WeAreWizards Tagged Articles at Cinematical

So what are you doing this weekend? If you're in or around the New York City area and happen to be a Harry Potter nut, you can head on over to the legendary (and quite awesome, if I may say so myself) Ziegfeld Theatre to catch a marathon of all five Harry Potter films. One would think a promotion like this might be better off arriving, say, right before Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince hits theaters on July 17, 2009, but perhaps this is for those fans who are still pissed the release date for Half-Blood Prince was pushed back eight months and, subsequently, are itching for a big-screen Potter fix.

Now, the actual Potter marathon -- in which all five films are screened in order of when they were released -- is only taking place on Friday, December 19th, Saturday, December 20th, and Sunday December 21st ... and those shows begin at 10am with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The screenings, however, will run through Wednesday, December 24th. You can purchase advance tickets over at the Clearview Cinemas website, and you can check out a complete schedule after the jump. Trust me when I tell you that the Ziegfeld Theatre absolutely rocks, and is definitely a prime spot for this sort of marathon.

Extra Bonus: For those who don't live near New York City, the Potter fan documentary We Are Wizards is now available via Amazon VOD to rent or buy (our review is here). Check it out.

By Kim Voynar (reprinted from 03/17/08 -- SXSW Film Festival)

Quick, raise your hand if you're a Harry Potter fan. Yeah, there are a lot of boy wizard fans, which is probably why a documentary about Harry Potter fandom sounded like a great idea. We Are Wizards, though, is not so much a documentary about Harry Potter fandom in general, as it is about the "Wizard Rock" bands that have grown up around the franchise, and a couple of the bigger Harry Potter fan sites.

The film introduces us to some of these Wizard Rock bands, including Harry and the Potters (brothers Paul and Joe DeGeorge), Draco and the Malfoys (brothers Brian Ross and Bradley Mehlenbacher), and The Hungarian Horntails, headed up by seven-year old punk rocker Darius and his four-year-old brother, Holden, who write songs they call "dragon rock."

It's a light weekend at the multiplexes, with just one new wide release to take in. The good news there is that once you're done watching James Bond kill and/or sleep with people, you'll have plenty of time to head to the art houses and see what the independent scene has to offer. The Indie Spotlight is here to round 'em up for you, and there are nine diverse choices opening today: Bohica, A Christmas Tale, Dostana, The Dukes, Faded Memories, House of the Sleeping Beauties, How About You, Slumdog Millionaire, and We Are Wizards.

Here's the lowdown on each of them:

Slumdog Millionaire
What it is: It's the feel-good sensation of the year that has critics raving, that's what! It's about a kid from the streets of Mumbai who somehow makes it to the final round of India's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" -- and in particular about the events of his life that brought him there.
What they're saying: Cinematical's Kim Voynar called it Danny Boyle's best film to date when she reviewed it at Telluride. It's rocking a 92% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 8.2 out of 10, making it one of the best-reviewed movies of the year. If this movie doesn't make you feel good it must be because your heart is gnarly and cankered.
Where it's playing: New York City (Angelika, Lincoln Plaza), Los Angeles (The Landmark), Chicago (Landmark Century Centre, Century Evanston 18), San Francsico (Embarcadero).
More info: The official site has a list of when it opens in other cities. Expansion starts next week.

Quick, raise your hand if you're a Harry Potter fan. Yeah, there are a lot of boy wizard fans, which is probably why a documentary about Harry Potter fandom sounded like a great idea. We Are Wizards, though, is not so much a documentary about Harry Potter fandom in general, as it is about the "Wizard Rock" bands that have grown up around the franchise, and a couple of the bigger Harry Potter fan sites.

The film introduces us to some of these Wizard Rock bands, including Harry and the Potters (brothers Paul and Joe DeGeorge), Draco and the Malfoys (brothers Brian Ross and Bradley Mehlenbacher), and The Hungarian Horntails, headed up by seven-year old punk rocker Darius and his four-year-old brother, Holden, who write songs they call "dragon rock."

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I know nothing of this Harry Potter world. I know enough to write about news regarding the films, and occasionally I'll have to do some research before writing a Potter-related post, but to this day I have not picked up one of the books or watched one of the films in its entirety. Perhaps after the seventh film comes out, I'll finally sit down and embrace the Potter universe, but for now, I know nothing. However, this new documentary premiering at next month's South by Southwest Festival looks pretty damn interesting.

It's called We Are Wizards, and it follows several hardcore Potter fans whose lives -- in one way or another -- all revolve around that little boy wizard with glasses. From the synopsis on YouTube: "WE ARE WIZARDS tracks the influential figures leading the creative subculture surrounding the popular series. The film follows a set of individuals ranging from web journalists, authors, artists, filmmakers and musicians, as they enhance and expand the Harry Potter story, often in unexpected ways. WE ARE WIZARDS is a portrayal of creative fans with a common goal: to make their voices heard." We'll be hitting this film up at SXSW, so don't worry Potter fans -- we'll let you know how it is. But you have to admit the trailer looks rather fascinating. Am I right?

We'll have an official SXSW hub launching next week, but in the meantime, all of our pre-festival coverage can be found here.