HBP movie! Squee!
Just got back from the Half-Blood Prince movie! Loved it!
Spoilers for the movie and Books 6-7 ahoy!!!
Fred and George's shop was awesome.
Fenrir was very much like I imagined him. Notice his wanted poster on the wall near Knockturn Alley?
Bellatrix was fun. I'm still not totally in love with Helena Bonham Carter's "googly-eyed batshit crazy" performance, but it's growing on me.
Narcissa was not as young and pretty as I imagined her.
Cormac puking on Snape's shoes at the Christmas party was very funny. Poor Severus... XD
Tom Felton was great. Just as Book 6 was when I actually started to like Draco as a character, his acting is kicked up a notch, too.
At one point when Harry said, "But how can we ever track down all those Horcruxes?" I wanted so badly to call out, "Camping! Lots and lots of camping!"
It was cool to see Riddle's diary again.
Dumbledore's death was sad, of course, but I didn't cry. I did get rather teary-eyed when they all raised their wands in a salute to erase the Dark Mark from the sky, due in large part to Maggie Smith's acting.
Great moment in the infirmary when Dumbledore said something about, "Ah, to be young again and feel the sting of love." On one hand I was like, "Dude, not cool, Snape's standing right next to you, glaring at the son of his bitter rival and true love. Don't rub it in!" On the other, I was thinking, "Hoyay, Dumbledore and Grindelwald!" Heh.
I was kind of surprised that they had Tonks and Lupin hook up offstage between the 5th and 6th movies, with no explanation or note. Just, all of a sudden they're acting like a couple and she's calling him sweetheart. Okaaaay... If they were going to write it that way, off screen, they should have done it between the 6th and 7th movies instead, to be closer to canon. Then again, this way the relationship seems less sudden and, well...contrived. Oh well, either way they'll end up pushing up daisies. :p
They also pushed some of the relationship stuff with the Trio to more Book 7 levels in this, with Harry expressing his feelings for Hermione as totally platonic in front of Ron, the Harry/Ginny thing getting pretty much out in the open, and Hermione really pursuing (a mostly clueless) Ron. Or maybe I'm remembering the timeline wrong, it's been awhile since I read HBP. (On a related note, Lavender was hilarious and sickening. Great job by that actress.)
I liked that they gave Ginny a bigger role, so she does something other than snog Harry.
I still have a soft spot for Harry/Luna, though.
I was glad Hagrid was kept to a minimum. He's most palatable in very small doses, and the Aragog funeral worked just fine. LOL at Slughorn accidentally breaking off part of the dead spider!
Speaking of Slughorn, his actor did a very good job. I still wish he'd had a walrus mustache like Wilford Brimley he was described in the book, and perhaps a bit more flab around the middle, but appearance aside he really captured the character well.
I still wish they'd gotten Christian Coulson back to play Hogwarts-age Tom Riddle, but the new actor did a good job. The scene in the orphanage was well-done, if more brief than I'd have liked. I do understand why they cut the Merope plot for time, though, as well as the later bits with Tom working at Borgin & Burkes.
The Inferi were horrible, disturbing, creepy and horrifying--which is exactly how they're supposed to be, so good job, film makers! The potion-drinking scene just before they appear is hard to watch, just as it was hard to read.
As for the famous "SNAPE KILLED DUMBLEDORE!!!" scene...I think it was interesting that they had Harry and Snape meet each other just before it happened, so Harry had the chance to stop him or alert someone, but trusted him. So now Harry feels guilt and betrayal on a slightly different level, as well.
I also liked how they worked in the "What if I don't want to do this anymore?" scene between Snape and Dumbledore by having Harry overhear the tail end of it, out of context, right before they left for the sea cave. It was such a critical exchange that they had to get it in there, but this way we have A.) no Hagrid, and B.) the clue much closer to the climax.
The delivery of the famous "Severus, please" and "Avada Kadavra" lines was excellent.
I also love the very brief scene of Snape just standing there, filmed from the back, on that fateful evening before the you-know-what hit the fan.
The scene as he flees with Draco past Hagrid's hut was also well done, although I wish Rickman had pushed the "DON'T CALL ME COWARD!" moment of losing his cool more than he did. It was clear (to me, anyway) how he was blocking Harry and protecting him from Bellatrix. I definitely liked the tweak to the dialog, though.
Instead of the corny "I, the Half-Blood Prince!" declaration from the book, it was a more natural "Yes, I am the Half-Blood Prince." It worked better that way, much less cheesy.
However, there was no explanation of what that title meant. I really thought in the last scene when Hermione and Harry were talking up in the tower that she'd throw in that line about, "I should have realized it sooner, Harry, Prince was Snape's mother's maiden name!" It wouldn't have taken more than an extra few seconds and it would have explained things for the six people in the entire world who haven't read the book. ;)
Overall, I liked Rickman-as-Snape more in this film than in the previous ones. He's still too old, non-skinny, and monotone for me, compared to my own mental image of Snape, but he is a talented actor and the events of this movie are so epic that it's hard not to be awesome.
Bottom line, I really, really enjoyed it. Of course I have nitpicks, but overall it was very well done and canon-friendly.
Spoilers for the movie and Books 6-7 ahoy!!!
Fred and George's shop was awesome.
Fenrir was very much like I imagined him. Notice his wanted poster on the wall near Knockturn Alley?
Bellatrix was fun. I'm still not totally in love with Helena Bonham Carter's "googly-eyed batshit crazy" performance, but it's growing on me.
Narcissa was not as young and pretty as I imagined her.
Cormac puking on Snape's shoes at the Christmas party was very funny. Poor Severus... XD
Tom Felton was great. Just as Book 6 was when I actually started to like Draco as a character, his acting is kicked up a notch, too.
At one point when Harry said, "But how can we ever track down all those Horcruxes?" I wanted so badly to call out, "Camping! Lots and lots of camping!"
It was cool to see Riddle's diary again.
Dumbledore's death was sad, of course, but I didn't cry. I did get rather teary-eyed when they all raised their wands in a salute to erase the Dark Mark from the sky, due in large part to Maggie Smith's acting.
Great moment in the infirmary when Dumbledore said something about, "Ah, to be young again and feel the sting of love." On one hand I was like, "Dude, not cool, Snape's standing right next to you, glaring at the son of his bitter rival and true love. Don't rub it in!" On the other, I was thinking, "Hoyay, Dumbledore and Grindelwald!" Heh.
I was kind of surprised that they had Tonks and Lupin hook up offstage between the 5th and 6th movies, with no explanation or note. Just, all of a sudden they're acting like a couple and she's calling him sweetheart. Okaaaay... If they were going to write it that way, off screen, they should have done it between the 6th and 7th movies instead, to be closer to canon. Then again, this way the relationship seems less sudden and, well...contrived. Oh well, either way they'll end up pushing up daisies. :p
They also pushed some of the relationship stuff with the Trio to more Book 7 levels in this, with Harry expressing his feelings for Hermione as totally platonic in front of Ron, the Harry/Ginny thing getting pretty much out in the open, and Hermione really pursuing (a mostly clueless) Ron. Or maybe I'm remembering the timeline wrong, it's been awhile since I read HBP. (On a related note, Lavender was hilarious and sickening. Great job by that actress.)
I liked that they gave Ginny a bigger role, so she does something other than snog Harry.
I still have a soft spot for Harry/Luna, though.
I was glad Hagrid was kept to a minimum. He's most palatable in very small doses, and the Aragog funeral worked just fine. LOL at Slughorn accidentally breaking off part of the dead spider!
Speaking of Slughorn, his actor did a very good job. I still wish he'd had a walrus mustache like Wilford Brimley he was described in the book, and perhaps a bit more flab around the middle, but appearance aside he really captured the character well.
I still wish they'd gotten Christian Coulson back to play Hogwarts-age Tom Riddle, but the new actor did a good job. The scene in the orphanage was well-done, if more brief than I'd have liked. I do understand why they cut the Merope plot for time, though, as well as the later bits with Tom working at Borgin & Burkes.
The Inferi were horrible, disturbing, creepy and horrifying--which is exactly how they're supposed to be, so good job, film makers! The potion-drinking scene just before they appear is hard to watch, just as it was hard to read.
As for the famous "SNAPE KILLED DUMBLEDORE!!!" scene...I think it was interesting that they had Harry and Snape meet each other just before it happened, so Harry had the chance to stop him or alert someone, but trusted him. So now Harry feels guilt and betrayal on a slightly different level, as well.
I also liked how they worked in the "What if I don't want to do this anymore?" scene between Snape and Dumbledore by having Harry overhear the tail end of it, out of context, right before they left for the sea cave. It was such a critical exchange that they had to get it in there, but this way we have A.) no Hagrid, and B.) the clue much closer to the climax.
The delivery of the famous "Severus, please" and "Avada Kadavra" lines was excellent.
I also love the very brief scene of Snape just standing there, filmed from the back, on that fateful evening before the you-know-what hit the fan.
The scene as he flees with Draco past Hagrid's hut was also well done, although I wish Rickman had pushed the "DON'T CALL ME COWARD!" moment of losing his cool more than he did. It was clear (to me, anyway) how he was blocking Harry and protecting him from Bellatrix. I definitely liked the tweak to the dialog, though.
Instead of the corny "I, the Half-Blood Prince!" declaration from the book, it was a more natural "Yes, I am the Half-Blood Prince." It worked better that way, much less cheesy.
However, there was no explanation of what that title meant. I really thought in the last scene when Hermione and Harry were talking up in the tower that she'd throw in that line about, "I should have realized it sooner, Harry, Prince was Snape's mother's maiden name!" It wouldn't have taken more than an extra few seconds and it would have explained things for the six people in the entire world who haven't read the book. ;)
Overall, I liked Rickman-as-Snape more in this film than in the previous ones. He's still too old, non-skinny, and monotone for me, compared to my own mental image of Snape, but he is a talented actor and the events of this movie are so epic that it's hard not to be awesome.
Bottom line, I really, really enjoyed it. Of course I have nitpicks, but overall it was very well done and canon-friendly.