emonaghan-64172 Reviews

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

Excellent movie, excellent book, but still two separate things

[10/10 · 31 October 2015]

The problem with film adaptations of books is that most of the time, they are not judged as movies but instead as how closely they relate to the original story. When I first saw this movie, I will say that I was dismayed with the portrayal of some of the deaths in the movie, along with the entire Albus/Aberforth story line. I have since accepted, however, that those were not critical to the main messages of the book, and SOMETHING had to be cut out if they wanted a coherent movie that wasn't 10 hours long.

So, instead of spending my time saying that the directors should've included this and that from the book, I will instead look at it as its own separate entity.

This movie is truly a masterpiece - the tone of the movie is excellent, the acting is phenomenal (especially if you compare it to the first Harry Potter movie), and the visuals are stunning. This movie will forever be one of my favorites because it can make you laugh, and cry, and feel the full weight of the era of Harry Potter ending. I truly believe these movies will live on forever, and I will certainly show my kids and their kids the wonderful world of Harry Potter.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

A Cinematic Masterpiece

[9/10 · 31 October 2015]

I saw this movie when it first came out without any expectations. I had not even watched the trailer before I walked into the theater, so I had no real idea of what I was about to see. The movie blew me away; the acting, the visuals, the soundtrack and the action were all stunning.

My predominant reaction, however, was to the character of Imperator Furiosa and everything she stood for. Many people are calling this movie a "feminist" movie, but George Miller, the director, once said that it was not his intention to make a female empowering film. He was not upset that it had feminist themes, however. That impressed me the most; he had unintentionally made a movie that had a strong female character which is how movies should be. The film industry should not be shocked when there is a movie with an action hero that is female, and that is the effect of Mad Max: Fury Road. Mad Max did not make it a huge deal that it had a woman like Furiosa in the lead, it just did. It did not sexualize her, or put her in a love triangle, she was just another hero.

I cannot conclude my review without mentioning the idea of "visual music." George Miller said that it was his intention to create a movie that could be watched in a language that you do not speak, but you would still understand it. The lack of meaningful dialogue from Max was taken by many as poor acting on Tom Hardy's part, but I think it all had to do with Miller's visual music technique. The product was beautiful, and I could watch Mad Max over and over again and still find new ways to love it.

How to Get Away with Murder (2014–2020)

How to Get Away with Legal Inaccuracy

[9/10 · 31 October 2015]

I saw at least 3 other reviews of this TV show that put it at a 6/10 for the sole reason that it is an inaccurate portrayal of lawyers. Yes, and...? Does that take away from the brilliant plot and acting? I don't think anything in film or television is an accurate portrayal of anything. If someone were to rewrite this exciting show into an "accurate portrayal" of law, then it would just be a show about Viola Davis filling out paper work and occasionally showing up in court. And some of these reviewers go on to say that it is a shame that people believe that is how the court of law is in real life. My advice to them is to go to the IMDb page of the Avengers and write a review that says, "it's a shame that every single person who watches this movie now believes superheroes actually exist," because apparently no one who is a consumer of media entertainment has the common sense to know that lawyers do not, in reality, go around killing and bribing everyone.

No one watches a show like How to Get Away with Murder for a lesson in law, they watch it for the interesting characters and fascinating plot. I had to write this review to correct all of the mistaken reviews that gave this show anything less than a 7, because the overall rating of this show was dismaying to me. And to learn it is for such a irrelevant reason!