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Despite feeling as if I might keel over and die at any minute on Friday, I did get to see OotP and I can sum it up thusly, it is (to date) the "Empire Strikes Back" of the movie series. Not my favorite (which remains PoA) but the best of the films hands down. No one could've been more shocked by this than I was, believe me.
What I noticed right off the bat on this one was that they decided to tone Harry down, way down, so he stopped being a caricature of angry teenage boys and instead was a real person facing things no kid his age should have to. This was a Harry I not only liked and admired, but one I could empathize with.
But the real genius of the film was in playing down the grandeur of the wizarding world to a degree (with the exception of the Ministry which was straight out of 1984, complete with giant Fudge banner, glossy black halls that looked more like an insect's carapace or a tomb than a government building) and focusing on the characters and how they interacted with one another. It allowed them to introduce Luna and make her an actual character rather than just a space filler. It also gave them time to develop Sirius to such a degree that I actually felt bad when he died at the end. And yes his death was given way more time to really wallop you in the film than Rowling's almost off-handed "Oops, he's dead." Additionally the screenwriters gave him a line that served to sum up his entire relationship with Harry and the fact that he'd never really had a chance to emotionally develop after he was falsely arrested for Peter's death. During the battle at the Ministry he and Harry are fighting side by side, Harry casts an excellent spell and without missing a beat Sirius crows, "Good one, James!" There was a collective gasp from those of us paying attention in the audience and even Harry pauses. It's a fucking brilliant piece of screenwriting and left me shaking my head in admiration.
Luna is, of course, superb, and precisely how I'd imagined her in the books. Wish I could say the same for Tonks, but you can't have everything. Still seeing Neville get some serious screen time rather than his usual comic relief escapades was wonderful. They even toned Ron down and just let him be a confused but lovable character, in other words, they stopped using him to mug at the camera and let him be the guy I grew to adore in the books. As for Hermione, well if they'd lose all the highlights they did on her hair (why?) and someone would tell Emma that there's more to acting than using one's eyebrows, I'll be much more pleased with the next film.
Minerva had little to do but she made the most of it, her confrontations with Umbridge were spectacular. I nearly burst into tears right along with Trelawney as she was being kicked out of Hogwarts, excellent work there by Emma. Imelda was just perfect as Umbridge, you were always impressed by her ability to make you want to throttle her character. And I loved that they toned down her Harry torture and spread it out so that everybody was suffering, not just him. There's a tiny scene where she's done the evil quill routine on this little first year who's sobbing his eyes out and Fred and George are doing their best to comfort him as Harry walks by. It's a beautiful moment where you understand why Fred and George have had more than enough and rebel so spectacularly. But again that's what this film does so well, it takes a bloated story that so seriously needed an editor and clearly didn't have one, and gets down to the essentials. What is it that Umbridge represents? Tyranny. She's the very personification of injustice, and in her own petty way is every bit as bad as Voldemort. Perhaps she's even worse, at least he acknowledges who he is and what he's doing, Umbridge is too wrapped up in her own sanctimony and piousness that she deludes herself into thinking she's doing the right thing.
In the book the constant overpowering of injustice after injustice just becomes too much, you feel beaten down by it. In the film for every proclamation that goes up you are shown a scene of Harry teaching the kids how to really defend themselves. Watching each of them come into their own, particularly Neville and Ginny, is just wonderful. Ginny in particular is a powerhouse, and her looks of dismay and angst as Harry and Cho grow closer are just perfect. I even rather liked Cho in this one, she's clearly torn between her feelings for Harry and for Cedric, and at the same time torn between doing what she believes is right and what is right for her family. The relationship between the two is handled very deftly, and it's adorable how Ron and Hermione gently prod Harry toward her. They also broke them up really well in the film, having Cho rat out the DA and thus lose Harry's trust and affection pretty much immediately. She seemed so broken afterwards and Harry so disappointed that you felt just wretched for both of them.
Now, of course, I have to talk about Severus. Whatever they're paying Alan to play this role it's not nearly enough. Every single person I've talked to, when asked what their favorite line in the movie was, quoted his "Obviously." The delivery was just so fucking perfect that it defies exaggeration. He put a world of loathing, bitterness and annoyance into a single word delivered through clenched jaws. You could almost feel the self control he had to cling to in order not to hit the woman with an Unforgiveable. But every single second the man was onscreen he was golden. Everything from his expression of astonishment and horror when Umbridge dared stand up and interrupt Dumbledore's opening speech, to dragging Harry down, down, down to the dungeons for his first Occlumency class, to the "kit" of tools he kept in a rolled pouch that he unfurled giving just only a tantalizing glimpse of what it included beyond his wand, all of it was just majestic. The classes themselves were too short for my taste, though his reaction when he sees Harry and Sirius hugging ("I may vomit") made up for a lot of it. Also Snape's Worst Memory was far too truncated but you got the essentials. I will admit that the actual torment by the Marauders seemed far less painful to me than the single scene of Snape curled up in some shabby, gray room, arms around his legs and face hidden, a portrait of such utter despair and hopelessness that it absolutely breaks your heart. That one image brought back so many of my own memories from that age, of being so completely and utterly alone, that I had to applaud the filmmakers again. That one moment was the essence of Severus in his teen years.
What was interesting was that instead of seeing it in a Pensieve, Harry casts a Protego just as Severus casts a Legilimens and so his own spell gets bounced back at him. Harry sees it totally by mistake and while Snape is furious (possibly more at himself than Harry), he doesn't lose it quite so thoroughly as he did in the book. Again, toning this down works, I think, he's still humiliated but not homicidal. And the final scene where he is summoned to Umbridge's office was really well done. His seeming disinterest with her plans for Potter and his friends is just as it should be, though his kindness in letting it slip that Cho only betrayed the DA because of Veritaserum was subtle but beautiful. And of course his reaction to Harry's desperate, "They have Padfoot in the place where it's hidden!" was right on target. Though I do regret that we didn't get the moment where Dumbledore explains to Harry that it's Severus who calls in the cavalry to save the day.
Of Bellatrix Lestrange I can only say that I'm delighted to hear she has a big role to play in book 7 'cause Helena Bonham Carter brought the crazy and then some in this film. Two big thumbs up! The moment in Azkaban where her Dark Mark flares back to life and she licks her arm is just too, too perfect.
The fight at the Ministry finally made sense to me, hallelujah! Again, they got all the important elements and stuck to those rather than the crazy hodge podge that Rowling threw together for those chapters. And Harry's possession by Voldemort was chilling. Though the throwdown between Big V and Dumbledore worked on so many levels. Yeah Albus was a true shit kicker in that sequence and you finally understand why V has little interest in going one on one against him.
I just cannot say enough good things about this film. I went in with very low expectations and was just blown away by it. If you haven't seen it, go, go now! I'm personally planning to go at least once more when it plays closer in IMAX, but could probably be talked into seeing it a few more times as well :)
What I noticed right off the bat on this one was that they decided to tone Harry down, way down, so he stopped being a caricature of angry teenage boys and instead was a real person facing things no kid his age should have to. This was a Harry I not only liked and admired, but one I could empathize with.
But the real genius of the film was in playing down the grandeur of the wizarding world to a degree (with the exception of the Ministry which was straight out of 1984, complete with giant Fudge banner, glossy black halls that looked more like an insect's carapace or a tomb than a government building) and focusing on the characters and how they interacted with one another. It allowed them to introduce Luna and make her an actual character rather than just a space filler. It also gave them time to develop Sirius to such a degree that I actually felt bad when he died at the end. And yes his death was given way more time to really wallop you in the film than Rowling's almost off-handed "Oops, he's dead." Additionally the screenwriters gave him a line that served to sum up his entire relationship with Harry and the fact that he'd never really had a chance to emotionally develop after he was falsely arrested for Peter's death. During the battle at the Ministry he and Harry are fighting side by side, Harry casts an excellent spell and without missing a beat Sirius crows, "Good one, James!" There was a collective gasp from those of us paying attention in the audience and even Harry pauses. It's a fucking brilliant piece of screenwriting and left me shaking my head in admiration.
Luna is, of course, superb, and precisely how I'd imagined her in the books. Wish I could say the same for Tonks, but you can't have everything. Still seeing Neville get some serious screen time rather than his usual comic relief escapades was wonderful. They even toned Ron down and just let him be a confused but lovable character, in other words, they stopped using him to mug at the camera and let him be the guy I grew to adore in the books. As for Hermione, well if they'd lose all the highlights they did on her hair (why?) and someone would tell Emma that there's more to acting than using one's eyebrows, I'll be much more pleased with the next film.
Minerva had little to do but she made the most of it, her confrontations with Umbridge were spectacular. I nearly burst into tears right along with Trelawney as she was being kicked out of Hogwarts, excellent work there by Emma. Imelda was just perfect as Umbridge, you were always impressed by her ability to make you want to throttle her character. And I loved that they toned down her Harry torture and spread it out so that everybody was suffering, not just him. There's a tiny scene where she's done the evil quill routine on this little first year who's sobbing his eyes out and Fred and George are doing their best to comfort him as Harry walks by. It's a beautiful moment where you understand why Fred and George have had more than enough and rebel so spectacularly. But again that's what this film does so well, it takes a bloated story that so seriously needed an editor and clearly didn't have one, and gets down to the essentials. What is it that Umbridge represents? Tyranny. She's the very personification of injustice, and in her own petty way is every bit as bad as Voldemort. Perhaps she's even worse, at least he acknowledges who he is and what he's doing, Umbridge is too wrapped up in her own sanctimony and piousness that she deludes herself into thinking she's doing the right thing.
In the book the constant overpowering of injustice after injustice just becomes too much, you feel beaten down by it. In the film for every proclamation that goes up you are shown a scene of Harry teaching the kids how to really defend themselves. Watching each of them come into their own, particularly Neville and Ginny, is just wonderful. Ginny in particular is a powerhouse, and her looks of dismay and angst as Harry and Cho grow closer are just perfect. I even rather liked Cho in this one, she's clearly torn between her feelings for Harry and for Cedric, and at the same time torn between doing what she believes is right and what is right for her family. The relationship between the two is handled very deftly, and it's adorable how Ron and Hermione gently prod Harry toward her. They also broke them up really well in the film, having Cho rat out the DA and thus lose Harry's trust and affection pretty much immediately. She seemed so broken afterwards and Harry so disappointed that you felt just wretched for both of them.
Now, of course, I have to talk about Severus. Whatever they're paying Alan to play this role it's not nearly enough. Every single person I've talked to, when asked what their favorite line in the movie was, quoted his "Obviously." The delivery was just so fucking perfect that it defies exaggeration. He put a world of loathing, bitterness and annoyance into a single word delivered through clenched jaws. You could almost feel the self control he had to cling to in order not to hit the woman with an Unforgiveable. But every single second the man was onscreen he was golden. Everything from his expression of astonishment and horror when Umbridge dared stand up and interrupt Dumbledore's opening speech, to dragging Harry down, down, down to the dungeons for his first Occlumency class, to the "kit" of tools he kept in a rolled pouch that he unfurled giving just only a tantalizing glimpse of what it included beyond his wand, all of it was just majestic. The classes themselves were too short for my taste, though his reaction when he sees Harry and Sirius hugging ("I may vomit") made up for a lot of it. Also Snape's Worst Memory was far too truncated but you got the essentials. I will admit that the actual torment by the Marauders seemed far less painful to me than the single scene of Snape curled up in some shabby, gray room, arms around his legs and face hidden, a portrait of such utter despair and hopelessness that it absolutely breaks your heart. That one image brought back so many of my own memories from that age, of being so completely and utterly alone, that I had to applaud the filmmakers again. That one moment was the essence of Severus in his teen years.
What was interesting was that instead of seeing it in a Pensieve, Harry casts a Protego just as Severus casts a Legilimens and so his own spell gets bounced back at him. Harry sees it totally by mistake and while Snape is furious (possibly more at himself than Harry), he doesn't lose it quite so thoroughly as he did in the book. Again, toning this down works, I think, he's still humiliated but not homicidal. And the final scene where he is summoned to Umbridge's office was really well done. His seeming disinterest with her plans for Potter and his friends is just as it should be, though his kindness in letting it slip that Cho only betrayed the DA because of Veritaserum was subtle but beautiful. And of course his reaction to Harry's desperate, "They have Padfoot in the place where it's hidden!" was right on target. Though I do regret that we didn't get the moment where Dumbledore explains to Harry that it's Severus who calls in the cavalry to save the day.
Of Bellatrix Lestrange I can only say that I'm delighted to hear she has a big role to play in book 7 'cause Helena Bonham Carter brought the crazy and then some in this film. Two big thumbs up! The moment in Azkaban where her Dark Mark flares back to life and she licks her arm is just too, too perfect.
The fight at the Ministry finally made sense to me, hallelujah! Again, they got all the important elements and stuck to those rather than the crazy hodge podge that Rowling threw together for those chapters. And Harry's possession by Voldemort was chilling. Though the throwdown between Big V and Dumbledore worked on so many levels. Yeah Albus was a true shit kicker in that sequence and you finally understand why V has little interest in going one on one against him.
I just cannot say enough good things about this film. I went in with very low expectations and was just blown away by it. If you haven't seen it, go, go now! I'm personally planning to go at least once more when it plays closer in IMAX, but could probably be talked into seeing it a few more times as well :)
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can re-check wednesday morning to confirm
I don't think we have to buy tickets in advance
haven't been to MV in a while - is that crappy little sports bar still next to the movies, I have a sitter and could even meet a little earlier for a drink ???
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just sent test mail to the old yahoo addy that i had for u
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Y'know, I had some thoughts during that scene that I don't *think* were in the book, but I was wondering if they were significant.
Voldie attacks Dumbledore with the fire dragon. D counters with water. V then attacks with the glass shards, and, I swear, I heard him hiss under his breath "Earth". And *then* D throws up the shield that turns the glass back into sand, and V got this look of 'oh shit' in his face.
It almost felt like an elemental fight and V was surprised that D was better or improved on one that had been V's strength in past confrontations.
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I adore Alan Rickman and he *is* Snape, but I have to share that my husband kept calling him Hans Gruber and yes there is a little of that in there;) I kept thinking of "I am an exceptional thief" - of course if you've never seen Die Hard (is there someone who hasn't?) none of that will make sense.
I personally have always believed that the Department of Mysteries scenes were some of JKR's weakest parts in the books. I LOVED the simplification to just the prophesy hall. And Jason Isaacs' Lucius killed me. *Wants to make evil babies with him*
I posted some of my own thoughts here:
http://rickey-a.livejournal.com/30857.html
ping me if you'd like to go again :D I wouldn't be adverse to going one evening this week.
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I love it when a screenwriter respects the intelligence of their audience, I really do.
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Agreed!
* They kept it to a reasonable running time (2:15 or so.)
* The cast. Has any series of movies attracted more talent? Their resumes put even LotR to shame. And they all take their roles very seriously. They've also done a good to great job with the kids - especially Luna Lovegood.
* Isn't it cool that Luna's actress is a serious fangirl?
* Like you say, the nice focus. Now, I love the worldbuilding perhaps more than the story in Rowling's works, but the first two movies did an admirable job at showing us what life was like as a Hogwarts' student, which really frees up the more complex movies to take that as a given for the audience. If we want to fill in the cracks on that sort of thing, the novels exist, and in the meanwhile, give us the stuff that really benefits from the visual splendor. I want to see every second of the wizard battles at the Department of Mysteries, and I can read about OWLS in the text just fine. Especially if they're careful to keep the character-defining bits in, and they did a good job of that in this one.
* And yeah, the last glimmers of the Snape-is-evil possibility in my mind really died with this film. Seeing things even less filtered through Harry's point of view make it really untenable.
Very much looking forward to reading the new book next week!
Re: Agreed!
Yay! Welcome to the club, we'll be sure to get you your laminated membership card ASAP :) I'm sorry but how anyone could actively hate Snape after seeing his childhood memories is beyond me.
Very much looking forward to reading the new book next week!
I'm already counting the hours...
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Also, I wish I could have seen it with you guys. I want an excuse to wear all of my Slytherin goodies, dammit!
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Go have a CAT scan
(Anonymous) 2007-07-16 06:53 pm (UTC)(link)Re: Go have a CAT scan
As for OoTP...Holy fucking shit that movie rocks on so many levels. I was, of course, reduced to tears when Sirius died. I loved the "Nice one, James!" comment. Thought it conveyed the points made in the book about Sirius seeing Harry as a substitute for his old friend without having to hit you over the head with it. I thought Snape walloping Ron in the head after Umbridge leaves was just hilarious. But the ones who really stole the show for me were....Fred and George Weasley! They were bloody brilliant in this film. Nice bit of realistic comic relief in a very heavy film.
I also was, for the first time, impressed with the new Dumbledore. Richard Harris is a hard act to follow and up until now I just hadn't really warmed to the new guy, but the scene at the end where Albus is explaining to Harry why he kept away from him all year was just heartbreaking and in that moment Michael Gambon really made the character his own. And he really did kick some serious ass in the Dumbledore/Voldemort fight. Ralph Fiennes so completely lost himself in the Voldemort character. It was magnificent. I just hope they can keep up the quality that they have in this film through the last 2 of the series.
Can't wait until the next book comes out this weekend!!!!!!!!!
Re: Go have a CAT scan
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Really want to see the rest of the tats on Sirius chest though. :D
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BTW, have you read any of the spoilery stuff for DH? I could just cry...
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I have not and will not read any spoilery stuff about the book I want to be surprised and thrilled when I read it this weekend. I'll probably be steering clear of the internet for the weekend just in case.
Enjoy your reading!!