SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER (mini-review)

[lindseyharrisst]

--- In HPFGU-Movie at y..., Barbara Sheridan <bsher213 at y...> wrote:

> If they don't have Rickman saying that "Or maybe he's right
> here wondering why you two didn't arrive on the school
> train" line I'll be depressed forever. I've been hearing
> that voice say that line in my head for months and months.

 I'm not Fiona, butI saw the movie yesterday night and I must say, the
answer is no. Filch does it instead, but don't panic, there is more
snape than I was expecting and the duel scene is wonderful. Dear Alan
seems to have decided to camp it up a bit. When he says
(paraphrasing)"perhaps someone from my own house would be more
suitable (than Neviile, to demonstrate a duel)he does a gesture which
is sooo funny coming from him. It's a sort of exagerated shrug from
the elbows - you'll see what I mean when you see the movie. I think 
maybe he felt obliged to keep up with Branagh as lockhart in terms of
animated performance. He also gets to do the bit from the book where
he talks to Harry about the appearance in the daily prophet of the
flying anglia.
I think Arthur Weasley and Madame Pomfrey were excellently cast. The
latter was, I now recall, Mrs Fairfax in an television adaptation of
Jane Eyre  on Britih TV and exudes the same air of maternal concern
and benevolence that I thought was really touching and appropriate. It
made no difference that the image I had of her from the books was of a
slightly younger woman with a curvier figure and a more no-nonsense,
less demonstratively compassionate manner.
I just could not get used to Lucius Malfoy's hair. It seemed to remind
me of a singer from an 80s new romantic band, though his actual
performance was faultlessly sneering. A few small details have, as
ever, been changed in order to reduce the running time or accomodate
the fact that film is a visual medium and some things just are n't
"filmic" enough. Mainly I accepted these and they made for a faster
paced film than the last one. Only a few irked because I could think
of no reason for them. Examples include the scene mentioned earlier
when it is Filch who first confronts the duo and the scene at the end
where Harry gives the diary to Lucius andd he rips the sock off the
outside and throws it away so Dobby catches it. The sock is actually
in the diary between the pages in the film, and it is the book that is
handed to Dobby. This does n't matter I know, but that's the point
really. If it makes no difference, why not do it properly? Mercifull
Dobby was not the Jar Jar Binks of this film.
The ministrer of magic was played by the chap who was Siegfried Farnon
in english television's adaptation of James Herriot's books. he was
shorter and less fat than I had pictured and you got the sense that he
was put-upon and nervous, rather than too sure of himself and unaware
of his ignorance, which is the way JK portrays him and the way he
needs to be for his actions at the end of book 4 to seem understandable.
Still, there is very little of him in CoS, so it is n't fair to judge
 so soon, perhaps.
The sets are very good, and they coped well with the need to have an
entrance to the chamber of secrets from the sink in Myrtle's bathroom.
They had the sinks in a cricle facing out from a stone column, giving
the effect of a sort of font, which was lowered into the ground when
Harry spoke parseltongue. Moaning Myrtle was just right and portrayed
as both annoying and over sensitive- not wholly unlikable. 
No ghosts feature except Nearly Headless Nick. 

Loads more to say but I'll leave someone else to do it since I'm tired
of typing for now.What did everyone else think (not that I need to ask
for feedback:)?
 
Snapesangel