Movie Review (long, my apologies)

[kris403 at yahoo.com]

It's two in the morning, and I'm to giddy to sleep...  For the 
record, I saw it twice in one day, and I loved it even more the 
second time around.  Of course it's not the book, but it helps 
clarify some of the images that were not crisp before.



1.  Absolutely loved quidditch!  Wow!  Fast paced and I finally got 
a good feel for what it was supposed to look like.  I always had a 
hard time imagining it for some reason with the books.

2.  Alan Rickman and the other adult characters :) were fabulous.  I 
was a little disappionted with Dumbledore, not because of the 
acting, but that they cut out all the really great lines that show 
his sense of humor.  I guess they cut those lines for time, but it 
made Dumbledore seem OOC in the end. 

3.  Rupert stole the show.  In one night I became an R/H fan because 
I absolutely loved the way he portrayed Ron.  He also had the best 
lines in the movie.  The chess scene was amazing and the fear in his 
eyes was perfect.  

4.  Emma, I thought was adorable.  Yes, she could be annoying at 
times, but remember, that is supposed to be her character.  I didn't 
like her bathroom troll scene line though.  That one could have been 
more believable.  

5.  Dan was excellent.  At first I didn't think so, but my friend 
and I talked about it and he played his part very well.  We've read 
through Book 4, and most of us are wrapped up in fanfiction.  Book 
4, and most of FF tend to portray Harry as the hero (which he is), 
but he's starting to come into his own.  He feels more secure in the 
wizarding world and what he is supposed to do.  We need to remember 
that PS Harry is a scared little boy who is in a complete new 
world.  I think he did that very well.

6.  Tom Felton was outstanding as Draco.  He was the perfect spoiled 
brat and had great facial expressions to go with it.

Plusses:
1.  Quidditch (but I already said that)

2.  Interesting insights to what MIGHT be going on in JKR's head.  I 
never believed the theory that Petunia was a squib until I saw the 
movie.  The way her lines where worded and delivered makes me a firm 
believer now.  Susan Bones was one of the few chosen to be sorted on 
screen.  I wonder if this will be important (as chat has seemed to 
imply that she will be important later on).  I also noticed how much 
Voldemort emphasized the fact he wanted Harry to JOIN him, and that 
together they could bring back his parents (or something to that 
effect).   I'm curious on if this provides some insights to what may 
come in the future.

3.  Set design, costumes, etc.  It just helps me to picture it more 
in my head.  I absolutely loved checking out all the details the 
second time around.  The pictures in the background (yes, I noticed 
the painting in the hospital wing... and what was up with Madam 
Pomfrey?), the signs in Diagon Alley, all of those things made it 
very fun.

4.  The chess match and the troll were wonderfully done IMO.  

Negatives:
1.  The ending.  Dumbledore didn't seem to clearly explain what had 
happened.  He never explained Snape, and it just didn't clarify the 
plot.  

2.  I didn't mind them having to give the characters different 
lines, but I, too, was bothered when they cut wonderful quotes to 
insert ones that were very weak.  While I loved Hermione's 
response, "That thing has a name!"  Draco Malfoy really needed to 
make the comment about the Weasley's not having money and more 
children than they could afford.  

Along with that.  Did anyone else catch the quotes from the book 
that no longer sounded right?  For example:  When Hagrid goes to the 
hut on the rock and Vernon yells, "I've told you, he's not going!"  
It was great in the book because there was a whole dialog before, 
but in the movie, when did Vernon tell him the first time?  I 
noticed it again at the end when the Centar told Harry, "This is 
where I leave you"  (I know I probably misquoted that), but the 
point is in the movie, they never went anywhere.  That line wasn't a 
big deal but it could have been changed a little to make it flow a 
little better.  Little lines like that made the movie seem jarring 
at times.

3.  I wasn't particularly fond of the centar.  

4.  I don't think that the trio's friendship (or lack of with 
Hermione) was clearly defined.  It all seemed to run together.  The 
same went for Neville's relationship with them and how everyone 
treated them when they lost all those house points.  


hmmm.. I'll stop complaining now.  I will say, while I picked it 
apart, I absolutely loved it, and I'm sure I will go see it a few 
more times.  I wasn't disappionted in the least.  I just wish they 
had more time they could devote to the film.

Kris