REVIEW : "Magic Beyond Words: The JK Rowling Story"
It’s not fall yet, so no “Unforgettable” episode to review. However, Poppy was starring in a made-for-tv movie “Magic Beyond Words: The JK Rowling Story”, which as the title says tells the story of Harry Potter’s author Ms. Joanne Rowling, and I promised I’ll write a review. So here it is!
PS: I’ll do my best not to be too biased.
Living in Paris, made it hard for me to actually see the movie (geographic restrictions, blah, blah, blah) but I finally got to see it yesterday and it was worth the fight, because it was actually pretty good. Mostly thanks to Poppy’s acting, though. I truly believe her to be one of the most underrated actresses in Hollywood. If you’ve seen her in “Blonde” you know she totally deserved an Emmy/Golden Globe nomination for this role. And if you’ve seen “Fall Out” (Without a Trace) you’ll agree that she deserved to be nominated for that one, too. And again, she showed how good she was by portraying J.K Rowling. She moved me. Literally. I cried like 3 or 4 times while watching the movie. She told her story so well, that at the end I wasn’t seeing Poppy, I was seeing Rowling.
I read a lot of things on the internet, people (mostly HP fans) saying how crappy the movie. And I’ll have to disagree. It’s true it’s not the movie of the year, and it’s true that some of the British accents were kind of bad, and some of the actors were not that good too but come on people, what do you expect form a lifetime movie? Lifetime movies are not made for the Oscars, it’s just nice entertaining and feel good movies, and sometimes (most of the time) they are bit cheesy but I believe we all need one of these from time to time.
I think Harry Potter fans didn’t want to like the movie because they were too bothered by the fact that it was unauthorized. But hey, I can’t blame them on this one.
As for me, I really liked it, I didn’t get bored while watching it, I cried a lot, laughed a couple of times and I was really into the story, it was nice to know more about the women behind Harry Potter. I’ve been a true Harry Potter fan since I was 11 or so, and didn’t know a thing about her, and now thanks to the movie I do. And she really does have an incredible story.
My favourite scene in the movie is definitely when Jo catch Jorge (her boyfriend/future husband) with another woman. She gets angry and imitates him with the Portuguese accent. I am not sure if I like this scene as a regular viewer or as a Poppy fan. But hey, see by yourself, I think she is hilarious.
Also the “fight” scene was particularly good. Both Poppy and Antonio Cupo did great job in this scene!
What I liked:
- Christmas scenes and a bonus Christmas carol. If you know me just a little you know how much I LOOOOOVE xmas, so the moment they decided to write xmas scenes they had my heart!
- All the HP references. The chessboard. “You’re such a weasley guy”. Gringotts.
- Small detail, but I love how they play with mirrors throughout the whole movie.
- Laughed out loud at the “club/bar” when she was in Portugal. Seriously I am so glad I wasn't 20 in the 90’s.
- Poppy. This woman brilliant.
What I did not like:
- All this cheesy music. Seriously. Some scenes are better off without (bad) background music.
- How they rush to the end. It would have been better to develop how she handled the success of the first book, how she reacted to the movie being made and how she met her fiancé.
- The scene when she screams of happiness in the school's hallway. Cheesy. Cheesy. Cheesy.
In a nutshell, despites what some may say, I think it is a nice entertaining movie as long as you’re not a die-hard JK Rowling fan. But, as Poppy said it was not a tabloid-ish sort of movie, more of a tribute to her incredible journey. Nothing to worry about for Ms. JK Rowling. And a must see for any Poppy fan. A 6.5/10.
PS: I’ll do my best not to be too biased.
Living in Paris, made it hard for me to actually see the movie (geographic restrictions, blah, blah, blah) but I finally got to see it yesterday and it was worth the fight, because it was actually pretty good. Mostly thanks to Poppy’s acting, though. I truly believe her to be one of the most underrated actresses in Hollywood. If you’ve seen her in “Blonde” you know she totally deserved an Emmy/Golden Globe nomination for this role. And if you’ve seen “Fall Out” (Without a Trace) you’ll agree that she deserved to be nominated for that one, too. And again, she showed how good she was by portraying J.K Rowling. She moved me. Literally. I cried like 3 or 4 times while watching the movie. She told her story so well, that at the end I wasn’t seeing Poppy, I was seeing Rowling.
I read a lot of things on the internet, people (mostly HP fans) saying how crappy the movie. And I’ll have to disagree. It’s true it’s not the movie of the year, and it’s true that some of the British accents were kind of bad, and some of the actors were not that good too but come on people, what do you expect form a lifetime movie? Lifetime movies are not made for the Oscars, it’s just nice entertaining and feel good movies, and sometimes (most of the time) they are bit cheesy but I believe we all need one of these from time to time.
I think Harry Potter fans didn’t want to like the movie because they were too bothered by the fact that it was unauthorized. But hey, I can’t blame them on this one.
As for me, I really liked it, I didn’t get bored while watching it, I cried a lot, laughed a couple of times and I was really into the story, it was nice to know more about the women behind Harry Potter. I’ve been a true Harry Potter fan since I was 11 or so, and didn’t know a thing about her, and now thanks to the movie I do. And she really does have an incredible story.
My favourite scene in the movie is definitely when Jo catch Jorge (her boyfriend/future husband) with another woman. She gets angry and imitates him with the Portuguese accent. I am not sure if I like this scene as a regular viewer or as a Poppy fan. But hey, see by yourself, I think she is hilarious.
Click to viewAlso the “fight” scene was particularly good. Both Poppy and Antonio Cupo did great job in this scene!
What I liked:
- Christmas scenes and a bonus Christmas carol. If you know me just a little you know how much I LOOOOOVE xmas, so the moment they decided to write xmas scenes they had my heart!
- All the HP references. The chessboard. “You’re such a weasley guy”. Gringotts.
- Small detail, but I love how they play with mirrors throughout the whole movie.
- Laughed out loud at the “club/bar” when she was in Portugal. Seriously I am so glad I wasn't 20 in the 90’s.
- Poppy. This woman brilliant.
What I did not like:
- All this cheesy music. Seriously. Some scenes are better off without (bad) background music.
- How they rush to the end. It would have been better to develop how she handled the success of the first book, how she reacted to the movie being made and how she met her fiancé.
- The scene when she screams of happiness in the school's hallway. Cheesy. Cheesy. Cheesy.
In a nutshell, despites what some may say, I think it is a nice entertaining movie as long as you’re not a die-hard JK Rowling fan. But, as Poppy said it was not a tabloid-ish sort of movie, more of a tribute to her incredible journey. Nothing to worry about for Ms. JK Rowling. And a must see for any Poppy fan. A 6.5/10.