Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2

So check this out.  Last week I was checking the movie theatre websites and was surprised to find that Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 will already be showing on the 13th of July and not the 15th as originally believed.  But the problem with that is I work in the week.  I devised a clever plan to try and twist my producers arm to let me go see the film the morning of the 13th.  My plan, as hopeless as it was, was better than nothing. Maybe, just maybe it would be 'Yes'. 


"You want me to be the best editor possible right?", I tried.  A very suspicious "Yes?" reply.  " So I was thinking if you can give me off on next Wednesday morning, then I can go and see Harry Potter Part 2 and learn SO much from editing.". She laughed. 


And you will never guess the response! My producer didn't say yes... that's obvious...


But even better!!! She gave me tickets for the special screening premier in South Africa that happened this past Sunday.  I went crazy!  So all the people in the office laughed at me because they didn't know that I'm such a big Harry Potter fan, while they all pretend like they don't know why Harry Potter is so great.  People, it's 2011 for goodness sake, it is save to come out of the Cupboard Under The Stairs, there are millions of us already out! It's okay to like Harry Potter in the open.

I'm not going to give away any spoilers.  What I can definitely warm you about: you're going to need some tissues, especially if you are prone to tears in movies.  The film was amazing, some of the fanatic book readers might have a problem at some of the bits, but I was particularly pleased that they captured the emotion and the essence of the book.  That being said, most of the things are exactly the way they are in the book, and the things they changed is either better or it doesn't matter because the rest of the film is just so amazing.  Also note, I don't think it is appropriate for children under the age of 13, even if the rating is only PG-13.  


What I like about the films is their maturation (and I must admit their budget): the scenery and set's have such wonderful texture and life.  It's absolutely remarkable. The trailer promised one big show down with massive special effects and use of magic, and it paid in full.  For a while, at the start of the film, it's almost like they are teasing you by not showing too much showy dueling magic. But the first moment [Not Going To Spoil It For You Person] whips out a wand and starts duelling, throwing impressive flames at [Blah blah], all the hair on my body just shot up... I had Goosebumps so much in this film it was ridiculous (see how I worked in a spell there!). 

I don't want to say much, because it would be an injustice to try and explain it to anyone in words, the only thing that could explain it properly is the actual book itself.

What I can tell you is how much fun it was to go to a media premier, it was my first time, so if you think I'm being stupid, then well forgive me - hopefully I'll have many more.  There was witches walking around handing out free candy, there was a magician doing pretty impressive tricks, a photo booth with props to capture the Harry fever, and it was all free!  So was the popcorn and cold drinks at the door.  And I've had someone else pay for popcorn and cold drinks before, but this is much better, because it feels like people are sharing their abundance.  This is the way a movie should be viewed.  It was the perfect way for me to see the last instalment of Harry Potter.  


Did I also mention that Barry Ronge (website), the well known South Africa film critic was also in the cinema.  I wanted to walk up to him and say what a big fan I am and that one day I'm going to do his job, but I just wanted to enjoy the Harry Potter moment so I just let him walk beside me as we were exiting the cinema.

My verdict: go and buy your ticket NOW!  If you haven't watched any of the other Harry Potter films, go rent them, watch them and go see the last one in the cinemas, you won't regret it.  I want to say don't take in a popcorn at all so nothing distracts you, but you are going to need a large one, because for a large part you're going to need something to chew away the nervousness, and that also gives you an excuse to go see the film again.  "Oh, I looked down during that part because of my popcorn, so I have to see it again." 

Not that you need an excuse, so get a large popcorn and enjoy the film.  I can't wait for this weekend, because them I'm going to see it again, this time in 3D! Maybe I'll see you there... Finite Incantatum.

Harry Potter 7 Part 2 (Preview)

Me buying HP7 in 2007

So it is official!  Less than a week before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is released and it feels unreal!  I can still remember the first time I saw the first Harry Potter film with my Aunt, and how convinced I was throughout the film of Snape's guilt!  Feels like last week when I was standing in the cold, 11pm with a bunch of my friends to buy The Deathly Hallows book and not going to bed after reading at least the first chapter.

It truly has been a good companion for the past decade of my life, something that I'm sure a lot of other people have experienced as well.  And now the final film is finally here, and I have my pick to go see it in every format available, unfortunately The IMAX South Africa closed last year, I would have loved to see the final showdown there, I saw Harry Potter 3 at the IMAX and it was breathtaking. But no worries, the Imax screen is 10 times bigger than a normal cinema, so I'll simply have to go see it 10 times in the cinema. 3D and normal 2D.


So a couple of weeks ago I was editing the one show, Frenzy on e.tv, and they regularly have a movie review, and I was so glad they did one on Harry Potter (how could they not!) and I was fortunate enough to edit that episode (Argh! Who am I kidding, I looked through the scripts of the shows available and when I saw the one had a Harry Potter review I pounced on it like a Gryffindor Lion!)


So I inter-cut the trailer with the review and it was amazing, but I was disappointed that the editing was finished and I had to do the rest of the episode's content! The next day a new and final trailer was released, so I had another chance to edit it some more.  Luckily the content producer of Frenzy was very keen to put in the latest footage.


Needless to say it was better than the previous, amazing insert (we need to get a word that describe something better than amazing - I know - Dobby! It was completely Dobby!!!)

My favourite character of all time!

So when it was time for the content producer to view the episode, I went and got myself a small popcorn and enjoyed the Harry Potter the same way you would devote to a film - with popcorn.  And let me tell you, it was really Dobby!

So my recommendation for all you fans: get yourself a small popcorn, download the HD version of both trailers (here and here) from HPANA, pop them in and enjoy.  For the  Hardwood-Phoenix-feather-core fans like me, make it a large popcorn and watch the trailers on loop! Ah, Bliss!

Love Bites

So now that most of the shows have stopped for the summer hiatus I was left with that empty feeling of having nothing to watch, except for a couple of shows that broadcast off season, and those that I'm still behind on (Gossip Girl, I'm talking about you).

With that, one of my favourite shows has also been cancelled! Brothers & Sisters has been one of my top 5 shows, the excellent script and interesting characters could have gone on forever! (I'm going to miss everyone except Tommy, what a weak and annoying character! ...any whoo...) That being said, I do think that the way it ended was perfect, it came full circle, finishing off the series as a whole but not ending all of the characters story (Six Feet Under I'm talking about you, even though it was the best way to end for your series), but the lives of my beloved character continue.

My point of the matter is that all that contributed to me desperately searching for a new show to fill the gap, I even reverted to watching Veronica Mars again. Probably the 5th time now, but it stays brilliant and always makes me happy, something about the underdog being smarter and more resourceful and more butt kicking than everyone else just sits well with me.  Any case, so I saw the new shows starting in the Fall Season, about 3 or 4 I'm interested in.  But I needed something now!  So as I saw the list of all the new shows broadcasting, I wasn't very optimistic about a couple of the titles, just judging them on their titles. Seriously!  How good does Franklin and Bash sound!? That’s the sarcasm font by the way, for future reference! So I've found the show The Block AU, which I've always been a huge fan of, and they started a new season after a couple of year hiatus, but now it's back and bigger than ever, but that’s a reality show and does not really fill that gap.

Becki Newton

For the past few weeks I've seen this show popping up in the list of shows, Love Bites. And I though uhm... Interesting title, but nah!  And it kept on popping up, and so I decided, let’s watch one episode and see how it goes.  Needless to say, 45minutes later I was grabbing the next three episodes available.  Love Bites is charming, funny, witty, goofy, real and thought provoking.  It is basically a couple of short bites about love related stories strung together by the different characters.  But what is fascinating is that each episode feels like a whole movie, and when it's done you just want it to continue on and on.  They look at the random things in a relationship, at the serious, the quirky, the gross and the real.  And they are not shy about it, but also not disrespectful of anything or anyone.  And it's cleverly funny while still having a much deeper meaning that makes you reflect on life and relationships.

The casting is also quite interesting, Becki Newton (Amanda from Ugly Betty - another one of my cancelled shows that I really miss!), that telepathic cop from Heroes (Another one), Greg Grunberg, and Constance Zimmer (from Entourage - never felt it - & Boston Legal - and another favourite, executives are really stoopid!) are regulars, but then every episode has guest appearances and cameos of well established stars and all of the characters interlink in some way, even if it is meaningless, it’s still fun to go 'Oh, it’s that guy!'.  

Greg Grunberg & Constance Zimmer

I was also surprised to see that the writer for this show, Cindy Chupack, was also the writer of Sex and The City and Everybody Loves Raymond. (Incidentally two shows that I do not like at all.  So grab your pitchforks folks!)  However this show is produced by the same producers from Love Actually (Easily on my top 10 movie list), so now I get why I like is so much, the whole concept of love stories mixed into life and each other.

All that’s left to say is, that void has been filled, it makes me happy and I'm also learning a couple of new things which is great!  My favourite line thus far is from episode 3 where the mother of a gay son, concerned about the reaction of her husband, explains to him the ‘lingo’:

"I'm setting the alarm for 7, so we can help with brunch. That's gay for lunch. They do brunch."

So do yourself a favour and pop some popcorn, pop in Love Bites and just relax and enjoy. Well deserving of a large popcorn thus far, and even better if you can share the popcorn.