(no subject)
I just got back from watching HBP, and I have to say, all in all, I quite enjoyed it. Not very well thought through reactions in random bullet points:
- The visuals were, at times (OK, a lot of times), amazing. The only thing I was slightly disappointed in was that the scene that made me go oh, fuck, yes the most happened about thirty seconds in. The Death Eaters Apparating into that house was just akdjlkqsjjs. It had me sitting on the edge of my seat and wearing a stupid grin from the get-go (lovely opening sequence, by the way, really draws you in), but it did also make me hope for even more visually exciting things later, and that didn't quite happen. That being said, there are a lot of completely gorgeous shots in this film, and although the rain was perhaps a bit cheesy, it was also very effective. I don't know why, but the bit where you see Ron kissing Lavender through a window in the tower and then the camera panning to Draco just gave me goosebumps. I loved Quidditch being played in the snow, too: very pretty.
- The costumes! God, how hot did everyone look? I loved the Quidditch robes, McGonagall's costume, Harry's costume and Hermione's dress at Slughorn's party, and Ron just looked hotter and hotter as the film wore on.
- Ron, you are still my favourite. ♥ Of the youngsters, anyway. ;o)
- Slughorn! OMG. To be honest, I have only read HBP in its entirety once, mostly because I found large parts of the book boring. One of the reasons for this was that I just couldn't care about Slughorn. The Slughorn in the film was nothing like the way I imagined him in the book, but for once, I have nothing but praise for the change. I loved Slughorn. Well done, Jim Broadbent!
- Draco! I have never been a great Draco fan, but one of the few things I did like about HBP, is that it, well, started making me dislike Draco less. I'm happy to report the same is true for the film - as a matter of fact, I liked Draco. I think Tom Felton did a pretty excellent job here, especially given the sheer angstiness of some of his scenes, but the anger and simmering despair came through just right. I even found myself contemplating the rightness of the H/D ship. Shut up. Also, while Tom Felton's not really my type, damn, he did look hot in that suit, all skinny, graceful limbs, and mmm.
- Snape! I usually find Snape too soft in the films (ironic, given that movie!Snape was the one who made me want to read the books), but I thought he really hit the right note, here. This makes me incredibly happy. The only scene I found disappointing was the last one between Harry and Snape. I really, really miss Snape's outburst at Harry, there. And I thought the Snape-killing-Dumbledore scene was just a mite too short - of course, this whole sequence is what saved book 6 for me, so I wanted to see it all in painful detail on the screen. :p And I think that by skipping the Death-Eaters-fighting-inside-of-Hogwarts scene, the ending felt like just a bit of an anti-climax. But I guess it was quite a long film as is. *g*
- Speaking of Snape, I hear everyone squee about that scene where Snape pushes Draco into the wall. I was a bit disappointed that all we got was a view from afar, but I did love that scene. Not necessarily in a Snaco kind of way, but I love the palpable tension between them, there. Excellent work on behalf of the actors.
- Tom Riddle! I liked him all right in his first scene, but no more than that - and then he really grew on me. He was just so delightfully creepy.
- Bellatrix! Delightfully insane as ever.
- Cormac throwing up all over Snape's shoes and Harry slipping out. Excuse me while I LOL forever.
- I laughed every time Slughorn said Merlin's beard. I get visuals, now.
- In that same vein:
Slughorn: 'Did he have family?'
Harry: 'Oh, yes.'
Made me laugh both because of what Harry means and because it reminds me of Merlin saying the same about knowing Arthur. Which then led me to think of Harry having sexy thoughts about Aragog's kin, and, uh, yeah. Never mind. - They really accentuated the romance aspect of the book (... although, to be fair, it is pretty accentuated in the book, as I recall), but I didn't really mind, as I really think that's where their strength is. It nicely set off the angsty scenes when they did show up. And I really get the feeling that Emma Watson matured, here. I actually kind of liked Hermione, which I usually didn't in the previous movies.
- On the slight downside, I think there were some moments in there where they tried to make the scene scary, but at the same time not too scary, because it's a children's film, after all. This resulted in some scenes that did indeed feel sort of half-arsed to me, like the scene in the cave. Great visual effects, but it's like their heart wasn't entirely in it.
- The romance between Ginny and Harry makes as little sense in the film as it did in the book, but I do think it came across better on screen. Even though I'm still waiting for them to have a single conversation, I actually wanted them to get together in the film, which is a plus, I must say.
- On the subject of things making sense: if the whole HBP plot made little sense in the book (I still can't quite fathom why), it made no sense at all in the film, given that even less time is spent on the Potions book here. Anyone who saw the movie and did not read the book is now probably wondering why the entire film is named after one sentence of dialogue. (ETA: Or how Snape even knew Harry had his Potions book and why he felt the need to reveal his name, come to think of it. *g*)
- I know some people are going WTF over some scenes that weren't in the book, but I actually really liked the scene where the DEs attacked the Weasley house. The running through the fields bit was appropriately scary! And pretty.
- Oh, oh, and I forgot to say: love the way they translated the memory taking shape in the Pensieve. There's a lot of this - bleeding smoke imagery in the film, and I thought it was really beautiful. I loved the end titles, too, where they kind of kept the same theme!
All in all, good show! If there's one thing that can be said about the HP films, it's that they get better every time. This is definitely my favourite so far. As a matter of fact, I spent much of the movie feeling gleeful. :D And it makes me want to finally reread the book, which is really saying something.
ETA: Oh, oh, because I forgot to mention it: gah, that scene between Snape and Harry as they're standing below and Draco and the DEs are threatening Dumbledore. Snape tells Harry to be quiet and, in that moment, Harry trusts him and we all know what's about to happen, and just. Gah. Such a great moment.