Villadom Times Weekly Newpaper Online-April 20, 2011 Issue

April 20, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES I & III • Page 25 Harry Potter movie saga nears the ﬁnish line by Dennis Seuling “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I” (Warner Home Video) is being released on Blu-ray in plenty of time to capitalize on the final installment of the saga, due in theaters in July. Warner Brothers decided to divide the last book of the series into two motion pictures to incorporate as much plot and as many characters from the novel as possible. Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is the primary obstacle to the total control by Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) of both the wizard and human worlds. Voldemort has sent an army of Death Eaters to find the young wizard. Accompanied by Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint), Harry embarks on a journey that finds him crossing paths with many of the characters he has previously encountered at Hogwarts. Director David Yates handles the action sequences effectively. The film starts with a terrific chase in which Alastor Moody (Brendan Gleeson) turns many of Harry’s closest friends into Potter clones to confuse the Death Eaters. Another standout sequence is Harry and friends’ infiltration of the Ministry of Magic. Unfortunately, the film’s pacing is sluggish. This installment is far different in tone from the outset. It is darker and downbeat, plodding and repetitious. The special effects, tor Ken Loach’s portrait of working-class Northern England. Using real locations and non-professional actors, “Kes” is a touching coming-of-age drama. Fifteen-yearold Billy Casper (David Bradley) lives in a ramshackle house with his emotionally remote mother and physically abusive halfbrother, Jud. At school, Billy is mistreated by his teachers, who regard him as a hopeless case. His close bond with a wild kestrel provides him with a spiritual escape from his dead-end life. “Kes” will remind viewers of “Billy Elliot,” since both films are set in the same location and feature young protagonists from blue-collar backgrounds. “Kes” is beautifully directed and young Bradley turns in a moving, believable performance. The newly restored Blu-ray edition’s extras include a making-of documentary, a 1993 profile of director Loach, a 1966 television feature by Loach, the alternate internationally released soundtrack, and a booklet with a critical essay. “Ingrid Bergman in Sweden” (Kino Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson in ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I.’ as usual in a Potter film, are very good, but the magic isn’t there. Back are familiar characters Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter), Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), and Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane). The three-disc combo pack edition contains Blu-ray, DVD, and digital versions of the movie. The main extra is the opening scene of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II.” There are also additional scenes and several behind-the-scenes featurettes. The movie is also available in single-disc Blu-ray and DVD editions. “Kes” (The Criterion Collection), named one of the 10 best films of the century by the British Film Institute, is direc- International) is a three-disc DVD set of three films starring the actress before her Hollywood debut. All are in Swedish with English subtitles. In “Intermezzo” (1936), Bergman plays Anita Hoffman, an aspiring classical pianist who falls in love with a famed, but married, concert violinist. Their passionate affair has deep and unanticipated consequences for them both. For Anita, it also stirs a crisis. Bergman would make the American version of “Intermezzo” in 1939. “A Woman’s Face” (1938) gave Bergman one of the most challenging roles of her early career in Sweden. In this psychological thriller, she plays a woman whose bitterness over a facial disfigurement leads her to become a blackmailer. When one of her victims turns out to be married to a renowned plastic surgeon, she is given the opportunity to change her life. “June Night” (1940) is the last film Bergman made before moving to Hollywood. She plays a small-town woman who finds herself at the center of a sensational crime. 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