The Video Game/Movie Review Blog

From here on out, I want to start this review by saying that any future Wizarding World themed movies, including this one, were directed by the same man, so they have a more unifying vision, and most of the time, David Yates' style of directing works well, especially in this one. Somehow, this story takes the Harry Potter saga in an even darker direction. The story opens up with Harry getting expelled from Hogwarts for defending himself and his non-magical cousin from a pair of dementors. Obviously, this doesn't stick, and soon Harry and his friends are back at school for the fifth year, but that initial scare is indicative of the Wizarding government's attitude toward Harry after Voldemort, played by Ralph Fiennes, returns. The minister of magic refuses to believe this is what is happening and so uses his influence on the press to discredit Harry, Dumbledore, and anyone who may believe in him. The worst thing he does, though, is send in a sadistic ministry mole named Dolor...

I knew that going into this movie was definitely going to be, well, a different take on this film than most people would. I went in hoping to enjoy myself, but...well, I really didn't all that much. The story focuses on four siblings, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, played by William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, and Georgie Henley, who, after having to leave their home due to World War II, end up finding a wardrobe that leads to a mystical land known as Narnia. From there, they are supposed to fulfill a prophecy and help the king of the land, a lion named Aslan, voiced by Liam Neeson, defeat the villainous White Witch, played by Tilda Swinton. While this sounds like a fun plot, so much of the execution of all of this feels surface level and it didn't really leave any lasting feelings at all. Compare this with Lord of the Rings where I felt like I knew the world, why things were happening, and who the characters were. In this one, stuff just kind of happens with lit...

If Prisoner of Azkaban was the beginning of Harry Potter getting more dark and mature, then this film is where it leans into it completely. Everything changed with this one, and the events of this story, more than any other, especially the final portions, inform how the final four films will play out. The story follows Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who return to Hogwarts for their fourth year of school, and from the beginning, with Harry having a dream of Voldemort killing an old man in cold blood while plotting with his followers to do the same to Harry, you know things are about to get real. And get real they do, because he, without his knowledge, is entered into the Triwizard Tournament, a wizarding competition between Hogwarts and two other wizarding schools where the champions involved have to compete in three deadly tasks. This film is definitely not only showing the darkness of the world around Harry, but also the beginning of, as any coming of age story has, our leads starting to l...

How do you show the fall of a character that is said to be heroic? How does a film take someone who has the potential for good and has them take a hard turn into evil? The answer is this film, it isn't the best villain origin story I have seen, but it is certainly a pretty good one all the same. The story concerns the end of the Clone Wars, the fall of the Galactic Republic and subsequent rise of the Galactic Empire, and, most importantly, the destruction of the friendship between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor, as the former becomes the sith lord known as Darth Vader. The story has the most bittersweet ending of any Star Wars film, I'd say, as most of the film is all about everything falling into evil and ruin, but with a small amount of hope at the very end. This film is clearly the darkest of the Star Wars films up to this point, and while some of the acting can be hit or miss, and the fact that this movie has inspired lot...

This film has been considered by many people to one of the best, if not the best film, in the entire Wizarding World franchise. Now, I will agree it is definitely one of my favorites as well, and also represents a turning point for the series going forward. The story centers on Harry, Ron, and Hermione, played once again by Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, as they attend their third year at the wizarding school Hogwarts. But this time, the stakes are higher, as Harry is being stalked by one of the dark wizard Voldemort's followers, a dangerous killer named Sirius Black, played by Gary Oldman. In addition, Harry begins to bond with his new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, a kind yet mysterious man named Remus Lupin, played by David Thewlis. The thing that impresses me the most is that this is the first time the Harry Potter story goes in a more dark, mature, and serious direction, as you can see from my brief plot description above. Having the threat of a kille...

I have so many emotions right now. This movie is the culmination of everything that the previous films built up. It was amazing, beautiful, heart-rending, and everything that you want the ending of a sprawling saga to be. The story of this film is all about Frodo and Sam, played once again by Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, finally making it to Mordor, but the Ring has been gaining more and more control over Frodo to where it is unclear whether he'll be able to destroy it when the time comes. Meanwhile, the rest of the party helps to rally the rest of Middle-Earth for a final stand against Sauron and his forces. That is the simplest way I could talk about this, since this movie is 3 hours long, so there is so much covered, with a satisfying ending and one of the most airtight plots in all of cinema. This film features some of the most epic battles, such as Sam's fight against the giant spider Shelob and the Battle of Pelennor Fields, where the lands of Gondor and Rohan team up agai...

Once again, I am blown away by this film. Somehow they managed to make a sequel that manages to still keep the spirit of the first film, while at the same time expanding on the world of Middle Earth. There is a lot more happening, storywise, and it is split into three separate subplots this time. The first one follows Frodo and Sam, played once again by Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, as they continue to journey to Mordor to destroy the One Ring, and along the way, they run into the creature Gollum, played by Andy Serkis, who promises to guide them there, but at the same time, he has his own designs. The second one follows Merry and Pippin, played by Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd, as they escape capture from the orcs and encounter the ent called Treebeard. The third one involves Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas, played by Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies, and Orlando Bloom, as they try to rally the rest of Middle-Earth to their aid to stop the armies of Sauron. This film felt more expansive ...