(no subject)
Nov. 18th, 2005 09:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mari4212First off, I took a Latin test today after having missed a lot of the classes leadin up to it. I don't think I managed an A, but I'm confident I got a B. So yay!
Secondly, I saw the Harry Potter movie last night. My thoughts are under the cut, don't click if you don't want some spoilers.
I have very mixed feelings about this movie. Parts of it were very good, and parts of it were absolutely atrocious. There wasn't much middle ground.
Good parts:
+Neville!!!!!! He was so cute, and he was the first boy to stand up and dance with the girls during the practice, and he loved dancing and guh. *loves Neville*
+Maggie Smith as McGonagall. She did a wonderful job, and will forever be my McGonagall.
+Snape monitoring during the study session and getting such a thrill out of slapping Ron and Harry upside the head for talking.
+The dance practices.
+Hagrid and Madame Maxime's romance was touching and well played.
+The climax, where Voldemort is reborn, up to Harry's return to Hogwarts was excellent.
+Harry's clinging to Cedric's body, sobbing, and then Amos Diggory's grief were excellent.
+Dumbledore's talk with Harry at the very end.
Dislikes:
-The movie really felt like a greatest hits version of GOF. You blink from one big scene to the next, with little continuity. If you've read the book, you can make sense of it, but it gets really jarring at times. I understand they can't film the entire book, but could they at least make it more continuous?
-Characterization issues. It's most evident with Dumbledore, but there were several times when I was jarred out of the movie because the characterizations were just so off.
-So much of the backstory that sets up the various different situations, and which leads into the rest of the series was left out.
-No Quidditch World Cup. They do the intro, and then skip right on to the celebration afterwards.
-Costuming department? You're all fired. Come back when you've read the books and know what they are supposed to be wearing. I'll give you some creative licence, and the Durmstrung outfits were great, but there was so much that you just ignored, and it got beyond irksome.
-"Eternal Glory"? What the heck is up with that? That is not Dumbledore. That is pod!Dumbledore, who has apparently abducted our beloved headmaster for most of the movie.
-the character assasination of Ron. Having Ron see the dragons and not tell Harry directly destroys a lot of what makes Ron what he is. Yeah he was jealous, but he's also a true and loyal friend.
-The Crouches were not done well. Crouch senior comes off looking too noble given what we know from the books, and Crouch junior comes off as psychotic far too early on. And since Crouch senior is painted as being noble, Sirius's comments about him come from nowhere and are not supported.
-The other champions are not fleshed out. Cedric is, at least a little, but there's nothing there for either Fleur or Viktor.
-And last but not least, I've decided that Hermione is not actually in the movies. Emma Watson is playing a character loosely based on a few fanfics about Hermione. Our Hermione was shoved into the vanishing cabinet sometime shortly after the second movie, and she hasn't surfaced since. Harry and Ron are under a confundus charm so they didn't notice the switch.
On the whole, the movie is okay. But I've decided that I really don't want to see more of my favorite books being turned into movies if they come out like this. Harry Potter had the potential to be wonderful, not just okay.
Secondly, I saw the Harry Potter movie last night. My thoughts are under the cut, don't click if you don't want some spoilers.
I have very mixed feelings about this movie. Parts of it were very good, and parts of it were absolutely atrocious. There wasn't much middle ground.
Good parts:
+Neville!!!!!! He was so cute, and he was the first boy to stand up and dance with the girls during the practice, and he loved dancing and guh. *loves Neville*
+Maggie Smith as McGonagall. She did a wonderful job, and will forever be my McGonagall.
+Snape monitoring during the study session and getting such a thrill out of slapping Ron and Harry upside the head for talking.
+The dance practices.
+Hagrid and Madame Maxime's romance was touching and well played.
+The climax, where Voldemort is reborn, up to Harry's return to Hogwarts was excellent.
+Harry's clinging to Cedric's body, sobbing, and then Amos Diggory's grief were excellent.
+Dumbledore's talk with Harry at the very end.
Dislikes:
-The movie really felt like a greatest hits version of GOF. You blink from one big scene to the next, with little continuity. If you've read the book, you can make sense of it, but it gets really jarring at times. I understand they can't film the entire book, but could they at least make it more continuous?
-Characterization issues. It's most evident with Dumbledore, but there were several times when I was jarred out of the movie because the characterizations were just so off.
-So much of the backstory that sets up the various different situations, and which leads into the rest of the series was left out.
-No Quidditch World Cup. They do the intro, and then skip right on to the celebration afterwards.
-Costuming department? You're all fired. Come back when you've read the books and know what they are supposed to be wearing. I'll give you some creative licence, and the Durmstrung outfits were great, but there was so much that you just ignored, and it got beyond irksome.
-"Eternal Glory"? What the heck is up with that? That is not Dumbledore. That is pod!Dumbledore, who has apparently abducted our beloved headmaster for most of the movie.
-the character assasination of Ron. Having Ron see the dragons and not tell Harry directly destroys a lot of what makes Ron what he is. Yeah he was jealous, but he's also a true and loyal friend.
-The Crouches were not done well. Crouch senior comes off looking too noble given what we know from the books, and Crouch junior comes off as psychotic far too early on. And since Crouch senior is painted as being noble, Sirius's comments about him come from nowhere and are not supported.
-The other champions are not fleshed out. Cedric is, at least a little, but there's nothing there for either Fleur or Viktor.
-And last but not least, I've decided that Hermione is not actually in the movies. Emma Watson is playing a character loosely based on a few fanfics about Hermione. Our Hermione was shoved into the vanishing cabinet sometime shortly after the second movie, and she hasn't surfaced since. Harry and Ron are under a confundus charm so they didn't notice the switch.
On the whole, the movie is okay. But I've decided that I really don't want to see more of my favorite books being turned into movies if they come out like this. Harry Potter had the potential to be wonderful, not just okay.
