The Minority Report - "Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2" (2011)

“Only I can live forever.”
This is it…the last chapter in the saga. This is the movie no one was waiting for. After this movie, it's finally the end of everything "Harry Potter." For me, it has just ended as of a few hours ago. Honestly, I'm a big fan of the franchise (book-wise) and have been for some time now. The thing is, book aside, this was an excellent movie. David Yates finally proved to me that he isn't a bad director; he just needs four movies to get the hang of it. “Deathly Hallows – Part 2” really delivered on its expected dose of action, acting, suspense, story, and drama. The movie went out with a bang.

The film begins where the previous left off: Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has just attained the Elder Wand and is about to wage war against a reformed Hogwards under its new headmaster, Snape (Alan Rickman). Life is tough for those in the school, but even tougher for Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson), who just got done burying their friend and have to break into Gringotts bank to find yet another horcrux. After a harrowing escape on a dragon, they finally get back to Hogwarts in time for the attack. Good and evil are pitted in a war to the death where both sides will suffer losses. What ensues is an epic battle between the darkest wizard of all time and a kid that, over the course of seven years, has matured into a hero.

That’s pretty much all that can be said without spoiling the journey in the movie (even if you have already read the book). From the moment the movie begins, it is instant beautiful cinematography. Unlike its predecessor, this film doesn’t rely solely on its landscapes and panning shots to get you through the motions. Rather, it blends together artful direction with the brazen storytelling that Yates should have had from the beginning. When you aren’t surrounded by intense action, you are getting serious drama via dialogue; when you aren’t being torn apart on the inside by the drama, you are getting slapped in the face with some comedic moments here and there. This movie honestly seems to have it all. You can tell that the actors have been through a lot and have grown up since their early days. What results from this is an amazing farewell from a motley of great actors including Alan Rickman and Ralph Fiennes. This is a summer blockbuster that is all it is cracked up to be and more. It is most definitely not like watching paint dry on a canvas detailing the final magical clash between good and evil.


By Kulguy

The Minority Report - "Fight Club" (1999)

“Welcome to Fight Club. The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is: you DO NOT talk about Fight Club!”
This movie was one that I had been told to watch more than once. Its appeal was indubitable: it was a movie that was relatively middle-aged (from the 1990s), and sported a wacky plotline with strange and witty construction. Adapted from a 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk, the movie is pretty accurate with its portrayal. This film has also been the subject of many a controversy in its time. Mainly, though, the attacks are towards the movie’s portrayal of violence as acceptable alternative lifestyle that can aid with problems accosting an individual. This is true. But it’s ridiculous to keep blaming things for the choices people make. My opinion? Make people less stupid. Enjoy the damned movie, and that’s it.

The story starts off with a man by the name of…well…he doesn’t really have a name. The actor’s name is Edward Norton, though. He suffers from incurable insomnia which his doctor refuses to treat, and has to travel a lot for his job as a worker for an automobile company. Seeking a way to deal with his mounting problems, he begins attending a support group. This ends up helping him and he assumes different identities, attending a myriad of different support groups for different ailments and afflictions. Finding a person that does the same thing as him in the support groups, Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter), angers him, but they come to an agreement to split the support groups. Soon afterwards, though, he is traveling when he meets a man called Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) on a plane. Tyler is a traveling soap salesman, and the nameless main character envies his attitude and mode of life. Upon returning home, he finds his apartment in flames. He calls both Marla and then Tyler for help and ends up staying with Tyler at a random decrepit house. One night, they begin fighting for the heck of it, and it quickly becomes a routine thing that attracts more and more people each time. Everything changes when a person asks if he can fight next—this is when the 1st Fight Club is founded. Soon, though, the main character discovers that he has bitten off more than he can chew and that the Fight Club has become more than he can control or more than he wants to be involved with.

At the end of the movie, my mind was blown, and my heart was sold. This movie was great. It was a funny, witty, interesting, obnoxious, violent, and breathtaking view into the life of a misconstrued man attempting to find solutions and an identity. Cinematographically, the movie is amazing. It contains everything from three-dimensional rotation of characters (matrix mode-ish) to subliminal messages and even interesting flash-backs made like old film and the loss of autofocus. All in all, this extremely enjoyable film is well worth watching and enjoying and I highly recommend it. This movie not like watching paint dry…it’s like watching controversy seep into every crevice of American society.

By Kulguy