HBP review - minor movie spoilers. (If you read the books then I suppose there are no spoilers)
SO let’s be honest, book to screen is never perfect. It can’t be. Things must be left out. There is just no other way. I would imagine that being the person who makes the decision of what to include and what to forgo must be very difficult and stressful. That being said, I believe they did a good job on making those decisions for this movie.
Oh yeah and I wish Lucius would have been in there (more than a picture) but he wasn't and that's nobodies fault - just how the book was written. But that's okay.. my Luci-poo will be back for movies 7!! ^_^
Would I like to have seen more flashbacks? You better believe it. Did I think they had too much Won-Won action? No way! I think they really did a good job balancing everything they could. We have a time schedule with a ton of story to tell. Cuts have to be made. 3 chapters sometimes have to be combined into 4 minutes. Still, they made it work. They did it well.
Before I go on to glow about it.. because I loved it almost completely..i want to get a gripe out of the way and then I will start the good stuff.
Now.. about Narcissa.. * sigh* Helen McCrory (again, not sure of spelling) is a good actress. I am not knocking her and I do not mean to make this be about looks. I don’t. But let’s be honest.. she looks older than the lady playing Bellatrix. She is only 2 years older than I am (in real life) but I believe she looks 10 years older than we are. Again I am sorry to be so shallow but roll with me on this. Narcissa is supposed to be the baby of the 3 sisters. Why does she look older than Bella? Cissy is the youngest. She clearly did not look it. Maybe it was bad makeup. (Again, I mean no disrespect to the actress in the least.) Now, I must say I thought she did fine acting the part - a woman desperately worried over her sons safety. She nailed it. She just looked too out of place for me. I was glad to see her on the screenthough and I look forward to her next appearances in movies #7. I just had to state for the record about the way they made her look.
Now, onto the good stuff!
Weasleys Wizard Wheezes .. thank you for this scene! In my mind it was never that much fun. It was a cool store in my brain, but the movie gave me something a hundred times cooler than anything I had ever dreamed up. YAY! I loved it!
There is a scene not from the book that I absolutely 100% loved. I told someone I was going to go home and put it into the book! The scene where Bella is running through the fields singing her tormenting song - holy cow how was that not in the book? (No offense to JK. She did a brilliant book, I am just saying -that scene was freakin WIN!) I loved the scene a lot.
The funeral was not in the movie. However, I must admit that the lighting of the wands was spectacular. It brought a quiet peace and finality to the passing of a great wizard.
The battle at Hogwarts, honestly, didn’t miss it in the least. I’ll wait for the epic one in 7 where Neville Longbottom is the most badass wizard on school grounds. ^_^
I think the girl who played Lavender Brown was cast perfectly. She embodied everything I imagined. She was cute, spunky, and annoying. I applaud her casting. I was a fan of the humor of her and Ron in the movies, and I believe she brought it to the screen in a really great way.
I did imagine the bird scene a little differently. I guess to me Hermione exploded more than the quiet rage we saw in the movie. Oh it was a good scene in the movie, don’t get me wrong.. just not what I imagined. I am not knocking it, but it was different. (But let’s be honest, we all read scenes differently.)
The guy who played McLaggan (is that how you spell it? I’m at work, not gonna bother to look it up.) was damn cute. He only had a few scenes but he did maximize the screen when he was there. He had good presence. He really belongs on camera. He knew how to command the scene to his attention.
Did anyone notice Blaise? Holy cow that boy was cute too. More scenes please. (Shallow moment there - I am allowed those.)
I wanted to add that Alan Rickman (Severus Snape) did an amazing job as well. He has always done Snape with remarkable brilliance, but I dare say he did an even better job if that is possible. Snape is one of the best characters in the series and Mr Rickman channels him perfectly. This movie was no exception. He seemed to have reached and even deeper level with Severus and really brings that edge of good guy/bad guy. You just never know. He and Tom Felton were the breakthrough performers of this movie.
Speaking of Tom.. what a remarkable young man he has become. Draco has grown from a whiney sniveling brat into a proud, and yet, scared young man. Tom made us feel all of that. He brought a level of fear to Draco that was so real. I truly bought every ounce of his acting. I wanted to cry with him in the bathroom. I wanted to cry when he was trying to kill Dumbledore. Draco looked like he didn’t want to do what the Dark Lord ordered him to, but that he had no choice. You could see and feel his conflict. He broke my heart.
I must add that Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) has fantastic comedy abilities. Someone give that boy a comedy movie series when this is over. I would pay to watch him do anything -he cracks me up so much. He is a real natural.
Overall I will say this is right up there with Goblet of Fire which is my fav adaptation. After I watch HBP a few more times I might have more opinions, but for now this is what I have. I do recommend it. Of all my HP friends I only have one who has not liked it.. and he absolutely hated it. But he is 1. We are many. Overall, it is a positive response.
Oh yeah and I wish Lucius would have been in there (more than a picture) but he wasn't and that's nobodies fault - just how the book was written. But that's okay.. my Luci-poo will be back for movies 7!! ^_^
Would I like to have seen more flashbacks? You better believe it. Did I think they had too much Won-Won action? No way! I think they really did a good job balancing everything they could. We have a time schedule with a ton of story to tell. Cuts have to be made. 3 chapters sometimes have to be combined into 4 minutes. Still, they made it work. They did it well.
Before I go on to glow about it.. because I loved it almost completely..i want to get a gripe out of the way and then I will start the good stuff.
Now.. about Narcissa.. * sigh* Helen McCrory (again, not sure of spelling) is a good actress. I am not knocking her and I do not mean to make this be about looks. I don’t. But let’s be honest.. she looks older than the lady playing Bellatrix. She is only 2 years older than I am (in real life) but I believe she looks 10 years older than we are. Again I am sorry to be so shallow but roll with me on this. Narcissa is supposed to be the baby of the 3 sisters. Why does she look older than Bella? Cissy is the youngest. She clearly did not look it. Maybe it was bad makeup. (Again, I mean no disrespect to the actress in the least.) Now, I must say I thought she did fine acting the part - a woman desperately worried over her sons safety. She nailed it. She just looked too out of place for me. I was glad to see her on the screenthough and I look forward to her next appearances in movies #7. I just had to state for the record about the way they made her look.
Now, onto the good stuff!
Weasleys Wizard Wheezes .. thank you for this scene! In my mind it was never that much fun. It was a cool store in my brain, but the movie gave me something a hundred times cooler than anything I had ever dreamed up. YAY! I loved it!
There is a scene not from the book that I absolutely 100% loved. I told someone I was going to go home and put it into the book! The scene where Bella is running through the fields singing her tormenting song - holy cow how was that not in the book? (No offense to JK. She did a brilliant book, I am just saying -that scene was freakin WIN!) I loved the scene a lot.
The funeral was not in the movie. However, I must admit that the lighting of the wands was spectacular. It brought a quiet peace and finality to the passing of a great wizard.
The battle at Hogwarts, honestly, didn’t miss it in the least. I’ll wait for the epic one in 7 where Neville Longbottom is the most badass wizard on school grounds. ^_^
I think the girl who played Lavender Brown was cast perfectly. She embodied everything I imagined. She was cute, spunky, and annoying. I applaud her casting. I was a fan of the humor of her and Ron in the movies, and I believe she brought it to the screen in a really great way.
I did imagine the bird scene a little differently. I guess to me Hermione exploded more than the quiet rage we saw in the movie. Oh it was a good scene in the movie, don’t get me wrong.. just not what I imagined. I am not knocking it, but it was different. (But let’s be honest, we all read scenes differently.)
The guy who played McLaggan (is that how you spell it? I’m at work, not gonna bother to look it up.) was damn cute. He only had a few scenes but he did maximize the screen when he was there. He had good presence. He really belongs on camera. He knew how to command the scene to his attention.
Did anyone notice Blaise? Holy cow that boy was cute too. More scenes please. (Shallow moment there - I am allowed those.)
I wanted to add that Alan Rickman (Severus Snape) did an amazing job as well. He has always done Snape with remarkable brilliance, but I dare say he did an even better job if that is possible. Snape is one of the best characters in the series and Mr Rickman channels him perfectly. This movie was no exception. He seemed to have reached and even deeper level with Severus and really brings that edge of good guy/bad guy. You just never know. He and Tom Felton were the breakthrough performers of this movie.
Speaking of Tom.. what a remarkable young man he has become. Draco has grown from a whiney sniveling brat into a proud, and yet, scared young man. Tom made us feel all of that. He brought a level of fear to Draco that was so real. I truly bought every ounce of his acting. I wanted to cry with him in the bathroom. I wanted to cry when he was trying to kill Dumbledore. Draco looked like he didn’t want to do what the Dark Lord ordered him to, but that he had no choice. You could see and feel his conflict. He broke my heart.
I must add that Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) has fantastic comedy abilities. Someone give that boy a comedy movie series when this is over. I would pay to watch him do anything -he cracks me up so much. He is a real natural.
Overall I will say this is right up there with Goblet of Fire which is my fav adaptation. After I watch HBP a few more times I might have more opinions, but for now this is what I have. I do recommend it. Of all my HP friends I only have one who has not liked it.. and he absolutely hated it. But he is 1. We are many. Overall, it is a positive response.