reviews by Shannon Bowman-Sarkisian

Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson).

January, 2011 — Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I sets everything in motion for the finale of a long-running and much loved series. Director David Yates and scriptwriter Steve Kloves tackled the challenge of creating two separate, complete movies out of one story and crafted a film worthy of the books. Potter fans will be pleased with the results, but perhaps a little frustrated by the lack of closure. The preceding film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, felt like 153 minutes of exposition. Viewers may find themselves wondering how much build-up is really necessary before the conclusion is reached. That question won’t be fully answered until the July 2011 release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II.

Moviegoers have been anticipating the conclusion of the Harry Potter series for almost a decade, and unfortunately, they’re going to have to wait a little while longer. Warner Brothers made a wise decision to break Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into two parts — at 784 pages, the seventh and final Harry Potter book is packed with a lot of story. The movie isn’t a carbon copy of the book — and what movie adaptation can mirror its source exactly? — but it remains true to the heart and soul of the story.

Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) are no longer children learning magic in school but adults on the run. The actors we’ve watched grow up on screen aren’t playing quidditch any longer, but we do get a glimpse of a snitch. The stakes are high in Part I, the atmosphere is dark, and the story is serious. War is no longer a vague threat in the background; here it takes center stage. Every action our heroes take is motivated by their fight against Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). There is no reprieve from the intensity. Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) doesn’t appear with all the answers. The lack of lighthearted banter and familiar settings creates a sense of desperation that the viewer can instantly identify with.

Harry Potter has evolved a lot over the years. The Sorcerer’s Stone truly was a children’s story. Deathly Hallows is very much an adult’s tale. This film features torture, death, betrayal and war. J.K. Rowling did an amazing job of creating a tale that grew with her audience. A kid who read the first Potter book when it was published in 1997 would now be 23. That same reader would have watched the Twin Towers fall, seen the U.S. engage in two wars overseas, and lived through the worst economic depression in a generation. Fantasy is an escapism genre by nature, but it’s also a reflection of the world we live in. What does Rowling’s world say about our own wars and struggles?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1, is rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence, frightening images and brief sensuality.

Howl’s Moving Castle

Howl and Sophie.

The success of the Harry Potter franchise and Lord of the Rings movies left production companies scrambling for the next big fantasy epic. Twilight is the current successor, but at the beginning of the decade it was still up in the air. The Walt Disney Corporation jumped right in and co-produced the first two installments of the Chronicles of Narnia trilogy, but pulled out of backing The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. With The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe losing $150 million domestically, it’s no surprise that the media giant moved on to new projects like Tangled, with its built-in Disney Princess brand. But Disney’s quest to dominate the fantasy market didn’t come up empty-handed. In 2004, Disney released Hayao Miyazaki’s animated feature Howl’s Moving Castle, based on Diana Wynne Jones’ novel of the same name.

Howl’s Moving Castle is the story of Sophie (Emily Mortimer), a young girl who has resigned herself to living the unexceptional life. She becomes cursed with the body of a 90-year-old woman (elderly Sophie is voiced by Jean Simmons) after crossing paths with the Witch of the Waste (Lauren Bacall). The elderly Sophie heads out into the Waste in search of a way to break the curse, and finds herself employed as a housekeeper at a mysterious walking castle. Powered by a fire demon named Calcifer (Billy Crystal), the castle is home to Howl (Christian Bale) and his apprentice Markl (Josh Hutcherson).

Sophie’s easygoing charm and acceptance of her situation makes her an enjoyable protagonist to follow. She’s the antithesis of a Disney-perfect princess. Her appearance and voice remain fluid throughout the movie — at various times she looks and sounds like a crone, a middle-aged woman and a girl. Howl is her polar opposite: handsome, vain and incredibly powerful. Their relationship flourishes against the backdrop of a war between two kingdoms.

Foreign films, and anime films in particular, are often seen as relegated to cult movie status. Nonexistent or minimal marketing campaigns and poorly dubbed English voiceovers can make a fantastic movie seem terrible. But with Disney behind the U.S. distribution for Howl’s Moving Castle, the production values and marketing have soared. The English dubbing matches the movement of the characters’ mouths, and the actors have distinctive, well-known voices; Bale gives Howl a few “Batman” moments. Mainstream audiences can enjoy the whimsical beauty of Miyazaki’s vision without being distracted by a poorly translated script. This is a wonderful gift, as Sophie’s world is one that viewers will want to revisit over and over again.

Howl’s Moving Castle, available on DVD, is rated PG for frightening images and brief mild language. Running time: 119 minutes.