With reports already flying about how the pre-sale tickets for the latest ‘Harry Potter’ film are expected to shatter records, there’s no doubt that the final chapter of J.K. Rowling’s book series is going to dominate the weekend. Can a lovable talking bear find an audience as well?
Every fan who went to see ‘The Deathly Hallows Part 1’ wound up watching a climax-less film that ended just before it came to a boil. ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2‘ is the satisfying climax that ‘Part 1’ was missing. Those who walked away from ‘Part 1’ feeling ripped off will be happy to see what ‘Part 2’ achieves. Anyone who has been following the series is bound to see ‘Part 2’ this weekend.
While the majority of the world is watching the PG-13 conclusion of the ‘Harry Potter’ series, those below the age of 13 are expected (or so Disney hopes) to see ‘Winnie the Pooh‘ instead. Although I grew up on the ‘Pooh’ classics of old, the more recent ‘Pooh’ has been disappointing – especially the computer animated TV series. With the new ‘Pooh’ film, Disney has wised up and gone back to the classics.
Before Woody, Buzz and company came to life in the absence of humans, Pooh Bear and his stuffed animal friends did. ‘Winnie the Pooh’ follows the narrated adventures of old, showing the cartoon characters walking out of the pages of the book that we’re reading. Like he’s done before, Owl misunderstands a letter from Christopher Robin, and the gang makes a plan to save him.
‘Winnie the Pooh’ is not only fun for children who love the characters, but will also be nostalgic fun for the parents who grew up with them. To top it off, ‘Winnie the Pooh’ is surprising funny – and short. Including ‘The Ballad of Nessie’, the animated short that plays beforehand, the film is barely over an hour long.
Quietly opening against the family-based flicks are a slew of indie films. ‘Daylight‘ is a gritty thriller that’s receiving mixed reviews. ‘Salvation Boulevard‘ is a dark comedy that’s been panned since its Sundance premiere. 19th Century Chinese society exploration flick ‘Snow Flower and the Secret Fan‘ is also receiving mostly bad reviews. Errol Morris’ new documentary ‘Tabloid‘ is the only indie opener this weekend to receive a positive Rotten Tomatoes rating.
What are you going to see this weekend?
TJ Kats
The fact that Pooh is just over an hour is awesome. Kids movies that 1:45-2 hours by themselves with a short and 10-15 minutes of previews is just too much for most young kids to sit through. Might have to take my kids to see that during the week next week.
EM
Seeing Deathly Hallows, Part II has long been a foregone conclusion, but lately I’ve been getting pretty excited for Winnie the Pooh. I’ve never been a big Pooh fan, but the previews have looked good, and the reviews have been glowing.
Alas, I probably won’t see either this weekend. Maybe one of them, but probably not. I hope to otherwise catch them next week. I’d also like to squeeze in another viewing of Super 8, but that might be pushing it.