Scary Potter
I will start this entry on a positive note by congratulating all who graduated this day. Ooh, maybe that's why I had that dream last night. I dreamt that Chris and I were meeting all of our friends at the station (train or something). The only ones I remember seeing were Dan talking excitedly with Chris, and Erin and Gemma walking towards me. But it was a really happy dream. Anyway, as I was saying, congrats all. You know who you are.
Also on a happy note, Top Menu is recovering nicely from his surgery. Whether the surgery itself was a happy thing depends on whether or not you are Top Menu. We, the humans, are quite happy to have him neutered.
So, on to the negativity. I just got back from seeing the latest Harry Potter movie. ...Do I need to go on, or do you pretty much have a clue what I'm going to complain about?
I have heard a lot of people out there who saw it say that it was much better than the first two. I will grant that this was a beautiful movie. The CG was gorgeous. It was fantastically cinematic. That, however, is part of the problem. The complaint Chris and I had with the last movie is that they took valuable time doing movie things that they could have used on the story. For example, they could have spent less time on having the basilisk chase Harry and having everybody clap for Hagrid and stuck in a bit more of Nearly Headless Nick's problems with the Headless Hunt. Or more about mudbloods. Or something other than that awful chase sequence, I mean damn, snakes smell you, they don't hear you, she had that right in the book, could you just do it RIGHT?!
Ahem. As I was saying, this movie fell prey to that trap constantly. CONSTANTLY. Did we really need five minutes of the Knight bus, the long flight on Buckbeak, or that ridiculous fight scene between were-Lupin and puppy-Sirius? Could that time not have been better devoted to explaining rather important plot points like the connection between the Marauder's Map and Lupin, or how the hell Sirius got out of Azkaban? Did we hear mention of the term "secret-keeper"? Did we need to see the Whomping Willow thrashing our hero and heroine, or might it have been better to mention that Harry's father could turn into a stag and that's important kinda because of that stag Patronus and oh I see. What's most frustrating is that this film skipped the convenient exposition opportunity given in the text at the end of each book where they wrap everything up in nice little bundles. That would have been SO useful. They skipped so many details that, to put it simply, this film cannot stand on its own. Someone who has not read the book cannot really appreciate this film, and that, my friends, is a failed adaptation.
All that said, I enjoyed it. Hey, I've read the book. It had my Sirius in it, and I am relatively satisfied with his portrayal. Relatively, of course, to the new Dumbledore, who is not Dumbledore at all. He is far too spry.
Also, I would like to note that this movie is still way better than the Lord of the Rings movies. While this movie may have left out a lot of important details, at least it did not put in INCORRECT details. grumblegrumbleFaramirgrumble
In short, don't see the movie unless you have read the book, or you may well end up befuddled.
The absolute best part of the movie is the end. No, not because I was glad it was over, but because the ending credits sequence was perhaps the most creative and entertaining I have ever seen. If you see it, do not leave until the absolute end. Really. It's pretty cute.
*falls asleep*
Also on a happy note, Top Menu is recovering nicely from his surgery. Whether the surgery itself was a happy thing depends on whether or not you are Top Menu. We, the humans, are quite happy to have him neutered.
So, on to the negativity. I just got back from seeing the latest Harry Potter movie. ...Do I need to go on, or do you pretty much have a clue what I'm going to complain about?
I have heard a lot of people out there who saw it say that it was much better than the first two. I will grant that this was a beautiful movie. The CG was gorgeous. It was fantastically cinematic. That, however, is part of the problem. The complaint Chris and I had with the last movie is that they took valuable time doing movie things that they could have used on the story. For example, they could have spent less time on having the basilisk chase Harry and having everybody clap for Hagrid and stuck in a bit more of Nearly Headless Nick's problems with the Headless Hunt. Or more about mudbloods. Or something other than that awful chase sequence, I mean damn, snakes smell you, they don't hear you, she had that right in the book, could you just do it RIGHT?!
Ahem. As I was saying, this movie fell prey to that trap constantly. CONSTANTLY. Did we really need five minutes of the Knight bus, the long flight on Buckbeak, or that ridiculous fight scene between were-Lupin and puppy-Sirius? Could that time not have been better devoted to explaining rather important plot points like the connection between the Marauder's Map and Lupin, or how the hell Sirius got out of Azkaban? Did we hear mention of the term "secret-keeper"? Did we need to see the Whomping Willow thrashing our hero and heroine, or might it have been better to mention that Harry's father could turn into a stag and that's important kinda because of that stag Patronus and oh I see. What's most frustrating is that this film skipped the convenient exposition opportunity given in the text at the end of each book where they wrap everything up in nice little bundles. That would have been SO useful. They skipped so many details that, to put it simply, this film cannot stand on its own. Someone who has not read the book cannot really appreciate this film, and that, my friends, is a failed adaptation.
All that said, I enjoyed it. Hey, I've read the book. It had my Sirius in it, and I am relatively satisfied with his portrayal. Relatively, of course, to the new Dumbledore, who is not Dumbledore at all. He is far too spry.
Also, I would like to note that this movie is still way better than the Lord of the Rings movies. While this movie may have left out a lot of important details, at least it did not put in INCORRECT details. grumblegrumbleFaramirgrumble
In short, don't see the movie unless you have read the book, or you may well end up befuddled.
The absolute best part of the movie is the end. No, not because I was glad it was over, but because the ending credits sequence was perhaps the most creative and entertaining I have ever seen. If you see it, do not leave until the absolute end. Really. It's pretty cute.
*falls asleep*