Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince...
Jul. 20th, 2009 11:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fembuckSo, 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:
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:
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no subject
Date: 2009-07-22 06:33 am (UTC)It was nice seeing the young actors deliver a more mature product than previous films, though I also agree that Bonnie’s portrayal of Ginny needs to get spunked up. Luna was once again spot on in her airy, not-quite-there sort of way, and surprisingly, Draco came across as a sympathetic character. Tom Felt’s portrayal of Malfoy’s inner turmoil over his assigned task was perhaps one of the stronger, more genuine characterizations throughout the movie (HBC’s brief stints onscreen as the gleefully insane Bellatrix were also highly enjoyable). Most of all, it would be a definite plus to see the older actors get more screen time rather than the on-stage, walking-across stage, off-stage scenes that seemed all too common in this film a la Tonks, Remus, and McGonagall. They need more dialogue. Yes, there is a very large ensemble to deal with, but this movie in particular struck me as rather random with the cast swelling even more due to the introduction of new characters that don’t really seem to drive the plot forward.
I enjoyed the flashbacking memories to Tom Riddle’s childhood as it provided long-awaited background information on the origins of Voldemort (I have yet to read the books, so it was helpful having the past fleshed out), and both young actors managed to convey a great deal of all-around creepiness. Speaking of creepy, Prof. Slugghorn was mildly disturbing with his after-school dinner parties and mention of his ‘collection.’ Is the collection simply photographs of his top students or something else entirely? Either way he pings my ick-scale.
Overall, I didn’t love the movie as my friends led me to believe I would, but I didn’t hate it, and I look forward to DH.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-22 06:44 am (UTC)Agreed, 100%. I had been hoping for Nicole Kidman in the role, but it was not to be. Instead, I played Photoshop-make-believe to remedy the situation =)
no subject
Date: 2009-07-22 08:39 pm (UTC)That being said: Bellatrix. Holy god, Bellatrix. Her scenes are always my favourite, and HBC is brilliantly twisted.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-22 11:23 pm (UTC)