Many movie comments...

[Dave Hardenbrook]

Hi all!
I saw the film last night, so now I'll respond to some people's
recent comments and make a few geenral remarks of my own...

Trina:
HMyc> The Devil's Snare scene!  Hermione panicking, "There isn't any wood!" 
HMyc> and Ron's retort "Have you gone mad!  Are you a witch or not!"  is my 
HMyc> favorite R & H interactions.  The loss of this scene made me pout 
HMyc> throughout the last of the film.

I didn't object to this so much -- They deleted the potion-puzzle
scene (which IMHO wouldn't have worked too well cinematically), so
they needed something to win Hermione her 50 points, so they made her
the level-headed one in the Devil's snare.

HMyc> Argus Filch.  He looked too much like my inner picture of Mad-Eye 
HMyc> Moody than how I imagined Filch to be--a small, slightly stooped,  
HMyc> balding man who resents the fact that he has to clean up after these 
HMyc> kids who are able to do what he cannot--Magic.

I agree -- Being a guy who would call Felix Unger a slob, Filch should
IMHO himself be immaculately well-kempt.  In thinking of Filch, I always
imagine the evil-but-tidy Mechanicles from Disney's _Aladdin_ series.

HMyc> Mrs. Norris.  Yes, the Maine Coon who played her was gorgeous, but 
HMyc> Maine Coon cats cannot *ever* be described as scrawny!  They are 
HMyc> known for their largeness!

And we never hear her name!

HMyc> Quidditch.  Where was Lee Jordan's brilliant color commentary?  It 
HMyc> would have helped immensely in figuring out exactly what was going on.

You're right... It all went so fast, I kept saying to myself, "Damn
where's my omnioculars so I can slow-mo this!"  Also Wood's
description to Harry of the rules of Quidditch was too rushed.  Last
week I gave a seven-minute speech on the rules of Quidditch to a group
of largely Potter-philistines, and some of them said that even seven
minutes wasn't enough to make the rules clear to them.

HMyc> Also, there are no girls on the Slytherin team.

* Nods * Marcus Flint is a male-chauvanist. :)

What do you think of their making the Slytherin team look like the
main cast of a 1950's B-grade gangster film?  (Is Draco the only
Slytherin who's ever invoked a teeth-straightening charm?)

HMyc> Seamus over Neville.  Neville is more important to the overall plot 
HMyc> of the books and this film than is Seamus.  Instead of having Seamus 
HMyc> explain that he was half & half, they could have easily had Neville 
HMyc> tell about his Uncle Algie dropping him out of the bedroom window.

Yeah, not enough development of Neville.

HMyc> I HATE Mrs. Weasley...she's all wrong.

I don't think she was on long enough to pass judgement.  Granted, it
was a bit of an initial shock to see "Educating Rita" now old and heavy
enough to be Mrs. W!

HMyc> Ron's poverty is a bit brushed off, but that's okay
HMyc> in this movie.  Rupert Grint is the MOST MARVELOUS actor (of the
HMyc> children) in this film!  He IS Ron!  Dan's acting is a bit slim in
HMyc> spots, as is Emma's, but Rupert's never fails.  He's got Ron's role
HMyc> down to a T, I'm really really excited to see him in future spots.

I agree -- Rupert's Ron threatens to steal the show!

HMyc> The Sorting Ceremony leaves something to be desired.  Didn't like the
HMyc> hat.

In the audio books, Jim Dale does the only possible voice the Sorting
Hat could have!

HMyc> Weasley weren't properly introduced.  Percy was well played in
HMyc> his dimished capacity.

What did you think of the lack of glasses on Percy and McGonnegal?

HMyc> Classes are good.  Love Snape in Potions--never established he's Head
HMyc> of Slytherin...

Actually, I think it *was* mentioned...

HMyc> --never explains WHY he's fond of Draco!

Or really why he hates Harry.  I think if there's any real big flaw in
the film overall it's not enough Snape.  After all, he's the "prime
suspect" -- We need to know as much about him as possible.

HMyc> Okay, this is getting long, so onto things that bothered me. 
HMyc> Invisibility Cloak was AWESOME AWESOME!  Flamel story was weird...it
HMyc> seemed to jump to me.  The Mirror was BLOODY BRILLIANT (hehe).  I
HMyc> didn't really like it in the book, but now I'm a fan.  Harris as
HMyc> Dumbldore was eh...oh well.

Harry's parents in the mirror got me bleary-eyed.

HMyc> Wish the had left Devil's Snare as the fire, witch, wood thing. 
HMyc> Wizard's Chess was brill--again Rupert as Ron couldn't have been more
HMyc> perfect.

That scene left me more afraid now than ever that this is a
forshadowing that Ron is ultimately going to sacrifice his life
to help defeat V.  (Please feel free to indignantly refute this.)

HMyc> Dumbledore should have explained Snape.  VERY confusing if you hadn't
HMyc> read the book.

Again, too little Snape.

HMyc> Hated how H&R were just
HMyc> "waiting" on the stairs when Harry got out of the hospital wing! 
HMyc> Loved how the movie ended...perfect Harry material.

My biggest quibble about the ending was it was a typical tear-jerking,
"Oh Scarecrow, I think I'll miss you most of all" parting scene... No
indication at all that he'll be back next year.

Barb:
HMyc> On a second viewing I have to say that I like it even more than I
HMyc> did yesterday and that Emma Watson grates less on me now, but her 
HMyc> line to Harry near the end about his being a great wizard is either 
HMyc> badly written, badly delivered, or both.

I thought this was okay... I just missed the hug. ( First indication
that Hermione is a big sentimental softie. :) )

Indyfans:
HMyc> The spot at the end where Voldy tells Harry he can be with his parents might 
HMyc> be it, but that's really short!  Can anyone help with this puzzle?

Besides, hasn't Dumbledore said (on numerous occasions) that the dead can
never, NEVER be brought back?

HMyc> regarding the centaur...Yuk!  I had pictured a beautiful male with
HMyc> long hair...  this one was so, well not any of that!  Well, I'm sure his 
HMyc> mommy loves him!  

Agreed... The face of the movie centaur belonged on a merperson in my
mind...

BTW, what did you think about the silent-"e" pronouncation of Firenze's
name?


Well, that's enough replies for one day, I guess.  My overall
opinions:

Pros:
-- The kids were all great!  Harry, and Ron are perfect.
Neville is just how I pictured him.  Hermione is perhaps
a little too cute, but still good.  (We guys are going to
have some "eye candy" by the last couple of films!)
And Malfoy looked just like a kid who picked on me in
grammar school, so that rang true!

-- The Dursley sequence wasn't too long.

-- Really nasty goblins!  (No wonder Bagman is terrified
of them -- *I* wouldn't want to owe money to those things!)

-- Coltrane, Smith and Rickman are wonderful!

-- Thought I don't like James in the movie, I do like Lily.
(Does anyone besides me think she looks a little bit like JKR?)

-- The "cartoonishness" of the troll didn't bother me... They're
not exactly the lords of magical creation anyway...

-- The Quidditch scene was great, though I kind of felt the Bludgers
kind of got short shrift.  (More players hitting players tham Bludgers
hitting players or Beaters hitting Bludgers.)

-- I very much liked the new Harry-Quirrell-Voldy confrontation,
including Harry responding "Liar!" to the "There is no good or bad"
speech (so frequently cited by fundies as "proof" the books are
immoral), and Harry himself causing Quirrel's disintegration without
a "Dumbledore ex machina".

-- It didn't end with Harry waking up in Privet Drive, discovering
that it was all a dream, and saying, "Oh Auntie Petunia, there's
no place like home!" as she kicks him back into the cupboard.

-- And many more I'll talk about later... :)


Cons:
-- In my VERY VERY HO, Richard Harris is the worst bit of miscasting
for a fantasy film since Billie Burke as Glinda.  But then, I'm not
sure who would have been better... All the people I can think of who
would have been great as Dumbledore -- Alec Guiness, John Guilgud,
Robert Donat, Edmund Gwenn, Michael Redgrave -- are all dead.  And
in fairness to Harris, I think the omission of all the lines that
reveal D's "quirkiness" may be part of the problem.

-- The explainations of Voldy's evilness and how Harry got the
scar are too muddled.

-- My only problem with the movie James is how is Harry *ever*
going to mistake his future self for that guy in PoA??

-- A few classic one-liners are watered down by "explainations",
e.g. "We'll be killed, or worse expelled"/"She's got to get her
priorities straight"; "I checked it out for some light reading"/
"That's light reading?"; and "How do you know about Fluffy?"/"That
thing has a name?".  We don't need to have these jokes "explained"
to us with an anti-climatic follow-up line.

-- The centaur looked like the Creature from the Black Lagoon
with horse legs.

-- Not enough SNAPE!  (Hopefully we'll get more in the future films)


Unanswered questions:
-- Who are the undentified people at the staff table?  Could the
black woman be Sinistra?

-- What about that scene where Nick is chatting up the Grey Lady...
Are they an item?

-- Did anyone else notice the dragon skeleton?  Its Velociraptor-like
appearence made me wonder what the pedigree of dragons might be
Are dragons dinosaurs?  Or thecodonts?  Or pterosaurs?

-- 
Dave