Sometimes it’s hard to separate a movie from the hype.
If Pearl Jam Twenty suffers from straining to account for various points of view, then it excels as an account of personal idealism.
David Yates seems to want the film to capture the excitement of the moment but also to strike up nostalgia for all that has gone before.
Narrative structure is one of the steadiest elements of the Harry Potter films.
Its sacrifice of narrative cohesion in favor of pushing aesthetic and expressive boundaries has rubbed some fans the wrong way.
Perhaps David Yates recognized that, at this point in the series, addressing the full-scale detail and themes of the story at large would not be feasible
The hokey representations on display here tend not to mesh with the scope of the tournament games.
Alfonso Cuarón’s aesthetic seems perfectly suited to the narrative, which focuses on Harry’s near-despondent state.
To his credit, Chris Columbus attempts to add deeper visual dimension to this sequel.
Few film franchises have been more constitutive of the modern movie spectacle (and the digital age of cinema) than Harry Potter.
Given this background and now-familiar mold for thinking about film, it’s nice to see a famed novelist speak so highly of movies.
Guillermo del Toro’s movies represent an exploration of the possibilities of narrative and the imagination.
The film is at its best when it dares to show us details of his character rather than the technical wizardry that enabled him.