For the sensational world that surrounds Harry Potter and the Dark Lord Voldemort, the epic finale reaches the start of its climax in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.  The movie rendition of J.K. Rowling's final book in the Harry Potter series is as accurate, emotional and powerful as any of the other films, but it is certainly the most profound of the seven. 

This penultimate film, and the book it is based off of, is a grim, riveting and frightening point in Harry Potter's history; like Star Wars:  the Empire Strikes Back, the first part of "The Deathly Hallows" takes the courageous characters that readers and movie-goers have come to love and plunges them into the darkest days and the most trying of circumstances.  This flick has much of the humor and charm of the previous six in the HP series, but it is also a slow building crescendo that swarms the viewer with the fear, suspense and shock that ensues as the precarious events unfold. 

The tale of the Boy Who Lived has been riddled with dark events and circumstances - Harry's parents being murdered by a power-crazed Voldemort and then the boy's awful family forcing Harry to be the Cinderella in their household - but the friendships, adventures and fun of magic at Hogwarts always seemed to balance out the harshness of Harry's reality.  Unfortunately, the Chosen One, Harry Potter, is the only person who has the possibility of killing the Dark Lord who has risen to gain a tyrant's control over much of the wizarding world.  Harry is targeted as the lone threat to Voldemort's domination of everything and the government and Death Eaters now have total control to seek the 17 year old at will; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is a contrastingly different experience than the previous looks into Rowling's wonderful tale. 

The odds are against Harry, Ron and Hermione, as their mentor and hero Professor Dumbledore is dead; the one hope that they had, in their ally and shield against the utterly evil Voldemort and his armies of darkness, has not only been erased from the earth, but he is being discredited by the press.  A biography has emerged revealing little known facts about the dark life that Dumbledore had led.  Harry has had no idea of these things and is overwhelmed with the futile feeling that his old bearded ally did not make anything clear to him about how to defeat Voldemort, and the fact that Dumbledore had a mysterious other side creates a disturbingly surreptitious effect.

The cinematography is truly gorgeous, and the fact that Hogwarts is entirely absent lends to the foreign, thrilling and dangerous feel to the movie.  The characters of Ron, Hermione and Harry, in particular, go through so much inner turmoil that they become extremely deep and even more realistic than they have been previously depicted. 

Voldemort is brought in for some significant screen time and his madness, power and evil show through very well.  The Malfoy's estate is just as I imagined it would look and feel, and Bellatrix, who also gets a good deal of more time in this movie, makes the place a harbor for twisted selfishness and the blackness of the criminally insane.  This flick is dark!  The villains are truly given justice in this film and much more so than any of the previous six installments.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is the ultimate cliff-hanger in a depiction of one of the greatest epic tales ever written.  The sheer weight of the series is realistically brought about in this film and it is sad, moving and excellent in every way.  Ms. Rowling must be proud.

See the IMPULSIVE REVIEW Section for the Grade Here.

As the graphic novel, by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, "V for Vendetta" celebrates November the 5th, so too will I!  Today is Guy Fawkes Day in England.  405 years ago a man, striving for religious freedom and the freedom of ideas in an all too controversial time (especially to have such freedoms) attempted to commit an act of terrorism.  His name was Guy Fawkes, and he nearly blew up the buildings of Parliament with a large amount of gunpowder, though he was betrayed and caught before such a statement for freedom could be made; he was later killed. 

England lights the night sky with fire in remembrance of a time when freedoms were denied and a courageous man gave his life to attempt to drastically, radically and painfully change the course of history.  In 1605, Fawkes called to anarchy and to terrorism, and though terrorism should not be considered a good thing in and of itself, the fact that his failed attempt at destroying an English landmark, which was not serving the people well at the time, is now a holiday shows how an independent and noisy freedom invoking action can still be heard after all these many years.

Dramatic display is often necessary to wake apathetic and enslaved minds.  Guy Fawkes has had a rich history in England and thanks to the popularity ofthe intricate tale woven through the character of V in "V for Vendetta," the world has been let in on the man, the myth, the history and the legend such freedom fighters, whether they be fictional Guy Fawkes-mask wearing men or women, or the real Guy Fawkes himself.

"Remember, remember the 5th of November, the gunpowder treason and plot.  I know of no reason that the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot." - V

Rune Works would like to carve out a message:  HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Catherynne M. Valente's novel "Palimpsest" creates an altered state of being in the reader wherein pleasure and pain dance across a city that dissolves the very idea of utopia and gives birth to a monstrously real and wonderful well of experiences.  The very notion that a work can tear itself up into subtle and stark minutiae and, from that, form such intricately woven and rapturous stories, like the palimpsest process, is truly remarkable.

Valente's innovation: the city, tales, lives, waters, ink and war of Palimpsest; to craft such an original vision through such formidably real, addictive, desiring and afflicted characters is utter genius.  To gain entrance to the mystical city of Palimpsest, a place of dreams where colors, tastes and worlds merge brilliantly, is to pay a price.  The initial cost of immigrating there is to have sex with someone who has been there.  Ink tattoos a section of map that will forever mark the immigrant who desires, above all else, to get back to the contrasting hideously beautiful city that is Palimpsest. 

Valente addresses many issues that are rank in the world, through this book, and the author asks an important question of all who read this:  what price would you pay to achieve your deepest and darkest desire?

The Ninth Volume in The Bootleg Series is a historic release titled Bob Dylan The Witmark Demos:  1962 - 1964.  Not only have more than 20 of the 47 songs never been released in any form, but all but four of the tunes are presented in an unreleased version here! 

Quality is key and the Witmark sessions are simply stunning in their clarity and sharp resonance.  Bob Dylan spent the magical time after the release of his first studio album writing and playing as much as humanly possible, and these recordings were taken from the best possible recordings that he made at the Leeds/Witmark studio for artists getting down songs for publication and music write-ups.

The genius is sitting in a tiny professional studio on the guitar, harmonica and, at times, piano putting down an incredible amount of traditional folk/blues melodies with new words and new music crafted with his sensational lyrics.  Dylan is shown growing, chronologically, in this set unlike anything that has been released to date.

"Hard Times In New York Town" tells the story of the 18 year old's struggle upon moving from Minnesota to New York City and is moving, as well as catchy.  The included version of "Blowin' In The Wind" seems to be good enough to be the album version, or a great live recording, and the coziness of the studio is evident when one can hear Bob cough between verses.

Simply put:  Wow!  This two-disc set is a must have for any fan of the great writer/singer/song writer/legend that is Bob Dylan.

Filling the entire Javits Center, the 2010 New York Comic Con became a city within a city last weekend.  Walking the streets of New York City, anyone could glance over and see various visions of Spiderman, Anime, Watchmen and vast custom made weapons!  The NYCC (NewYorkComicCon.com) costumed fun officially exploded on Saturday when random walks on the show floor brought movie-prop quality Predators to battle with Spiderman, or the Riddler joining with Harley Quinn, the Joker and the Scarecrow to pose with the Batman! 

This year, the main floor contained myriad pieces of art, television, movies, video games, books, card games, comics and anime.  The new 007 James Bond game, "James Bond:  Blood Stone" (Bloodstonegame.com) was playable and I was able to take part in a driving board, while Ben Ward - Studio Communications Manager of Blizzard - explained how the storyline, featuring Daniel Craig as Bond, was meant to be an in-between movie-story to help bridge "Quantum of Solace" with the next film.  The hand to hand combat is amazing and unlike any game before!  The driving scene that I played was too real, as the snow poured down on the Russian industrial city highway I dodged attacking vehicles, traffic and near-constant explosions!  It was like being in a 007 film!!!

Leslie Ditto, the modern surreal artist, had an entrancing display of her skilled artwork on hand at the NYCC, including three limited giclee prints:  Alice in Wonderland, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and a third Gaga woman with a city titled Princess of Pop.  See the amazing breadth of Leslie's work at her site here (LeslieDitto.com).  Her work catches the eye and further envelops the mind invoking sharp feelings and thought.

The swag was excellent this year, as "LOST," the "Wheel of Time" and 1st Print Kenyon (the authors were there signing) hardcover books were given away, along with "Wheel of Time" bumper stickers/maps, dozens of Bite Me type buttons and of course Comics!  Tons of books, samplers and full novels like Kenyon's newest (which was not even out yet) were being given away to loyal fans and it was to the point that you had to choose what to take based on how much you could carry.

The gaming industry really stole much of the show, as Nintendo featured a gorgeous booth and two player games, the new "Donkey Kong Country" and the new "Kirby" game, both of which were incredibly fun and visually supreme for the Wii.  Capcom had the much anticipated "Marvel Vs. Capcom 3" (MvC3.com) and it did not disappoint!  The game had half of the characters available to play and the graphics and intricate moves resembled MvC 2 Squared!  "Red Dead Redemption Undead" looked frighteningly fun, as did "Dead Rising 2." 

The Blu-ray release of the movie "Alien: Anthology" was represented with a full sized Nostromo ship stasis setup for four members to go and lie down in.  Inside the hibernation chamber were screens featuring a frightening collection of images from the movie to scare the bejesus out of those cramped in the small space with alien face-huggers and worse.  Those who made it inside got a free t-shirt too!

Though the panels were lacking, Seth Green was on hand to deliver a brilliant "Robot Chicken" event.  He showed a solid 10+ minutes of upcoming footage from the new season and the "Star Wars Episode III Special."  Funny.  Very funny, it was.

The NYCC was a blast this year!  There was so much going on, between the cosplay-inspired fans, the art, the games, the swag, the stars, toys, contests and comics that it was impossible to take it all in.  It was a pure adventure and no one could go through the NYCC with the same tales!  Next October is already looking like Christmas!

 

This site has found a new peak.  There were 603 visits to RJHUNEKEWRITES.com on 10/12/10!!!  Thank you all!  Please continue to enjoy the words and Rune Works!

I love to emphasize how kool certain dates or times are, and 10/10/10 (October 10, 2010) is no slouch!  Wow 10 10 10!  I feel like I am living in a LOST episode today!