THE HP REPORT (as ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bittertwee called it)
Jul. 16th, 2009 09:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
orangerfulOkay, I'm finally getting around to typing up my thoughts on the movie. I'll preface it by saying 1) this was 2 nights ago 2) it was frakkin' 12am-3am and after waking up at 7am I didn't have as much left in me as I had hoped 3) I haven't read this book since its initial release so I wouldn't call myself a "hardcore" fan.
So, with that out of the way, I will tell you, I think I currently rank my favorite HP films as #3, #1, #6 (though I haven't rewatched #4 or #5, even though I own them on DVD...)
I really enjoyed the movie, even with it's 2+ hours runtime. Likesnarkel commented, it probably has some of the funniest moments in the series so far, but I think it also manages to pull off some of the darkest. destertale commented that Dumbledore was channeling Gandalf even more than usual. And I think the use of photoshop filters was probably abused, but I don't mind, I like my fantasy films with a bit of soft light/exclusion blending (PHOTOSHOP HERO!)
I think one of the things that works against the films is how soon they were made after the books. I almost wish it could be like the Lord of the Rings series, and that we could be far enough removed from the series to let the scriptwriter *ahem* fix some of the story elements to make them work a bit better on film. One of the reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes commented that the weakest part of the movie is the fact that there is no villian, no final battle. More of a final really tense moment.
Things I liked:
- the humor. Lots of fun little moments. I LOVED the Weasley brothers' shop.
- casting of Lavendar was perfect. The actress managed to make her just a typical tween in love vs. totally obnoxious.
- Harry and Hermione's friendship scene in the stairwell was gorgeous. But I love Emma Watson...
- Hermione dodging the jock at Slughorn's party. Plus, her dress was so pretty! (see above)
- JIM BROADBENT WAS AWESOME! He totally knocked it out of the park. I mean, he's awesome anyway, but his Slughorn was perfect. I love what he did with his face, sort of scrunching it up during the present time and then looking a bit less haggard in the flashbacks. BRILLIANT. I'm sort of sad this is the only story he appears in.
- As I said, I don't remember the book very well, just the basics, so I felt the writers did a good job of sorting through and finding what they needed to make the movie work.
- KILLER ZOMBIES OF DOOM! Really, wasn't that the whole point of the movie? Not the murder of Dumbledore, not the struggle of Malfoy, but seeing ZOMBIES! AIEEE! (or whatever their book term is...I've forgotten...)
- Speaking of forgetting, that moment when the girl touched the cursed necklace and was floating in the air may be the creepiest moment in a Harry Potter film EVAR.
Things I was a bit upset about:
- there is one line in the book, one line that actually stuck with me, a line that made me actually care about Malfoy, after all these years. And it wasn't in the movie. It's the scene at the end when he has Dumbledore at wand-point. In the movie, he justifies his actions by saying "I was chosen" and then "They will kill me." In the book, he says "They will kill my mother and father". That affected me a lot, because...I dunno, I think I would kill to protect my family. You always think that maybe you could sacrifice yourself, but your family?
(of course, it doesn't matter because of what happens in the 7th book...grrrr...I'll save that rant for later)
- stupid Half-Blood Prince plot. It was crap in the book, and it was crap in the movie. I'm sure they would have deleted it if it hadn't been for the fact that it's the title of the film.
- I missed everyone. Hermione tells Harry at the end that he's daft for thinking he can go off looking for the Horcruxes alone, that he needs his friends. And that's how I felt at the end of the movie. I was longing for the moments from the previous films where the 3 of them worked TOGETHER to accomplish a goal. This movie was so season 4 of Buffy, with them all splitting off and doing their own thing. (yes, it all comes back to Buffy, you knew I couldn't get through this without at least one Whedon reference). It didn't really sink in until she said the line, then I was like "OMG I MISSED YOU GUYS!" At least we should see more of that in the next movie...*cringe*
Things that have me really worried:
- The next two movies. Because I hated the last book and how it all ended. And I know the writers won't have the guts to fix it because I'm sure JK will be looming...
- Alan Rickman is made of too much awesome and therefore the 7th movie will suck even harder when Snape is reduced to the lame villian that JK paints him out to be...
See, here is the thing. I think she made a mistake by saying "Oh, I wrote the ending back when I first started". Because she didn't take into account the evolution of the story from book 1-6. So 7 just doesn't work for me at all. And don't get my started on the fact that the Slytherin=Nazi in book 7 but it's all FORGIVEN at the end...wtf? No. NO! And she was so hung up on the stupid "school year" outline that she made them wander the woods for WEEKS? I didn't enjoy reading it and I'm not sure I'm looking forward to watching it...so that sort of put a damper on the entire 6th movie because it really lays out all the bits and pieces for the 7th. After having her characters change and grow for 6 years, I felt like the 7th book felt the most like a kid's book. Everyone lived happily ever after (um...except for the one twin) and it's okay if you tried to kill other people, you can rejoin our wizard society and we'll see you in the horrible epilogue having a good time with your children...*shudder*
So, yes, the short version - I liked this movie but I'm very sad that it has to be followed by the 7th. Because this movie is like Empire Strikes Back or The Two Towers or Clone Wars - it's the next movie that truly decides its fate because they just all run into each other now...and I have faith that now that they have split the 7th book into two movies that they will follow the book too closely and I will not like how it all ends...
So, with that out of the way, I will tell you, I think I currently rank my favorite HP films as #3, #1, #6 (though I haven't rewatched #4 or #5, even though I own them on DVD...)
I really enjoyed the movie, even with it's 2+ hours runtime. Like
snarkel commented, it probably has some of the funniest moments in the series so far, but I think it also manages to pull off some of the darkest. destertale commented that Dumbledore was channeling Gandalf even more than usual. And I think the use of photoshop filters was probably abused, but I don't mind, I like my fantasy films with a bit of soft light/exclusion blending (PHOTOSHOP HERO!)I think one of the things that works against the films is how soon they were made after the books. I almost wish it could be like the Lord of the Rings series, and that we could be far enough removed from the series to let the scriptwriter *ahem* fix some of the story elements to make them work a bit better on film. One of the reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes commented that the weakest part of the movie is the fact that there is no villian, no final battle. More of a final really tense moment.
Things I liked:
- the humor. Lots of fun little moments. I LOVED the Weasley brothers' shop.
- casting of Lavendar was perfect. The actress managed to make her just a typical tween in love vs. totally obnoxious.
- Harry and Hermione's friendship scene in the stairwell was gorgeous. But I love Emma Watson...
- Hermione dodging the jock at Slughorn's party. Plus, her dress was so pretty! (see above)
- JIM BROADBENT WAS AWESOME! He totally knocked it out of the park. I mean, he's awesome anyway, but his Slughorn was perfect. I love what he did with his face, sort of scrunching it up during the present time and then looking a bit less haggard in the flashbacks. BRILLIANT. I'm sort of sad this is the only story he appears in.
- As I said, I don't remember the book very well, just the basics, so I felt the writers did a good job of sorting through and finding what they needed to make the movie work.
- KILLER ZOMBIES OF DOOM! Really, wasn't that the whole point of the movie? Not the murder of Dumbledore, not the struggle of Malfoy, but seeing ZOMBIES! AIEEE! (or whatever their book term is...I've forgotten...)
- Speaking of forgetting, that moment when the girl touched the cursed necklace and was floating in the air may be the creepiest moment in a Harry Potter film EVAR.
Things I was a bit upset about:
- there is one line in the book, one line that actually stuck with me, a line that made me actually care about Malfoy, after all these years. And it wasn't in the movie. It's the scene at the end when he has Dumbledore at wand-point. In the movie, he justifies his actions by saying "I was chosen" and then "They will kill me." In the book, he says "They will kill my mother and father". That affected me a lot, because...I dunno, I think I would kill to protect my family. You always think that maybe you could sacrifice yourself, but your family?
(of course, it doesn't matter because of what happens in the 7th book...grrrr...I'll save that rant for later)
- stupid Half-Blood Prince plot. It was crap in the book, and it was crap in the movie. I'm sure they would have deleted it if it hadn't been for the fact that it's the title of the film.
- I missed everyone. Hermione tells Harry at the end that he's daft for thinking he can go off looking for the Horcruxes alone, that he needs his friends. And that's how I felt at the end of the movie. I was longing for the moments from the previous films where the 3 of them worked TOGETHER to accomplish a goal. This movie was so season 4 of Buffy, with them all splitting off and doing their own thing. (yes, it all comes back to Buffy, you knew I couldn't get through this without at least one Whedon reference). It didn't really sink in until she said the line, then I was like "OMG I MISSED YOU GUYS!" At least we should see more of that in the next movie...*cringe*
Things that have me really worried:
- The next two movies. Because I hated the last book and how it all ended. And I know the writers won't have the guts to fix it because I'm sure JK will be looming...
- Alan Rickman is made of too much awesome and therefore the 7th movie will suck even harder when Snape is reduced to the lame villian that JK paints him out to be...
See, here is the thing. I think she made a mistake by saying "Oh, I wrote the ending back when I first started". Because she didn't take into account the evolution of the story from book 1-6. So 7 just doesn't work for me at all. And don't get my started on the fact that the Slytherin=Nazi in book 7 but it's all FORGIVEN at the end...wtf? No. NO! And she was so hung up on the stupid "school year" outline that she made them wander the woods for WEEKS? I didn't enjoy reading it and I'm not sure I'm looking forward to watching it...so that sort of put a damper on the entire 6th movie because it really lays out all the bits and pieces for the 7th. After having her characters change and grow for 6 years, I felt like the 7th book felt the most like a kid's book. Everyone lived happily ever after (um...except for the one twin) and it's okay if you tried to kill other people, you can rejoin our wizard society and we'll see you in the horrible epilogue having a good time with your children...*shudder*
So, yes, the short version - I liked this movie but I'm very sad that it has to be followed by the 7th. Because this movie is like Empire Strikes Back or The Two Towers or Clone Wars - it's the next movie that truly decides its fate because they just all run into each other now...and I have faith that now that they have split the 7th book into two movies that they will follow the book too closely and I will not like how it all ends...
