Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 (3D)

So, the end of the Harry Potter series finally arrives! What does this mean? Well, to anyone who hasn't seen the previous 7 movies - nothing! Therefore there's not much point in reading this review.
However, for those among us who have been avidly awaiting a Harry Potter movie for each of the past 7 years, there will be mixed feelings at the series coming to an end.

The 2nd part of the Deathly Hallows starts off exactly were the 1st one left off, so if your memory's a bit rusty then watch the end of the 1st part again. It's pretty much obvious to fans of the franchise what the premise of the story is but here's a quick synopsis!

Harry is desperately tracking down the remaining 2 of the 3 hocruxes in order to destroy the evil Lord Voldemort. Professor Snape is now the headmaster at Hogwarts after the devastating death of Professor Dumbledore. He's not a popular choice among the remaining staff and pupils in light of his betrayal. Harry is in hiding in lieu of these events so steers clear of Hogwarts.

Harry knows that Voldemore is in hot pursuit of him as he already possesses one of the three hocruxes essential in maintaining Voldemore's immortality. By having this in his possession, he knows that all of his friends and family are in danger so he makes the attempt to head out alone. This proves more difficult than he imagined as Hermione and Ron refuse to leave his side.

There are lots of twists along the way, some that I didn't see coming as I didn't read the books. The action never lets up and the script is the most
complex yet, which I suppose is to be expected seeing as it's the finale and there are a lot of loose ends to be tied up.

The film contains practically every A list to C list actor working in the British film industry at present. Which begs the question, what are the C Lister's going to do for work after 7 steady years?

The exciting ending doesn't disappoint, it was worth wearing the 3D glasses for this alone. Then there's the overly twee final scenes which you can't help but be moved by.

So, it's goodbye to Harry and Co. It's been an amazing ride from an ingenious creator with equally talented directors, writers and actors.
They'll make great bank holiday movies and for those who haven't seen them, well I'm jealous!!!


Score: 9/10

Transformers - Dark of the Moon 3D

A big fan of the first Transformers movie, I was so disappointed with the second one. This is generally the case with sequels, bar a few - The Godfather 2 being the obvious one and Airplane 2 not so obvious but still funnier than the first.

After the mess that was - Transformers 2 (Revenge of the Fallen), the media speculation was that it was a back to basics scenario for number 3 (Dark of the Moon). Well, it couldn't have been more wrong!

I'm not gonna waste time explaining the plot as it's paper thin and basically a re-hash of the last 2 plots with a few new transformers thrown in for good measure. There are about 10 endings in the last half hour of an arduous 2 hours and 40 mins - and I foolishly only ordered a medium popcorn.

There are some plusses though. A lot of the action scenes were spectacular in 3D, especially one scene which sees army recruits jumping out of a helicopter with sky gliding suits on them. That was the stand out scene.

Gone is Megan Fox but guys need not worry as the beautiful Victoria Secrets model Rosie Huntington Whiteley takes the reigns as the hottie. She may be hot but she should stick to catwalks and avoid film sets forever.
Hollywood big shots Frances McDormand and John Malkovich join in the antics as well -shame on them!!! They obviously wanted to have a bit of fun chasing shadows on a big set as I can't think of another reason why they'd sign up for this kind of tripe.

Smarmy Doctor McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) from Grey's Anatomy also joins the fun and plays - a smarmy company executive. Really stretching his acting skills on his summer break from tv!!!

I can't finish without mentioning the script. You'll go a long way before you find a worse one. It must've been dreamed up by the writer's 3 year old nephew. It contains the most cringing unfunny one liners and cheesy dialogue.

If you're a Transformers fan and feel I've been harsh, I apologise but it's all true. Don't even rent it when it comes out on DVD, wait til Stephen's day in 2 years time when RTE show it.


Score: 2/10

X Men - First Class

A prequel to the X-Men series of movies chronicling how archenemies - Professor X and Magneto and the various mutants first realised their amazing powers.

The realisations kick off dramatically in a concentration camp in Germany in 1944 and after various revelations and incidents along the way, the actions hots up in 1962 in both London the US.

The effects are amazing as usual and the plot actually matches the effects on this occasion - unlike X-Men 2 and 3. This is mainly due to the scope of stories the writer can turn to. It explains in depth how the once close friends X and Magneto become enemies and how their dedicated brood of mutants decide on which leader they'll stick by. Their is also the MINOR subplot of the evil General Shaw (Kevin Bacon) trying to take over the world.

James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender easily match Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen's performances as X and Magneto. Kevin Bacon is always eerie to watch and doesn't disappoint here.

Here's hoping there's a sequel to this prequel???


Score: 8/10