Let’s start off with a quote from instant messaging…
me:
I have a crush on Movie Harry Potter
so cute!PpFt:
ah, *now* you have a crush on Movie Harry Potterme:
well yea..
i dont do underage okay
I’m going to preface this little rambling by saying that I need to watch the movie a second time to really see where I stand.
[SPOILER WARNING]
For now, there are hits and misses but overall the movie was enjoyable if rather clunky for whatever reason.
Biggest hits:
- the three main stars are getting so much better in their roles. I genuinely enjoyed the comedy and the interplay this time rather than rolling my eyes at contrived efforts in the other movies before.
- randomly, everything will come together and a scene would be so perfect that I have no words for it. These scenes make me glow with warmth inside. The Quidditch scenes in HBP does this for me.
- Dan Radcliffe in the Felix Felicis scenes – GOLD!
Biggest misses:
- uh.. talk about dialing in your performances. They might as well have CGI’ed Robbie Coltrane into this one for all the acting he did.
- the WTF scene of Bellatrix attacking the burrows. Someone explain the point of this and maybe I won’t be so unhappy about it. And believe me, I am plenty unhappy about this and the camera work is but only one reason.
-my biggest, and i mean HUGEST sore point about this movie is Draco and the vanishing cabinet. I really wish I could find someone who’s never read the book but has only seen the movies and ask them what they thought was the point of him working so hard on the frakkin cupboard for. To smuggle Bellatrix and the two unnamed death eaters in and…. witness his almost-killing of Dumbledore?? WTF? My friend who accompanied me to watch the movie suggested that they cut the entire Hogwarts battle out of the movie because it would be too similar to the one in Book 7. Okay, fair. But in doing so they’ve made Draco’s scenes – being all emo in the Room of Requirement – POINTLESS. And that really chaps my ass. *deep breaths*
- I’m going to say it might be because I’m tired but I felt that visually the movie wasn’t as cohesive. I felt like I was in different worlds even while in Hogwarts the whole time. Even the muggle world was whacked. Loved the opening to Order of the Phoenix way better.
Random appreciation:
- Rupert Grint is just gold throughout.
- PpFt pointed out that the Lav-Won-Won in the movie is not as geli as the book. Agreed.
- McGonagall and the Weasley Twins – always awesome and needed more screen time.
Where your spoiler warning?
Yes, the comedic elements have improved, apparently at the expense of the tension/drama elements.
Agree that the OotP opening was much stronger. The scene with the cut to complete silence in OotP when Harry realizes Sirius is gone – there’s nothing to equal that in HBP.
Did NOT like Narcissa’s Cruella De Ville hair. But then I’ve always thought of Narcissa as almost Fleur-like in built.
For the record, my crush on Movie Hermione is finally starting to rival that of my crush on Dan.
The Oppugno! scene never worked in my head, but it worked on screen just fabulous.
I must have been REALLY tired and out of it because you and one other person have already talked about crushing Hermione while my impression wasn’t that deep. Sucketh. Have to rewatch for sure.
And just realised I do not have OotP on DVD. This is unacceptable.
Yes, the comedic elements have improved, apparently at the expense of the tension/drama elements.
Thanks for bringing this up, I had it in my notes but left it out for some off reason. Anyway, this was really the crux of the problem for me – this movie was equal parts bad and good. Very conflicting feelings.