I AM NEVER GOING TO A MOVIE WITH MY SISTER AGAIN

[elapses]

I know we all have too many favorite scenes from the books for them to come close to keeping everything: these films are already bursting at the seams, and I am rarely really upset about things they leave out. I think the scene where Ron catches Ginny and Dean and she rails at him in anger is an essential part of the book-- important to understanding the whole Lavender thing and Ron himself, but if I were the one who had to make the decisions, I might've cut it too. In the end things like that don't really matter, because most of the audience can fill in the blanks with what they've read. That was okay. Mostly.

What was not okay was the last scene. It took five minutes for the camera to even acknowledge Ron's presence, AND HE DID NOT SPEAK. I think I would have hit something if Hermione had actually gotten to say the line, "we're with you whatever happens", but as it is she was given the spirit of it. I CAN'T BELIEVE SOMEONE HASN'T HIT STEVE KLOVES WITH A METAPHORICAL BRICK YET, told him that his personal feelings about these characters should not seep into these films and change the story. Ron is not a dumb brute, he's not there to sit there and ask the stupid questions that Harry knows the answers to and Hermione has ~intuited~. He has a place, an important place, and he should be allowed to occupy it in the movies as he did in the books. Hermione is not equal to Harry, and she is not more than Ron. "I guess Ron's okay with you dating Ginny" was uncomfortably out of place, and only drew more attention to the fact that Ron is not part of the trio as Steve Kloves see it.

(veils: "it was so harry and hermione could have more sexual tension that they weren't supposed to". Hardy har har :|)

I guess the other thing that is tripping me up is the scene where Greyback and Bellatrix attack the Burrow at Christmas -- WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO REPLACE THE LACK OF A FIGHT SCENE AT THE END??? Was the book just too "slow" at that point? I can understand restructuring the story if there's a reason, but there wasn't one. WHAT THE FUCK.


Those are the things, mostly, that are keeping me from loving this movie. And I liked a lot of it -- I am quite fond of David Yates, the winding shot of Ron and Lavender going up the tower that then switched to Draco was maybe my favorite. Except I think my favorite thing about him is the way he integrates real, vibrant, "muggle" London into this story -- he did it in Order of the Phoenix and he did it again at the beginning here. (I was gutted by the scene in OotP where they're flying over the city by broom the first time I saw it -- in a way I depend on these films, because as vibrant as the story is for me, I am so thoroughly left-brained and aural that I just don't visualize things).

Last night, right before I went to bed, when all the east coasters were getting home from their midnight showings, stepliana said this thing (and by the by, yeah, when I have got all my words out I will go see what you all really have to say behind all those cuts, since that is the way of things) about how incredibly accidental it seems that they've ended up with all the right actors for this story, given that they were kids when they were awarded these roles. But she's right. The actors are perfect.

It could have been great. It came close, but the errors were fatal.

Comments

[stepliana.livejournal.com]

The last scene is the one I have the most beef with (along with the added Burrow attack, I mean, come on - cut that shit and give us some more Ron.) He didn't even speak! He sat there, mute, and WHY? Ugh, ugh, ugh. I mean, Rupert had already made such an impression that he could have not had any lines after 10 minutes in and he would have still been the best thing, but still.

But I am glad you agree with me re: these kids, adults now, who have grown up with their roles and they are all just.. perfect. It is wonderful.

[elapses.livejournal.com]

along with the added Burrow attack, I mean, come on
The most BAFFLING thing about this particular decision was that they seem to have added it because the story lacked ~drama~ (I can't think of any other reason!), but then they took out the part of the book (the battle at the end) that actually had it. WHAAAAAT?

[dictatorcari]

I have no comment except that I saw it at midnight dressed in a Ravenclaw costume that I made myself. Yay!

(My friend came dressed as Spiderman.)

[elapses.livejournal.com]

RAVENCLAW PRIDE, MAN. THE OTHER THREE HOUSES ARE FOR LO-SERS, let's not even pretend.

[book-babe.livejournal.com]

This. I'm not sure I'm gonna type up my own thing about it; I probably will once I reread HBP and feel a little more secure in being pissed at some things, but I just. I didn't love it and it could have been so fucking FANTASTIC and it just wasn't. Good, yes, but not at all what it could have been. It got so concerned with the romance end (but skipped all the really important things? DOES NOT COMPUTE.) that it missed a lot of things. However, that said, I sort of loved how the Draco thing was handled, and even though I didn't fully support the change because I'm a book person, always have railed the movies for changing little things because that's how I am, but regardless I really liked how the last scene with Snape was handled. This movie gave me an even greater love for Alan Rickman and Tom Felton, as these characters. And i htink you're so so so - or that other person that you're quoting my bad - but so right about how the actors really are absolutely fucking PERFECT and i just love that. I remember hatinggggg them in the first one. Except Snape. I have always always always thought Alan Rickman was perfect, even though I had no idea who Alan Rickman was. Just. Love. And! Hermione's - whatever, Emma Watson's eyebrowss! they were normal! She can, like, act now. And I love that.

But, like. I don't know. I have to see it again before I have a hardcore valid opinion. Basically.

(but it could have been so fucking fantastic. it was not. not not not. and i am annoyed about that, quite a lot.)

[elapses.livejournal.com]

Okay will you remind me what the "important things" aside from romance are? I haven't read HBP too recently but this is what I recall:
1) hormones
2) Dumbledore showing Harry collected memories so that they can better understand Voldemore
3) hormones
4) ~what's up with Draco~
5) hormones
6) the Half-Blood Prince book intrigue

I sort of loved how the Draco thing was handled, and even though I didn't fully support the change because I'm a book person
Wait how was he different?

I AM BASICALLY WAY TOO PISSED ABOUT RON TO NOTICE OTHER THINGS RIGHT NOW, for the record.

[book-babe.livejournal.com]

i will get back to your numbered list later

hahhahaha that's my bad use of commas and connected things and grammar, he wasn't, the end scene with snape was. fail for meee.

UNDERSTANDABLE.

[tinhooves.livejournal.com]

It was especially awkward for me to watch the film JUST AFTER re-reading the books. I was zeroing in on mistakes/additions left and right. And yeah, the scene that baffled me most was the attack on the Burrow. I mean, I know that they had their reasons because they didn't want the castle fights to become redundant (which is problematic in itself) but geez. How pointless was that?

Anyway, the cinematography was amazing and so real and probably the best thing about the movie.

All in all, I liked OOTP better.

[tinhooves.livejournal.com]

OH. AND I WANT TO TALK TO YOU SOON, JERK.

[elapses.livejournal.com]

WHAT DID I DO NOW?

[tinhooves.livejournal.com]

CAN'T I JUST WANT TO TALK TO MY BFF WITHOUT THERE BEING AN ACTUAL REASON?

[elapses.livejournal.com]

Y BUT YOU ALSO CALLED ME A JERK.

[tinhooves.livejournal.com]

in a loving sort of way!

[tinhooves.livejournal.com]

I also want to add how absolutely fug I think that Bonnie Wright is: She is really fug.

[elapses.livejournal.com]

I don't really agree-- but like, she's been so pretty at the premieres and in press lately, I was surprised she wasn't a hottie with a body in the movie. THEY MADE HER LESS PRETTY THAN SHE IS :(

Also HOLY SHIT the shoe-tying scene was awkward. I don't get how that's romantic in any way, it was just weird and uhhhhhhh. It came off more suggestive than I think they intended?

[tinhooves.livejournal.com]

GOD I KNOW RE: SHOE-TYING INCIDENT. It made me rather uncomfortable, to be completely honest. :\

[book-babe.livejournal.com]

i'm jumping in on this. THE SHOE TYING THING WAS SO SO SO SO AWKWARD.

okay going away again.

[outintherain.livejournal.com]

... I found it creepily servile?

I mean, the heavily drugged, deeply sleeping feminist within me actually got up and suffled around a bit... :S

[elapses.livejournal.com]

God OOTP was good :( This one wasn't horrible exactly... I'm just SO FUCKING PISSED about the way Ron was handled that I can't look at it rationally.

[outintherain.livejournal.com]

THANK YOU!

I was genuinely beginning to feel like the only person who had problems with the pace and WTF HAPPENED TO RON.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Hermione Granger get chummy.

Also? The entire gravity and suspense of who the HBP was and the revelation of its being Snape? LOST. COMPLETELY.

*sigh*