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