Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince...

[fembuck]

So, I just got back from seeing it and the movie was  .... pretty okay.

What I liked:

- The Spinner's End scene.  No offense to the youngings, but it was nice to see a scene with experienced actors being awesome.  That being said, Helen McCory was woefully miscast as Narcissa.  Despite my bitching pre-movie, I was really hoping to find that I actually liked her in the role, I really wanted her to be able to overcome that hair ... but she couldn't.  She's a good actress, and I've seen her in other stuff and I liked her, but it can't be denied that she was no Narcissa Malfoy.  *sigh*
        -> That being said, the Blackcest shipper in me did very much enjoy Bellatrix resting her head on Narcissa shoulder and cooing.  They are so totally doing it.

- Draco.  Tom Felton was amazing in this movie.  He made Draco really, really sympathetic.  I didn't really give a shit about Draco in the book, but his storyline was probably my favorite in the movie.  Felton really delivered.  He's the best of the young actors for sure.  Also, I liked his suits.

-  The young Tom Riddle's, especially the youngest one.  I thought that little kid was really good, very creepy.  And I've heard the middle Tom being described by some as like a fancy lesbian or something, but I liked the kid.  I liked how fully of affectation he was.  Tom's rough childhood accent was became smooth and cultured.   I liked the evolution the second actor showed in Tom.  And I thought that he was very creepy too, his boyish almost femine good looks making him even creeper because you wouldn't think such an angelic looking kid could become the magical Hitler.

-  The scene at The Burrow was pretty cool.  Loved Bellatrix being a crazy fuck.  Greyback was suitably creepy.  When he came up on Ginny all I could think was, "Somebody's gon' get raped" before Harry showed up.  It really felt like Tonks and Lupin were thrown in there by the producers to show the audience that they remembered the characters existed though ... which brings me to my next point ...

-  Hi, Tonks!  Bye, Tonks!   Natalia Tena is hot, I would've liked to see her on screen more, but whatever.  Also, I liked her other hair better.

- The last sequence with the Draco/Dumbeldore and the Death Eaters and Dumbeldore was awesome.  The shot of Dumbledore falling was beautifully shot, and everything leading up to that moment was really well acted and well done.

-  Katie Bell was pretty hot.

- Luna was odd and awesome as usual.

- Cormac was smokin'.  I don't care if he was a bit of a douche, when he had me at hello.  Actually he had me when he licked that whipped cream off of his finger.  And while we're at it, Blaise was quite attractive too ... in the five seconds he was on screen.

What I didn't Like:

- Harry Potter 90210.  I never really liked Harry/Ginny in the books, and they were just as 'meh' here as they were there.  And I somewhat liked Ron/Hermoine in the books, but their love subplot bugged the shit out of me in the movie.  I ship (not really, I'd just prefer) Harry/Hermoine in the movies.  Emma is far more tolerable when she's around Dan, but then again that could be because when Hermoine interacts with Harry she doesn't have to convey much emotion other than amusement or consternation.  And when Hermoine's around Ron, Emma is actually trying to emote ... and failing horribly.  As a matter of fact, I'd take Harry/Luna anyday over Harry/Ginny (Bonnie Wright isn't spunky enough!  There I said it!  She's just not spunky enough.  I liked Ginny in the books, but Bonnie bores the hell out of me.  Done).

- Going along with the point above ... Lavender Brown *shudder*  The actress was actually super good.  She acted circles around our main three actually.  The character of Lavender was just *excuse me while I go vomit with Hermoine*  She's the type of teenage girl that drives me insane.  I was so fucking irriated by this character.  Again the actress was really talented, the character was just super fucking annoying.

-  This isn't specific to this movie ... but I just don't understand how Hogwarts can be the ONLY wizarding school in England.  The Great Hall looked downright miniscule in this movie.  How can the number of kids we saw in the Great Hall after they arrived on the Hogwarts Express be ALL of the of age children of the wizarding world in ALL of England????  How many new kids are added to each house every year, like twenty or so?  
            -> Related point:  Because of the super small number of students at the school, it really bugged me in this movie that the characters were acting like they'd never talked to people that we SAW them in class with, and whom they'd been going to school with for SIX YEARS?  How the hell had Cormac never even said like "Hi" or "Can I borrow a quill?" to Hermoine.  How had Ron never even met Romilda Vain when they were in the same potions class?  I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!

-  Those bastards, they burned The Burrow down!  WTF???  It's like, yes it was a cool visual, but I already knew that the Death Eaters were dicks, and where is like Fleur and Bill's wedding and shit supposed to happen next year?  Seemed unnecessary to have Bellatrix literally blow the house to smithereens.  I'm sure it'll give Molly extra incentive to killinate her in the last movie movie though.

And I'm tired now so I'm going to stop rambling!

FMT/FYT:

Comments

[gespawcho.livejournal.com]

I really actually loved the movie. I think three's still my fave, but I think this was the first time an HP movie managed to have fucking good pace, and didn't feel front-loaded or woefully anticlimactic.

I thought the director really nailed the mood, and I thought it was the funniest, well-balanced Potter film so far.

I looooved the youngest Voldemort, who, if I'm not mistaken, has the distinction of being named Hero, and of being Ralph Fienne's nephew. The acting is in the genes, baby!

I also thought the middle Tom Riddle was good. I thought he was perfectly malevolent, and the baby-facedness of him just made him all the more creepy.

I agree about Narcissa's casting. It just didn't work.

Did you love the visual of the Unbreakable Vow? I thought that was really cool. I loved the scars it left behind. And you're right. Seeing three veteran, *adult* actors working and playing off each other is a nice break from the raw, untested acting you get from the kids. It's nice to see them really biting into the roles and stuff.

Cormac is a babe! If I was Hermione I'd throw Ron over in a heartbeat for Cormac.

I also agree with you that Bonnie doesn't have nearly enough pluck or moxie to fully inhabit Ginny's character. I've never ever been a Ginny/Harry fan, and I'm way more into the idea of Harry/Hermione.

I too think it's kind of weird that the kids run around and ostensibly don't know each other. Even if you argue that there's a lot of freedom in the classes they take. ALl Gryffindor first years presumably take like, Potions and DADA together. Oh well.

Also, if I'm not mistaken, Katie Bell was recast for this one? She used to be played by a different actor.

I think this film also just *looked* really cool. I loved the beginning, and I had chills when Bella and Fenrir were flying around wreaking havoc on the Muggle bridge and stuff.

I also loved the Fire in the cornfield or whatever the hell, as an alternative to what we had in the books as the penultimate scene happening at Hogwarts and Bill getting savaged by Greyback. I thought it was cool that they didn't gyp us entirely out of an emotionally scary scene just because they'd never really introudced us to BIll or really played up the Order involvement.

This way, we got a scene of Bella being genuinely scary, and I thought it was played really well. It was really tense.

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

I really actually loved the movie.

I liked it, but didn't love it. I can't really explain it, but it just kind of felt like filler to me, which is weird cause I loved the book.

I looooved the youngest Voldemort, who, if I'm not mistaken, has the distinction of being named Hero, and of being Ralph Fienne's nephew. The acting is in the genes, baby!

Ooh, very cool. I didn't know he was related to Fiennes. I thought he was fantastic though.

I agree about Narcissa's casting. It just didn't work.

It was pretty awful. I was hoping to be able to look past it but I couldn't. In my head for the last little while she ...

has been my mental Narcissa, and so this film version just didn't cut it with me at all. McCrory just wasn't Narcissa.

Did you love the visual of the Unbreakable Vow? I thought that was really cool. I loved the scars it left behind.

I loved that scene, and I loved the visuals for that. I loved the visuals, Bella prowling around, the way Narcissa kind of looked at her hand after it was over was really cool too. It was a small little choice by McCrory, but it was a nice moment (as was that little kiss she gave Draco at Birkins).

If I was Hermione I'd throw Ron over in a heartbeat for Cormac.

This. The whole movie, I was just like "Hermoine, you're a fucking idiot. Cormac is hot stuff!" Seriously, Ron wouldn't have been a blip to me if I was Hermoine. I would have been calling him Wallenby like Slugghorn was and making out with Cormac every chance I got. Freddie Stroma is unf-ilicious.

I also agree with you that Bonnie doesn't have nearly enough pluck or moxie to fully inhabit Ginny's character.

It wasn't that noticeable in the other films. But this is the one where Ginny was supposed to become awesome ... and she just didn't.

ALl Gryffindor first years presumably take like, Potions and DADA together.

It really doesn't make sense at all. They should know each other. They shouldn't all know each other super well, but scene like the:
Ginny: It's Katie.
Harry: Who?
Ginny: Katie Bell.
were stupid. It's like Katie Bell is on the fucking Quidditch team isn't she? How could Harry not know who she is?

Also, if I'm not mistaken, Katie Bell was recast for this one? She used to be played by a different actor.

Yeah, she was totally recast. This chick was hotter than the last one if I remember though.

I think this film also just *looked* really cool. I loved the beginning, and I had chills when Bella and Fenrir were flying around wreaking havoc on the Muggle bridge and stuff.

I'm with you on that one. It looked AMAZING. And I loved the Death Eaters method of travel. The Death Eaters are such dicks though. When they destroyed that bridge, I was like "Oh, you guys!" You know they just did it for shits and giggles, and meanwhile London is thrown into choas.

as an alternative to what we had in the books as the penultimate scene happening at Hogwarts and Bill getting savaged by Greyback.

I liked the book action better. I LIKED Bill getting savaged by Greyback. But, I can see how it wouldn't really have that much impact since they haven't introduced Bill. Overall, the movie people have done a good job trying to cram most of the stuff in the books into feature lengths films. They can't get everything and I understand that. I just felt the stuff that was left out more in this film than in the others.

[gespawcho.livejournal.com]

It wasn't that noticeable in the other films

Probably because nobody (except JK) had an idea of quite how pivotal Ginny was going to become, and I don't know how much of the early casting was left up to Chris Columbus (but I like to blame shit on him), but I think he went with a lot of bland choices that another ballsier director like Cuaron might not have made. Obviously, when you're picking kids who are gonna go through seven movies, it's a bit of a gamble, but Bonnie started out perfectly cute, which was fine, given how small her role was, and then just ended up about as charismatic as my a stump.

I LIKED Bill getting savaged by Greyback

I definitely, always prefer the canon of the books, but I can definitely appreciate the limits of having to condense the books into a two or three hour block. So, in the long run, would it have been more satisfying to me to have had all of the Weasley bros introduced so that there would have been an emotional payoff to seeing Bill at the mercy of Greyback? Oh, yeah. But, in the interest of time, I really think this movie was craftily adapted and convinced. I thought the plot was very deft, whereas for me, the fourth one for example was really shittily budgeted for time and information.

To me, HBP is now up there with the 3rd and 5th ones for a) not making it feel like you're moving directly from big event to big event to big event, but giving us some time to breathe within, and creating some of the behind-the-scenes stuff with the kids. Showing them sort of hanging around and being teens.

ANd I meant to say: Tom Felton? Awesome. He really brought it in this one. The scene in the bathroom utterly murdered me, and he really impressed me.

Also! Jim Broadbent! I love him so much. It's hard to choose a fave moment, but possibly when he said to Hermione, "All hands on deck, Granger!"

As much as I love the Trio, it's the adults who really really make Potter worth watching.

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

Probably because nobody (except JK) had an idea of quite how pivotal Ginny was going to become, and I don't know how much of the early casting was left up to Chris Columbus (but I like to blame shit on him), but I think he went with a lot of bland choices that another ballsier director like Cuaron might not have made.

This is true. Ginny was basically background until this book/movie, and so all Bonnie really had to do was stand there and look cute and redheaded. And it's true that she's a significant enough character that recasting wasn't an option. The other directors did get stuck with what was established in the first film to a certain degree.

and then just ended up about as charismatic as my a stump.


LOL!

I thought the plot was very deft, whereas for me, the fourth one for example was really shittily budgeted for time and information.

lol! I'm the exact opposite. The fourth movie is probably my favorite of the films. And I found the passage of time really jarring in this one. To me it felt like they got to school, had a class and then it was the dead of winter, and everything seemed to just go by in blur for me without major incidents really standing out.

Tom Felton? Awesome. He really brought it in this one. The scene in the bathroom utterly murdered me, and he really impressed me.

This. He was great in that scene. Also the confrontation with Dumbledore. You could really see how tortured Draco was, having to choose between his own life and Dumbledore's.

but possibly when he said to Hermione, "All hands on deck, Granger!"

That line was awesome. Broadbent really was very good. I liked the depth he was able to give Slugghorn. I didn't care much for Slugghorn in the book, but I felt for him in the movie.

As much as I love the Trio, it's the adults who really really make Potter worth watching.

Word. It's almost mean making the kids act opposite these people. I mean what Maggie Smith can convey with a twitch of her lips like eclipses everything Emma Watson did all film, lol (Oh, Emma, I'm sorry to pick on you so much, that crying scene was just really, really awful)