Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince
Jul. 19th, 2009 03:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annundrielYesterday ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sdrohc_ratiug and I saw Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince (which had awesome previews before hand) and then we went out for pho and bubble tea. Bubble tea! In Moses Lake! I'd say Hell has frozen over, but it is way too hot outside for that to be true.
So let me just say that I really enjoyed the film. It wasn't perfect, but it hit the right emotional notes (for the most part) for me and I had a lovely time in the theater (save for the woman sitting next to me whose cell phone rang twice and then she listened to her voice-mail and then she went to the back of the theater and made a call. UGH.).
Anyway, things as they occur to me:
- I'm not sure there's been a Harry Potter movie yet that I didn't have some issues with the editing and pacing. This was no exception and that, I think, might have to do with what they chose to include/exclude. Cuts from horrific scenes to humorous ones or from romantic to serious were odd. I wonder if perhaps it would have worked better had they included some of the meatier bits of plot.
- Plotting. Um. Hmm. The more I think about this, the more it bothers me. They completely dropped the Half-Blood Prince mystery, to the point that I forgot about it until the end when I was going, "Wait, wait a minute. Harry still doesn't know." I also would have liked a little more focus on Harry's crazy obsession with Draco and his utter belief that Snape is Evil with a capital E.
- BUT. I actually liked the change in Dumbledore's death scene with Harry being unpetrified for the whole thing. The changes are just going to kill him. Because in this adaptation, Harry saw Snape, he interacted with Snape and then trusted him enough to listen to him. And I'm not entirely sure that could have worked in the original scene. Or it could have, I suppose, and given Harry that much more reason to be angry at Dumbledore for trusting Snape and influencing Harry enough to trust him. Because this time? This way? Harry might have been able to change the outcome.
- I've seen people talk about being underwhelmed by the last part of the movie, starting with Harry and Dumbledore going after the horcrux and ending with, well, the credits I think. And I get that; the cave was a little underwhelming (which is a pity, since I love that shot of them arriving outside, the sea stormy around them). Until they got to the horcrux, and then Harry feeding the potion to Dumbledore killed me. It hurt watching Harry tell Dumbledore it would be okay if he just drank and Dumbledore silently opening his mouth for him. And all the while we know that what's coming next and that this is all for nothing. For me the scene was really about how Harry and Dumbledore relate to one another.
I did love Harry being pulled into the lake, though. And Dumbledore saving him. Which ties into...
- I love the way this movie was filmed. Absolutely beautiful and interesting to look at. The details are amazing. It makes me wish the first couple of films looked more like the last few and less, as Dahlia said, Chris Columbus.
The scene with the lake was one of those that just hit me visually. So was Snape healing Draco in the bathroom. Harry crying over Dumbledore's body. The raising of the wands. The shot looking into the Great Hall during Dumbledore's beginning of the year speech (with the dark hallway outside and the aurors on guard, the Hall itself warm and bright within - nice visual representation of what's happening around them). Those were some of the main ones I remember. There were other shots, too, though. Little things.
Also, the stages that Dahlia pointed out, people being set up on levels (most notably in the Burrow when Harry first arrives). I want to just immerse myself in the whole thing, the costumes and sets and props. The world. It's just neat.
I did not, however, like the blocking in the final scene with the trio. What is that, putting Harry and Hermione together on the balcony and leaving Ron in the background? That's just not right, and continues to show that the writer does not like Ron and favors Hermione. Which is okay to an extent, but not cool when it's about the TRIO, the three of them sticking together no matter what. Would it have killed them to give Ron a line here?
I did like the scene between Harry and Hermione where they bond over how much it sucks that the people they care about are with someone else.
- I am okay with a lot of the changes they made. One or two made me scratch my head a little, but I can't remember which ones specifically. I've never been a serious stickler for complete faithfulness to the text because some things that work on the page do not work on the screen. Or cloud an otherwise straightforward plot with characters non-fans may not be familiar with. In general, I'm saying, not just in HP fandom.
Like removing Weasleys or other characters (like having Luna find Harry on the train). Too many characters and your non-fan audience start to go, "Who's that?" and become confused. Like all of those freaking names in Lord of the Rings that start with "E" and show up for three paragraphs. Confusing!
- There was a nice use of silence in the film, I felt. Particularly the mourning of Dumbledore. Really lovely scene.
- They took out one of my favorite lines: "I am not worried, Harry. I am with you."
- Everyone was brilliant, I thought. Would have liked more Neville. And Luna.
Draco killed me the most. Oh, every time he was on screen I just ached for him. Way to go, Tom Felton. Remember when Malfoy was just a little banana-headed brat? Not anymore. Whether he was the main focus of a scene or just off to the edge of the screen, Draco was breaking my heart.
Snape also really got to me. Especially the final scene between him and Dumbledore. The way Dumbledore says, "Please" and Snape rushes out the curse. And then the hurried leaving, Bella ready to party but Snape and Draco both looking a bit ill. Yeah, they really kind of stole the show for me. Which is why I wish there was more of them.
Emma Watson was also impressive. Rupert Grint is still basically my favorite. (Mom says she saw the cast interviewed and they asked what sort of potions they'd be interested in and Rupert said, "A cure for swine flu." Heh.) Daniel Radcliffe still talks like he's got a mouth full of marbles occasionally. I was more impressed with Bonnie Wright than I was expecting. Not sure about their chemistry, though.
- Weird that they took out the attack on the school.
- Harry on Felix Felicis was brilliant. He needs to be on it all of the time. Also, Ron and the love spell. Hilarious! Snuggling up to Slughorn, falling over the back of the sofa. I love it.
- Tom Riddle is creepy. And I still love that exchange between Harry and Dumbledore and whether or not he had a feeling when he first met him.
I have so much more I could say, a lot of stuff just bouncing around in my head. But that's good for now. I'm tired of putting thoughts together.
sdrohc_ratiug and I saw Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince (which had awesome previews before hand) and then we went out for pho and bubble tea. Bubble tea! In Moses Lake! I'd say Hell has frozen over, but it is way too hot outside for that to be true.So let me just say that I really enjoyed the film. It wasn't perfect, but it hit the right emotional notes (for the most part) for me and I had a lovely time in the theater (save for the woman sitting next to me whose cell phone rang twice and then she listened to her voice-mail and then she went to the back of the theater and made a call. UGH.).
Anyway, things as they occur to me:
- I'm not sure there's been a Harry Potter movie yet that I didn't have some issues with the editing and pacing. This was no exception and that, I think, might have to do with what they chose to include/exclude. Cuts from horrific scenes to humorous ones or from romantic to serious were odd. I wonder if perhaps it would have worked better had they included some of the meatier bits of plot.
- Plotting. Um. Hmm. The more I think about this, the more it bothers me. They completely dropped the Half-Blood Prince mystery, to the point that I forgot about it until the end when I was going, "Wait, wait a minute. Harry still doesn't know." I also would have liked a little more focus on Harry's crazy obsession with Draco and his utter belief that Snape is Evil with a capital E.
- BUT. I actually liked the change in Dumbledore's death scene with Harry being unpetrified for the whole thing. The changes are just going to kill him. Because in this adaptation, Harry saw Snape, he interacted with Snape and then trusted him enough to listen to him. And I'm not entirely sure that could have worked in the original scene. Or it could have, I suppose, and given Harry that much more reason to be angry at Dumbledore for trusting Snape and influencing Harry enough to trust him. Because this time? This way? Harry might have been able to change the outcome.
- I've seen people talk about being underwhelmed by the last part of the movie, starting with Harry and Dumbledore going after the horcrux and ending with, well, the credits I think. And I get that; the cave was a little underwhelming (which is a pity, since I love that shot of them arriving outside, the sea stormy around them). Until they got to the horcrux, and then Harry feeding the potion to Dumbledore killed me. It hurt watching Harry tell Dumbledore it would be okay if he just drank and Dumbledore silently opening his mouth for him. And all the while we know that what's coming next and that this is all for nothing. For me the scene was really about how Harry and Dumbledore relate to one another.
I did love Harry being pulled into the lake, though. And Dumbledore saving him. Which ties into...
- I love the way this movie was filmed. Absolutely beautiful and interesting to look at. The details are amazing. It makes me wish the first couple of films looked more like the last few and less, as Dahlia said, Chris Columbus.
The scene with the lake was one of those that just hit me visually. So was Snape healing Draco in the bathroom. Harry crying over Dumbledore's body. The raising of the wands. The shot looking into the Great Hall during Dumbledore's beginning of the year speech (with the dark hallway outside and the aurors on guard, the Hall itself warm and bright within - nice visual representation of what's happening around them). Those were some of the main ones I remember. There were other shots, too, though. Little things.
Also, the stages that Dahlia pointed out, people being set up on levels (most notably in the Burrow when Harry first arrives). I want to just immerse myself in the whole thing, the costumes and sets and props. The world. It's just neat.
I did not, however, like the blocking in the final scene with the trio. What is that, putting Harry and Hermione together on the balcony and leaving Ron in the background? That's just not right, and continues to show that the writer does not like Ron and favors Hermione. Which is okay to an extent, but not cool when it's about the TRIO, the three of them sticking together no matter what. Would it have killed them to give Ron a line here?
I did like the scene between Harry and Hermione where they bond over how much it sucks that the people they care about are with someone else.
- I am okay with a lot of the changes they made. One or two made me scratch my head a little, but I can't remember which ones specifically. I've never been a serious stickler for complete faithfulness to the text because some things that work on the page do not work on the screen. Or cloud an otherwise straightforward plot with characters non-fans may not be familiar with. In general, I'm saying, not just in HP fandom.
Like removing Weasleys or other characters (like having Luna find Harry on the train). Too many characters and your non-fan audience start to go, "Who's that?" and become confused. Like all of those freaking names in Lord of the Rings that start with "E" and show up for three paragraphs. Confusing!
- There was a nice use of silence in the film, I felt. Particularly the mourning of Dumbledore. Really lovely scene.
- They took out one of my favorite lines: "I am not worried, Harry. I am with you."
- Everyone was brilliant, I thought. Would have liked more Neville. And Luna.
Draco killed me the most. Oh, every time he was on screen I just ached for him. Way to go, Tom Felton. Remember when Malfoy was just a little banana-headed brat? Not anymore. Whether he was the main focus of a scene or just off to the edge of the screen, Draco was breaking my heart.
Snape also really got to me. Especially the final scene between him and Dumbledore. The way Dumbledore says, "Please" and Snape rushes out the curse. And then the hurried leaving, Bella ready to party but Snape and Draco both looking a bit ill. Yeah, they really kind of stole the show for me. Which is why I wish there was more of them.
Emma Watson was also impressive. Rupert Grint is still basically my favorite. (Mom says she saw the cast interviewed and they asked what sort of potions they'd be interested in and Rupert said, "A cure for swine flu." Heh.) Daniel Radcliffe still talks like he's got a mouth full of marbles occasionally. I was more impressed with Bonnie Wright than I was expecting. Not sure about their chemistry, though.
- Weird that they took out the attack on the school.
- Harry on Felix Felicis was brilliant. He needs to be on it all of the time. Also, Ron and the love spell. Hilarious! Snuggling up to Slughorn, falling over the back of the sofa. I love it.
- Tom Riddle is creepy. And I still love that exchange between Harry and Dumbledore and whether or not he had a feeling when he first met him.
I have so much more I could say, a lot of stuff just bouncing around in my head. But that's good for now. I'm tired of putting thoughts together.
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-20 05:33 pm (UTC)They took out two great lines - the Dumbledore one you mentioned and Snapes "I AM NOT A COWARD." Both important. Both deleted.
Tom Felton was fabulous in this. I was really looking forward to it and he did not deny.
Harry on FF was one of the best parts of the movie.
Dumbledore/Harry death scene was touching. As was when they showed his empty chair in the great hall.
The scene where Harry touches the ring, has the flashback sort of thing and then did the head twist/voldemort thing? Great acting chops.
I was bummed for no battle. I was bummed for less Weasleys. I was bummed for the fact they are going to have to EXPLAIN a lot.
I'm thinking of seeing it again.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-23 11:30 pm (UTC)I forgot about Snape's "I am not a coward" line! Seriously, with that and Dumbledore's, what are they thinking? Actually, what are they thinking with a lot of the deletions?
I understand it on the one hand because the book really was just a stepping stone to DH, but at the same time...they should have included more of paranoid Harry and the mystery surrounding everything.
I am always bummed by the lack of Weasleys. It sucks that they've apparently decided the older Weasleys don't really need to exist.
I pretty much loved all of the Dumbledore scenes. And Snape. And Draco. And Luna. Actually, y'know, I think you could say I loved all of the scenes, I just didn't necessarily agree with their order. Does that make sense?
I was bummed for the fact they are going to have to EXPLAIN a lot.
This just made me think...they're only going to have to explain the stuff they include. Which means they may have less explaining to do than it looks like if we're getting a slightly more stream-lined (for lack of a better word) plot. Which is still dumb. But, Lord help me, I still really enjoyed the movie.