Half-Blood Prince reaction
Where are all the Harry Potter posts? Are you all seeing it now? Are you all at Azkatraz? Did I mistakenly assume everyone would rush out to see it in the first 24 hours? (There wasn't even a line at the movie theater here, although I did go at an off time, and they were running every half hour.) I'm really out of touch with this fandom.
I got into Harry Potter in 2003 through a fanfic crossover with BtVS. The second movie had recently come out on video. When I got around to the books, OotP was just coming out; I read all five straight in a row. I was spoiled for much of them, because of all the fic.
PoA was the first of the movies I saw in the theater. HBP was the first of the books I waited excitedly in line to read. I remember the midnight bookstore semi-party with synn, driving home with her afterwards and parting ways, staying up half the night to read, going to sleep and finishing in the morning. I remember reading the opening scene with the Prime Minister and Scrimgeour out loud in the car on the way back, the sadness of Dumbledore's mind breaking down as he drank the potion in the cave, and the surprisingly effective suspense that built up in the Astronomy tower and showdown outside Hagrid's burning hut. I remember being certain that Snape's actions were in Dumbledore's interests and with his blessing, and that Harry was misinterpreting everything, again.
I haven't read the book since then, although some of it's been burned into my mind after events like Accio 2005, when attendees put Snape on trial for Dumbledore's murder, going over and over the characters' words, the nuances of speech, the slight but possibly significant differences from the British and U.S. versions.
So it was wonderful to remember each of the turns of plot as the movie unfolded tonight. And I loved being able to experience everything knowing how it would end, watching Dumbledore's and Snape's and Draco's plans take shape rather than seeing them in retrospect. Being able to say, Snape knows he's doomed from this moment, taking the third vow; and, Dumbledore has set all his affairs in order, and they must go to the cave tonight, because the Death Eaters are coming, and he knows he won't make it, so he may as well risk his life with the Horcrux traps first.
PoA and its aesthetics will always have a special place in my heart, but this one might be the best produced of all the movies yet. It's certainly the one least suited to be called a children's movie.
Not going to do a thorough review, both because I figure a lot of you who are reading this have seen or are going to see it, and because I have a conference to attend early in the morning. So, a few thoughts, as they come to me:
I expected Slughorn's tampered-with memory to look more… tampered-with. They could've done the booming voiceover, or made jerky edits-many things would have worked better than the tunnel-audio and fade-out. And while we're on the subject, it's too bad the director felt like redesigning the Pensieve. That was something they'd nailed in whatever movie it was, the fourth or fifth, a stone cauldron swirling with silvery almost-liquid, and memories like sticky ephemeral threads. Not so fond of the hovering saucer with ink in water. That would've been more suited to the Marauder's Map theme of PoA.
Loved seeing the vampire at Slughorn's party. He looked like Nick Cave.
They set a great mood. Washed-out colors without shouting washed-out in your face, and dim lighting without making it hard to see, which was a problem with OotP. A sense of danger and metaphorical darkness. Death Eaters bouncing off the shield. Guards everywhere. Clear but not overdone resonances with terrorism, both post-9/11 and reminiscent of the IRA, with the shop explosion and public landmark attacks, the searching of possessions and mysterious disappearances and fear.
Hormones a-raging. I think that worked too, especially since the actors do look startlingly more grown up with each installment. Lavender was a bit too much of a caricature, but she did pull off the "Won-won." Ginny continues to be unspeakably adorable. Tonks and Remus was done as well as one could ask for, given the absolute mystery of that relationship in the books. I really liked her little nod for him to come with her out of the sitting room. And then, "First night of the cycle's always the worst." Awesome. She takes care of him, she doesn't put up with crap from him, and if we needed any more reason to code lycanthropy as female in the books, here it is. (For moon as feminine, see also: Ron gazing up after drinking the love potion.)
Eugh. Inferi were totally creepy, with their slimy little bony limbs. Well done.
And Tom Riddle was an amazingly creepy kid. The child and teenage actors did sociopath to perfection. ETA: Oh, neat, the younger one is Ralph Fiennes' nephew.
Also Katie, screaming, crucified, in the air. If I were a kid watching this movie, that would scare the bejeezus out of me.
I haven't liked Michael Gambon's Dumbledore; he doesn't convince me that he cares for Harry. But it wasn't quite so bad in this movie. Maybe he put in some extra effort since he knew this would be the end of his commitment. Or maybe he had a change of heart since starting the role. I haven't been paying attention to interviews.
I did miss seeing the chaos the Death Eaters stirred up at Hogwarts to and from the Astronomy Tower. (Did they come up there in the book? I hadn't remembered them doing that.) No Fenrir attack, no Bellatrix duel, no McGonagall collapse. Not enough shouting between Harry and Snape outside. Sort of a letdown when he declared he was the half-blood Prince-nothing about taking advice from Lily, which would have made some of Slughorn's comments about her aptitude make more sense, and no explanation about the nickname, either. Things have to get cut from book to screen to make a coherent movie, and this did a good job overall-for instance, I didn't miss the Mrs. Weasley/Fleur feuds or the Tonks/Remus red herring-but those were things that seem kind of important to what was left in.
I didn't think they'd leave in Draco smashing Harry's face in. Well done. That continued to set the tone of what was to come. Tom Felton was pretty good at conveying Draco's mounting desperation, too, culminating in that bathroom scene. Could've used more horror from Harry about the wound he'd caused. And, you know, some fallout from the fact that he'd used the curse. Though I did enjoy Snape murmuring the healing spell so softly.
And the comedic timing at the Christmas party when Harry asked where Dumbledore was traveling, and Snape flounced off.
Snaaaaape.
And aw, Harry holding Hermione's hand at the bottom of the steps. That was so sweet. I didn't even notice he was doing it at first. Between that and Hermione's "you're my best friend" and his fervent denial to Dumbledore that there was anything going on there, you could almost joke about Harry being gay. Except for how he's not, what with Ginny and Cho and the random Muggle waitress and the half-joke about being fine with dating Romilda Vane even though she only wanted him for his fame. Still, it didn't stop me from easily imagining John Sheppard in his place, holding Teyla's hand and patting her arm so so awkwardly when she was upset.
And Snape telling Harry to shhhh under the Astronomy tower platform. I'm wondering why they chose to have him stand below instead of lean, frozen, under the cloak against the wall. Easier for movie audiences, maybe, but harder to believe that he could have held himself in check. Harry is not known for his self-restraint, especially when it comes to Snape.
Harry was kind of great. That surprised me. He came across as more grown-up than in the books, though it does help bridge the gap of how he behaved before and how he'll become Dumbledore's man in the next (two). He caught on right away to what Dumbledore wanted from him with regard to Slughorn. He joked about having learned not to ask what was going on when Dumbledore asked him to go somewhere or do something. (More humorous than what it foreshadowed.) Maybe these things were in the book and I just forgot them. I laughed with everyone else at the drunken spider pincer gestures.
Oh, speaking of foreshadowing, nice touch with the photo of Regulus at the beginning. Including the creepy "would like to have collected the whole set" comment. Ditto for abducting Ollivander. Not usual to see a hint in one movie for a payoff in the next. People don't seem to have that much faith in audiences these days.
I loved Mr. Weasley, as usual, though his part was small. I loved that, continuing in the theme of Harry maturing, the two of them had the talk about intel. Quite a change from how Mr. Weasley delivered the warning about Sirius in PoA. Maybe everyone learned their lesson about withholding information from him after the disaster at the end of OotP.
Uh, question, though: Did Slughorn say Sirius had died a few weeks ago? Or did he say a few months? It would have to be a few months, if it happened at the end of the school year and this movie marked the start of the next.
Running out of memories. Just to say that this was a very well put-together movie as HP movies go, and why couldn't Star Trek XI have been good like this?
I got into Harry Potter in 2003 through a fanfic crossover with BtVS. The second movie had recently come out on video. When I got around to the books, OotP was just coming out; I read all five straight in a row. I was spoiled for much of them, because of all the fic.
PoA was the first of the movies I saw in the theater. HBP was the first of the books I waited excitedly in line to read. I remember the midnight bookstore semi-party with synn, driving home with her afterwards and parting ways, staying up half the night to read, going to sleep and finishing in the morning. I remember reading the opening scene with the Prime Minister and Scrimgeour out loud in the car on the way back, the sadness of Dumbledore's mind breaking down as he drank the potion in the cave, and the surprisingly effective suspense that built up in the Astronomy tower and showdown outside Hagrid's burning hut. I remember being certain that Snape's actions were in Dumbledore's interests and with his blessing, and that Harry was misinterpreting everything, again.
I haven't read the book since then, although some of it's been burned into my mind after events like Accio 2005, when attendees put Snape on trial for Dumbledore's murder, going over and over the characters' words, the nuances of speech, the slight but possibly significant differences from the British and U.S. versions.
So it was wonderful to remember each of the turns of plot as the movie unfolded tonight. And I loved being able to experience everything knowing how it would end, watching Dumbledore's and Snape's and Draco's plans take shape rather than seeing them in retrospect. Being able to say, Snape knows he's doomed from this moment, taking the third vow; and, Dumbledore has set all his affairs in order, and they must go to the cave tonight, because the Death Eaters are coming, and he knows he won't make it, so he may as well risk his life with the Horcrux traps first.
PoA and its aesthetics will always have a special place in my heart, but this one might be the best produced of all the movies yet. It's certainly the one least suited to be called a children's movie.
Not going to do a thorough review, both because I figure a lot of you who are reading this have seen or are going to see it, and because I have a conference to attend early in the morning. So, a few thoughts, as they come to me:
I expected Slughorn's tampered-with memory to look more… tampered-with. They could've done the booming voiceover, or made jerky edits-many things would have worked better than the tunnel-audio and fade-out. And while we're on the subject, it's too bad the director felt like redesigning the Pensieve. That was something they'd nailed in whatever movie it was, the fourth or fifth, a stone cauldron swirling with silvery almost-liquid, and memories like sticky ephemeral threads. Not so fond of the hovering saucer with ink in water. That would've been more suited to the Marauder's Map theme of PoA.
Loved seeing the vampire at Slughorn's party. He looked like Nick Cave.
They set a great mood. Washed-out colors without shouting washed-out in your face, and dim lighting without making it hard to see, which was a problem with OotP. A sense of danger and metaphorical darkness. Death Eaters bouncing off the shield. Guards everywhere. Clear but not overdone resonances with terrorism, both post-9/11 and reminiscent of the IRA, with the shop explosion and public landmark attacks, the searching of possessions and mysterious disappearances and fear.
Hormones a-raging. I think that worked too, especially since the actors do look startlingly more grown up with each installment. Lavender was a bit too much of a caricature, but she did pull off the "Won-won." Ginny continues to be unspeakably adorable. Tonks and Remus was done as well as one could ask for, given the absolute mystery of that relationship in the books. I really liked her little nod for him to come with her out of the sitting room. And then, "First night of the cycle's always the worst." Awesome. She takes care of him, she doesn't put up with crap from him, and if we needed any more reason to code lycanthropy as female in the books, here it is. (For moon as feminine, see also: Ron gazing up after drinking the love potion.)
Eugh. Inferi were totally creepy, with their slimy little bony limbs. Well done.
And Tom Riddle was an amazingly creepy kid. The child and teenage actors did sociopath to perfection. ETA: Oh, neat, the younger one is Ralph Fiennes' nephew.
Also Katie, screaming, crucified, in the air. If I were a kid watching this movie, that would scare the bejeezus out of me.
I haven't liked Michael Gambon's Dumbledore; he doesn't convince me that he cares for Harry. But it wasn't quite so bad in this movie. Maybe he put in some extra effort since he knew this would be the end of his commitment. Or maybe he had a change of heart since starting the role. I haven't been paying attention to interviews.
I did miss seeing the chaos the Death Eaters stirred up at Hogwarts to and from the Astronomy Tower. (Did they come up there in the book? I hadn't remembered them doing that.) No Fenrir attack, no Bellatrix duel, no McGonagall collapse. Not enough shouting between Harry and Snape outside. Sort of a letdown when he declared he was the half-blood Prince-nothing about taking advice from Lily, which would have made some of Slughorn's comments about her aptitude make more sense, and no explanation about the nickname, either. Things have to get cut from book to screen to make a coherent movie, and this did a good job overall-for instance, I didn't miss the Mrs. Weasley/Fleur feuds or the Tonks/Remus red herring-but those were things that seem kind of important to what was left in.
I didn't think they'd leave in Draco smashing Harry's face in. Well done. That continued to set the tone of what was to come. Tom Felton was pretty good at conveying Draco's mounting desperation, too, culminating in that bathroom scene. Could've used more horror from Harry about the wound he'd caused. And, you know, some fallout from the fact that he'd used the curse. Though I did enjoy Snape murmuring the healing spell so softly.
And the comedic timing at the Christmas party when Harry asked where Dumbledore was traveling, and Snape flounced off.
Snaaaaape.
And aw, Harry holding Hermione's hand at the bottom of the steps. That was so sweet. I didn't even notice he was doing it at first. Between that and Hermione's "you're my best friend" and his fervent denial to Dumbledore that there was anything going on there, you could almost joke about Harry being gay. Except for how he's not, what with Ginny and Cho and the random Muggle waitress and the half-joke about being fine with dating Romilda Vane even though she only wanted him for his fame. Still, it didn't stop me from easily imagining John Sheppard in his place, holding Teyla's hand and patting her arm so so awkwardly when she was upset.
And Snape telling Harry to shhhh under the Astronomy tower platform. I'm wondering why they chose to have him stand below instead of lean, frozen, under the cloak against the wall. Easier for movie audiences, maybe, but harder to believe that he could have held himself in check. Harry is not known for his self-restraint, especially when it comes to Snape.
Harry was kind of great. That surprised me. He came across as more grown-up than in the books, though it does help bridge the gap of how he behaved before and how he'll become Dumbledore's man in the next (two). He caught on right away to what Dumbledore wanted from him with regard to Slughorn. He joked about having learned not to ask what was going on when Dumbledore asked him to go somewhere or do something. (More humorous than what it foreshadowed.) Maybe these things were in the book and I just forgot them. I laughed with everyone else at the drunken spider pincer gestures.
Oh, speaking of foreshadowing, nice touch with the photo of Regulus at the beginning. Including the creepy "would like to have collected the whole set" comment. Ditto for abducting Ollivander. Not usual to see a hint in one movie for a payoff in the next. People don't seem to have that much faith in audiences these days.
I loved Mr. Weasley, as usual, though his part was small. I loved that, continuing in the theme of Harry maturing, the two of them had the talk about intel. Quite a change from how Mr. Weasley delivered the warning about Sirius in PoA. Maybe everyone learned their lesson about withholding information from him after the disaster at the end of OotP.
Uh, question, though: Did Slughorn say Sirius had died a few weeks ago? Or did he say a few months? It would have to be a few months, if it happened at the end of the school year and this movie marked the start of the next.
Running out of memories. Just to say that this was a very well put-together movie as HP movies go, and why couldn't Star Trek XI have been good like this?