I want to see the new Harry Potter movie
This morning I read a few reviews of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and now more than ever I'd like to see it. I've been reading that it's dark and foreboding, that the story carries a lot of weight, and is overall a very emotional and character-driven movie. In short, I've been hearing that it's one of the best movies to be released this summer.
Oddly enough, I've never been that into the Harry Potter movies before. Back when the first movie came out I read reviews that claimed that it followed the first book so closely that it really had nothing new to offer to those who have read the book. Being a firm believer in the idea that the book is always better than the movie, I decided I'd skip the movies and just read the books if the trend of absolute fidelity to the source material would continue. Since then I have actually seen most of the movies almost by accident. My friends dragged me along to see the third movie (which I thought was actually really good), I caught the fourth movie on cable one night (I thought it was alright up until the intense and satisfying third act), and I watched the fifth movie on DVD at a friend's place (I thought it was just alright, but it was based on my least favorite novel in the series). I caught bits and pieces of the first movie, and almost none of the second. Seeing as how I've read all the books I figured I wasn't missing all that much anyway.
In other words, I've never gotten too excited about the movies, but I am excited about Half-Blood Prince. Not only was the book one of my favorites in the series, it sounds like the movie itself is truly great. I don't expect it to be as good as the book (movies almost never are), and I'm sure the hardcore Potter fans will find a lot to nitpick and/or hate about this movie, but as a movie in itself it sounds like something really special. There's also the fact that a friend of mine is a huge Harry Potter fan, and she's more excited about seeing this movie than I am. It would be a lot of fun to go see it with her if we can find a time where we can both go. If not, I'll still probably see it regardless at some point.
Oddly enough, I've never been that into the Harry Potter movies before. Back when the first movie came out I read reviews that claimed that it followed the first book so closely that it really had nothing new to offer to those who have read the book. Being a firm believer in the idea that the book is always better than the movie, I decided I'd skip the movies and just read the books if the trend of absolute fidelity to the source material would continue. Since then I have actually seen most of the movies almost by accident. My friends dragged me along to see the third movie (which I thought was actually really good), I caught the fourth movie on cable one night (I thought it was alright up until the intense and satisfying third act), and I watched the fifth movie on DVD at a friend's place (I thought it was just alright, but it was based on my least favorite novel in the series). I caught bits and pieces of the first movie, and almost none of the second. Seeing as how I've read all the books I figured I wasn't missing all that much anyway.
In other words, I've never gotten too excited about the movies, but I am excited about Half-Blood Prince. Not only was the book one of my favorites in the series, it sounds like the movie itself is truly great. I don't expect it to be as good as the book (movies almost never are), and I'm sure the hardcore Potter fans will find a lot to nitpick and/or hate about this movie, but as a movie in itself it sounds like something really special. There's also the fact that a friend of mine is a huge Harry Potter fan, and she's more excited about seeing this movie than I am. It would be a lot of fun to go see it with her if we can find a time where we can both go. If not, I'll still probably see it regardless at some point.