Locomotive Magic

So, today, I decided to watch two movies. (1) Unstoppable... and (2) Harry Potter 7 Part 1 (yes, sounds like a motherf*cking cash cow). So on to the post-mortem.


1) Unstoppable (2010)


First up, was Unstoppable, a story about a genius who left a train pulling about four cargoes filled with some sort of highly flammable chemical unmanned. The train then 'decides' to pick up speed and goes on a joyride around highly populated suburban areas while the authorities wet their pants trying to figure out what to do. Well, what do you do in such a situation? You call on captain Kirk and Denzel, thats what you do!


Lame intros aside, the movie was pretty decent, quite good actually. Truth be told, I thought it was crap watching the trailer. But fortunately it turned out to be a good movie. Washington and Pine made a great duo on camera. They had the whole 'old-veteran vs newbie' thing going quite well. Who would have thought a story about a runaway train could be so intense? It was interesting from start (well, maybe 15 minutes in) to finish and as a whole it was a pretty decent movie, I would say.

The only fault I would say is the fact that the story is about a freaking runaway train (okay, it also about the two locomotive heroes). The story was predictable and really felt restrain to as what it could do with itself. But I dont blame the movie. How much can one actually make about a movie involving mostly a runaway train? The ending was probably a little corny, but they had to put something for people chuckle about at the end.


+ Good acting
+ Sufficiently intense
+ A decent joyride
- Predictable
- Corny
Rating: 6.5/10

2) Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (a.k.a HP7P1) (2010)


When I saw the trailer, I was impressed. Then I saw the words "presented in two parts". The first thing that came to my mind was.. "CASHCOW!!!"... And I dont think that I am wrong. I must admit though that I am NOT a Harry Potter fan. Also, this is my first ever Harry Potter movie... and it only took me 6 installments to convince myself to watch a nerdy wizard with normal teenage problems.


Well, I must say that the environment is somewhat confusing. First you're seeing buses and cars, the in 2 minutes, you see trees and wide plains. Then in 2 more minutes (yes you guessed it), we're back in a semi-modern society. Point of note, Im treating this movie as a stand-alone and not HP as a whole. The magical effects were kinda cool, all the blasting and waving of the wands. PHEW! Magical stuff! The guy with the flattened nose who had a snake for a pet was pretty cool too (a.k.a Mr. Voldemort).


What I didnt like though is the dependency of the movie on the three main characters. Eventhough it is understandable that 85% of the movie focuses on the trio, it would be nice to see better acting (especially from people who have acted as the same character in 6 previous installments of the same thing). I felt Emma Watson was stiff most of the time, Mr. Potter cant pull off a sad face. And the red headed guy seemed scary, like a druggie minus the drugs. The supporting actors gave life to the movie, especially all those 'bad' guys.

That being sad, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. From start to finish, I was'nt terribly bored. I took it as a build up to Part 2 - which we all know is where the real shit happens. The landscapes really added loads of emotion to every scene. To put it in simple terms, this movie was beautifully shot. And special effects are icing on the beautiful cake. Again, I am NOT a Harry Potter fan, but im not a hater too. So before you Pot-heads (pun intended) try to spellbind me with your imaginary wands, fear not, for I too am anticipating the final chapter to this epic wizardy tale.


PS1: Its probably that I didnt get most parts of the movies... hence the somewhat confused review. but... meh...
PS: I will try to watch HP 1-6 during the holidays... try...

+ Good special effects
+ Story is gripping at times
- Pretty poor acting (based on my expectations)
- Predictable and dull ending (they could have made it more intense)

Rating: 6.5/10 (not bad for my first potter movie, I would have given it a 7, but while I was writing this review... I realized there was'nt really much greatness about it - BUT, I did ENJOY the whole of the movie)