Also...
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010)
Well, I suppose I liked it as much as is possible. From the way the movie started (pretty drawn-out scene with the bad guys) I knew the whole thing was going to be slow to watch, just like the first half of the book is. It was a great call to do the Tim Burton-type thing for the Story of the Three Brothers, as this was important information and really did need to be presented. Abridging or just having a character tell the story would never have worked, and I'm certain that the animated bit was an effort to break up the rather monotonous pace of the story. To comment on the three young actors:
Radcliffe: This guy is good. I'd really like to see him in a different role with better writing. He's very confident in the way he's acting right now (could be 'cause he's been doing the same character for 10 years), and I'd really like to see him take a different approach to a new challenge. Had great moments at his parents' grave being sad and yelling at Ron in the tent, but his dancing with Hermione felt pretty unnatural for his character to do, based on the way he'd done it till then. Would also be interesting to see another actor's take on Harry Potter, 'cause Radcliffe has definitely found something good and gone with it 100%.
Grint: Still rough, but he's come a long way and had some great moments (yelling at Harry in the tent, handling a rather awkward narrative admirably upon returning to the group) in this film. Grint is never gonna be an A-list star but he could offer some help with supporting roles.
Watson: The best of the three (has been since the beginning). There were a lot of lines and situations bent on her getting angry at Ron (reactive lines, you might say, where it's important that a character acts a specific way so as to justify later dialogue), and she played the whole thing quite well. Was the most interesting to watch in terms of showing appropriate emotion while not overdoing it; this is a sign she could really do very well, as a lot of actors will instead opt to show very little emotion, only getting very angry or very sad or what have you. On the other hand, intellectuals like Watson will often try to bring the whole enchilada into every scene, overdoing it and giving a performance that's exhausting to watch (see: Jim Carrey). Watson brings something, no more, no less, to the table during every scene, and her over-the-top scenes are then justified and completely believable.
Dobby and Kreacher were used very well, and I think I'll hand this one a 9/10, expecting a fantastic conclusion to a great series of movies.
