Tagged: Daniel Radcliffe

Review: My Boy Jack (DVD)

British drama has always been a bit slow paced with typical English reserve, and My Boy Jack, a BBC production, is no exception to that general rule. The tale revolves around Rudyard Kipling and his son, Jack, with the latter being portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame. However, anyone picking up this film expecting anything like the action and adventure of, say, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be bitterly disappointed. There is no magic, no cloak of invisibility, not even a laptop computer to be found; it is a straightforward historical drama. Sorry, kids.

David Haig portrays Rudyard, a full-on British patriot who happened to work for the War Office’s Propaganda Department as World War I broke out. Based on Haig’s stage play and screen adaptation, My Boy Jack tells the tale of how Kipling’s son, Jack, struggled to gain entry into the British military despite severe near-sightedness and then went missing in battle one day after his 18th birthday. The story effectively portrays the terrible human cost of war without betraying genuine patriotism the pro-War Kipling embodied.

As Jack’s mom Caroline, Kim Catrall of Sex and the City fame makes an appearance and skillfully disappears into her character, rather than standing out like a sore thumb among the otherwise all-British cast. Virtual unknown Carey Mulligan makes a good first impression in the role of Jack’s sister, Elsie.

The best thing that can be said about Radcliffe’s performance is that it stands resistant to Harry Potter comparisons; he captures the spirit of his character and immerses himself in it for the entire 90-minute running time. And although he is the actor most likely to be recognized on US shores, it is Haig’s performance as the great British author that steals the show. He portrays a broad range, from comedy to sorrow, almost exclusively with amazing reserve and understatement.

The main trouble, however, is with Haig’s script, which builds to a satisfying climax but even at just over 90 minutes, feels slow and drawn out. While this is in the classic tradition of British moviemaking, the pace may come off a bit too slow for some US audiences. Nevertheless, it is a noteworthy film that marks Radcliffe’s maturity as an actor outside of the Harry Potter franchise.

Harry Potter and the Final Two Movies

Worse than his showdown with the Half-Blood Prince or the Deathly Hallows, the biggest challenge facing Harry Potter is the publication this weekend of the final book in the seven-book series by J.K. Rowling. For the first five Harry Potter films adapted from the series, fans have had the mystery of not knowing how all their favorite characters will end up, in the end.

That ends this weekend. With the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, all guessing games come to an end. It will be there in print for everyone to read. Will Harry, Ron and Hermoinie live? Or die? Is Snape ultimately good, or is he in league with Valdemort?

All the answers – or at least, all the answers Potter fans are ever going to get – will be known just as soon as the fastest reader can skim through the book this weekend. Unless, of course, they are lazy journalists who’ll flip to the last chapter or so and write up a news story that spoils the fun for everyone.

While millions of readers may be locking themselves away from TV, radio and Internet from the moment they pick up the book until they finish reading the last page, Potter’s movie-goer fans are in for a much longer wait; isolation for the next 2-3 years is simply not a realistic option.

Imagine the horrors Warner Brothers is facing. Almost 2-3 years before they release the book version of Deathly Hallows on the world, wrapping up the acting stints of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint on the series, fans worldwide will know how the last film is to end.

Because of the finality of the seventh book, keeping a clamp on spoilers is a bigger concern than ever before. If, for example, Harry … or one of the other “big three” characters … does die, consider the impact such foreknowledge might have on the box office receipts of the last two films.

There will always be a core of Potter fans who will faithfully attend the final two movies; but what about the rest? Can the more casual fans keep up their enthusiasm if it becomes confirmed that Harry or someone else dies in the end?

It doesn’t take financial reporting software to figure out that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix might be the last “huge box office” outing for Harry, Hermoinie and Ron. If one of those big three die in the last book, the more casual Potter fans may skip Half-Blood Prince altogether, though they may return for the movie adaptation of the death of a major character (or two… or “more than two,” as Ms. Rowling is fond of saying).

That would mean a box office nightmare for Warner Brothers. Don’t be surprised to see some studio exec insist that the film version, “won’t have the same ending as the book.” Another Idiot move, that…

Original Harry Potter cast will finish movie series

Sometimes there is good news out of Hollywood. This is such an occasion. EOnline.com is reporting that Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have all signed on to reprise their roles of Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger for the last two movies of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and the yet-to-be-published Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which marks a definitive end to the series.

Rumors abound that Deathly Hallows could feature the death of Harry himself, though that is entirely uncertain at this writing. While it would make the best literary resolution, Rowling has a generation of readers to consider and while she may give into the temptation to off Harry in much the same way Arthur Conan Doyle attempted to off Sherlock Holmes, it may all be part of the hype machine to build anticipation for the final book. Will Harry live or die? What better marketing gimmick could there be?

Of course, the media is sure to blow the whistle on how the series ends at first opportunity, and there is the movie franchise to consider; if the ending is revealed a couple years before the movie is released, and it proves unpopular, it could devastate box office receipts for the final films.

Personally, I’d rather not know what happens until I either read the book or walk into the theatre; but that’s not bloody likely. Trust Hollywood and the media to blow a good thing. But at least we know there won’t be any 11th-hour recasting of the principle leads in the film. At this point, if the cast were redone, combined with the ending of Deathly Hallows likely being revealed within a couple hours of the book’s July 2007 release, that would create the perfect storm to kill of the series.

With the way the page counts are increasing in each book released, it’s a good thing the series is ending at seven books, or future releases would become so weighty it would take a load of computer memory just to store it. However, whatever happens to Harry, Hermione and Ronald, at least it’ll happen to the cast audiences around the world have grown so fond of.

Live! Nude! Harry Potter!

British actor Daniel Radcliffe, who has played Harry Potter for the entire run of four movies to date, the fifth being due this summer, will be starring in the nude in a West End revival of Peter Shaffer’s play, Equus, according to a report on ThisIsLondon.co.uk.

Like so many child actors who don’t want to be seen as child actors – call it the “Dana Plato Syndrome” – Radcliffe is clearly rebelling by choosing a role that totally goes against the image that made people love him. Defending his decision, Radcliffe’s agent, Vanessa Davies, said, “Daniel does not want to step away from Harry Potter but he does want to show he is an rounded actor capable of very different and diverse roles. He has tremendous support from Harry Potter fans.”

Yet the play’s “lengthy nude sex scene” with actress Joanna Christie is considered a betrayal by many fans… or at least by their parents, whose kids look up to Radcliffe as a role model. One thing’s for sure, if it were being staged in the US, it would be considered child porn; Radcliffe is only 17.

If backlash builds up enough, Radcliffe’s future in the last two movies may come into question; instead of being known as Harry Potter, Radcliffe could find himself relegated to selling Cary NC real estate.