Screamers

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When it comes to animating Ralph Fiennes' Lord Voldemort character in the last two Potter films, director David Yates, a mid-range journeyman if there ever was one, is a huge fan of that madman howl. Which asounds awfully generic to me, and is, by the way, extremely similar to that leopard howl that Charles Ruggles shared with his dinner companions in Bringing Up Baby.

My point, I suppose, is this: if you're going to imitate somebody else's howl, imitate a really creepy one. Like Alan Bates' demonic banshee scream in Jerzy Skolimowski's The Shout.

Ignoring Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2 is an ongoing pleasure, but I'm wondering what kind of maoschistic moron do you have to be to see this trailer and go "yeah, looks good, can't wait," etc.?

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on May 23, 2011 at 1:01 AM

comment #1

Ray DeRousse says ...

Is Voldemort done via makeup or CG? I was always under the impression it was clever makeup. You used the word "animated" and now I'm unsure of the technique used.

I guess that's a credit to the skill of the guys responsible that it's not readily apparent.

Posted by Ray DeRousse at May 23, 2011 5:53 AM

comment #2

Jewelez Azner says ...

Wells, if you call someone a maoschistic moron you really should spell M-A-S-O-C-H-I-S-T-I-C correctly.

Posted by Jewelez Azner at May 23, 2011 8:14 AM

comment #3

The Thing says ...

I'm glad that I'm a masochistic moron.

The last one was one of the best of the series and I think that this will follow.

Posted by The Thing at May 23, 2011 9:47 AM

comment #4

JLC says ...

Ignore it while you can. HP 8 is going to be the highest grossing film of 2011 by a comfortable margin. In fact, of all the films coming out in the foreseeable future, I think it has the best shot of toppling Avatar. I think it will fall short, but it will be close.

Posted by JLC at May 23, 2011 11:12 AM

comment #5

Mgmax, le Corbeau says ...

I'm sure there's prosthetics involved, but they also digitally erase part of Fiennes' nose.

Posted by Mgmax, le Corbeau at May 23, 2011 12:39 PM

comment #6

count.olaf says ...

Any Wells post about HP (excepting Emma Watson) always contains the literary equivalent of trashcannig someone and shouting, "O'Doyle Rules!" afterwards. Thankfully Adam Sandler was prescient enough to reveal the O'Doyles' fate.

Posted by count.olaf at May 23, 2011 1:13 PM

comment #7

LexG says ...

Even Watson has never been enough to get me to watch any of these things.

Posted by LexG at May 23, 2011 3:11 PM

comment #8

Tony Perkis says ...

It amazes me that you can have an unfounded vendetta against, arguably, the best family series of all time (and certainly one of the greatest cinematic accomplishments in terms of consistant continuity and quality). I understand you hate everything mainstream and corporate for the sake of maintaining your (faux) hipster qualities, but for all the series to be on your shit list, this is the one? Really?

You actually gave the third Transformers trailer a higher recommendation, and the second film in that series is at a level of awful that even the first 2 Potter films haven't accomplished.

And Yates has done a remarkable job on the last few films. Some story elements aside, they're superbly made films.

Posted by Tony Perkis at May 23, 2011 3:23 PM

comment #9

Filthy Rich says ...

Jesus, you could hear that stupid scream like 7 times in that trailer.

I haven't seen any of these movies since maybe #4. The funny thing is how much alike they all look. How many giant serpents have they fought in this series? Or giant birds, dragons, etc or how many times have Harry and Ralph Fiennes pointed their glowy pens at each other and have it not be scary? At all.

Posted by Filthy Rich at May 23, 2011 8:46 PM

comment #10