“Casablanca . . . for Kids”

That’s my take on the newest (and last?) Harry Potter movie, viewed at an early screening last night (double-thanks to my 70 and 80-something parents — once for scoring the free tix, and again for sitting through it).

My 11-year son and his friend loved it; ditto my 8 year-old boy.

And for adults?

Not so much.

Takeaway’s

The youthful characters (Harry, Ron, Hermione) all seemed two-dimensional, while the “adults” (Voldemort, Severus Snape, Professor McGonagall) all came across as clichés.

Apparently, Hollywood has decided that the best way to make old(er) characters seem wise and thoughtful (and not a little ironic) is to have them . . . t-a-l-k  . . . s-l-o-w-l-y.

As far as the 3-D and special effects go, I didn’t see anything last night that I haven’t already seen in movies like Avatar, or anything by Pixar.

In fact, my two strongest impressions from the movie were:  1) Botox isn’t just for actresses; 65 year-old Alan Rickman, who plays Severus, clearly has partaken; and 2) when did they start serving popcorn in wheelbarrows at movie theatres??

I was literally astounded by the humongous sizes the popcorn came in — never mind the price!

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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