You'll stay with me?...Until the end.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Rating: 4/5

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Robbie Coltrane

Director: David Yates

Year: 2011

For the past eight months, audiences have been eagerly awaiting the release of the deathly hallows part 2 after the climactic ending of part one back in November. I could not wait to see the concluding part being a huge Harry Potter fan and was anticipating if the ending would remain the same as the book or be altered. I also began re-reading the book before journeying to see part two to refresh my memory of the series of events and where part one concluded. I was absolutely blown away throughout this entire film and felt myself getting rather emotional at certain points. 

Part two picks up exactly where the last film ended and we are swiftly taken back to the beach where Dobby the house elf is being laid to rest. Here at the house is Ron Weasley’s older brother Bill and his new wife Fleur who are caring for Ollivander the wand maker and Griphook since Dobby rescued them from Malfoy manner. Harry, Ron and Hermione are staying at the cottage to aid planning to retrieve the next Horcrux which is contained in Bellatrix LeStrange’s volt at Gringotts, the wizarding bank managed by the Goblins. 

The marvellous three then break into Bellatrix’s vault using Griphook as an aid and polyjuice potion. They retrieve the Hufflepuff goblet in time before their plan comes under fire and the goblins realise they've been tricked and race to catch the imposters. The trio find themselves going back to Hogwarts to search for another Horcrux and this is where most of the action takes place. Cue a lot of battling and spectacular action sequences as all out fighting occurs between the death eaters and the students and professors at Hogwarts. 

The one thing about Harry Potter being adapted from the book to the big screen is that the writers stick very closely to the novels and keep all of the main elements in the film. There are a few moments from the book that could have been included or expanded on however it was written very well and credit is due to the scriptwriters for their writing. 

The three main actors have grown so much over the past ten years into fine young actors and deliver fantastic performances. The one actor who stands out the most to me is Rupert Grint; he is fantastic at delivering an emotional scene and humourous scenes very well. Although the actor who I will give most praise and recognition to is Alan Rickman.  The pensieve scene where Harry reflects on Professor Snape’s memory and learns the truth behind Dumbledore’s death is a moving montage of images which would bring a tear to a dry eye.

It is a shame to see this marvellous series come to an end, specifically when it has such a loyal and dedicated fan base however it is one which will be embedded in everyone’s memory forever. I think this is a great film, suitable for all ages and one which you can enjoy watching.
 

Good points: The writing, acting from Rupert Grint and Alan Rickman, pensieve scene in Dumbledore’s office, the ending.

Bad points: It’s the last film!

The Big Bang Theory

I have to admit that when I seen this sitcom advertised I was not intrigued to watch it and joined the following later than first broadcasting. Watching 8 Simple Rules and not liking the Bridget character, I immediately assumed that I would not associate or liken to Penny (played by Kaley Cuoco) It wasn’t until one of my friends from university advised me to watch it that I decided to give it a go…and it has firmly made its way into one of my favourite TV shows.

The show follows Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), a twenty something nuclear physicist who works at the local university alongside his three compadres; Sheldon Cooper (who shares an apartment with Leonard, played by Jim Parsons), RajKoothrappali (Kunal Nayar) and Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg). These four social misfits enjoy eating takeaway food and playing various video games, as well as frequent trips to their beloved comic book store. Their world is turned upside down when a pretty young woman named Penny moves across the hall and gets a job as a waitress in the local cheesecake factory. Penny and Leonard end up dating and many mishaps and adventures follow the young group as each series progresses. 

This show has just finished airing its fourth season and has been commissioned for a fifth. I love each season, however it is season three which stands out to me the most as it is where the show lands firmly on its feet and becomes a positive favourite among fans. 

My favourite character is Sheldon; he is an OCD obsessed physicist who adds greats humour to the cast. In my opinion I would not think that the show would have such great success without this character. Credit is due to Jim Parsons for playing such a highly strung character – he is a fantastic actor and I enjoy seeing what mishaps Sheldon is going to get into next.

My only complaint is that during season four they have added a new addition to the cast, Amy Farrah Fowler. In other words, she is the female version of Sheldon, who was briefly introduced to us at the climax of season three. I do not think that there is a need to create a female Sheldon as I like to think that he is one of a kind. She does not appear to fit in well with the rest of the cast on screen (unlike Howard’s on/off girlfriend Bernadette) and is a character that is annoying, rather than comedic. 

However, the Big Bang Theory is a fantastic show, packed full of laughs and references to modern pop culture. I can’t believe that I ever had any pre-conceptions about watching this show as it is really funny and you can easily spot personality traits in each character that you may have within yourself.

Top 5 girly night in movies!

Last week I decided to sit down and list some things that I would like to start achieving through the blog and decided that I would like to write a top 5 list of recommends. I have chosen to start with girly films because sometimes there is nothing better than sitting down and watching a good film with your friends. 

Screen Gal’s top five girly night in movies:

1. Clueless
2. Mean Girls
3. The Craft
4. The Wedding Singer
5. Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion

Clueless

This HAS to be one of the definitive films of the 90’s. Clueless will always hold a special place in my heart as it is a film which I know dearly and grew up watching. I can’t even remember when I first seen it but I remember getting it on VHS as a Christmas present (What is VHS I hear you say?) I always wanted to be Cher, with her fantastic wardrobe and her good looks.

Alicia Silverstone plays Cher, a fifteen year old Beverly Hills high schooler who along with her best friend Dionne endures teenage life and dealing with boys. Cher’s life takes a turn when a new girl Ti joins the school and both Cher and Di show her the ropes, who to go out with and how to act/dress if she wants to be popular. Cher lives with her dad and the maid, however her step brother Josh comes to visit and soon Cher is enjoying parties and the likes.

This film has a fantastic supporting cast with Donald Faison, Brecklin Meyer, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd. The acting is spot on throughout the film and I love entering their high school world. There are so many great scenes that stick out, however one is at a party in the valley where Ti gets knocked unconscious with a clog and Cher’s classmate ends up admitting his feelings for her while driving her home. I love Brecklin Meyer’s stoner character Travis, he is extremely well played and a character who I sympathise with throughout the whole film. Alicia Silverstone in her heyday was a stunning and beautiful young girl and I always enjoy watching her performance. This is one of my favourite films of all time and definitely a recommend. 

Mean Girls

I am not usually a fan of chick flick films however I think if I were staying in with my girls this would definitely be top priority. This is one of my all time favourite ‘chick flick’ movies, I’ve seen it so many times I can quote line from line throughout the film. Certain aspects of it also remind me of being back at school and the relationships between the girls in my year.

 

The film follows Cady Heron, a fifteen year old girl who moves to America after spending her childhood in Africa with her zoologist parents. Cady has previously been homeschooled and so must enter a public high school for the first time. Trying to find her place amongst the social groups, she encounters a group of three girls known as ‘the plastics’ who are the school’s most fashionable clique. Cady falls for the leader of the plastic’s (Regina) ex-boyfriend and soon trouble follows as she vows to get revenge on Cady, leaving her to learn the rules about high school, friendships and girl world.

Lindsay Lohan is not an actress who I would choose to watch; nevertheless I think this is without a doubt her best performance. (My only other comparison is The Parent Trap and she was like, twelve?) One of my favourite scenes is where the girls dance along to ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ for the school’s winter talent show. It has so much humour packed into that scene and is the turning point for when the cracks start to show in the plastics relationships. My friend and I also have a running joke, where she quotes “Oh my god Karen, you can’t just ask people why they are white!?” this works so perfectly considering my own name is Karen. If only there were a character with the same name as her…This is definitely one to check out though!

The Craft

This is always a film that sticks in my mind when speaking to friends about films that used to scare them when they were younger. Personally I was never frightened of this film and really enjoyed some of the films most graphic and ‘scary’ scenes. Again, this was a film from my younger days and one which got me interested in Wicca and trying to cast spells.

Sarah is a seventeen year old girl who lost her mum when she was younger and is uprooted by her dad and step mum to live in LA, where she begins her final year of high school. Sarah is a stranger in the school until she makes friends with a group of three unusual girls; Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle. The girls frequently practice witchcraft and the occult. With the addition of Sarah to their group they discover that they can make their wishes come true and invoke dangerous spells on those around them and themselves. 

The performance for me which stands out a mile above everyone else in this film is Fairuza Balk’s portrayal of Nancy. Her acting is phenomenal and is genuinely terrifying in this film, one scene is where she loses her mind over a boy that she likes and in one camera shot you can see her go mentally insane and ends up killing someone. I always feel so sympathetic with Sarah as things turn nasty between the girls and you really end up rooting for Sarah in the end. Some young people may find a few of the scenes a little frightening, however its probably considered nothing compared to the Saw franchise of the moment.

The Wedding Singer

The Wedding Singer is a film that never fails to make me smile. I love the chemistry between Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler, always a winning combination! It my sister who introduced me to this film, I think she seen it in the cinema and we rented it from our local video store at the time. Even though I have it on DVD, whenever it is on TV I always find myself sitting down to watching it again.

The film takes place in 1985 and Robbie Hart is the ultimate wedding singer and people are flocking to hire him and his band for their wedding. Robbie is left at the altar at his own wedding and this disaster impacts on his own musical performance.

He is the entertainer who destroys other people’s weddings as he cannot stand to see couples in love. Waitressing at the weddings is a warm hearted girl Julia who turns Robbie’s life around and convinces him that he can still find love.

One of the main elements that I love about this film is the soundtrack, I love the music from the 80’s and the music that Adam Sandler’s character composes ‘Somebody Kill Me Please’ and ‘Growing Old with You’ are classics. As soon as you hear them you instantly remember this film! The acting is superb and has a fantastic supporting cast. Drew Barrymore is my favourite actress and I love her performance in this film. Stick this on as it will guarantee to have you smiling and singing along.

Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion

This is another fantastic 90’s film that will stick with me for years. Being a huge fan of Friends at the time, I was introduced to this film by a childhood friend of mines at a sleepover. This is a film that I used to love watching for the fashion and always wanted to design my own clothes. I also wanted to be Mira Sorvino as she has great fashion taste and is gorgeous.

Romy and Michele have been best friends since high school and are living the life out in LA. Romy is a cashier at a car firm and Michele is unemployed and looking for work. When an old classmate turns up and informs them about their ten year high school reunion, they come up with a plan to reinvent themselves to impress their old classmates. They dress up as businesswoman and on the way to the reunion concoct a story about how they invented post its. Upon meeting their old classmates they become tired of pretending to be someone they’re not and so enter the real Romy and Michele.

I love seeing these two characters being thrown back into their high school years and standing up to the ‘A’ group who tormented them throughout their teenage years. Both Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow are excellent actresses and are so convincing of their portrayal of Romy and Michele. Another stand out character is Heather, the weird girl who was in love with a boy who did not love her back played by Janeane Garofalo. Also Alan Cumming is in this film, and that is reason enough to watch it. He is a fantastic actor and although he does not have a big part in this film, to me he steals the show in the end scene.

So get the popcorn on, open up a bottle of wine and get watching!!

At the end of this day, one shall stand, one shall fall

Transformers 
Rating: 3/5

Starring: Shia Le Beof, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, John Truturro and Jon Voight.

Director: Michael Bay

Year: 2007

When it was announced that Transformers would be made into a full motion picture I was really excited about this prospect and could not wait to see who it would star, what Transformer machines they would use and who would be directing. At the time of the film's release I was on holiday and did not get the opportunity to view this in the cinema. On hearing of Shia LeBeof and Megan Fox, I was quite anxious as these were two actors who I had never heard of before or seen act. When I was younger I did like the Transformers, although not in a geeky fan-girl sort of way. When I eventually did get to see the film I was really blown away by it and was excited at the prospect of a series in the making.

The film begins with Optimus Prime explaining to the audience the history of the 'Allspark', a cube shaped device which is the source of life for the Transformers, both the Autobots and the Decepticons. The Transformers lived in complete peace and their world flourished until Megatron (Decepticon) betrayed them and so invoked a war. This resulted in the Allspark being lost until it was discovered on our planet Earth. We are then introduced to Sam Witwicky, an ordinary high schooler who is giving a presentation in front of his class about his grandfather's old artifacts. Sam being a typical high school boy only wants to focus on two things; a car and a girlfriend. Sam's father eventually gives in and takes him to a car dealership; this is where we are introduced to Bumblebee. Meanwhile the battle heats up as the Decepticons attack a US Military base in Qatar. Sam and his new girlfriend Mikaela are taken by the top-secret agency Sector 7 to help stop the Decepticons, but when they learn the agency also intends to destroy the Autobots, they formulate their own plan to save the world. Both sets of Transformers race to find the Allspark as they both have opposite views of using it, with the Autobots intending to save human life while the Decepticons want to destroy it. 

In light of my previous reviews of this series, the first Transformers film sticks in my mind as the original and best. I enjoyed the acting and think that Shia LeBeof plays a great role as Sam, often empathising with him throughout the film. The action between the Transformers is stunning, and although some of the jokes are immature, Michael Bay certainly knows how to create stunning action sequences and battle scenes. My favourite Autobot is Bumblebee without a doubt. My only one complaint is why they decided to change the car to a Camerro, rather than stick with the original concept of a VW Beetle. After all, Bumblebee is a bug. 

On hearing people refer to these movies as ‘Bayformers’ I like the concepts and ideas that Michael Bay brought to the franchise, I think he knew what direction he wanted to take the series and unfortunately failed on the second film as it felt like he no longer had any fresh ideas or clue as to where he wanted this series to end up. 

Again, Transformers has its flaws as no film is perfect but overall a very enjoyable watch and a definite recommend. Overall in ranking:

1. Transformers
2. Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon
3. Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

 There have been various rumours circulating that there will not be another movie in the Transformers series, however only time will tell.

Good points: The story, felt that I could follow it easily and it did not have many complicated plot holes. The introduction to Bumblebee in the car lot, really good humorous scene. Again, John Truturro as Agent Simmons and the battle scene on the highway.

Bad points: Again, some of the embarrassing ‘humour’ moments, building up the Decepticons; Bay should have made them more powerful and less likely to die against humans so easily.

Stay tuned to Screen Gal as there are lots of exciting developments coming up! I am planning to create a logo of some sort, design a background for my blog and instead of focusing on reviewing films so much I will be giving personal recommendations for girls’ nights in, horror movie nights etc. Stay tuned, meanwhile follow on Twitter @Screen_Gal to be kept updated with the latest information or email me any questions or comments at screen_gal@hotmail.co.uk

Cheers guys!