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HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART ONE (2010)

 

STORYLINE

 

The wanderful trio gathered with kindred warlocks and witches to develop a strategy for survival against the waxing powers of Lord Voldemort and his band of mordant miens. Destiny calls Harry to thwart his arch enemy, but the wand between them is hard to overcome. Can the Fable of the Deathly Hallows provide Harry a clue? Only if Hermione reasons well the meaning of the sign on the book that Dumbledore left her.

 

 The sword must be seized, and Dumbledore’s amulet, both of which are part of the sign. Although they were wands apart, Harry hurried, but Lord Voldemort hastened as if harried by his own ambitions. The race belongs to the swift. Against all odds, Lord Voldemort wins by a nose.

 

COMENTARY

I thought this film was tedious. All the special effects associated with this series are no longer “charming.” A large portion of this film was dreary-looking and unappealing. The trio has long aged beyond their former cuteness and appeal.

Although I found Snape amusing still, there were no others in the whole coven that merited comment.

A half-hearted effort was made to suggest a possible romantic competition between Harry and Ron for Hermione’s heart. Harry was seen dancing with Hermione. A misunderstanding arose between Ron and his pals. However, they soon enough lift their wands, as if to shout “One for all and all for one.”

Death-Eaters were flying about threatening decent warlocks and witches.

 

The Minister Rufus Scrimgeour had warned of dangers to their community but he had vowed to defend it. He soon died mysteriously. The political reins were then seized by a lieutenant of Lord Voldemort, and a totalitarian regime seemed to materialize with NKVD/KBG-type brutes ready to seize and torture, as circumstances required.

In short the Blue Meanies were in control. Lord Voldemort was the bluest and meanest.

What could the orphan of destiny, Harry Potter, do?

When you are a character created by a writer who should have wound up the series a few books back, if only fame and money hadn’t driven her to burdensome typing, you can only hope that wand thing will lead to another - and then it’s all over.

The best of Harry Potter is now a distant memory, and the viewer slogs on – more out of tradition (inertia?) than belief that something good will come of it.

The film opened with a tight close-up of eyes, belonging to Minister Rufus Scrimgeour who pronounced that these were “dark times.”

PRODUCTION KEYS

David Yates – director, Steve Kloves – screenplay, J.K. Rowling – book, Alexandre Desplat – original music, Eduardo Serra – cinematographer, Mark Day – Film Editing, David Holmes/Marc Mailley – stunt doubles for Daniel Radcliffe

CAST KEYS

Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Bill Nighy (Minister Rufus Scrimgeour), Alan Rickman (Prof. Severus Snape), Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagid), Michael Gambon (Prof. Albus Dumbledore), Brendan Gleeson (Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody), Miranda Richardson (Rita Skeeter)

 

 

THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010)

 

 STORYLINE

The brilliant computer programming student, Mark Zuckerberg, due to some local celebrity at Harvard University with an “either/or” facebook program, gains the attention of the Winklevoss twins and their partner, Divya Narendra, and the latter invite him to be their programmer for a new facebook concept. “I’m in,” replied Zuckerberg. Along the way, he decided that the idea was too good for the twins and Narendra, created his own program, while stringing his student employers along, and with the aid of “best friend,” Eduardo, goes online with his new program. His success snowballed, allowing him to expand and expand, until lawsuits temporarily slowed the bandwagon. And – oh, yeah – he hasn’t forgotten Erica.

 

COMMENTARY

This is a very well-done film that I believe has more merit than the Oscar-winning THE KING’S SPEECH. It is skillfully directed. Its pacing was excellent. The acting was convincing. One quibble is that I did not always understand well what the Zuckerberg character was saying, as he is often rapidly expressing himself, especially at the outset when he was conversing with Erica in a crowded environment. Since this relationship ran throughout the movie as a shadowy aspect of the Mark Zuckerberg imagination, it would have been better to hear each exchange that sort of ignited the Zuckerberg blitzkrieg.

The portrayal of Zuckerberg was that of a super-nerd. However, he was clearly depicted as also socially conscious and ambitious. He was aware that he was not automatically eligible to associate with certain elite peers. He seemed at the outset determined to elevate his status. Further, he seemed to assume that anyone with merit would also want to ascend the social scale at Harvard University – and beyond.

This attitude of mind was exhibited during the initial minutes of the movie, when he was seen on a date with Erica. He uses a strange “carrot-and-stick” approach toward Erica. He clearly denigrates her university (“Boston University”) and her current social status. Still, he offered her the opportunity to meet socially elevated Harvard students, clearly casting her present social standing as hoi polloi. She took offense, stating that they would not be dating in the future.

For Zuckerberg, this was unjustified, as he himself was presently just “another 1600 SAT” student at Harvard University, where everyone was 1600 SAT - at least everyone you might want to say “Hello” to. 

 

I thought that the conflict between the Winklevoss twins and Mark Zuckerberg rather precisely capsuled the relationship over many centuries between the Germanic people and the Jews. While neither of the sides won absolutely, certainly one of the sides clearly got ahead in this competition. It must have been a bitter learning experience for Divya Narendra, who probably didn’t have practical experience, especially as it was not a listed Harvard University course.

 

Other interesting aspects of this film involved the depiction of the Sean Parker character. While undoubtedly a brilliant cyber-denizen, he appeared to be a hustling enfant terrible prowling around Babylon West. He cashed-in on Zuckerberg’s “The FaceBook,” suggesting at the outset of their relationship that the “the” be dropped, and eventually walking away with his 7% solution.

 

Another interesting dynamic in this film was the relationship between Mark Zuckerberg and his only friend at Harvard, Eduardo Saverin. While Zuckerberg was parlaying his FaceBook into a “social network Godzilla,” he was also acquiescing in the attempted “royal screwing” of Eduardo. Also, Sean Parker was a player in the event, making it a sort of involuntary “gang-bang.”

Incidentally, Eduardo was the student financier, whose initial venture-capital of $1000 for the Zuckerberg program was followed with $18,000. By the time Zuckerberg had transferred to California, where he could hobnob with Sean Parker and Silicon Valley cyber-stars, he had gotten the attention of professional venture capitalists, and the preparation to oust Eduardo had gained fatal force.

This story is “bi-coastal.” It is related in an uneven three-act fashion. There is a rendering of the Harvard University milieu and of the primary East Coast participants in the “FaceBook Dispute,” who are introduced, as well as the basic facts underlying the Dispute.

This is followed by a lengthy middle, which may be divided into flashbacks involving the East Coast participants exclusively and flashbacks involving the West Coast participants, many of whom also appeared initially in the East Coast flashbacks. These flashbacks mostly occurred as major participants and their lawyers joust at an inquiry/deposition. The film wraps up with the dispute apparently settled, which the film-viewer inferred from printed statements. The viewer is informed that Mark Zuckerberg is the richest young billionaire in the world. There is a final little epilog in which Mark Zuckerberg’s thoughts focus on Erica and her FaceBook news. He seemed to be thinking, “What Erica needs is a good Zuck.”

PRODUCTION KEYS

David Fincher – director, Aaron Sorkin – screenplay, Ben Mezrich – book, Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross – original music, Jeff Cronenweth – cinematography

CAST KEYS

Jesse Eisenberg (Mark Zuckerberg), Andrew Garfield (Eduardo Saverin), Justin Timberlake (Sean Parker), Rooney Mara (Erica Albright), Max Minghella (Divya Narendra), Armie Hammer (Cameron/Tyler Winklevoss), Josh Pence (Tyler Winklevoss)