weaved into the scenes. We see him ruffled, sweaty and fiercely pressing his case in such a way as to appear ghoulish enough to mar the uninitiated, despite what such a one might know about the subject matter.

The whole movie basically smokes a cigarette, hearkening viewers back to the days when cigarettes were status symbols- if not good for you- judging by the sheer number of ads from the time and smokers non-chanlantly portrayed on screen. This is part of the allure of the film in our health-conscious day.

It is a cigarette laced with the edginess of knowing the principals had a part to play in whether or not the news media would become the monolithic maker of story that it is today, or something much less a spectacle of itself and an actual reporter of happenings that affect us. Luck encapsulates that sort of nostalgic hope in what director George Clooney fashions onscreen as black and white images depicting a time and characters that wished things were as such.

Clooney unabashedly calls out the megalomaniacal TV news machines and chastens them on the grounds of catering to the advertising dollar as the film explores the tension between CBS president William Paley, (quitessentially played by Frank Langella), and Murrow and his producer Fred Friendly (Clooney).

Murrow took to McCarthy's successful efforts to have Milo Radulovich dismissed from the Army Air Corps amidst tenous allegations of his communist collusion. When McCarthy rebutted Murrow on-air, taking him up on his offer to do so, it was devastating for McCarthy.

And devastating for Murrow it would turn as well as complaining advertisers were shuffling their dollars elsewhere. "See It Now" would be shuffled and shelved as well, ringing the death knell for TV as transformative and protective news source and receding into the realm of sheer entertainment.

Luck might wax a bit apropos in our era of media-imposed terror, tension and intrigue. Rife with money makers playing on our fears and appearing in the capes of the alphabet news channels, there appears to be no more room in the news room for aggressive news reporting and fairness in the name of decency. Those with the most money seem to be able to own most of what can or won't be said across the board. It is in this that the days depicted in Luck proved most prophetic.

Walk The Line

Walk the Line hitches a solid giddy-up into cinematic acheivement.

Official Walk The Line Site
Music/Biography/Drama
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick
Rated PG-13 (for language, drug abuse scenes)
Running Time: 136 Minutes
Released:November 18th, 2005


4 Out Of 5 Bites

By now, in the well-saturated VH1 Behind The Music era in which we live, most pop-culture enthusiasts (or your general happenstance slacker) must be keenly versed in the roller-coaster ride type-scene that is the pop music journey into/out-of/into stardom. Born into impoverished (or less than rich) conditions, the subject discovers music, overcomes seemingly insurmountable obstacles to "make it," then falls out of favor into a drug-induced wackiness or soul-searching episode or due to some emergent accident only to find his or her way back. The themes are sequentially familiar and overexposed.

What ensures survivability (musical legends notwithstanding) is the discovery of and submission to something outside of onesself, something infinitely more powerful and gently and warmly coaxing in it's merciful wooing-back to the prospects of hope and thriving, despite past and present circumstances.

What makes Walk the Line work is that we see a side of the man Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) become something he could have never become on his own. Cash would sit in his Arkansas farm home and listen to the Carter family on the radio (especially the jovial June Carter, played by Reese Witherspoon) while his brother would be buried in the Scriptures, admittedly studying to be a "preacher."

We are soon introduced to the complexities of his struggles in a childhood accident that severs (or at least exacerbates) the strained relationship with his alcoholic father (played stoically by Robert Patrick, who at times didn't strike me as appearing a whole lot older than Phoenix). From that pivotal moment, which would becomes a cesspool of pain from which Cash frequently draws and drinks, comes an ironic flood of creativity and self-destruction.

While stationed in Germany, Cash secretly stole away to hidden places to write music and "Folsom Prison Blues" resulted. Upon returning home and sharing his desire to become a musician with his wife, the dissension between the two is evident in light of his failed stint as a door-to-door salesman. Who can blame Cash (for the job choice)? The problem for Cash at this point is that he does not know himself well enough to lead and love his family. He in fact can't truly love himself or others until some deep-seated emotional issues are raised.

Perhaps one of the most palpable moments in the movie happens early as Cash goes about trying out for a record deal with his patchwork band of lead guitar and upright bass before the great Sam Phillips of Sun Records in Memphis. Anyone who has ever tried out for anything in front of someone (or a group) for whom they needed to impress will not lose touch with the desperation of the moment in this scene, as Phillips ho-hums their worn-out gospel rendition. From his trademark langourous delivery peels away the facade and right there with fiery, but respectful persistence, the Man in Black is born as he breaks out "Folsom Prison Blues."

What happens from this point on is much the history (with some assumed fictional inclusions) of his musical inspirations, his broadening exploration into the riveting exesses his successful lifestyle was affording him and especially his drawing toward June Carter, who would begin touring with him, Elvis, Roy Orbison, Waylon Jennings (played by son Shooter) and Jerry Lee Lewis (hardly a lightweight crew). The majority of what rescues Cash is the chronicled journey of his love for June and certainly her love for him.

Two of the most worthy performances of the year are deposited by Phoenix and Witherspoon (who may get a best actor and supporting actress nods for their roles, respectively). Given the fact that Johnny and June weren't the most polished- by finely-tuned vocal standards- this doesn't take away from the acheivement of Phoenix and Witherspoon assuming the vocals in the film on their own.

Walk the Line is finely compelling, primarily in its nostalgic simplicity and the number of generations impacted by the Cash's. My father's generation may well remember hearing "Folsom Prison Blues" on the radio for the first time. His progeny and my Gen-X compatriots grew up for a time with the somewhat catchy radio tune of Cash's daughter Roseanne and her early eighties "Seven-Year Ache." And now the Millenials have Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" which received accolades prior to and after his death in September of 2003.

Like him or not, it isn't hard to appreciate Cash's dogged persistence and wildly irreverent journey that ended up in the simple straight and narrow when it needed to be said and done. And, arguably, none other said it or done it quite like he did.

Zathura

Zathura will work its space-magic on young boys.

Official Zathura Site
Family/Action/Adventure
Starring Jonah Bobo, Josh Hutcherson, Dax Shepard, Tim Robbins, Kristen Stewart
Rated PG (for brief language and hazardous situations)
Running Time: 113 Minutes
Released:October 28th, 2005



3 Out Of 5 Bites

Zathura unashamedly touts itself as one in the kind of 1995's Jumanji. While both films in question are from Chris Van Allsburg's books, the latter starred Robin Williams as a man who had been stuck in the netherworld of a board game for 26 years. Children happen across the game, release Williams- (along with a few wild jungle animals not quite as hirsute as Williams himself)- to do his gamey shtick while bonding with his liberator-kids. The film had some novel moments in it's time.

Zap forward ten light years (it'll seem after having seen Jumanji), coat the original plot line with a campy sci-fi pretext and, in Zathura, you have Jumanji meets Lost In Space, sans the loveably fidgety and annoying Dr. Smith.

Brothers Danny (Jonah Bobo) and Walter (Josh Hutcherson) manage to irk, thwart and incite their divorced father (Tim Robbins) into a series of minor domestic foibles that continuously involve the older brother Walter either ignoring the younger's pleas for attention or shamelessly humiliating him into physical or psychological submission. At times, the younger brother waxes a wee bit too whiny and it grates on the endurability factor. Additionally, there is a massive (to the Dad) accident involving a sensitive work project (read, blueprints- or something of the kind- are soiled by the kids' frolic-fighting). And so much so that Dad has to break out to the office to reprint them. And who didn't see this one coming? The movie is pretty much waiting to get the Dad out of the house so the real fun can begin.

Don't forget to insert the up-and-coming and beautifully-stern looking Kristen Stewart as the nebulous, self-conscious afterthought of a sister. She seems included in the film primarily to demonstrate an icky, yet innocently comical, come-on to the Astronaut (Dax Shepard) who is the one caught in the board game in this installment. You are left to your own devices to see why.

The game takes over and anything encountered therein happens in their reality- which happens to be a chunk of earth underneath their now-floating space-house. There are a series of episodic puzzles involving aliens, robots and meteors (et al) that the boys must solve by playing the game. Only with the introduction of the Astronaut do the boys stand a chance to get back.

While being too much of a plot spoiler to divulge the details in how the film resolves the relationship between these four primary characters, it does prove somewhat provocative in a kid-like and cozy way (with the obviously forgiveable scientific improbabilities such as being able to hear the spaceship engines go roaring by....IN OUTER SPACE!). And that is precisely who this movie is geared toward....eigth-to-thirteen-year-olds who won't be so easily shaken from their admiration of the imagination required throughout the picture.