She has nice ... skin
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Saturday morning I finally had my chance to see the long awaited sixth film in the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Like every other Potter fan I've been eagerly waiting for this one to come out and it was definitely a long two years since Order of the Phoenix. I still can't believe that I missed out on the midnight/opening night crowds and didn't order ahead of time, I definitely regret not doing that. The opening weekend crowd was still good, laughed loudly at all the funny parts but there was that extreme fanaticism that comes with opening night - I still get chills thinking of when I saw Dark Knight last year.
Back to Harry. The extended wait for HBP gave me more time to worry about how the film would come out. You see, the HBP book is my favorite of the series, launched me into the fandom world and into shipping, especially Harry/Ginny. I knew David Yates was coming back as director and Order of the Phoenix had become my favorite of the films so far, but this was the return of screenwriter Steve Kloves after being away for OotP (Michael Goldenberg filled in) so it threw in a new factor compared to the last.
Not wanting to keep you waiting any longer, i was deeply satisfied by the movie and it is clearly the funniest of the series and I'm open to making it my favorite Potter film as well. I need to see it a few more times (at least twice more - once in IMAX) to really fall in love with it like I did with Order of the Phoenix which I saw 3 times in theatres and at least 30 times on TV thanks to the DVD and HBO/Cinemax airings. (I just found a streaming of HBP so I might watch it again this weekend to bide me over until I have a chance to head to the theatres again).
The look and feel of the movie was fantastic. I loved the opening scene harkening back to the end of OotP with Dumbledore and Harry surrounded by the press at the Ministry and Dumbledore putting a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder and pulling him away. Tying the films together awesomely I thought. Then to use the newspaper to shift scenes is always clever and something I loved from the previous film.
Horace Slughorn was great fun. While the walrus-like mustache of the book was nowhere in sight, I thought Jim Broadbent did an amazing job. I loved how they captured his armchair scene, it was something I was worried about being cut from the film but it came out even better than I expected. It was great how they showed all the connections he's made through his students ( great picture of Gwenog Jones!) and Dumbledore asking to use the loo and then holding up the knitting magazine and asking if he could keep it was hilarious.
I liked how they displayed the apparation with the swirling, I thought it went well with the spinning that happened with the Portkey in Goblet of Fire but it also makes me wish they'd had the time to include the Hogwarts training from the book. Another missing book scene was Dumbledore dropping Harry off at the Weasley shed which would have been better than just Harry appearing outside the Burrow, but this was more than made up for with the Burrow staircase scene which was a great use of perspective with everyone talking from different landings. Hilarious.
It made me happy just how much Ginny was present for in this movie, something that helped after having parts cut out in Order of the Phoenix and only having one line in Prisoner of Azkaban before being practically non-existent in that film. How awesome was it that they included Arnold the pygmy puff that Ginny buys at WWW. Adorably cute and apparently known to sing on boxing day according to Luna. XD It was great to show Ginny's aggressive nature and attitude, especially during the Quidditch scene and shouting "Shut it" and then kicking ass in the tryout.
Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes store in Diagon Alley was amazing, even better than what I imagined in my head. I love how the arts and props department always goes above and beyond in their work to put the utmost details into the background for what might end up being in the movie for 1 second. That dialogue between Ron and the twins about the price for him was funny and so perfect. It makes me wish Fred & George had been in the movie more. I also liked that it previewed Cormac and Lavender's interest in Hermione & Ron and set up that Ginny was seeing Dean - I was expecting them to underplay it more like they did with Michael Corner in Order of the Phoenix (basically not mention it at all/ignore it).
I thought the unbreakable vow moment was a bit underwhelming with just the golden ties but I was glad to see that they kept Wormtail in the scene for his very tiny door opening part. I also thought Draco was perfectly dark and mean in this one while still being able to portray that he had no choice about things by the end (or at least he felt that way).
LIttle moments throughout the movie just made me smile. Harry and Ron enjoying themselves in the hallway and McGonagall telling Harry to take Ron with him to potions class because "Weasley looks far too happy over there." And then when they enter the potions class how they battle for the new Advanced Potions book in the cupboard. The girls hovering around the love potion cauldron once they knew what it was. Hermione's frazzled look as she worked on the Draught of the Living Death. How everyone was having trouble with slicing an ingredient while Harry smashed it thanks to the Prince's advice. The return of Seamus blowing things up.
It was too bad that some of the memories (Tom's mother, the lady with the Hufflepuff cup and Slytherin locket, Borgin and Burkes) didn't get included in the movie but I really expected that only Tom's introduction to the wizarding world and his discussion with Slughorn to be the only neccesary ones for the movie.
Scenes like the three broomsticks were wonderful ideas. Ron getting irked by Ginny snogging Dean, Hermione getting tipsy on butterbeer, and Harry shamelously charming Slughorn. Also isn't this much better than the lame excuse in Prisoner of Azkaban of no underage wizards allowed ON A HOGSMEADE VISIT WEEKEND?! Still get irked about that movie.
Harry and Ron's conversation about Ginny and how she has nice skin was hilarious and wonderfully representative of the awkwardness Harry must feel at telling Ron why his sister is attractive to boys. But they are both right, girls definitely have nice skin. :)
The Harry and Ginny moments were all fun and adorable, like Harry being the only person to stand when Ginny enters Slughorn's Slug Club meeting and then Hermione teasing him about it later about enjoying dessert. XD Broadbent's Slughorn is irresistably charming and funny in the way's Gambon's Dumbledore lacks compared to Richard Harris. Slughorn's party was short but spectacular. Luna's revealing conversation of wearing her shoes to bed because she sleepwalks was fun, Hermione eating bad breath inducing appetizers while hiding from Cormac, Cormac throwing up on Snape's shoes. Hysterical.
I was happy that they were still able to incorporate Harry tricking Ron into thinking he had drunk liquid luck to improve his quidditch game, and Luna was cute in that Lion's head hat. Definitely a sad moment but it was nice to have Harry and Hermione bonding over their painful romantic situations "It feels like this". I'll need to make an icon of that in the future.
Christmas with the Weasleys was a cute alteration. I wish the twins had been included in the fun, and I loved Lavender's breath heart on the compartment window to Ron. I found it funny that the ring of fire stopped Remus from following Harry but Ginny charged right over those flames. We can see who the athletes are in that scene I think. I also find it funny that Fenrir Greyback bit Remus as a child but the actor for Fenrir is probably younger than David Thewlis (and a cagefighter apparently from the behind the scenes interviews that are all over the internet)
Two of the best acted scenes had to be Rupert when Ron was drunk on love potion and then Daniel after Harry drank the felix felicis vial. There was just so much funny in this film. Harry running into Slughorn snipping leaves in the Herbology greenhouses and the proceeding conversation was hysterical. I loved that they were still able to tie in Slughorn's fondness for Lily with that touching story about the fish in the bowl that was made from a Lily and how that magic stopped only when she died.
I didn't expect to get emotionally affected by the movie but when Dumbledore said "Severus .. please." oh god. I was gone. And that scene really reminds me to read the book again because I hadn't realized that Dumbledore truly fell from the Astronomy tower down, I had thought it was like from the bottom floor in the first place so I was taken aback by that tremendous image. Also when Dumbledore did that fire trick with the inferi - that was pretty impressive. I love the special effects again, awesome job by ILM.
I loved that they kept Ginny comforting Harry after Dumbledore's death, and I'm holding out hope that they'll have a much better kiss in 7 Part 1 because they not only took away the common room kiss and gave it to Ron/Lavender but the ROR kiss was very short when compared to the Cho kiss in the previous movie which just went on and on and on. *pouts* I still don't know what's up with the tint they put on the film, it wrecks havoc with Bonnie's hair the most (the twins second most), I wish her red hair would look more red in the film but that's only a tiny bother.
I know I'll get flack for this opinion but the one thing I've always disliked about the movies portrayal of Snape is that he clearly is on the good side and he's given too many i'm too cool let me whack these idiot students around. I wish they'd had the part in Prisoner of Azkaban where he blows into the medical wing shouting THAT HARRY DID IT and freed Sirius, or how when he caught Harry in his memory in Order of the Phoenix how upset he was and how he threw things at Harry and told him to GET OUT (or how they cut out the real reason why that was Snape's worst memory), and in this one, I wish they'd had him more outraged when Harry called him a coward or that they'd included the scene where Harry realizes that Snape was the one that told Voldemort the prophecy and how pissed at Dumbledore he was for not telling him and still trusting Snape. It takes away a whole dimension from Snape on how his poor choices forced him into a miserable existence, of a bitter wizard forced to live with the guilt of what he'd done.
I'm sure I've missed some things from the movie, looking back there was just so much in this one that I had to comment on it. I'm sure it being my favorite book has something to do with how giddy I am in discussing it. I know this was really, really long and more stream of consciousness than an outright review so if you read it I adore you even more (and if you're female I'm going to go out on a limb and say you have nice skin. ;) ). This took a few days to get together and now I can go back and read everyone else's thoughts and watch all the behind the scenes videos online as I can no longer be spoiled. I'm definitely going to see this film a few more times. Who's with me? :)