BEFORE: I get so frustrated when I fall another day behind due to something stupid like not having my Flash Player updated - but then, who's to say that's not part of the process? What if something like that was fated to happen, and the chain takes that into account? Like the way all those serial killer films made it possible for me to be watching sci-fi films right before Comic-Con? Maybe these delays will enable me to tie in with not just "Man of Steel", but also "The Wolverine", opening July 26? I've got just the spot for it, between the superhero films and another Hugh Jackman film - so why the heck shouldn't I do that? It's like it was fated to be.
And putting this film next to "Super 8" - due to the presence of smart, precocious child characters, along with big scary beasties (you see the connections, too, right?) also means it's falling on the day of Manhattanhenge. What's that? It's one of the two days each year where the setting sun perfectly aligns with the majority of Manhattan's numbered cross-streets, so the sun will sink on the horizon right between the tall buildings. The difference between this and Stonehenge, of course, is that Stonehenge was specifically built for the purpose of lining up with the sun on the solstice, and Manhattan's buildings were not made for this to happen, instead it just kind of does. (You gotta figure, the sun's gonna set in that spot at least one day per year...)
Sure enough, my non-planned linking continues - Elle Fanning from "Super 8" was also in a film called "Ginger & Rosa" with Timothy Spall, who has a brief appearance in tonight's film. I'd hoped for better, but I'll take it.
THE PLOT: Harry, Ron and Hermione search for Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes in their effort to destroy the Dark Lord.
FOLLOW-UP TO: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1" (Movie #1,081)
AFTER: Well, I watched Part 1 about 15 months ago, and I'm not sure if that's longer than most movie-goers had to wait between the two movies. Anyway, I had to review the plot of Part 1 on Wikipedia just to remind myself where the damn thing left off.
This is one of those films that's pretty much critic-proof. Like someone's NOT going to see the eighth film in a series, after seeing the first 7? As if... I probably should watch all 8 films through at some point, but please, not now. I feel like it's enough of an accomplishment for me to scratch this one off the list.
I will say that the big climactic battle, which seems to take over most of the film, is enormous, and complicated, and enormously complicated - but remarkably well thought-out and choreographed. You need a scorecard to keep track of all the players, but then I know there are some people much younger than myself that manage to juggle all 1,027 major and minor characters, so I should at least be able to give it a go.
But if you're not a Potter-head, these spells and magic doohickeys can get extremely confusing. I can't remember all the spells from the previous films and what they do, and after forcing me to learn what a Horcrux is, now I had to learn what exactly a Deathly Hallow is. Wait, something can be BOTH? That seems like a bit of a cheat. Then how can you use one to destroy the other, if they're one and the same? Actually a lot of these magic things feel like story cheats - somehow they always manage to have JUST the spell they need at a specific moment. Or, they realize at exactly the right time what a magic object can do, which is all too convenient.
There's still a long list of things I don't understand, like the Dumbledore family tree and how Voldemort came to be who he is - they must have explained this stuff at some point and I just failed to make note of it. Someday I'll revisit and pay more attention.
Also starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Warwick Davis (all last seen in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1"), Alan Rickman (last heard in "Alice in Wonderland"), Michael Gambon (last seen in "The Book of Eli"), Ralph Fiennes (last seen in "Skyfall"), Robbie Coltrane (last seen in "The World Is Not Enough"), Helena Bonham Carter (last seen in "Les Miserables"), Maggie Smith (last heard in "Gnomeo & Juliet"), John Hurt (last seen in "Melancholia"), Jason Isaacs (last seen in "Friends With Money"), Tom Felton, Ciaran Hinds (last seen in "John Carter"), Matthew Lewis, Evanna Lynch, Bonnie Wright, with cameos from Jim Broadbent (last seen in "Vanity Fair"), Gary Oldman (last seen in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"), David Thewlis (last seen in "Anonymous"), Emma Thompson (last seen in "Men in Black 3"), Julie Walters,
RATING: 7 out of 10 banking goblins
UPDATE: I'm at my office in Manhattan, with my camera, ready to take pictures of the glory that is Manhattanhenge, AND...it's raining. Lots of clouds, I doubt I'll be able to see much of anything tonight. This is about the 5th year in a row that I've either learned about the date too late to see it, or been out of town, or it's rained. And that's twice a year, so I've really missed the last 10 of these things.
Sure, I could come into the city tomorrow, but it will be Saturday and I'm usually not prone to do so. I'll see how I feel.
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