The Half-Blood Prince Midnight Showing ~ Spoilers

[rattlesnakeroot]

Hey all ~ So sorry to be here two hours late. We got home just after three A.M. and I was ready to get online and chat, but our cable connection wasn’t working because Comcast was doing maintenance just in the area of my small town, tonight of all nights! So I tried to make good use of the time and spent about an hour typing up my first impressions

Comments

[ms_arithmancer]

I agree Rickman was amazing. In the Tower scene, for example. He gets one line, it's not even real words, but the strain in his voice...! And I liked that they gave him more scenes.

I understand the decision not to credit Snape with any saving of lives (other than maybe Draco) in the movie. It's a matter of trying to preserve the delicate balance in the books, between the evidence that Snape is a White Hat, and the red herrings suggesting he is a treacherous villain. They did what they could by including the UV, and several scenes in which Snape intercedes for/helps out Draco, but they also included Lupin giving an explanation that actually explains *all* of the above. Harry's agreement to get rid of the book is in that vein too, I suppose. But a lot of the book evidence against the man is emotionally colored by Harry's views, in a way that cannot be conveyed by movies. And on the "pro" side - we have Albus saying "kill me" to Harry, we havehim asking for Snape, we have Snape reluctant to do something the *same evening* he kills Albus, and we have Snape protecting Harry from Bella and appearing to show concern at what she has done to Harry. I can picture making a powerful case for Snape based on what is already in the movies, LOL.

I would presume Snape will get credit for saving Albus's life, anyway, in DH2. (Katie is likely to be long forgotten by movie audiences by that time.)

I agree about all the snogging. It was quite funny and true to the books. I also enjoyed Dan's performance as a wizard on Felix Felicis. The slightly automaton-like change in his mannerisms combined with that bland cheerfulness was a very subtle, yet effective, way to show the effect of the potion on Harry.

[rattlesnakeroot]

I forgot to mention the Felix! We talked about that after the movie - my youngest thought Dan was acting "woodenly" by which he meant that he had the same foolish grin on his face the whole time, but my daughter said she was happy to see him having fun with that scene. I loved it, myself. It was a nice

Great analysis of Snape - I agree about Katie Bell, it might have been strange if Snape was going around saving everyone, and surely in Prince's Tale they will show how Snape saved Albus from the horcrux ring.