Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
This film was a pretty important deal for me, as far as the HP films go. Half-Blood Prince is one of my favorites of the books, (definitely in the top 2) and not only that, but The Ollivander Children is set during Book 6. Obviously Mr. Ollivander's capture, though it seems like a small event in the book, will be something that I really hope they do well. This film did not disappoint, believe me. But now, in the spirit of my former Beta Reader, timbo, I give to you my opinion in the form of RANDOM THOUGHTS, which are full of spoilers!
1. The more I watch Harry and Luna interacting, the more of a Harry/Luna shipper I become. Evanna Lynch, never stop being awesome.
1.5. Seriously, seriously, seriously? AWESOME film overall. The mood and the action was terrific and I never stop loving and marvelling at the geography and costumes and architecture that these producers make for the Wizarding World. It's so creative it makes me wish to have the producers put to work on The Ollivander Children, not even for the acting, just for the sets and costumes. This film had me laughing over and over and I think it was overall a great adaptation. My quibbles with it will come later.
1.66666. Especial shout-out goes to the Cave (what a brilliant idea to make the cave, the potion brew, and the cup out of the same rock crystal!) and, as mentioned below, that spinny thing of memories in Dumbledore's office.
2. My friends are probably very confused as to why I was so damn excited at two points: A. The kidnapping of Mr. Ollivander at the very very very beginning of the movie, and especially B., the moment when Dumbledore revealed his cabinet full of memories, glowing, golden-lit threads of memory. I seriously squeed and sat forward in my seat. Well, both of these incidences are extremely important to my story - Mr. Ollivander is an important character, and one of my main OCs is an Obliviator, who deals with memories on a daily basis. So a look at all those memory bottles delighted me to bits. On the other hand, seeing Mr. Ollivander's capture just wrenched me to my gut - get yer hands off my character, you goddamn dirty werewolf! I wanted to cry. Now, I don't mind at all that the scene was totally opposite to the way that I wrote it. On the contrary, I loved the drama of it. I just wished they'd stop manhandling poor Servaas. I'm so scared for him... and I know what happens to him in my 'verse!... to a point.
3. I'm not normally one to pay attention to soundtracks, but holy crap the music that played when Harry and Dumbledore arrived at the Cave. It reminded me heavily of the "Long ago I should have seen/All the things I could have been" chord from Beauty and the Beast (it doesn't have words in the film, but it's still very beautiful). The music just conveyed this incredible sense of sorrow, of sorrow and of wrongness in the world, like when Macbeth describes how the world is falling out of joint. That should be either the Horcrux Theme, or Merope's Theme. I almost want to buy the soundtrack just for that track.
4. Speaking of which, I really missed all the flashbacks of Voldie's family and his acquiring of the other Horcruxes. Those are really some of my favorite parts of Book 6, not to mention, more of 16-year-old Riddle actor, acting as both Tom Riddle Sr. and Tom Riddle Jr.? Yes, please. But, maybe, since they'll have so much damn time in movies seven and eight, they'll put that in there. (As long as we get plenty of Dumbledore flashbacks with plenty of Ho Yay, I will be happy).
5. Related from that, oh my god the actors playing Young Tom Riddle. They looked and acted so much alike it was great - and their acting was really creepy. Wonderful! :DDDD
6. If Sabrina and Joseph ever get to be like Lav-Lav and Ron in this movie, we her friends are honor-bound to kill them.
7. Terrorist attack on the Burrow? ... I'll take some Remus/Tonks interaction please, instead. Tonks even got a great new haircut!
8. But I don't really mind because Helena Bonham Carter is a freaking mother-loving genius. The way she walks as Bellatrix, the way she talks, that pout with those blood-red lips and that HAIR which is insane enough on its own, holly crap this woman is amazing. I really can't wait to see her and Julie Walters face off. I also for some odd reason want to see her play Andromeda Tonks in addition to Bellatrix Lestrange in movie seven. Heaven knows we'll have time. (Can you tell I'm not impressed with turning book 7 into two movies?)
9. This movie filled me with more ideas for the Ollivander family and what might happen to them throughout the sixth year. I'm going to assume this is a good thing.
10. I really really really really liked the cute black waitress that Harry meets at the very start of the movie. Canon be damned, that was adorable. Plus I can't help thinking what if he had developed a relationship with a cute Muggle girl over the summer? How would that have affected his mood and relationship with Ginny? If he kept it up, what would it be like to try and maintain a romantic relationship with a Muggle, someone who never sees him as "Harry Potter"? And then how could that be complicated in book seven? What if she was kidnapped or hurt? That's the fun of melodrama! I want a fanfiction!
11. SLUGHORN ROCKS, but for some reason reminds me of Colin Mocherie. Strongly of Colin Mocherie. Why didn't they cast Colin Mocherie as Professor Slughorn? Oh right, "I'm Canadian!"
12. For that matter, they should cast John Oliver as grown-up Harry. Just sayin.
13. On that note, I think Tom Felton, Daniel Radcliffe, and Rupert Grint are all shaping up to be fine actors. The Lovesick Ron scene just slew me - what comic brilliance. Shame that, as a Steve Kloves film, he was reduced to the buffoon for most of it. It didn't even look like he was in the last scene for a good five minutes.
14. Okay. Don't get me wrong. In general I loved the film. But the ending - the ending - the ending ------- after the super high tension and fear and HOMYGODTHEINFERI of the Cave, I felt like after we got back to Hogwarts and after Dumbledore died, the tension disippated. It wasn't as high-energy, it was not at a fever pitch. That wasn't a battle, that was a freaking joyride through Hogwarts with a minor act of vandalism. What's the point of coming to a school full of sleeping, vulnerable children, especially with Fenrir Greyback in tow, and just setting the gamekeeper's house on fire and shattering the Great Hall's implements? Not that the latter was not spectacular. How many holy things do I have to invoke to express the awesomeness that is Helena Bonham Carter's Bellatrix Lestrange? But seriously, even the scene where Harry chases down Snape had so little energy. I attribute it to Alan Rickman's Snape not once losing his cool. I tell you, I missed that "Don't -- call me coward!" scene. Also, I expected Dumbledore's death to be quicker, like, a shorter amount of time between Snape running up there and the Avada Kedavra. Also, Harry finding the locket out to be a fake off-screen? Not cool. Ending without the Hedwig's Theme chord? Also not cool. Also, not a word breathed about the "Heir of Slytherin" dealio? Totally not cool.
15. This Quidditch game, short as it was, was among the best in the series. There was only one thing it was missing, and that was Luna Lovegood as a commentator. *sigh* They had better cast a good actor as her dad in the next movies, because it will take a lot to get me to like her dad.
16. The tribute at the end, for Dumbledore, with the wands, lighting up - that was amazing. And this was probably unintentional, but I saw it as a bit of a memorial for Ollivander, too, who made all those wands. Wands are the extension of a wizard's willpower. That's what they are in Tarot and in HP - your wand is the way that you make your will come to life. They are parts of wizards as much as a wizard's arm. Makes Ollivander's disappearance a tragedy to the wizarding community.
17. Oh, and the scene where the Trio explores Ollivander's empty shop saddened me so much.
Overall, GO SEE THIS MOVIE and then we can all talk about it more!
1. The more I watch Harry and Luna interacting, the more of a Harry/Luna shipper I become. Evanna Lynch, never stop being awesome.
1.5. Seriously, seriously, seriously? AWESOME film overall. The mood and the action was terrific and I never stop loving and marvelling at the geography and costumes and architecture that these producers make for the Wizarding World. It's so creative it makes me wish to have the producers put to work on The Ollivander Children, not even for the acting, just for the sets and costumes. This film had me laughing over and over and I think it was overall a great adaptation. My quibbles with it will come later.
1.66666. Especial shout-out goes to the Cave (what a brilliant idea to make the cave, the potion brew, and the cup out of the same rock crystal!) and, as mentioned below, that spinny thing of memories in Dumbledore's office.
2. My friends are probably very confused as to why I was so damn excited at two points: A. The kidnapping of Mr. Ollivander at the very very very beginning of the movie, and especially B., the moment when Dumbledore revealed his cabinet full of memories, glowing, golden-lit threads of memory. I seriously squeed and sat forward in my seat. Well, both of these incidences are extremely important to my story - Mr. Ollivander is an important character, and one of my main OCs is an Obliviator, who deals with memories on a daily basis. So a look at all those memory bottles delighted me to bits. On the other hand, seeing Mr. Ollivander's capture just wrenched me to my gut - get yer hands off my character, you goddamn dirty werewolf! I wanted to cry. Now, I don't mind at all that the scene was totally opposite to the way that I wrote it. On the contrary, I loved the drama of it. I just wished they'd stop manhandling poor Servaas. I'm so scared for him... and I know what happens to him in my 'verse!... to a point.
3. I'm not normally one to pay attention to soundtracks, but holy crap the music that played when Harry and Dumbledore arrived at the Cave. It reminded me heavily of the "Long ago I should have seen/All the things I could have been" chord from Beauty and the Beast (it doesn't have words in the film, but it's still very beautiful). The music just conveyed this incredible sense of sorrow, of sorrow and of wrongness in the world, like when Macbeth describes how the world is falling out of joint. That should be either the Horcrux Theme, or Merope's Theme. I almost want to buy the soundtrack just for that track.
4. Speaking of which, I really missed all the flashbacks of Voldie's family and his acquiring of the other Horcruxes. Those are really some of my favorite parts of Book 6, not to mention, more of 16-year-old Riddle actor, acting as both Tom Riddle Sr. and Tom Riddle Jr.? Yes, please. But, maybe, since they'll have so much damn time in movies seven and eight, they'll put that in there. (As long as we get plenty of Dumbledore flashbacks with plenty of Ho Yay, I will be happy).
5. Related from that, oh my god the actors playing Young Tom Riddle. They looked and acted so much alike it was great - and their acting was really creepy. Wonderful! :DDDD
6. If Sabrina and Joseph ever get to be like Lav-Lav and Ron in this movie, we her friends are honor-bound to kill them.
7. Terrorist attack on the Burrow? ... I'll take some Remus/Tonks interaction please, instead. Tonks even got a great new haircut!
8. But I don't really mind because Helena Bonham Carter is a freaking mother-loving genius. The way she walks as Bellatrix, the way she talks, that pout with those blood-red lips and that HAIR which is insane enough on its own, holly crap this woman is amazing. I really can't wait to see her and Julie Walters face off. I also for some odd reason want to see her play Andromeda Tonks in addition to Bellatrix Lestrange in movie seven. Heaven knows we'll have time. (Can you tell I'm not impressed with turning book 7 into two movies?)
9. This movie filled me with more ideas for the Ollivander family and what might happen to them throughout the sixth year. I'm going to assume this is a good thing.
10. I really really really really liked the cute black waitress that Harry meets at the very start of the movie. Canon be damned, that was adorable. Plus I can't help thinking what if he had developed a relationship with a cute Muggle girl over the summer? How would that have affected his mood and relationship with Ginny? If he kept it up, what would it be like to try and maintain a romantic relationship with a Muggle, someone who never sees him as "Harry Potter"? And then how could that be complicated in book seven? What if she was kidnapped or hurt? That's the fun of melodrama! I want a fanfiction!
11. SLUGHORN ROCKS, but for some reason reminds me of Colin Mocherie. Strongly of Colin Mocherie. Why didn't they cast Colin Mocherie as Professor Slughorn? Oh right, "I'm Canadian!"
12. For that matter, they should cast John Oliver as grown-up Harry. Just sayin.
13. On that note, I think Tom Felton, Daniel Radcliffe, and Rupert Grint are all shaping up to be fine actors. The Lovesick Ron scene just slew me - what comic brilliance. Shame that, as a Steve Kloves film, he was reduced to the buffoon for most of it. It didn't even look like he was in the last scene for a good five minutes.
14. Okay. Don't get me wrong. In general I loved the film. But the ending - the ending - the ending ------- after the super high tension and fear and HOMYGODTHEINFERI of the Cave, I felt like after we got back to Hogwarts and after Dumbledore died, the tension disippated. It wasn't as high-energy, it was not at a fever pitch. That wasn't a battle, that was a freaking joyride through Hogwarts with a minor act of vandalism. What's the point of coming to a school full of sleeping, vulnerable children, especially with Fenrir Greyback in tow, and just setting the gamekeeper's house on fire and shattering the Great Hall's implements? Not that the latter was not spectacular. How many holy things do I have to invoke to express the awesomeness that is Helena Bonham Carter's Bellatrix Lestrange? But seriously, even the scene where Harry chases down Snape had so little energy. I attribute it to Alan Rickman's Snape not once losing his cool. I tell you, I missed that "Don't -- call me coward!" scene. Also, I expected Dumbledore's death to be quicker, like, a shorter amount of time between Snape running up there and the Avada Kedavra. Also, Harry finding the locket out to be a fake off-screen? Not cool. Ending without the Hedwig's Theme chord? Also not cool. Also, not a word breathed about the "Heir of Slytherin" dealio? Totally not cool.
15. This Quidditch game, short as it was, was among the best in the series. There was only one thing it was missing, and that was Luna Lovegood as a commentator. *sigh* They had better cast a good actor as her dad in the next movies, because it will take a lot to get me to like her dad.
16. The tribute at the end, for Dumbledore, with the wands, lighting up - that was amazing. And this was probably unintentional, but I saw it as a bit of a memorial for Ollivander, too, who made all those wands. Wands are the extension of a wizard's willpower. That's what they are in Tarot and in HP - your wand is the way that you make your will come to life. They are parts of wizards as much as a wizard's arm. Makes Ollivander's disappearance a tragedy to the wizarding community.
17. Oh, and the scene where the Trio explores Ollivander's empty shop saddened me so much.
Overall, GO SEE THIS MOVIE and then we can all talk about it more!