Second Time Around...

[pkerr06 at attglobal.net]

--- In HPFGU-Movie at y..., "Ebony" <ebonyink at h...> wrote:
> ...and I *loved* it!  It was SO much better than my first
viewing... 
>
> 
> Everything I've wanted to say has already been said . . .

Exactly.  I adored it.  And it was even better the second time around.

Part of this was because I went with my family the first time, but 
went alone the second time, and so was able to concentrate on the 
screen with my entire attention, rather than my five year old in the 
seat next to me: "Cover your eyes here, sweetie--remember, I told
you, 
they get away from the troll, really they do.  What do you mean, you 
have to go to the bathroom again???"  (She may have really been too 
young for it; she was really frightened by the movie's ending, even 
though we've read the book to her.  We really limit her movies, and 
she watches no television at all, so this had a high impact on her; 
we'll be watching her closely for signs of nightmares in the next 
week.  I hope it wasn't a mistake to bring her.)

Yes, there were some things that I thought, "they coulda done it 
better."  The centaur.  The troll.  I'm in the camp that was totally 
happy with the Quidditch match, though. 

Some things were done beautifully--the Great Hall (I had forgotten 
that detail about the floating candles--lovely)  The invisibility 
cloak.  The mirror of Erised.  (Brought tears to my eyes the second 
time around.) The photo book that Hagrid gives Harry.

AND there were touches that were added that I really liked: like the 
pathos of Harry  drawing a picture of a birthday cake in the dirt 
floor and "blowing out his candles," and Dudley getting trapped
inside 
the reptile case by the glass reappearing.  And that Dudley tried to 
steal Harry's cake--makes Hagrid hitting him with the pig tail spell 
more motivated.

Loved the casting.  I knew, of course, that Rickman would do a great 
job with Snape.  I hope that Richard Harris and Maggie Smith don't
die 
before the series ends--I'd like to keep them.  Yeah, James looked a 
little gone to seed, but I could buy it.  Loved the twins, all the 
Weasleys, Oliver Wood, Lee Jordan, Neville, Draco.

And yes, I bought the trio, and loved them all the second time even 
more.  I think this movie has made me fall even more deeply in love 
with these books, which I didn't even think was possible.

When you come down to it, I have only one real regret (well, aside 
from the fact that my daughter may have been too young to see it; I'm 
a little worried about her.)  My regret is that I wasn't able to go 
and see it with you all, my dear friends that I've come to know over 
the past year: Amanda and Heidi and Ebony and Penny and Crazy John 
Ivan and Caius and Pippin and Steve V. and Mike Aberforth's goat, and 
Neil Ward and Simon and oh, all of you, sensible and funny and 
thoughtful and smart and kind and wonderful people.  What fun it
would 
have been if we could have all been there together cheering
Gryffindor 
winning the House Cup!

Love to you all, and three cheers for Gryffindor!

Peg