Just got back from ....
2004-Jun-07, Monday 10:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ssurgulHP3. I was toying, idly, with commenting in various folks' journals regarding the movie, but thought it would do as much good here anyway.
First let me say, WOW! Visually, far more vivid and stunning and rich than the first two. Clearly not the same locations, but all in all, it was definitely not a bad change. And that clock..... Man, the visual tricks used were just staggering. And on that note, Buckbeak was AWESOME. I absolutely loathed the woofer that Lupin became; I want big, fuzzy, and sexy, not thin, emaciated, goofy and twig-like. Give me werewoof porn I can .... errrrr, 'live' with, like in Underworld or Dog Soldiers.
Costuming was essentially right out of the book. And was I overjoyed to see the kids doing 'normal' clothes whenever possible, rather than the uniforms. And Harry growing progressively more dishevelled, and his hair was actually a mess this time. What a shock, since the first three books are full of, what, like 100 references to how crazed his hair was? Lupin's costuming was superb, and Sirius really did have that wonderful escaped-con look about him. Oldman truly is a fucking Master Actor. I can only pray that they can keep him coming back for the next two movies, if they get made.
The new Dumbledore. Ick. He was far too frenetic and uncontrolled, his beard was a farce compared to the descriptions in the book, and his eyes held none of the aged delight in life that the original's held. He held almost none of the same screen presence. I realize it's unfair to compare, as they're very different actors, with very different directors. But, let's be honest. Dumbledore plays a pretty fucking critical role in the movies, and the plotline in the 5th book if nowhere else. I had hoped this one would rise to the challenge, but he seems to have gotten quite drunk and stupid instead.
The kids were AWESOME. Their command of expression and simple acting has grown by leaps and bounds. Not to mention, having watched the first two before going to this one, I was able to gauge their 'growth' in the plotlines. While I would never actually believe they are 13 in the film, it was quite pleasant to see them developing on screen as they are described as doing so in the books. And the Hermione/Ron interactions just keep getting funnier and funnier. I can hardly wait for the ball in Goblet of Fire now. I'll probably be rolling around on the floor with gales of laughter when it happens.
On a scale of 1 - 10, 10 being highest, I'd rate this a nice, solid 9.5. It would have been perfect if we'd actually had the 2 minutes of fucking plot exposition to be let in as to why and how Lupin knew how to operate the Marauders' Map, and who Prongs, Moony, Padfoot and Wormtail were. Ah well, condensing such a huge story into 2.5 hours of film is really a horrible task, and yet again the writer rose to the challenge better than most anyone else would have been capable.
First let me say, WOW! Visually, far more vivid and stunning and rich than the first two. Clearly not the same locations, but all in all, it was definitely not a bad change. And that clock..... Man, the visual tricks used were just staggering. And on that note, Buckbeak was AWESOME. I absolutely loathed the woofer that Lupin became; I want big, fuzzy, and sexy, not thin, emaciated, goofy and twig-like. Give me werewoof porn I can .... errrrr, 'live' with, like in Underworld or Dog Soldiers.
Costuming was essentially right out of the book. And was I overjoyed to see the kids doing 'normal' clothes whenever possible, rather than the uniforms. And Harry growing progressively more dishevelled, and his hair was actually a mess this time. What a shock, since the first three books are full of, what, like 100 references to how crazed his hair was? Lupin's costuming was superb, and Sirius really did have that wonderful escaped-con look about him. Oldman truly is a fucking Master Actor. I can only pray that they can keep him coming back for the next two movies, if they get made.
The new Dumbledore. Ick. He was far too frenetic and uncontrolled, his beard was a farce compared to the descriptions in the book, and his eyes held none of the aged delight in life that the original's held. He held almost none of the same screen presence. I realize it's unfair to compare, as they're very different actors, with very different directors. But, let's be honest. Dumbledore plays a pretty fucking critical role in the movies, and the plotline in the 5th book if nowhere else. I had hoped this one would rise to the challenge, but he seems to have gotten quite drunk and stupid instead.
The kids were AWESOME. Their command of expression and simple acting has grown by leaps and bounds. Not to mention, having watched the first two before going to this one, I was able to gauge their 'growth' in the plotlines. While I would never actually believe they are 13 in the film, it was quite pleasant to see them developing on screen as they are described as doing so in the books. And the Hermione/Ron interactions just keep getting funnier and funnier. I can hardly wait for the ball in Goblet of Fire now. I'll probably be rolling around on the floor with gales of laughter when it happens.
On a scale of 1 - 10, 10 being highest, I'd rate this a nice, solid 9.5. It would have been perfect if we'd actually had the 2 minutes of fucking plot exposition to be let in as to why and how Lupin knew how to operate the Marauders' Map, and who Prongs, Moony, Padfoot and Wormtail were. Ah well, condensing such a huge story into 2.5 hours of film is really a horrible task, and yet again the writer rose to the challenge better than most anyone else would have been capable.