HP movie-ness
All was well. The kids got up and stayed awake and had a great time. We arrived early enough to get good seats. The theater was sold out, so I'm glad we left when we did. Watching the people coming in to the theater, there to watch Harry Potter at midnight, was a big part of the fun. ;P
And the movie itself...I enjoyed very much, as did the heathens. They changed a lot of smallish things, they added a lot of small things (and I found that I loved the little things they added), they collapsed things (as is necessary for a movie recreating a book of that size), but consistently what struck me was the high caliber of the artistry of this film. You know how the first 2 films were meticulous visual renderings of the books? And how...well, boring they seem after a viewing or two? Not this film. It doesn't give me whiplash like PoA did, either, and it steps up the merging of artistry with enthusiasm for the story that I saw in GoF, making it (in my opinion) the best of the films yet. The only thing I disliked was the way they murdered the ending. But since it was so well done, I can forgive that, actually.
I think they eliminated all the best lines that Dumbledore gave in the book, really important lines like when he's fighting Voldemort and observes that there are worse things than death that he doesn't understand. And I think the tny snippet of memory they show to mark the long and emotionally necessary scene Harry has with him after Sirius' death seriously mangled and undercut the emotional impact of his death on Harry and on the audience. We didn't see ANY of Harry's rage and raw grief, and we didn't get to see what Dumbledore says is Harry's strength. I think they really messed that up.
They did a good and subtle job of showing how Sirius' mind works, though. I was impressed with that.
I was also very happy to see that they did NOT make Ron a stupid and whiny and cowardly character in this film, which he is NOT in the books!! He was loyal and worried about Harry and only as lovably goofy as he should be. Kudos to the film makers for staying true to the character rather than going for a cheap laugh every time.
Lots of Snape time, and it was very well done. I actually haven't thought Alan Rickman was right for the part since maybe the 2nd film, but he kind of changed my mind in this film. While he didn't go beserk when Harry accidentally saw his "worst memory" (and they had this happen during their lessons rather than Harry find a Pensieve), he did a quiet, restrained rage that was more chilling, and translated the impact better to film I think.
And, jesus, Imelda Staunton was unbelievable as Umbridge. OK, so she doesn't have the toad-like physicality of the book Umbridge, but I'm telling you it didn't matter. She was utterly fantastic, and actually much scarier than the book Umbridge. What terrific casting. And Helena Bonham Carter!!!! *swoon*
For all I disliked how they handled the emotional parts of the end, the visuals in the Department of Mysteries were breathtaking. The chase/fight with the kids and the Death Eaters could have been corny and wonky. It wasn't. They made it serious and frightening. Lucius Malfoy was not laughable for his incompetency in this film, he was not a caricature of the pompous upper crust. He even looked more dangerous. The fight between Voldemort and Dumbledore was explosive and wonderful.
The DA's training sessions were a wonderful thing in the film. They really gave it a sense of what Hogwarts is or should be, which is somewhat lacking from the other films. Harry, and Daniel Radcliffe himself, was at his best in these scenes.
I wish we could have seen more of the professors' resistance to Umbridge in the film, especially from McGonagall.
Luna was great, as were the thestrals. I wasn't as impressed with Grawp, but then again that character would have been a diffcult thing to bring to film in any case, and the way they handled his scenes were good, in my opinion, even if he looked a bit like a kid's plastic toy left to melt a bit in the sun.
Weasley twins...oh yes. Good as ever.
So overall, loved it. It had some heart and some artistic soul, which made up for the things they got wrong, all of which is entirely my own nonprofessional opinion, of course.
:)
And the movie itself...I enjoyed very much, as did the heathens. They changed a lot of smallish things, they added a lot of small things (and I found that I loved the little things they added), they collapsed things (as is necessary for a movie recreating a book of that size), but consistently what struck me was the high caliber of the artistry of this film. You know how the first 2 films were meticulous visual renderings of the books? And how...well, boring they seem after a viewing or two? Not this film. It doesn't give me whiplash like PoA did, either, and it steps up the merging of artistry with enthusiasm for the story that I saw in GoF, making it (in my opinion) the best of the films yet. The only thing I disliked was the way they murdered the ending. But since it was so well done, I can forgive that, actually.
I think they eliminated all the best lines that Dumbledore gave in the book, really important lines like when he's fighting Voldemort and observes that there are worse things than death that he doesn't understand. And I think the tny snippet of memory they show to mark the long and emotionally necessary scene Harry has with him after Sirius' death seriously mangled and undercut the emotional impact of his death on Harry and on the audience. We didn't see ANY of Harry's rage and raw grief, and we didn't get to see what Dumbledore says is Harry's strength. I think they really messed that up.
They did a good and subtle job of showing how Sirius' mind works, though. I was impressed with that.
I was also very happy to see that they did NOT make Ron a stupid and whiny and cowardly character in this film, which he is NOT in the books!! He was loyal and worried about Harry and only as lovably goofy as he should be. Kudos to the film makers for staying true to the character rather than going for a cheap laugh every time.
Lots of Snape time, and it was very well done. I actually haven't thought Alan Rickman was right for the part since maybe the 2nd film, but he kind of changed my mind in this film. While he didn't go beserk when Harry accidentally saw his "worst memory" (and they had this happen during their lessons rather than Harry find a Pensieve), he did a quiet, restrained rage that was more chilling, and translated the impact better to film I think.
And, jesus, Imelda Staunton was unbelievable as Umbridge. OK, so she doesn't have the toad-like physicality of the book Umbridge, but I'm telling you it didn't matter. She was utterly fantastic, and actually much scarier than the book Umbridge. What terrific casting. And Helena Bonham Carter!!!! *swoon*
For all I disliked how they handled the emotional parts of the end, the visuals in the Department of Mysteries were breathtaking. The chase/fight with the kids and the Death Eaters could have been corny and wonky. It wasn't. They made it serious and frightening. Lucius Malfoy was not laughable for his incompetency in this film, he was not a caricature of the pompous upper crust. He even looked more dangerous. The fight between Voldemort and Dumbledore was explosive and wonderful.
The DA's training sessions were a wonderful thing in the film. They really gave it a sense of what Hogwarts is or should be, which is somewhat lacking from the other films. Harry, and Daniel Radcliffe himself, was at his best in these scenes.
I wish we could have seen more of the professors' resistance to Umbridge in the film, especially from McGonagall.
Luna was great, as were the thestrals. I wasn't as impressed with Grawp, but then again that character would have been a diffcult thing to bring to film in any case, and the way they handled his scenes were good, in my opinion, even if he looked a bit like a kid's plastic toy left to melt a bit in the sun.
Weasley twins...oh yes. Good as ever.
So overall, loved it. It had some heart and some artistic soul, which made up for the things they got wrong, all of which is entirely my own nonprofessional opinion, of course.
:)