some thoughts about the movie

[Andrea Renkel]

Hi all,

I'm fairly new to this list (didn't want to join before I had seen 
the movie). I've watched it for the second time yesterday. Most of 
what I think, has already been posted, so I'd just like to add my 
opinion and a few thoughts.

I must admit, I had been extremely nervous before I went to see the 
movie, not only because I'm obsessed with the books, but also because 
I write movie reviews myself (rarely on Hollywood blockbusters 
though) and this is a quite disillusioning work - more often than 
not, even highly anticipated movies turn out to be disappointing. So 
I had braced myself for the worst.
In short: I was more than pleasantly surprised! 

There wasn't a single actor who didn't match the image I had of that 
particular character - except maybe for Emma Watson, who in my 
opinion is a little too pretty for Hermione - somewhere I read a 
review comparing her to Britney Spears and that image has been 
haunting me ever since.
I can't agree with those who described Daniel Radcliffe's performance 
as "wooden"; in fact he's very much the Harry I've always imagined: a 
kid that would prefer to keep out of the spotlight unless 
deliberately earned for himself, full of wonderment about his luck, 
being thrown in the middle of a world far beyond his wildest dreams, 
always a little reluctant to believe this is *really* happening to 
him and very grateful for those small things others take for granted, 
like having friends, getting christmas presents or having the 
appreciation of others. Not forgetting the fact, that Daniel 
Radcliffe carries a weight on his shoulders, more seasoned actors 
would find hard to bear, he's doing a tremendous job!

Rupert Grint is simply adorable, has fantastic timing and facial 
expressions and I hope he's heading for a great career.
Alan Rickman was brilliant. Snape not being so malicious as in the 
books didn't disturb me at all. Maybe because I never felt he's evil -
 unfair, yes; surely lacking even the faintest trace of warmth and 
humor - but then again, after reading all of the books, I believe 
he's very convincingly acting the part of the "bad guy" for certain 
reasons. (Maybe my subconscious tries to tell me, I'm a secret Snape-
fan?)
Robbie Coltrane IS Hagrid!!! 'nuff said! :-)

To cut this short, the entire cast was amazing. If there were flaws, 
they were so minor that it didn't disturb the fun I had. This goes 
for almost the entire look and feel of the film. Hogwarts felt 
exactly right and Diagon Alley was wonderful! I wanted to jump right 
in and stroll through there, have a look at all the shops... I hope 
the guys at Warner realize how tempting this is and include some 
feature on Diagon Alley on the DVD!
The best thing was the Quidditch match! When I read it, I found it 
hard to imagine (mostly because I read slower than they fly...), so I 
loved to see it in all its splendour - and violence. Loved the little 
exchange between Harry and Oliver before the match ("I woke up in 
hospital one week later.") Mr. Wood surely knows how to encourage a 
new player... very funny!

There were of course a few things I didn't like:

Quirrell turning to dust at the end reminded me of "Indiana Jones" 
and "The Mummy" and half a dozen other films. I believe they should 
have kept the blisters (impressive enough!) AND more important, the 
fact that Quirrell can't touch Harry. The changes to the scene give a 
slightly different meaning to an important detail I think.

The fact that Voldemort was such a deadly threat for the wizard 
community, what it meant for them when he disappeared (and what it 
would mean, should he reappear) and therefore Harry's fame in the 
wizarding world were not explained clearly enough for those who 
haven't read the books. Too short and too harmless, not enough 
emphasis on the fact, that the world Harry (and we) have grown to 
love would fall apart if Voldemort came back to life.
Also the fact that every wizard, apart from Dumbledore and Harry, is 
afraid even to speak Voldemort's name, is not made clear enough. This 
detail tells a lot about Harry's character in the book.

The cut from Privet Drive to the hut where the Dursleys and Harry are 
hiding is too sudden and confusing for someone who hasn't read the 
books. Why not add a minute of screen time and show their flight in 
short sequences?

A question at the end: what happened to the "oh" in "Her-my-oh-nee"? 
Maybe there's something wrong with my ears, but I always heard "Her-
my-nee".
Sorry if this question has been asked before or it's already a well-
known fact; I couldn't find something about the pronunciation in the 
archives.
Could someone please explain for a poor non-native speaker?

Thanks for reading this far!
Andrea
*not from Bulgaria, but from Germany*