jmmustchin

The first instalment in the Harry Potter series is fun, charming, and magical. The plot moves along smoothly with a few genuinely surprising twists and turns. The actors are generally quite good. The special effects, while occasionally showing their age, are fantastic. The thing that immediately drew me in, though, was the music score. John Williams really outdid himself here - it gives a mysterious, magical, and charming feel to it. I also really liked the care and attention to detail that went into this movie - the costumes, all the details about Hogwarts, etc. A truly fantastic fantasy film.

The Towering Inferno was one of the blockbuster all-star disaster movies of the 1970s, alongside Airport, The Poseidon Adventure, etc. In the film, the tallest building in the world has just been opened. The Mayor of San Francisco and a United States Senator are attending the opening. However, the owner's son-in-law (Richard Chamberlain) has taken several legal shortcuts in the building's construction. A shorted-circuit sets a fire in a maintenance room that goes unnoticed for several hours. When it finally is discovered, it's too entrenched, and the entire building - at least for the upper residential storeys (at the bottom of which the fire started) - will burn. Unfortunately, the party is right at the top of the building.

First up, this movie will likely scare young children. It's intense, and the special effects are incredibly real-looking, even today. However, it's extremely well done, and quite good. It's provides a sombre look at legal short-cuts in buildings. (I watched it shortly after the Grenfell Tower tragedy.) Highly recommended.

Die Hard 2 is not as good as the original Die Hard (to be expected), but it's exciting & loads of fun. The first time I watched it, I liked it, but was slightly mixed. Then I watched it a second time, and found I was fully on board, loving every single second of it (well, except for one unnecessarily violent moment in the latter half of the movie, but it certainly does NOT affect the movie's quality). A year after the first film, John McClane must leap into action AGAIN to deal with terrorists trying to prevent a South American drug lord. As mentioned, it's heaps of fun. There's lots of great action, as well as a great sense of humour. There are several humorous references to McClane going through a similar experience yet AGAIN, second Christmas in a row. And the story is pretty good - and kinda scary, like the original.

And like the first, it's quite violent (and full of swearing - albeit not as much as the first), and isn't suitable for children. With the exception of a throat-slitting scene, I wasn't bothered by it.

A fun & thoroughly entertaining joy ride.