Loved the Film of Half-Blood Prince!

[harmony_bites]

I loved the film, thought it was a great ride. Not sure I'd count it as the best; I thought the third film, Prisoner of Azkaban with its director, Alfonso Cuarón, was the most stylish and smart, and Goblet of Fire the most moving. (I cried when Cedric died, his father's reaction was so heartrending, while this film didn't quite take me there.) But

Comments

[zeegrindylows]

I totally agree with your assessment here. I thought the movie was fabulous--probably now tied for favorite with Prisoner of Azkaban. And I was most impressed with Tom Felton's performance. The last couple of movies he's seemed very cartoonish and a little overacted. This time, I felt he was perfect--a nuanced blend of emotions and motivations. He was my favorite part.

[harmony_bites]

I thought so too. Even just his physical presence. He's grown--in more ways than one. More than any of the other "kids" he felt to me like an adult.

[lifeasanamazon]

I'm seeing it tomorrow and your review has whetted my appetite even more!

[harmony_bites]

Hee. Hope I didn't give out anything too spoilery then. I really enjoyed it immensely. I loved the entire "look" of it, from London to Hogwarts.

[lifeasanamazon]

I clicked on your cut knowing full well that there were spoilers! I just like to read opinions from people whose judgement I trust. :D

[harmony_bites]

Most on my f-list loved it, I think there's only been one naysayer. I'll be interested to see what you think!

[gioiamia]

Snape is not his victim, but someone who chose to enlist in that war under him. To deny that is to deny Snape a lot of his dignity and agency, and make him some weak tool.

I so, so agree. And I love the way you word this. You immediately gave me a mental image of how pissed Snape would be to see himself depicted as a victim by the public.

[harmony_bites]

It is hard if you care about Snape as a character to like Dumbledore much by the end of the last book. Fanfic asks some hard questions about him certainly. Was he so affected by his own prejudices about Dark Magic and Slytherin he didn't reach out and mentor Tom? (I was struck in the book that Tom wanted to go buy everything by himself, and Dumbledore let him. The film reminded of just how young Tom would have been then). How could he have left the Marauders so run amok they almost killed Snape and even after continued to harass him? How could he leave Harry with the Dursleys? How could he throw children into a fight?

And most of all for many Snape fen, how could he order Snape to kill him, having to know what that would cost him? How could he set Snape up to die by not telling him about the nature of the wand? (Assuming he didn't tell Snape

[tisiphone318]

I just saw it tonight. I agree with everything you said. Felton was amazing. And yes, I think this movie's theme is about choices. Wrong and otherwise. I'd also include Dumbledore's mistake in leaving Tom in that orphanage (not sure if the book did the same thing). If he knew that the child was exercising magic on Muggles, he should have placed him in a home where he could be monitored and directed in good ways.

I also really liked the interactions between Radcliffe and Watson. She's finally learned to scale her performance back a bit, and I think the movie benefitted from it.

[harmony_bites]

I think in the series until Book Seven we keep having parallels shown us between Harry, Draco, Voldemort, and Snape--I think that's the theme of the books in general ("It's our choices that make us...") I think in Book Seven, learning about Dumbledore's background, we can throw him into that mix too, and yes, I could imagine Dumbledore might feel regrets about how he acted with Tom Riddle--and with Severus Snape. It might be one reason he wanted so much to help Draco, and I like to believe that was what he was thinking when he said those words. (And yes, in the books Tom did stay in the orphanage when not in Hogwarts--in COS, he pleads with Dumbledore to stay over the holidays at Hogwarts instead and is refused)

And couldn't agree more about the scenes between Radciffe and Watson. They all seem to have come into their own the actors playing those kids--and I thought the friendship they depicted in scenes together was lovely--a highlight of the film.

[cflower3]

I'm happy you reviewed the movie. I haven't seen it and honestly don't plan to see it... But I like your comment: Snape is not his victim, but someone who chose to enlist in that war under him. To deny that is to deny Snape a lot of his dignity and agency, and make him some weak tool.

I think that in a way D. did "use" Snape for his own ends, but that Snape knew that this was part of D.'s actions and, therefore, reacted with knowledge and awareness of his choices and situations. I think it was very brave of him to do so. :)

[harmony_bites]

D is a general after all... And not see the film!