(no subject)

[brokenrecord]

Went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter last night with some friends!
The critic (and some fan) reviews about how this is the best movie of the series yet, or at least since PoA baffle me because I was not a huge fan of this. Well, PoA was my least favorite of the movies before this, so I guess my opinion isn't typical. But I don't know, I thought OotP was loads better than this one; I was incredibly impressed after seeing that one after having pretty low expectations for it.

My issues weren't with stuff being left out, either (although SERIOUSLY COME ON YOU COULD HAVE INCLUDED DUMBLEDORE'S FUNERAL) but just... how anticlimactic everything seemed? Even Dumbledore's death was just kind of "Huh, okay." I mean, the kiss with Ginny was just kind of "Well, that happened and now isn't going to be addressed again." The Death Eaters storming Hogwarts was pretty pathetic. They just killed Dumbledore (which wasn't even them anyways, it was all Snape, so they didn't even have to be there for that) and made some windows shatter and stomped on the tables in the Grand Hall (or Great Hall? I don't remember. Whatever it is) and then they were like "Well, that was fun." I agree with whichever of my friends said after the movie that it was much more effective in the book when Harry and Dumbledore come back and there's the mark in the sky and you just kind of feel the impending doom. And Dumbledore's Army was supposed to reunite! I mean, where were Hermione and Ron during all of this, even? Similarly, the Half Blood Prince reveal was pretty lame. There wasn't the same sort of build-up, and the way Snape was just like "Hey, btw, I was the Half-Blood Prince. Later!" was just like "...uh, ok?"

My least favorite thing was the last scene, though, if only for when Hermione is basically just like "Well, Dumbledore died. That sucked. So, anyways, Ron's totally cool with you and Ginny!" Just... worst segue EVER.

Also, I try not to complain about them leaving out stuff from the books because I realize the books are ginormous and the movie was already 2 1/2 hours long, but I was really sad that they left out Dumbledore arriving at the Dursleys in the beginning of the book because I remember I was totally cracking up throughout that entire part. Especially since what they included instead (random girl asking out Harry Potter) was... kind of bizarre.

I actually did enjoy the movie! It wasn't as good as I hoped, but I guess the book isn't anywhere near my favorite (probably 5th, but my opinions on all the books waver, so it's also been as far down as 7th) maybe I shouldn't have expected to like it as much as OotP? I don't know. But loads of the scenes were really beautiful, and the movie was a lot funnier than I expected (although often unintentionally so; pretty much every scene with Draco cracked me up, and I don't really know why. He was just kind of skulking all over the castle all angsty and I don't know, it was just really amusing). The part where Harry is on the Felix whatever was absolutely hilarious. I'm glad I saw the movie, in any case.


I'm so sleepy now. I got home around 3:30 AM but I had had a coffee and waaaayyyy too much candy before/during the movie, so it took me until past 4 AM to fall asleep, and then my mom decided it'd be a good idea to wake me up at 9 AM. And after I've woken up I can't get back to sleep again, and I can't take naps during the day or else I can't sleep at night, so I'm pretty much just a zombie right now.

I'm surprised at the lack of Harry Potter enthusiasm on my flist! For some reason I remember there being loads when OotP came out. Was that just because people typically like Ootp more than HBP? Or because the last book was coming out right after the movie so people were all amped up about that, but now that the series is over people don't care as much?

Anyways, I think I might reread the series now. The last time I did a read-through was right before DH came out, and I've only read that one once (and HBP only twice), so it seems like it's time.

Comments

[rosiew.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with you! I kept whispering to my sister 'where is the tension?' during the key scenes - even that scene in the field - I don't know, it just wasn't excting, music was missing or it wasn't edited right? something was missing! but enjoyable all the same - espeically the emo!draco

[http://users.livejournal.com/brokenrecord__/]

Yeah, that's really true. There really was not build-up during the movie at all. When I got out, I was like "That felt pretty short," but I think that's just because it didn't feel like anything really happened. But yeah, I definitely did enjoy it. My friends and I (and most of the theater, really) kept laughing at really inappropriate times. But even besides that, it was fun to watch.