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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2011)
arts & entertainment We’ll miss you Harry Potter Film Review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 By kam Williams for The Skanner News O ver the past decade, the Harry Potter screen adaptations have proven to be just as popu- lar as the best-selling series of children’s books upon which they’re based. The first seven grossed over $6 billion at the box-office, making it the most lucrative film franchise of all time even before the release of this worthy finale. Unless author J.K. Rowling decides to extend the spellbinding saga, which isn’t entirely out of the question, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is slated to bring down the curtain on the magical adventures of the boy wizard and his Hogwarts School classmates. Directed by David Yates (HP 5, 6 & 7), this installment picks up right where the last one left off, namely, with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his pals Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) resuming their quest to find the rest of Dark Lord Voldemort’s (Ralph Fiennes). “Horcruxes.” Diehard Potterheads undoubtedly already know why gaining possession of the wizard weaponry known as the “Deathly Hallows” (the Resurrection Stone, the Elder Wand and the Cloak of Invisibility) is so critical to the success of the seek-and-destroy mission to vanquish the merciless Voldemort. Nonetheless, uniniti- ated “muggles” like yours truly need not be familiar with the inscrutable lexicon to appreciate the fact that what’s about to unfold is a classic showdown between the forces of good and evil over the very fate of the world. As for special effects, this is the first HP episode shot in 3-D, which turns out to be worth the investment given the profusion of captivating action sequences ranging from the heroes’ daring escape from a subterranean inferno on the back of a fire-breathing dragon to an epic, high body-count battle on the campus of their alma mater. Once the dust settles, however, what’s ultimately more memorable than the climactic clash of the wands is the update by way of postscript relating intimate details of developments in the protagonists’ personal lives. After all, they’re almost like family after maturing in front of our very eyes since they were adolescents, so it’s only natural that we’d like to know how they turned out as adults. A fitting capstone on a fabled film franchise for the ages! Excellent (4 stars) Rated PG-13 for frightening images and intense violence. Running time: 130 Minutes Distributor: Warner Brothers Nine Time Winner, 2006 through 2011, of A. Philip Randolph Messenger Awards Founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, Asa Philip Randolph (1889-1979) was instrumental in the desegregation of the American Federation of Labor, which crossed the color line for the first time when it grant- JPHoTo: JoHN BoTTEgA/NEW YoRk WoRlD-TElEgRAm & SuN, 1963 T he NNPA and Miller Brewing Co. partnered to create the Messenger Awards program for Black journalists, named for the Messenger, the first Black publication. The NNPA, also known as The Black Press of America, has been hon- oring exemplary jour- nalism in African- American media since 1991. the Skanner news has now won nine A. Philip Randolph Messenger Awards, in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Randolf changed the course of American his- tory through his work as a labor leader, civil rights crusader, and newspaper publisher. ed an international char- ter to the union. In 1917 Randolph established the radical news monthly the Messenger. In its pages he gave voice to the early 20th century civil rights movement, agitat- ing against lynching, opposed U.S. participa- tion in World War I, urged African Americans to resist being drafted to fight for a segregated society, and recommended that they join radical unions. July 13, 2011 The Portland Skanner Page 7
