Anakitten, Harry Potter, and random fandom
So right now I'm dead of cute. My roomie is snoozing on the couch, just snoring away (*squishes him*) and our baby, wee black Anakitten, is stretched out behind his daddy, mimicking the same position, and absosmurfly passed out. Poor Anakitten (who, now that he's growing up some, is being called Vaderkins....naw, we don't infantilize him at all) has been subjected to icky medicine all day because he sneezes and his eyes water like a fountain. Like his namesake, he cries a lot. Poor widdle sith kitty.
Anyhows,
Well, my most anticipated movie of the year did NOT disappoint. In fact, it's the best movie I've seen all year. I left the cinema not only a satisfied moviegoer, but a satisfied geek, and THAT is profound, as you lovely flisters know. I think OotP is really more of a sequel to PoA than GoF....Yates follows Curon's style more closely than Newell did, and that was a very smart decision. Though I enjoyed GoF, I thought the movie suffered from poor pacing and mislaid priorities. While the dragon chase was neat n' all, it ate into time that should've been spent on setting us up for the trauma to come by giving us cozy moments with the characters. The more bits of refuge and family you have, the higher the stakes are and more dramatic the peril is later.
But anyway, Yates hits every bit beautifully, from the gorgeous, ominous opening in the field and the wonderfully kinetic Dementor attack to the pitch-perfect realization of the Ministry interiors. He cuts just what needs to go and pauses just where we need a moment to catch our breath. He wisely spreads the face-time around, giving everyone from Mrs. Weasley to Draco their signature moments. Best of all, we FINALLY get some emotional payoff with Sirius and Harry...good warm fuzzy hugs between them.
**** We interrupt this review to note that, despite my better judgment, the show Ghost Whisperer is on in the background and A) it's wicked stupid, B) Jennifer "No, just call me Looooove" Hewitt" may be wearing cute kneehigh boots, but that doesn't distract from the gale-force winds wafting from those geisha-fans she has for fake eyelashes, and C) whoa, Cameron Manheim has lost some weight! Good on her! ****
As far as characters go, Ron gets a bit of a short-shrift (Meanwhile, the movie clips along at a wonderful pace, and by the time we get to the Department of Mysteries I was leaning forward in my seat all a'twitter with excitement. The Department is FLAWLESSLY detailed, relentlessly creepy, and totally bewitching. I was nearly squealing by the time the Order showed up. I'm typing faster right now just thinking about it. Fan-feckin-tastic.
I think I have finally reconciled Michael Gambon as Dumbledore (Richard Harris was just too perfect), but his badassery is outweighed by Voldemort's malevolence. Ralph Fiennes takes what could be a goofy looking get-up with the flat reptillian nose and bald noggin' and works it just beautifully. I genuinely got a chill when he materialized into frame.
All in all, I can't recommend it highly enough. If you haven't seen it yet, go now. Don't worry about eating or laundry or homework. Go see Harry. He needs you.
And speaking of darling Harry, HOW EXCITED am I for tomorrow? I had to go to Wikipedia to read a summary of Half-Blood Prince since I read it just the once when it was released and don't remember A THING about it. Heh. Didn't remember crap after the summary, either. *shrugs* However, I saw a silly lil' rumor that Mr. Stuart "The Low-Rider King" Townsend's name was being tossed around for the HBP flick. As who? For the life of me I can't imagine. Although hell, they could make up a character for him and I wouldn't complain. Okay? Okay. *Cher!hair toss*
Anyhows,
Well, my most anticipated movie of the year did NOT disappoint. In fact, it's the best movie I've seen all year. I left the cinema not only a satisfied moviegoer, but a satisfied geek, and THAT is profound, as you lovely flisters know. I think OotP is really more of a sequel to PoA than GoF....Yates follows Curon's style more closely than Newell did, and that was a very smart decision. Though I enjoyed GoF, I thought the movie suffered from poor pacing and mislaid priorities. While the dragon chase was neat n' all, it ate into time that should've been spent on setting us up for the trauma to come by giving us cozy moments with the characters. The more bits of refuge and family you have, the higher the stakes are and more dramatic the peril is later.
But anyway, Yates hits every bit beautifully, from the gorgeous, ominous opening in the field and the wonderfully kinetic Dementor attack to the pitch-perfect realization of the Ministry interiors. He cuts just what needs to go and pauses just where we need a moment to catch our breath. He wisely spreads the face-time around, giving everyone from Mrs. Weasley to Draco their signature moments. Best of all, we FINALLY get some emotional payoff with Sirius and Harry...good warm fuzzy hugs between them.
**** We interrupt this review to note that, despite my better judgment, the show Ghost Whisperer is on in the background and A) it's wicked stupid, B) Jennifer "No, just call me Looooove" Hewitt" may be wearing cute kneehigh boots, but that doesn't distract from the gale-force winds wafting from those geisha-fans she has for fake eyelashes, and C) whoa, Cameron Manheim has lost some weight! Good on her! ****
As far as characters go, Ron gets a bit of a short-shrift (Meanwhile, the movie clips along at a wonderful pace, and by the time we get to the Department of Mysteries I was leaning forward in my seat all a'twitter with excitement. The Department is FLAWLESSLY detailed, relentlessly creepy, and totally bewitching. I was nearly squealing by the time the Order showed up. I'm typing faster right now just thinking about it. Fan-feckin-tastic.
I think I have finally reconciled Michael Gambon as Dumbledore (Richard Harris was just too perfect), but his badassery is outweighed by Voldemort's malevolence. Ralph Fiennes takes what could be a goofy looking get-up with the flat reptillian nose and bald noggin' and works it just beautifully. I genuinely got a chill when he materialized into frame.
All in all, I can't recommend it highly enough. If you haven't seen it yet, go now. Don't worry about eating or laundry or homework. Go see Harry. He needs you.
And speaking of darling Harry, HOW EXCITED am I for tomorrow? I had to go to Wikipedia to read a summary of Half-Blood Prince since I read it just the once when it was released and don't remember A THING about it. Heh. Didn't remember crap after the summary, either. *shrugs* However, I saw a silly lil' rumor that Mr. Stuart "The Low-Rider King" Townsend's name was being tossed around for the HBP flick. As who? For the life of me I can't imagine. Although hell, they could make up a character for him and I wouldn't complain. Okay? Okay. *Cher!hair toss*