It probably comes as no surprise that what is arguably the biggest movie franchise in history has scared away any all competition with its Wednesday release. Don’t expect any big names or big movies this week. If you’re not a Potter fan, or you were one of the thousands lined up for the midnight showing, you may be a little disappointed with what this weekend has to offer.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Love him or hate him but that angsty wizard pulls in the big money and the big crowds, with every one of the movies having a worldwide gross of over $700 million. In this installment love is in the air, and if you don’t know between who I really won’t spoil it. Dumbledore takes a much bigger role in this one than we’re used to seeing and while it may not be as impressive as seeing Yoda kicking butt it still packs an amusing ‘punch.’
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince tickets on sale now!
The following movies are only opening in select theaters so keep a look out for them…or don’t really.
(500) Days of Summer
This movie is probably only opening against Potter because it never had much of a chance in the first place. The tagline for this one is ‘Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn’t.’ and if that doesn’t give you a hint at how cheesy this movie is going to be, the story line holds absolutely nothing of interest. Even if this movie is done well to get over such a seemingly overdone plot line would need some Hollywood heartthrobs that this move seriously lacks. ‘3rd Rock from the Sun’ fans might be happy with the main actor (no not the goofy funny one, the socially awkward cute in a ‘he’s the only one remotely close to a teenager on the show way’). Personally I can be a sucker for a decent romantic comedy (like the Proposal) but I see nothing redeeming about this one.
Homecoming
Yes it’s another one of those movies that give guys that famous fear of commitment. In this one, a high school football star comes home from college with a new girlfriend. This of course drives his ex-girlfriend psycho and she goes on a rampage to get rid of the new girl. I’m not quite sure who comes up with Horror movie plotlines lately but I have a theory that it has something to do with an infinite amount of monkeys with an infinite amount of typewriters….on the bright side eventually these monkeys might turn out something worth watching.
While normally I don’t report on films that don’t exactly fit into the mainstream, considering Harry Potter is pretty much the only choice for the weekend, here is a movie that is definitely worth trying to find.
A Woman in Berlin
If you are looking for a very controversial, sad and very powerful movie, this is it. While as of late Holocaust movies seem to be the main releases in the art house documentary scene, this one takes place in 1945 and tells the story of a German woman. It has had a controversial history, based on the published diaries of Anonyma (Nina Hoss). The diaries told about her rape and her subsequent struggles. The book was banned in 1953 because of the taboo subject but became a literary phenomenon in 2003. This movie is filled with drama and very powerful characters that shows just how World War II’s aftermath affected people on both sides.