OotP the film reaction/review
Poll I resisted the OWLs grading, but...
FYI: I've backdated 2 entries - this week's TV reviews and a rant compsed this morning about stuff (bags and feminist magazines). I had the choice of coming home to eat a proper meal and post those entries live and risk trying to get a ticket to see OotP at peak hours or going straight to the cinema after work and trying my luck. As it turned out, I got straight in, and that wasn't the only reason I came home from the cinema in a good mood.
It started slowly - funny to say that when they actually zipped through the pages and pages of the book before we return to Hogwarts - mainly because everyone seemed to be expositing as much as interacting. And it was disappointing to realise that none of the three main kids have improved (run down: I've always thought Grint was the best of thm, I thought Radcliffe improved in the last couple of films, and Watson is neither my Hermione nor capable of using other muscles than the eyebrows to act.)
I literally finished the book on the bus to the cinema, but I mostly liked the slim-lining. I mean, yes, good and favourite bits got lost, but I really liked the additions, like the extending of the educationl degrees. The film seemed to know exactly what a jewel it had in Imelda Staunton's Dolores Jane Umbridge. In fact, I'm bouncing off the walls with pleasure at the new girls - apart frm Mrs Figg, she wasn't anything like I imagined her to be, I didn't like her inflection and didn't understand her in the Little Whinging scenes. But LUNA! The fangirl did good, the leftfieldness, the out of syncness, but very sweet and natural. I liked what we saw of Tonks - as I do in this book - and HB-C was even more perfect in execution as Bella than I'd imagined her being.
But UMBRIDGE! from the first 'hem, hem' on she defined the film. As I was reading the book, I was hoping rather desperately that we'd get her encountesrs with McGonagall and Trelawney, and we did - well, it would be criminal to waste Staunton, Smith and Thompson. And they played up Filch's adoration, Tory oy to her Maggie.
I was also so glad they cut down the long scene where Dumbledore explains himself. Apart from not using the figures of the wizard and other magical cratures at the Ministry (it's so visual and thematically important) the final fights were so cool. They seemed to have kept a lot of the funny lines from the books - I remembered most of the ones that got the loudest laughs, even if they gave them to different characters. I was going to get annoyed, but then I realised that they had to try to give certain characters (ok, Hermione, Ron and to a certain degree, Neville) an appropriate level of dialogue.
There's a fun game as well as 'Compare with the books' and I call it 'The shippers will like this'. There were a few Harry/Hermione moments, but not as ludicrously many as in the last two movies, as they ramped up the Ron/Hermione. Ron may not be Gryffindor's Keeper in the Movieverse, but he got to have a funny scene with King Kong Grawp. Interesting chice on the Harry/Cho -> Harry/Ginny, I mean, it's mainly streamlining, but as with Improvising!Hermione and I Mustn't Tell Lies!Harry and Umbridge and the Centaurs, it uncomplicates an ambiguous point. As soon as I heard talk that Cho's mother worked in the Ministry, I realised she'd become Marietta, which worked as a way for her and Harry to break down - because Katie Leung's charm makes you feel for her, and the gang realise it was partly Veritaserum. Anyway, there was a clear moment where Ginny hesitated over leaving Harry and Cho in the Room of Requirement, which says she isn't over him in the movieverse, and she doesn't seem to have a boyfriend. I thought the long haired and lanky guy sitting next to her at the dodgy pub was Michael, but didn't the twins refer to the littlest member of the DA as 'Michael'? I am confused. Anyway, nothing was made of Ginny/Michael, unless if I missed it, and I was looking.I'm yet to be convinced about Wright's acting abilities, but I think she is extremely cute and always have. However, I am very much hoping for Ginny/Dean next year, because he's growing up hott.
Er, where was I? Oh yeah, I was looking out for the Remus/Tonks when reading the book, and frankly all I had is that hey spend a lot of time working together, but the book, and the Harry-Sirius-Remus reunion scene still seems to me to point more towards Sirius/Remus. Whatever Rowling meant - I have a theory about me prefering it when she does non-romantic romances, because I was shipping Fered/Angelina hard while reading the book, based on around one interaction. ANYWAY Harry and Luna's scenes were charming, I quite like the idea of Harry/Luna, I think you could definitely use the film to boost that - although part of Movie!Luna's charm was her childishness too. she skipped - my heart burst. Actually, the Neville/Luna hit me at the end, where he saves her, she him and there's dragging by the hand. Again, a 'ship of ignoring extra canonical author intent.
Oh,Neville. If there's one character who I want safe at the end, it's him. (Also, I have a theory SPECULATION
I'd quote, but I can't be bothered, so Harry is safe at the Dusley's because Petunia and her blood shelter him, however grudgingly. She's so dead, isn't she!?
END SPECULATION
Anyway, Neville finding the RoR and working so hard on 'Expelliarmus' and his all-round bravery and awkwardness, well, he had my heart a fair bit. I was gutted at the lack of Lily, loved the Black family tree room, ooh and was fascinated by the Sextet's Patronuses - I mean Harry's stag and Hermione's otter are book canon - and I'm presuming Rowling okayed the others: Ron with a dog, Ginny a horse (I'm surprised it wasn't a cat, but there you go), and Luna's...well I thought hare (or was it a rabbit). Iiiinteresting. Movie!Harry and George entertained me more consistently than they ever have in the past, and yeah, I realy liked it. Apart from the 'Boys Will Be Boys' which wasn't even out when the book was published, probably, let alone in the...argh, look, just, why the Muggle music? Eh? I think that was my biggest facepalm moment.
Oh, and there's more than usual moments for Harry = Frodo jokes.
FYI: I've backdated 2 entries - this week's TV reviews and a rant compsed this morning about stuff (bags and feminist magazines). I had the choice of coming home to eat a proper meal and post those entries live and risk trying to get a ticket to see OotP at peak hours or going straight to the cinema after work and trying my luck. As it turned out, I got straight in, and that wasn't the only reason I came home from the cinema in a good mood.
It started slowly - funny to say that when they actually zipped through the pages and pages of the book before we return to Hogwarts - mainly because everyone seemed to be expositing as much as interacting. And it was disappointing to realise that none of the three main kids have improved (run down: I've always thought Grint was the best of thm, I thought Radcliffe improved in the last couple of films, and Watson is neither my Hermione nor capable of using other muscles than the eyebrows to act.)
I literally finished the book on the bus to the cinema, but I mostly liked the slim-lining. I mean, yes, good and favourite bits got lost, but I really liked the additions, like the extending of the educationl degrees. The film seemed to know exactly what a jewel it had in Imelda Staunton's Dolores Jane Umbridge. In fact, I'm bouncing off the walls with pleasure at the new girls - apart frm Mrs Figg, she wasn't anything like I imagined her to be, I didn't like her inflection and didn't understand her in the Little Whinging scenes. But LUNA! The fangirl did good, the leftfieldness, the out of syncness, but very sweet and natural. I liked what we saw of Tonks - as I do in this book - and HB-C was even more perfect in execution as Bella than I'd imagined her being.
But UMBRIDGE! from the first 'hem, hem' on she defined the film. As I was reading the book, I was hoping rather desperately that we'd get her encountesrs with McGonagall and Trelawney, and we did - well, it would be criminal to waste Staunton, Smith and Thompson. And they played up Filch's adoration, Tory oy to her Maggie.
I was also so glad they cut down the long scene where Dumbledore explains himself. Apart from not using the figures of the wizard and other magical cratures at the Ministry (it's so visual and thematically important) the final fights were so cool. They seemed to have kept a lot of the funny lines from the books - I remembered most of the ones that got the loudest laughs, even if they gave them to different characters. I was going to get annoyed, but then I realised that they had to try to give certain characters (ok, Hermione, Ron and to a certain degree, Neville) an appropriate level of dialogue.
There's a fun game as well as 'Compare with the books' and I call it 'The shippers will like this'. There were a few Harry/Hermione moments, but not as ludicrously many as in the last two movies, as they ramped up the Ron/Hermione. Ron may not be Gryffindor's Keeper in the Movieverse, but he got to have a funny scene with King Kong Grawp. Interesting chice on the Harry/Cho -> Harry/Ginny, I mean, it's mainly streamlining, but as with Improvising!Hermione and I Mustn't Tell Lies!Harry and Umbridge and the Centaurs, it uncomplicates an ambiguous point. As soon as I heard talk that Cho's mother worked in the Ministry, I realised she'd become Marietta, which worked as a way for her and Harry to break down - because Katie Leung's charm makes you feel for her, and the gang realise it was partly Veritaserum. Anyway, there was a clear moment where Ginny hesitated over leaving Harry and Cho in the Room of Requirement, which says she isn't over him in the movieverse, and she doesn't seem to have a boyfriend. I thought the long haired and lanky guy sitting next to her at the dodgy pub was Michael, but didn't the twins refer to the littlest member of the DA as 'Michael'? I am confused. Anyway, nothing was made of Ginny/Michael, unless if I missed it, and I was looking.I'm yet to be convinced about Wright's acting abilities, but I think she is extremely cute and always have. However, I am very much hoping for Ginny/Dean next year, because he's growing up hott.
Er, where was I? Oh yeah, I was looking out for the Remus/Tonks when reading the book, and frankly all I had is that hey spend a lot of time working together, but the book, and the Harry-Sirius-Remus reunion scene still seems to me to point more towards Sirius/Remus. Whatever Rowling meant - I have a theory about me prefering it when she does non-romantic romances, because I was shipping Fered/Angelina hard while reading the book, based on around one interaction. ANYWAY Harry and Luna's scenes were charming, I quite like the idea of Harry/Luna, I think you could definitely use the film to boost that - although part of Movie!Luna's charm was her childishness too. she skipped - my heart burst. Actually, the Neville/Luna hit me at the end, where he saves her, she him and there's dragging by the hand. Again, a 'ship of ignoring extra canonical author intent.
Oh,Neville. If there's one character who I want safe at the end, it's him. (Also, I have a theory SPECULATION
I'd quote, but I can't be bothered, so Harry is safe at the Dusley's because Petunia and her blood shelter him, however grudgingly. She's so dead, isn't she!?
END SPECULATION
Anyway, Neville finding the RoR and working so hard on 'Expelliarmus' and his all-round bravery and awkwardness, well, he had my heart a fair bit. I was gutted at the lack of Lily, loved the Black family tree room, ooh and was fascinated by the Sextet's Patronuses - I mean Harry's stag and Hermione's otter are book canon - and I'm presuming Rowling okayed the others: Ron with a dog, Ginny a horse (I'm surprised it wasn't a cat, but there you go), and Luna's...well I thought hare (or was it a rabbit). Iiiinteresting. Movie!Harry and George entertained me more consistently than they ever have in the past, and yeah, I realy liked it. Apart from the 'Boys Will Be Boys' which wasn't even out when the book was published, probably, let alone in the...argh, look, just, why the Muggle music? Eh? I think that was my biggest facepalm moment.
Oh, and there's more than usual moments for Harry = Frodo jokes.