(Order of the Phoenix and) the Half-Blood Prince
Watching OotP, my oh I am outta here moment was when Bella AK'd Sirius through the veil.
In the book, the specific spell she uses isn't stated. Hell, it's only the one before it that's described as a jet of red light as opposed to green. But the fact that it wasn't the Killing Curse was always very important to me. Important because of thematic reasons that I really can't articulate on so little sleep ramblingly took a whack at explaining last time (and let's face it, most people think I'm crazy even when I do explain), but even more fundamentally because it allowed Bellatrix Lestrange to become a three-dimensional character for me. Whatever reasons she may have had - reluctance to kill her own cousin, nostalgia for their much simpler childhood antagonism, even just enjoyment at fighting a worthy opponent - the fact that she could face off against him and not "shoot to kill" gave her humanity, for me.
And you know, that's a small thing. After a few watchings, I... got over it, I guess; I managed to file it away as simply a WTF moment. But in the theater on opening night, it was a choice that made me think, Mr. Director, sir? Mr. Screenwriter? What book were you reading, because I'm pretty sure it's not the same one I have. I had the urge, just for a second, to stand up and leave the theater.
HBP was much the same: excellent up to that one fundamentally wrong moment.
I went in determined to watch this movie for the movie it was rather than the movie it wasn't, and I mostly succeeded. Sure, there were some WTF moments (Harry reads the Prophet in a Muggle diner, Luna comments on never having been in a part of the castle that seems to be in the same hallway as the Room of Requirement, and Romilda Vane is just too old) but nothing that distracted me for long, because there were so many things to love about this movie.
WWW was beautiful, and the first scene at the Burrow, looking up the stairwell, had me giggling. Lavender actually made me laugh (although, yeah, a lot of the teenagery bits had me hiding my face :P) Michael Gambon stopped doing that thing he does where he makes clear that he's the most important person in any scene. Luna was adorable as always. And there was some excellent Harry/Hermione friendship, for which I have a great weakness.
And of course there was Draco Malfoy.
Although most of his part consists of looking angsty against a backdrop of lovely scenery while the camera pans dramatically, Tom Felton's grown up nicely and he looks good doing it. I missed Moaning Myrtle (am I the only one? xD) but I was pleased with the bathroom scene anyway...
...until the Sectumsempra.
I know there's a great divide over that whole scene anyway ("Poor Draco, Harry should have been expelled!" vs "Harry would have been totally justified in killing him!", and everything in between) so maybe I'm alone here, but I kind of thought it was important that Harry used that spell in response to an Unforgivable Curse. Sure, it was still pretty idiotic, but you do stupid things in desperation when people are trying to, y'know, torture you. So this is the scene that, to me, suffered most from the... artistic decision to use silent casting almost exclusively. Harry nearly kills Draco... just because he's an asshole, I guess.
Harry, I mean.
Don't get me wrong... I stayed, of course. But all my muscles were getting ready to haul me out of that seat before I'd even processed it fully. On reflection, too, it has me worried for the next two movies, because Harry's casual use of Unforgivables bothered me enough in the books... if this portrayal of sort of preemptive dark magic continues, I'm going to have trouble making it to #8.
Oddly enough, this was the most tepid opening night show (HP or any fandom-ish variety: Star Trek, Star Wars, Serenity, etc.) I've ever been to. There was an excellent Trelawney in my row, but other than her I saw perhaps a couple dozen costumes (in a theater that sold out 2400 seats) and maybe one in ten people had on a HP T-shirt or scarf or something. There was a little more vocal response than you'd hear in a regular movie, but nothing like I was expecting. In fact the biggest collective commentary was boos and hisses for the Twilight preview, and applause when the projector cut off in the middle of it xD
I've been pretty much on the periphery of fandom for quite awhile due to RL issues. Is there really such a decline in enthusiasm? Or was it just an unhappy coincidence of venue or something?
In the book, the specific spell she uses isn't stated. Hell, it's only the one before it that's described as a jet of red light as opposed to green. But the fact that it wasn't the Killing Curse was always very important to me. Important because of thematic reasons that I really can't articulate on so little sleep ramblingly took a whack at explaining last time (and let's face it, most people think I'm crazy even when I do explain), but even more fundamentally because it allowed Bellatrix Lestrange to become a three-dimensional character for me. Whatever reasons she may have had - reluctance to kill her own cousin, nostalgia for their much simpler childhood antagonism, even just enjoyment at fighting a worthy opponent - the fact that she could face off against him and not "shoot to kill" gave her humanity, for me.
And you know, that's a small thing. After a few watchings, I... got over it, I guess; I managed to file it away as simply a WTF moment. But in the theater on opening night, it was a choice that made me think, Mr. Director, sir? Mr. Screenwriter? What book were you reading, because I'm pretty sure it's not the same one I have. I had the urge, just for a second, to stand up and leave the theater.
HBP was much the same: excellent up to that one fundamentally wrong moment.
I went in determined to watch this movie for the movie it was rather than the movie it wasn't, and I mostly succeeded. Sure, there were some WTF moments (Harry reads the Prophet in a Muggle diner, Luna comments on never having been in a part of the castle that seems to be in the same hallway as the Room of Requirement, and Romilda Vane is just too old) but nothing that distracted me for long, because there were so many things to love about this movie.
WWW was beautiful, and the first scene at the Burrow, looking up the stairwell, had me giggling. Lavender actually made me laugh (although, yeah, a lot of the teenagery bits had me hiding my face :P) Michael Gambon stopped doing that thing he does where he makes clear that he's the most important person in any scene. Luna was adorable as always. And there was some excellent Harry/Hermione friendship, for which I have a great weakness.
And of course there was Draco Malfoy.
Although most of his part consists of looking angsty against a backdrop of lovely scenery while the camera pans dramatically, Tom Felton's grown up nicely and he looks good doing it. I missed Moaning Myrtle (am I the only one? xD) but I was pleased with the bathroom scene anyway...
...until the Sectumsempra.
I know there's a great divide over that whole scene anyway ("Poor Draco, Harry should have been expelled!" vs "Harry would have been totally justified in killing him!", and everything in between) so maybe I'm alone here, but I kind of thought it was important that Harry used that spell in response to an Unforgivable Curse. Sure, it was still pretty idiotic, but you do stupid things in desperation when people are trying to, y'know, torture you. So this is the scene that, to me, suffered most from the... artistic decision to use silent casting almost exclusively. Harry nearly kills Draco... just because he's an asshole, I guess.
Harry, I mean.
Don't get me wrong... I stayed, of course. But all my muscles were getting ready to haul me out of that seat before I'd even processed it fully. On reflection, too, it has me worried for the next two movies, because Harry's casual use of Unforgivables bothered me enough in the books... if this portrayal of sort of preemptive dark magic continues, I'm going to have trouble making it to #8.
Oddly enough, this was the most tepid opening night show (HP or any fandom-ish variety: Star Trek, Star Wars, Serenity, etc.) I've ever been to. There was an excellent Trelawney in my row, but other than her I saw perhaps a couple dozen costumes (in a theater that sold out 2400 seats) and maybe one in ten people had on a HP T-shirt or scarf or something. There was a little more vocal response than you'd hear in a regular movie, but nothing like I was expecting. In fact the biggest collective commentary was boos and hisses for the Twilight preview, and applause when the projector cut off in the middle of it xD
I've been pretty much on the periphery of fandom for quite awhile due to RL issues. Is there really such a decline in enthusiasm? Or was it just an unhappy coincidence of venue or something?