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retro_eidasThis is rapidly typed and disjointed, because the roommates and I are in the mood for some margaritas and I'm the only one in this place that can make them properly.... but....
Maybe if I hadn't just come from watching the movie a few hours ago I'll be more discerning, but right now? Columbus can just keep right on walking away from HP. Cuaron did remarkably well and *much* better than Columbus' limp dick efforts at HP. As a movie, POA is brilliant. Cuaron is indeed a skilled director. Was it a truly faithful adaptation? Not really imho, but there was certainly more than enough PoA there to recognize it as a *PoA movie*. It's just I did miss some particular scenes.
The exposition in the Shrieking Shack scene was, suffice to say, weak. The Marauders past has little to no explanation at all. All the stuff about the Fidelius Charm and how Peter betrayed James/Lily is gone. As is pretty much any real explanation of how Peter framed Sirius (although they sped through it, it's really nothing like the scene in the book). The scene does have some brilliant acting though. David Thewlis, Gary Oldman and Alan Rickman all in a scene together. Harry's Expelliarimus on Snape? Damn. Hermione's wand certainly doesn't shoot blanks (neither does Harry apparently).
And how Harry got a wand to do Expelliarimus on Snape in the first place? As an H/Hr shipper? SQUEE. Like Harry and Hermione were sitting in a movie theater and Harry was doing the old yawning trick or something. LOL
In regards to shipping, there's something for everyone in this one. R/Hr fans get their moments. I'll go as far and admit I found a couple of them cute. The whole awkward teenage crush sort of thing. However, the scenes are also played off sort of funny/comical too. The only moment that really felt totally shippy to me was the scene where they're standing in front of the Shrieking Shack, you could feel the awkwardness. Ron, however, isn't in the movie a whole lot (mostly due to the Crookshanks vs. Scabbers thing played down considerably. Which is pretty much the meat of Ron's story in the book. The whole Firebolt fight is gone too. The fighting between R/Hr in general is very downplayed compared to the book).
The movie does have quite a bit of H/Hr. There is a considerable amount of H/Hr in the book and that was maintained in the film (some things added to the primary H/Hr canon scenes). Not blatantly romantic per se (although some certainly did feel very romantic/glorious), but not so much pure friendship and definitely not sibling-like either. A few H/Hr fans have said that it seemed like there were elusions to Harry = James and Hermione = Lily, hence H/Hr portrayed more as a married couple working in tandem. This is the description I find most fitting, mostly because (and I certainly admit I'm probably biased) I did feel a really special, deep bond between H/Hr. Both seem to display a maturity beyond their years (yet there are still light-hearted moments between them). Then we hear Remus' description of Lily (obviously not from canon) and how she was the sort of person to see the beauty in others when they couldn't see it themselves. PoA is the same book Hermione acquires Crookshanks, who she thinks is beautiful but everyone else thinks is ugly.
I will say as an H/Hr fan, the scenes that absolutely tugged at my heart-strings were the scene after Harry (under the Invisibility Cloak) overhears Fudge, McGonagall and Rosmerta discussing who Black was and how he betrayed Lily and James. Harry runs off, extremely upset, you hear him crying under the cloak. Hermione goes to him (Ron tries to stop her but she yanks her arm away) everso slowly pulls the cloak off sees him upset. She kneels at his feet as he vents about Sirius. *squee* Another moment I loved, and was just a beautiful scene in general, the scene when Harry and Hermione are holding each other, facing and terrified of Werewolf!Remus. Then Buckbeak charges in and saves them. Then the scene gets all glorious with Harry (still with Hermione in his arms) slowly looking up, followed by Hermione, to see hundreds of Dementors heading toward Past!Harry and Sirius. There's something very old-school Hollywood about that scene. The Hero/Heroine looking into the face of danger side-by-side sort of thing. Stunningly beautiful (and genuinely scary) array of scenes.
Loved the music playing when H/Hr were waiting in the Forbidden Forest (after they rescued Buckbeak but before they rescued Sirius). ;)
Alan Rickman's Snape is still criminally underused, but of course, what he had was brilliant... and in this one he's acting against David Thewlis' Remus (loved him btw) and Gary Oldman's Sirius (a bit over the top, but he still managed to draw me in to his Sirius). The scene with Snape threatening Sirius? Brilliant.
I have a secret fascination with Professor Trelawney in canon and I enjoyed Emma Thompson's version of her. Appropriately crackpot-ish and batty. I also admit jumping when she grabbed Harry's shoulder... you knew it was coming, but I jumped anyway.
And what the hell happened to Neville? The actor turned from rolly polly to super-tall cute-in-a-quirky-way. Makes me hope the young actors stick around for Book 5... which is where Neville really has a chance to shine.
A scene I particularly enjoyed....
You tell those spiders Ron! ::Ron falls back unconscious::
HEE!!
I probably have more to say, but margaritas call. LOVED IT. I hope to see it again soon.
This is a bunch of totally random, BS stuff too, but....
This movie is full to the brim of just little quirky touches that I adored and makes me want to have Alfonso's babies.
--The ghost knight on horseback jumping through the window carrying a severed head. For a brief moment there, I was like, "WTF?! Get your wands out!! The school is being raided by Medieval Times!!"... but then the glass wasn't really broken ("Doh! It's a ghost!"). I think that was supposed to be a shout-out to the Headless Hunt poor Nick keeps getting excluded from. Kudos to Cuaron for doing his homework, but even if that wasn't homework. Rocked!
--Dumbledore's "Did what?" and "Good evening." Totally senile old man-ish (of course, a means to draw your attention away from all his massive godlike powers) ... sort of how I always saw Dumbledore in the books. I do think Michael Gambon's Dumbledore will grow on me.... guy still needs a manicure though. Toute suite.
--The Jamaican shrunken heads. "Why all the long faces?!" HEE!
--Hogsmeade DID look just like a Christmas card.
--Not sure I'm digging Professor Flitwick's slick new look. He looks more like a tiny Adolf Hitler. I kind of liked the bushy white hair Flitwick... that's the kind old guy I'd see sneakily giving a student Ice Mice for pissing off someone like Umbridge. Didn't really like the new Igor makeover for Tom, the Leaky Cauldron innkeeper, either. He seemed like such an approachable guy in the first two movies ("Hagrid, the usual I presume?"). I wouldn't come near Igor with a 10 ft. pole. Then again, I might be having nasty Van Helsing flashbacks (cringes). However, the way he was (roughly) shuffling Harry around was pretty funny.
--Percy's desperate, "I'm Head Boy!!!" as he gets trampled over by a bunch of Gryffindors... HEE!! I love Percy, but I laughed at that. A lot.
--Dan really can stop wearing Dudley's first grade shirts too fyi (The wardrobe during the Monsters Book of Monsters scene. The hell?), because I really don't need to see a 14-yr-old's svelt torso (Did Michael Jackson direct this movie?). Although speaking of the Monsters Book of Monsters... it's painful wimper after Harry stomped on it? HEEE again!
--Trelawney grabbing Seamus' head? BWAH!
--Dean Thomas walking right through the ghost and looking all annoyed.
--The boys' slumber party scene was cute. A lot of folks didn't like the muggle clothing and the normalcy, but I actually liked it. These guys have lived in the same room for two years, you'd expect them just hanging out like they were in that scene (and was that empty bottles of butterbeer I saw on the tables? Naughty!). It makes sense. One of those off-page moments that must occur in canon too, but we just don't see them. Being able to watch a scene like that, it really drums in how jarring some particular conflicts in Book 5 must have been, particularly for Harry.
--Was I the only one that didn't think Parvati changing her giant cobra into a giant clown jack-in-the-box an improvement... but actually worse than the cobra? Bad memories of seeing Poltergeist as a kid ::grumbles... stupid attacking clown::
--When did the Twins get so hot? ... But thank GOD for it! With Michael Jackson apparently in charge of wardrobe, it's nice to have some non-jailbait in this movie (with the sad loss of Oliver Wood). And the way they were finishing each others' sentences? HEE!! (seemingly my favorite word of the day)
--Everyone is going on and on about Buckbeak's CGI and I admit, Bucky was effing brilliant. ::snuggles Buckbeak:: BTW, I still think it's a travesty no one is selling stuffed Buckbeaks... or are they awaiting the Holiday rush? They would. Anyway, I have to give shout-outs to Grim!Sirius as well. It looked more like a cross between a bear and a dog. Massive indeed.
--100 ft fall as opposed to 50 ft? A change for the better I have to say. That really was effing scary. He was flying through the damn clouds! I was thinking if the Dementors didn't get him, the lack of oxygen would! Or a bolt of lightening perhaps? I noticed poor Cedric got struck. You'd think if you were hit by lightening you'd be more resilient to silly things like ... stuff. Or not.
--Aunt Marge floating around the stratosphere ahead as Harry tugs along his suitcase? BWAH! My brother (who is HP-ignorant) was one of the people watching the movie with me. He thought Marge was going to explode when she'd been inflating. Methinks he's seen Big Trouble in Little China one too many times (Y'all know the scene I'm referring to if you've seen BTiLC)... although I do think he had a point. She did look like she was going to pop like a balloon. I figured she'd survive, since I doubt Cuaron could have explained away involuntary manslaughter, but still... the music, the button popping, Vernon futiley trying to keep her from floating away. heee
--Hermione and the feather? Very kinky of her.
--Speaking of kinky, the Remus/Sirius OTP folks are going nutso, with good reason. However, was I the only one that thought Draco had been *checking out* Harry before the "Look out! Dementors!!" fake-out moment? I sweartogawd he'd been looking at him up and down. Then, of course, there's the note passing in DADA class. Good lord. Get a room!
--Going back to Quidditch, well post-Quidditch in the Hospital Wing to be more exact ... What the hell was Madam Pomfrey doing to that poor Hufflepuff on the left side of the shot when you first come into the Hospital Wing? It looked like there were some Hufflepuff Quidditch players holding the poor bastard down too. Jaysus.
Maybe if I hadn't just come from watching the movie a few hours ago I'll be more discerning, but right now? Columbus can just keep right on walking away from HP. Cuaron did remarkably well and *much* better than Columbus' limp dick efforts at HP. As a movie, POA is brilliant. Cuaron is indeed a skilled director. Was it a truly faithful adaptation? Not really imho, but there was certainly more than enough PoA there to recognize it as a *PoA movie*. It's just I did miss some particular scenes.
The exposition in the Shrieking Shack scene was, suffice to say, weak. The Marauders past has little to no explanation at all. All the stuff about the Fidelius Charm and how Peter betrayed James/Lily is gone. As is pretty much any real explanation of how Peter framed Sirius (although they sped through it, it's really nothing like the scene in the book). The scene does have some brilliant acting though. David Thewlis, Gary Oldman and Alan Rickman all in a scene together. Harry's Expelliarimus on Snape? Damn. Hermione's wand certainly doesn't shoot blanks (neither does Harry apparently).
And how Harry got a wand to do Expelliarimus on Snape in the first place? As an H/Hr shipper? SQUEE. Like Harry and Hermione were sitting in a movie theater and Harry was doing the old yawning trick or something. LOL
In regards to shipping, there's something for everyone in this one. R/Hr fans get their moments. I'll go as far and admit I found a couple of them cute. The whole awkward teenage crush sort of thing. However, the scenes are also played off sort of funny/comical too. The only moment that really felt totally shippy to me was the scene where they're standing in front of the Shrieking Shack, you could feel the awkwardness. Ron, however, isn't in the movie a whole lot (mostly due to the Crookshanks vs. Scabbers thing played down considerably. Which is pretty much the meat of Ron's story in the book. The whole Firebolt fight is gone too. The fighting between R/Hr in general is very downplayed compared to the book).
The movie does have quite a bit of H/Hr. There is a considerable amount of H/Hr in the book and that was maintained in the film (some things added to the primary H/Hr canon scenes). Not blatantly romantic per se (although some certainly did feel very romantic/glorious), but not so much pure friendship and definitely not sibling-like either. A few H/Hr fans have said that it seemed like there were elusions to Harry = James and Hermione = Lily, hence H/Hr portrayed more as a married couple working in tandem. This is the description I find most fitting, mostly because (and I certainly admit I'm probably biased) I did feel a really special, deep bond between H/Hr. Both seem to display a maturity beyond their years (yet there are still light-hearted moments between them). Then we hear Remus' description of Lily (obviously not from canon) and how she was the sort of person to see the beauty in others when they couldn't see it themselves. PoA is the same book Hermione acquires Crookshanks, who she thinks is beautiful but everyone else thinks is ugly.
I will say as an H/Hr fan, the scenes that absolutely tugged at my heart-strings were the scene after Harry (under the Invisibility Cloak) overhears Fudge, McGonagall and Rosmerta discussing who Black was and how he betrayed Lily and James. Harry runs off, extremely upset, you hear him crying under the cloak. Hermione goes to him (Ron tries to stop her but she yanks her arm away) everso slowly pulls the cloak off sees him upset. She kneels at his feet as he vents about Sirius. *squee* Another moment I loved, and was just a beautiful scene in general, the scene when Harry and Hermione are holding each other, facing and terrified of Werewolf!Remus. Then Buckbeak charges in and saves them. Then the scene gets all glorious with Harry (still with Hermione in his arms) slowly looking up, followed by Hermione, to see hundreds of Dementors heading toward Past!Harry and Sirius. There's something very old-school Hollywood about that scene. The Hero/Heroine looking into the face of danger side-by-side sort of thing. Stunningly beautiful (and genuinely scary) array of scenes.
Loved the music playing when H/Hr were waiting in the Forbidden Forest (after they rescued Buckbeak but before they rescued Sirius). ;)
Alan Rickman's Snape is still criminally underused, but of course, what he had was brilliant... and in this one he's acting against David Thewlis' Remus (loved him btw) and Gary Oldman's Sirius (a bit over the top, but he still managed to draw me in to his Sirius). The scene with Snape threatening Sirius? Brilliant.
I have a secret fascination with Professor Trelawney in canon and I enjoyed Emma Thompson's version of her. Appropriately crackpot-ish and batty. I also admit jumping when she grabbed Harry's shoulder... you knew it was coming, but I jumped anyway.
And what the hell happened to Neville? The actor turned from rolly polly to super-tall cute-in-a-quirky-way. Makes me hope the young actors stick around for Book 5... which is where Neville really has a chance to shine.
A scene I particularly enjoyed....
You tell those spiders Ron! ::Ron falls back unconscious::
HEE!!
I probably have more to say, but margaritas call. LOVED IT. I hope to see it again soon.
This is a bunch of totally random, BS stuff too, but....
This movie is full to the brim of just little quirky touches that I adored and makes me want to have Alfonso's babies.
--The ghost knight on horseback jumping through the window carrying a severed head. For a brief moment there, I was like, "WTF?! Get your wands out!! The school is being raided by Medieval Times!!"... but then the glass wasn't really broken ("Doh! It's a ghost!"). I think that was supposed to be a shout-out to the Headless Hunt poor Nick keeps getting excluded from. Kudos to Cuaron for doing his homework, but even if that wasn't homework. Rocked!
--Dumbledore's "Did what?" and "Good evening." Totally senile old man-ish (of course, a means to draw your attention away from all his massive godlike powers) ... sort of how I always saw Dumbledore in the books. I do think Michael Gambon's Dumbledore will grow on me.... guy still needs a manicure though. Toute suite.
--The Jamaican shrunken heads. "Why all the long faces?!" HEE!
--Hogsmeade DID look just like a Christmas card.
--Not sure I'm digging Professor Flitwick's slick new look. He looks more like a tiny Adolf Hitler. I kind of liked the bushy white hair Flitwick... that's the kind old guy I'd see sneakily giving a student Ice Mice for pissing off someone like Umbridge. Didn't really like the new Igor makeover for Tom, the Leaky Cauldron innkeeper, either. He seemed like such an approachable guy in the first two movies ("Hagrid, the usual I presume?"). I wouldn't come near Igor with a 10 ft. pole. Then again, I might be having nasty Van Helsing flashbacks (cringes). However, the way he was (roughly) shuffling Harry around was pretty funny.
--Percy's desperate, "I'm Head Boy!!!" as he gets trampled over by a bunch of Gryffindors... HEE!! I love Percy, but I laughed at that. A lot.
--Dan really can stop wearing Dudley's first grade shirts too fyi (The wardrobe during the Monsters Book of Monsters scene. The hell?), because I really don't need to see a 14-yr-old's svelt torso (Did Michael Jackson direct this movie?). Although speaking of the Monsters Book of Monsters... it's painful wimper after Harry stomped on it? HEEE again!
--Trelawney grabbing Seamus' head? BWAH!
--Dean Thomas walking right through the ghost and looking all annoyed.
--The boys' slumber party scene was cute. A lot of folks didn't like the muggle clothing and the normalcy, but I actually liked it. These guys have lived in the same room for two years, you'd expect them just hanging out like they were in that scene (and was that empty bottles of butterbeer I saw on the tables? Naughty!). It makes sense. One of those off-page moments that must occur in canon too, but we just don't see them. Being able to watch a scene like that, it really drums in how jarring some particular conflicts in Book 5 must have been, particularly for Harry.
--Was I the only one that didn't think Parvati changing her giant cobra into a giant clown jack-in-the-box an improvement... but actually worse than the cobra? Bad memories of seeing Poltergeist as a kid ::grumbles... stupid attacking clown::
--When did the Twins get so hot? ... But thank GOD for it! With Michael Jackson apparently in charge of wardrobe, it's nice to have some non-jailbait in this movie (with the sad loss of Oliver Wood). And the way they were finishing each others' sentences? HEE!! (seemingly my favorite word of the day)
--Everyone is going on and on about Buckbeak's CGI and I admit, Bucky was effing brilliant. ::snuggles Buckbeak:: BTW, I still think it's a travesty no one is selling stuffed Buckbeaks... or are they awaiting the Holiday rush? They would. Anyway, I have to give shout-outs to Grim!Sirius as well. It looked more like a cross between a bear and a dog. Massive indeed.
--100 ft fall as opposed to 50 ft? A change for the better I have to say. That really was effing scary. He was flying through the damn clouds! I was thinking if the Dementors didn't get him, the lack of oxygen would! Or a bolt of lightening perhaps? I noticed poor Cedric got struck. You'd think if you were hit by lightening you'd be more resilient to silly things like ... stuff. Or not.
--Aunt Marge floating around the stratosphere ahead as Harry tugs along his suitcase? BWAH! My brother (who is HP-ignorant) was one of the people watching the movie with me. He thought Marge was going to explode when she'd been inflating. Methinks he's seen Big Trouble in Little China one too many times (Y'all know the scene I'm referring to if you've seen BTiLC)... although I do think he had a point. She did look like she was going to pop like a balloon. I figured she'd survive, since I doubt Cuaron could have explained away involuntary manslaughter, but still... the music, the button popping, Vernon futiley trying to keep her from floating away. heee
--Hermione and the feather? Very kinky of her.
--Speaking of kinky, the Remus/Sirius OTP folks are going nutso, with good reason. However, was I the only one that thought Draco had been *checking out* Harry before the "Look out! Dementors!!" fake-out moment? I sweartogawd he'd been looking at him up and down. Then, of course, there's the note passing in DADA class. Good lord. Get a room!
--Going back to Quidditch, well post-Quidditch in the Hospital Wing to be more exact ... What the hell was Madam Pomfrey doing to that poor Hufflepuff on the left side of the shot when you first come into the Hospital Wing? It looked like there were some Hufflepuff Quidditch players holding the poor bastard down too. Jaysus.
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no subject
Date: 2004-06-05 11:44 am (UTC)Not seeing eye to eye with you on the H/Hr interpretation (in the most respectful way) but as you say there's a bit for every shipper in this film*, and so I'm still amused at the 'ship anyone you like HP fandom ethos.
I am going to have to see it again, because I don't think I'm clear headed enough about what they did and didn't drop - lots of people have pointed stuff out in reviews that I completely missed. So obviously, I'm going to have to see it again.
*Except for the Sir Cadogan fans.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-05 03:14 pm (UTC)I was confused about Neville! Half way through I asked my fiance if that was actually the same actor...
no subject
Date: 2004-06-05 03:55 pm (UTC)(Fab icon.)
no subject
Date: 2004-06-05 04:45 pm (UTC)I've had a secret crush on Neville for the longest time... and it's just... not right ... that he's looking like he is in the movie. He's like what Prince Charles would look like if he weren't a gangly troll.
lots of people have pointed stuff out in reviews that I completely missed. So obviously, I'm going to have to see it again.
Even if I caught everything the first go round (I didn't), I'd watch it again... just because. BTW, am I the only one that thinks it's a little amusing that we're fully into the summer movie blockbuster brouhaha and we've had movies about vampire hunters, hellspawn and the ginormous natural disasters... but the movie that bitchslaps them all is about a 13 yr old British wizard? heee ::pre-emptively boggles at the opening ticket sale numbers for PoA come Monday::
no subject
Date: 2004-06-05 08:13 pm (UTC)What was the crowd like for when you went to see it? I went on the second day and we had assigned seats (which practically never happens.) We were pretty close to being sold out too. Very well behaved kids, in the main, I think I leaned about and jumped up and down more than them by the time of the Shrieking Shack scene.
When we're talking about comparisons HP is a kids' movie with crossover adult appeal. Fairer to compare it to Shrek 2 than anything else.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-06 12:23 am (UTC)Assigned seats? heee It's like you snagged some opera tickets. HP the Opera. ;) My crowd was pretty mixed from kids to teenagers, Gen Xers, Yers, etc, adults (mostly parents). Definitely a lot of kids, but all insane HP fans, so right when the movie came on there were a lot of loud shushing and "Quiet! The movie started!" in pre-pubescent voices. Great reactionary crowd too. Gasping, laughing, a few "AWWWW"s here and there. The movie also got a standing ovation. All in all, I loved my crowd. Definitely added to the experience.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-08 12:03 pm (UTC)Definitely a lot of kids,
I went to the 9 pm showing and it was probably about 50% adults and teenagers (Trying to look inconspicuous. Hehheh).
Definitely a lot of kids, but all insane HP fans, so right when the movie came on there were a lot of loud shushing and "Quiet! The movie started!" in pre-pubescent voices
When I went to see COS in the local fleapit a bunch of talking kids got screamed at by an irate woman ('Shut up and watch the fuckin' movie!'). The kids round here are always the most annoying little gits in the cinema. (Or else their parents. When I went to see Peter Pan the dad in front of me started humming. HUMMING. along to the theme music in the middle. *headdesk*)