There are few franchises throughout history that have had as large a cultural impact as Harry Potter. It has grabbed a generation of readers and viewers under its magical grasp and has created a fanbase as loyal and fanatical as any other. And this week the final official installment in the Harry Potter series was released. On Friday July 15 the final film adaptation of the seventh and ultimate Harry Potter books Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Luckily, for fans it is as every bit as good as they hoped.

With the loss of Dobby the elf behind them, Harry, Hermione, and Ron attempt to track down the final Horcruxes, mystical pieces of the dark lord Voldemort's soul. However, this search them leads them to familiar grounds and with a now wounded Voldemort on their trail, the battle becomes as deadly as ever.

Director David Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves tackle the monumental job of bringing the screen adaptations of JK Rowling's novels to a close with skill and grace. Both are at the top of their game, and together produce a film that is as slick and stunning visually as it is emotional.

David Yates, who has directed every Potter film since the fifth installment Order of the Phoenix, has an incredible visual eye. Again, the latest Potter film like the two before it features breathtaking cinematography and visual design. The opening shot of a Hogwarts held captive is breathtakingly beautiful, and this carries on for the remainder of the film.

Kloves also adapts the incredibly dense seventh novel with skill. It never feels unnecessarily weighty, and the drama and tension are captured here perhaps better than in the novel. It is truly in the quiet moments that the two really do succeed.

The two together only fail when it comes to perfecting the desired emotional response from the audience. As I sat amongst and watched hardcore Potter fans tear up at the loss of their favorite characters or during the closing credits, I felt lost. I was emotionally affected sure. I had chills down my spine, and my eyes were beginning to water. However, I did not feel the emotional punch that I did for the resolution to the Lord of the Rings films or even the final Toy Story installment. This in no way means that the film's handling of emotion is bad. On the contrary, it is spectacular for a summer blockbuster, especially an adaptation of a novel. It just does not reach the level it could have.

The acting, however, is at the top of its game. With a decade of experience behind them Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Rupert Grint (Ron), and Emma Watson (Hermione) have matured into powerful actors with an undeniable chemistry. Radcliffe in particular delivers an incredibly powerful performance, which may be the best of his career. Ralph Fiennes also steals the scene as Lord Voldemort, finally capturing the essence of the role after struggling in previous installments. The true star is Alan Rickman as Professor Severus Snape, who single handily carries the film through its most emotional and powerful moment.

As mentioned before, The Deathly Hallows Part 2 is a visual wonder. Not only through its incredible cinematography, but in its handling of action and special effects. The appearance of a dragon during the films opening action sequence is stunning and breathtakingly realistic. Magic is implemented more creatively and seamlessly than ever before. The attack on Hogwarts school is a visual marvel. Spells shoot back in forth like super powered bullets. Giants battle sentient statues to the death. And Harry and his nemesis tumble through the sky in a climactic duel to the death.

Although his score does not match the magical beauty brought by John Williams's take on the earlier films, Alexandre Desplat delivers a musical backdrop to the Deathly Hallows that is fittingly haunting and memorable.

Although it does not reach its highest potential, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 succeeds beautifully at bringing a magical and emotional closure to a beloved series. With a capper like this, it is doubtful that we will see the last of Potter for a long long time.

Score: A

Okay, so I'm aware we had one of these the other day. However, with the release of the final Harry Potter film this week studios have scrambled to preview their biggest upcoming attractions. We've got a wide range of films coming up so let's get started.


1. Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows
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Robert Downey Jr.'s first Sherlock Holmes film was a financial success but in many ways controversial amongst critics and fans of the original series. The decision to make the series more action oriented indeed made it more pedestrian, but at the same time lost some of the source materials wit. The same seems to apply here, except elevated to an even higher degree. Jude Law and Downey Jr. continue to provide standout performances, but they lack the freshness of seeing them for the first time. Plus, seeing Sherlock Holmes in a dress was not on my bucket list.

Score: -B

2. Hugo
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Hugo based on the critically acclaimed illustrated novel by Brian Selznick originally caught my attention when it was anounced that Martin Scorsese would direct. However, this new trailer has done nothing but harm my interest for the film. While the source material told an original and spellbinding mystery, this trailer barely hints at it and instead focuses too much on slapstick pratfalls. Not too mention that it is pared with 30 Seconds to Mars's song "Kings and Queens" which has become the go to soundtrack peice for uplifting family films. This trailer is just incredibly bland. There are hints of promise scattered within cover of medicority, but my attention is lost.

Score: C

3. Arthur Christmas
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Another trailer that premiered with Harry Potter, this animated holidy comedy first appears promising with Morgan Freeman taking a jab at his own previous work in nature film narrating. Than we descend into one of the most frustrating and long whinded gags I have ever seen in a film trailer. The animation is nice, but the entire trailer relies on a singular joke that goes and goes and goes. The sad thing is, it wasn't even funny to begin with. Although the film stars James McAvoy of X-men fame, after this trailer I have zero to no desire to see this.

Score: D

4. John Carter
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John Carter has slowly become one of my most anticipated films for next year. Not only is it a science fiction epic based on the classic books by Edgar Rice Burroughs (who also appears to be a character in the film), but its work is actually being overseen by Pixar. As for the trailer, it is good but not great. While the design for the film is stunning and inspired, we also are treated to a Mars that looks a little too much like the American West. The story also appears to be a bit on the familiar side. Despite this, my interest is piqued and I look forward to see where Disney takes this adaptation.

Score: B

6. The Thing
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Although this didn't air in front of Harry Potter, the trailer for the remake/prequel to the classic John Carpenter film, The Thing, also premiered this week. While the trailer is exciting and looks to atleast have the potential to be as frightening as the original, I can't help but thinking I've seen this before. The sad thing is that because the film acts as a prequel it has to fit into the previous films canon. We already know what happens to that Norwegian snow base. Wouldn't that take away the scare factor? Sadly, this trailer doesn't do much to convince me otherwise despite the interesting visuals and creepy backdrop.

Score: -B

7. The Dark Knight Rises
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The most anticipated trailer of the week, heck probably the year, and I'm not allowed to show you it. If you want to see the sneak peak of the upcoming Batman sequel you just have to buy a ticket to see the newest Harry Potter film (you should probably do that anyway).

As for the quality of the trailer? Its a teaser, so you can't expect much. We get out first glimpse at Bane, Liam Neeson does some voice overs, and Christian Bale stalks by in his costume. Its not much, but it's affective. Not too mention that creepy chanting from the viral videos is still around.

Score: B+

This year marks the end to one of the msot lucrative franchises of all time. A seven book stories and eight movies comes to an end in a conclusion thats guranteed to make a boat load of money. However, there are a fair amount of great finales out there in multiple forms of media across several different series. (Of course, finales never really stay finales for long.)

Disclaimer: As always, this is limited to my own experience. If a reader out there wishes to recommend a series with a great finale, go ahead and place it in the comments below.


10. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Last Battle (novel)
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Although its tone is decidedly more bleak than previous installments in C.S. Lewis's beloved franchise, the final novel in the series presents another Chrsitian parallel in its portrayel of the apocalypse. Characters are killed brutally, but in typical Lewis fashion returns in the final chapters. The Last Battle is a truly smart capper to a great series.


9. Ultimate Spider-man
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Although the series has yet to officially conclude, Brian Bendis has done tthe unthinkable, Peter Parker has died. Although death in comics is hardly permanent and main characters have been known to die, Marvel's Ultimate line is decidedly different. Only rarely do characters return from the grave and unlike the Marvel's main coninuity, writer Brian Bendis has complete control over how the series will play out from this point forward. Peter's death is handled with class and incredible emotion. It never feels like a gimmick.

8. Toy Story 3
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Last year, I doubt many of us would have expected to include this amoung the best series cappers of all time. However, Pixar's incredible third installment in the Toy Story series is just that. It not only stands on its own as a clever and inventive animated film, but delivers a poignant statement on mortality. It also delivers closure to characters we have come to love for over a decade.

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (novel)
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Are there lots of deaths? Yes. Powerful character revelations? Check. Controversial final scene? Yep. J.K. Rowling's modern fantasy epic concludes in typical fashion, but with a sense of grandeur and style the series is known for. And yes, while some hated the final scene, I have to admit I rather liked it.

6. Buffy The Vampire Slayer-"Chosen"
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Although it is not the best episode of the series, "Chosen" ends Buffy in grand fashion with the battle for evil taking even greater stakes than ever before. Friends are lost in heart breaking sacrifice and at the same time preparing its series for a new step in its mythology and a eventually a new medium.


5. Serenity
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Whoa, another Joss Whedon show? Insanity! This movie conclusion to the short lived series easily earns its place on this list. In addition to wrapping up the majority of the mythology questions posed by the series. However, Serenity thrives in bringing about sometimes heart breaking character conclusions through action filled spectacle.

4. Lost: The End
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Controversial and beloved at the time, the final episode of the epic television series Lost does not answer all the questions viewers posed about the show's intricate mythology. However, what it suceeds beautifully at is at creating some of the most satisfying and beautiful character resolutions ever seen. Plus there's that scene with the dog.

3. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
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Although it is still the worst of the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi is one hell of a series capper. The epic of Anakin Skywalker comes to an emotional and empactful close amongst epic spacebattles and slug like crime lords. The wordless finale also delivers a sense of galactic euphoria.


2. Watchmen
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I may be cheating with this one. I mean Watchmen is a book right? Well before it was a book, Watchmen was a critically acclaimed miniseries. The bleak and atypical finale to the series not only subvert nearly every superhero cliche at the time, but creates a resolution that caps off a timeless series. It would also earn the series the label of being completely unfilmable for years.

1. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Film/Novel)
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Perhaps the greatest fantasy series ever created, The Lord of the Rings suceeds in both forms of media. It brings its quest to a climactic close with spectacular battles, blood thirsty creatures, and twists left and right. However, what makes the finale to this trilogy such a winner are its quiet moments. Especially in Peter Jackson's film adaptation this finale suceeds with its characters. Whether its the realization of Gimley and Legolas's friendship, Pippin singing to the steward of Gondor, or its great conclusion that remembers that there are more to endings than climactic battles, Return of the King is storytelling gold and the best series finale of all time.

Its that time again. Time for me to go through the latest movie trailers, and well review them.

Yes, one of these was posted earlier, but hey what you gonna do about it. Gotta get this out of the way before that thing called Comic Con brings in a whole new slew of trailers.

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Trailer
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Now, I'm aware we will be seeing the actual product in a few days. However, one cannot deny that this trailer brims of marketing goodness. Even for non fans of the franchise, this preview at the film series's final installment. Special effects, spoilers, and a fantastic score give any viewer chills.

Score: A

2. Brave
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Here we have Disney Pixar's Brave. It may be the fact that fans of the stellar animation studio are looking for hope following this year's travesty, Cars 2, but the trailer for Brave works. The animation is stunning, and the glimpse we get at the world Pixar creates is tantalizing. Even more exciting is the idea that Pixar is tackling a Brothers Grimm style fairy tale. That has to be exciting to you.

Score: -A

3. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
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Ridiculous title aside, this trailer establishes something that the entire marketing campaign for this prequel has been, a deep haunting atmosphere. Caesar, rendered through stunning technology, has already become the emotional focal point for the film. If the film is as strong as these trailers make it seem, than we may have the strongest Planet of the Apes film since the original. Though it still doesn't make sense how about fifty apes can take overall of Los Angeles...

Score: -A

4. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
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Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol seems to be more of the same for the Tom Cruise action franchise. However, that is not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to this franchise that is not necessarily a bad thing. There are hints at some interesting action set pieces, and a plot that strays slightly from the norm. I'm still not completely sold, though.

Score: B


5. Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1
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The reason why this film has been split in half is still a mystery to many. Despite the fan service, this trailer really does nothing. Sure, they get married. What else happens? This trailer isn't gonna help. There's alot of vampire sex, and some boy fighting. Nothing else.

Score: D+

6. The Adventures of Tintin
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Although its animations style requires some adjusting, there's little doubt that Tintin is a visual marvel. It is also to see a slightly edgy animated adventure aimed at the all ages demographic. With the promising names of Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg, and Edgar Wright it's pretty easy to get excited.

Score: B+

(A bit late, but bare with me)

In 2007, famous action director Michael Bay did what seemed like a Hollywood impossibility. He took a dated toy property and turned it into a multi-million dollar franchise. Sure he had some help, primarily from teenage boys wishing to catch their glimpse at a certain actress, but the original Transformers film will forever remain as a great summer blockbuster.

In 2009, the same director, cast, and writers did the exact opposite. They created a spectacular failure of a film. A nonsensical plot, soulless human characters, and absolutely horrific humor made Transformers Revenge of the Fallen an exercise in just how bad sequels can get. A movie Rolling Stone labeled as one of the worst films of the entire decade.

Bay has labeled this latest, and probably final, installment his apology for the second film. Transformers: Dark of the Moon certainly does improve upon its predecessor, but is not without its own pratfalls.

Dark of the Moon opens up two years following the previous film. The Autobots continue to fight the remnants of their Decepticon foes. Meanwhile, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) attempts to move on with his life with his new girlfriend, Carly (Rosie Huntington Whiteley). However, Sam despite having saved the world twice finds it difficult to find a career. Sam's search does last long. The Decepticons have returned and this time become involved in a conspiracy that stretches back to the space race.

When it comes to the scale of its story, Dark of the Moon is easily the strongest of the three films. The conspiracy, which is shown spectacularly in the first ten minutes of the film, proves to be an interesting backdrop to the robot action. The plot also features some unexpected twists that make the film more engaging in some ways than both its predecessors.

What Dark of the Moon lacks is a compelling human story. While the overarching plot and the robot centered segments are engaging and filled with spectacle, the human storyline has none of this. This is unfortunate seeing as a good hour of the film follows Sam Witwicky's attempt to find a career. It is just difficult to care for any of the characters Bay presents to us.

This is made even worse by the absolutely awful humor. Although not racist or as crude as the previous film, the script is packed with some of the least affective and brainless humor seen in years. The Hangover 's Ken Jeung is the worst offender of this. He appears in a brief stint that borders on unwatchable. What makes matters worse is that this idiotic humor takes up a solid hour of the film.

However, Michael Bay takes his billion dollar franchise to a new level of intensity. When it comes to delivering spectacle, the famed master of explosions does not disappoint. The visual effects are easily some of the most impressive ever seen. Each of the machines glittering and shifting parts is rendered beautifully. The same goes for the 3D effects, which rank as the best since James Cameron's Avatar.

When the humor has died down and the plot finally reaches its head, the action begins. And what a sight it is. Visceral, grand in scale, and unmatched in scope, Dark of the Moon delivers fantastic action set piece after set piece. One moment, robots are locked in a Western style standstill. Next, characters are sliding and diving through a collapsing skyscraper. Then, Optimus Prime, who reaches levels of unbelievable cool in this film, jetpacks through a crowd of enemies slicing and dicing. Once it gets started, the action never lets up, which for a Michael Bay movie is not a bad thing.

When it comes to performances, there are few to truly write home about. LaBeouf is on par with his previous roles in the franchise. Huntington-Whiteley fares better than Megan Fox but never exceeds mediocrity. However, Leonard Nemoy does provide an interesting voice role for Optimus's new mentor Sentinel Prime.

Perhaps the unsung hero of the film is Steve Jablonksy's heroic score. Jablonsky originally wowed in the original 2007 film with tracks that have become staples to the franchise. He expands upon these beautifully here, creating an audio treat amidst the bullets and explosions.

Ultimately, as a summer blockbuster Transformers Dark of the Moon does deliver. It may be a tad too long and lack a soul, but when it comes to flat out action and spectacle you are unlikely to do better this season. Just make sure to brain bleach out those jokes.


Score: -B

Outside of Rango, this year has been rather lackluster when it comes to animation. The always trusty Pixar delivered its first ever flop, and the rest have been equall uninspired.

This film based off the classic comic books by Belgian artist Georges Rémi produced by Peter Jackson, directed by Steven Spielberg, and written by Edgar Wright looks to be a spectacle on par with some of the highest budget live action films.

Not to mention that gorgeous animation.

Wow...It's been a long time hasn't it my friends? Well, welome to the brand new Artificial Continuum. A world of endless possibilites, and weekly nerd features.

So its been a crazy week at the web. Lots of great viral videos are breaking out. Unfortunatley, you peeps will only get to see one of these late breaking videos today. You'll have to wait for subsequent weeks to see the others. Or...you could just go on youtube. Take your pic.


1. eHarmony Cat video
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Here's a video that's been making waves on the web for the last few weeks. For those who haven't seen it, you'll be in for a treat. But please, male readers, I am aware that she does seem to move her breasts about alot, but this is a video about well...cats.


2. Classic Viral: PINGAS
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Yes, I pulled the PINGAS card. This travesty of voice acting created a viral and eventual meme that would shape the internet forever.


3. Fan Trailer: Deadpool
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So, yes. I am aware you all expected me to show you something funny. Well, this last spot has traditionally been reserved for simply cool videos that have captured my attention over the week.

This week that video is this great fan trailer for the hypothetical Ryan Reynolds movie that will probably never actaully be made. Its brilliantly edited, and actually looks pretty cool.

So after much soul searching, and reading over our single suggestion we recieved, the fate of Artificial Continuum has been decided.


What, you ask, will become of this site? Will it die? Will it change itself completely? Well..the answer is neither.

AC will be repurposed into a site that runs off features and commentaries rather than a focus on news. Some of the most popular features on our site have been the weekly web video topic, and our reviews. These will be expanded upon, and both will be seen in weekly features.

Our new catalogue of content will include:

Monday: Weekly Web Video Topic ( A feature that will be completely identical to our web video topic of last year)

Wednesday: Nick's Top Ten (This one came as a surprise. However, when I went back and reviewed our view stats on our posts. Some of the most popular posts I made on the sites were actually my top ten countdowns. So now every Wednesday will feature a top ten countdown ranging across all geekdom.)

Friday: News Round Up (We can't forget the news! We have to keep the masses informed! Every Friday will now contain a round up of some of the most interesting, bizarre, and important announcements across geekdom.)

Every other week will also feature a round up review of released movie trailers.

I will also continue movie reviews and possibly reviews of Clone Wars, but on a far less scheduled basis.


I hope you all are as excited for this change of pace as I am. Look forward to seeing you in the coming months.

Hello everyone,

Reboots are rather popular these days. X-men just had one a few weeks ago. DC's got one planned for next year, and we have major studios rebooting properties all the way down the line. In other words, the status quo has to change, because to quote Dr. Horrible "the satus is not quo".

Anyways, what is this rambling post about? It's about a certain something that's been noticed by many people. Well, many people being the one or two people that read this blog. Artificial Continuum has exeperienced a lot of down time. In fact, way too much downtime.

There are lots of reasons why AC has been dormant for many months. This mainly has to due that our multiple writers have lives that are ultimatley more important than this blog. However, alot of the problems simply came from the fact that our staff (and mostly myself) tried to tackle too large a subject matter for a single blog. Covering all media news with a handful of statt worked when time was a plenty and our lives were simple.

However, this does not mean that AC is dead. On the contrary, I have made this post to simply say that the staff of AC has decided to retool the focus of the blog. We have had multiple suggestions ranging from a stronger focus on reviews or commentaries, a focus soley on a certain form of media, or a certain genre.

So dear (3) readers, I have a request of you. Please tell us: what do you like from AC? What do you want to see more of? What do you want to see less of? What features should we expand? What should we throw down the imaginary internet dumpster? Any and all suggestions are welcome. So comment below.


Thanks,

Nick

For all of you GoW fans, here's the full Gears of War 3 E3 trailer. The music played here is by Black Sabbath, titled "War Pigs". Enjoy.