(no subject)
Today I went to go see Harry Potter 5 again! My mom hadn't seen it, so I volunteered to see it again, plus we had two free movie tickets, so all worked out well. I quite enjoyed it the second time round - I really got a chance to enjoy some stuff I missed the first time. So, my second impressions on it all are as follows:
I wish Tonks had been in it a bit more. She was much more outgoing in the books, but in this one, she had her moments (namely, "Don't call me Nymphandora) and overall, I felt like the Harry/Tonks friendship was a bit odd. In the books, of course, they're not that close or anything, but certainly they're friends. And in the movie, there were these two moments where the camera focussed on the two of them - once when they were flying, just before they almost fly into a cruise boat in London on broomsticks, they smile at each other and swerve to avoid the boat, and the second one was as she passed Harry in the hallway of Grimmauld Place, she smiles as she walks by him. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but had I not known better, I would've thought they sort of liked each other. Possible romance.
I still really liked Luna, Umbridge, and also to add to my list, Bellatrix Lestrange! Or, I mean, I like the way she was portrayed - she was perfect as the mad, devoted Death Eater (I didn't remember, but as she sat in her Azkaban cell, the Dark Mark grew more pronounced on her skin, and she was holding her arm up to her face and she licked it) who was both repulsive and horrifyingly fascinating to watch. I think overall, there's a lot of talent among the adults that's not tapped into as much as it could be. Bellatrix had her moments, and so did Umbridge, but I'm referring mainly to McGonagall and the two Dursley parents. (I would've thought Vernon would've been furious with Harry - yelling, losing his temper, going bright red, threatening him, etc) To some extent, I wonder if Maggie Smith is too gentle to play McGonagall - McGonagall's old, yes, but she's much pushier than Maggie Smith has been. Remember when she yelled at Umbridge in the fifth book, screaming that if Harry wanted to be an Auror, she would coach him nightly if she had to? I can't see Maggie Smith doing that, but I may be surprised.
I would say the same of Dumbledore, but I still really hate this new Dumbledore (he will forever be the new Dumbledore) so I thought we should've had less of him. Him personally, not Dumbledore. I really liked the old dead guy. Richard Harris. I hate how this new one is very abrupt; I felt particularly irritated by him in the scene where he rescues Trelawney. As Umbridge threatens him, he looks so weary, (I imagine Dumbledore being weary, yes, but still being polite and quirky nevertheless) and then he yells at the students (Don't you all have studying to do?) which I found completely out of character. Also when Umbridge interrupted him at the beginning-of-the-year banquet, he also looked weary and surprised. In the book, he was surprised, but then "stood alertly, as though desiring nothing more than to hear her speak."
As for the leads, I was happy with them, of course. I like Dan as Harry; he's totally surpassed all my expectations. I mean, when you see a little round-faced eleven-year old Daniel Radcliffe, you're like, Eh, okay, whatever...he'll do. But he's done really well, I think. He seemed really muscular, though, not in a super-buff way, but just...well defined, haha, which I consider slightly of character, but I won't whine because that seems nit-picky. Since everything's from Harry's perspective in the books, JK Rowling wouldn't exactly write that Harry looked in the mirror and realized that working out had paid off, because that would be out of Harry's modest/humble self, so I guess it's possible. Still, overall, definitely a good pick, whoever picked him. I guess he's turning into a much more serious actor (that Equus play, right? The one where he's naked? Ms Gotterson said that it was a very 'frightening' play) which is good for Harry as well...Harry sure grows up a lot in these books.
I liked Rupert a lot in this movie. Particularly when he stands up with Harry in the Gryffindor common room and later on, sniggers at Snape for not undergoing interrogation. Oh! And even more so when he and Hermione duel in the DA! I think, though, that while Ron's meant to provide some comic relief, there should've been more serious Ron scenes, because Ron's more than just funny. And I think that readers know this, of course, but the rest of the movie-goers won't, because he's just always funny. I hope in the next two books, we'll see more of a serious Ron, or at least, a Ron who doesn't exist solely for humor. I guess we got a glimpse of that when he and Harry fought in the fourth movie, but then, that really totals up either funny or angry. Maybe I'm being too harsh on him. We saw some jealousy when Grawp became Hermione's admirer.
Of course, I liked Emma, but what else is new. I heard this movie was one of her favorites, because Hermione changed a bit, helping form the DA, breaking rules, and so on, because in her words, it gets a bit "tiresome" to always "be at the edge of a shot looking concerned". Which, I guess, is true; most Hermione shots, she does look rather anxious. I read once as well that she was cast because the directors felt that she had this "directness" with the role, and I can see what they mean, even if I can't explain it. I think I'm pretty happy with her - like Dan with Harry, I feel like she can handle all the emotional ranges of Hermione. I was thinking, after having read the seventh book, of the scene in the Malfoy Manor, and how hard it would be to act out Hermione in that situation. Or, at least, because we've never seen Hermione in any real danger like that. In the brief moment that Harry saw Sirius being tortured by Voldemort in the movie, I was a little disappointed because the cruciatus curse would seemingly have provoked much, much more of a response. Dan was fine, in the fourth movie, but somehow, I got the impression after watching this movie, that Emma would be fine for that scene. I think it was seeing her both in the Ministry and also when she was screaming at Umbridge not to hurt the centaur.
I wish we could've seen more dueling at the Ministry - especially given Sirius his moment of glory as he taunted Bellatrix, just before he was killed. I wasn't completely satisfied with the Death Eaters/Phoenix members morphing into some sort of white and dark Patronuses, but whatever.
So, all in all, good film. I liked it much better the second time around.