Washington Post/more questions (Long)

[vincentjh]

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Since the thread has turned to discussion on Columbus (and to a 
certain degree, Kloves), this post will focus mostly on the two and 
won't touch much on acting/actors.

Having just watched the movie, I have to say that I am glad Columbus 
won't be doing the next one. It's not that CoS is so bad. It did 
improve from SS/PS, but it might have to do with the fact that CoS 
itself is a much more focused book than SS/PS. The kids are getting 
better. The music isn't deafening. The 160 minutes aren't so hard to 
sit through. Special effects are good. (So good that Columbus seems 
to be reluctant to use less of them.) And Kloves is more confident in 
cutting out some materials and blend a few scenes together to make it 
shorter. But it lacks the intensity and edge that PoA would need. 
That, I must say, is mostly the fault of K&C. 

Although the first part of CoS flows quickly and smoothly, after they 
got to Hogwarts, the story dragged. There are so many parts that 
could have been cut shorter in order to leave room for some little 
scenes that could have helped establish the characters/mood/story. 
The Quidditch is exciting. But after Harry and Draco spent such a 
long time chasing after each other (and being chased by the bluger), 
it gets boring and pointless. The Mandrake IS important (much like 
the bluger). But does the scene has to be so long? If you cut bits 
and pieces here and there, there would be enough time to add scenes 
showing those students' fear or the trio trying to figure out who 
Riddle was and still keep the movie under 150 minutes.

Columbus said that it's a scarier movie. Scarier maybe. But not much 
darker as he claimed. It can be scary if that means having giant 
spiders and snake chasing people around. I, however, did not find 
that very scary. The two major action sequences other than the 
Quidditch game dragged so long that I began to wonder whether or not 
the point of these scenes is to show off the nice work done by the 
art and special effect department. At times they even feel like 
crappy horror films. And I actually laughed during the chamber scene 
when Harry runs into the tunnels. Is this Les Miserables?

Because there is so little emphasis on the fear and terror in 
Hogwarts, we really don't get the feeling that there is something 
lurking. Moreover, in the book, it's clear that everyone is more or 
less "trapped" inside Horwarts, making it even more frightening. But 
with so many nice panoromic shots of Hogwarts (how many times have we 
seen a scene begin with a long shot panning down slowly?), it looks 
like an open space with easy way out.

Since Columbus gave equal weight to every scene, it is unfocused. 
When the main story line is not established clearly, it takes away 
the intensity. When the story dragged, it gets even more 
disconnected. At the end, CoS is, again, a collection of set pieces 
without a story.

Another problem I have is with characterization. I am not sure how 
much of it is because of Kloves and how much is Columbus. What I know 
is that the kids' acting in general didn't bother me much. 

Harry seems too brave and too calm. Especially in the forbidden 
forest and in the chamber, he's so calm and so heroic that I had 
trouble believing he's a 12-year-old kid. I know Harry is special. 
But I loath the idea of making him a Hollywood hero. 

Ron, on the other hand, is scripted to be nothing more than  a comic 
relief. I have major problem with that. Ron's brave. And he's smart, 
too. But half of the movie, he's just scared. It not only wasted a 
good character but a promising young actor. Rupert did well where he 
did not have to act scared or try to be too funny. (Note the way the 
Weasly brothers interact at home and his anger towards Lockhart when 
L tried to escape Hogwarts. It's very natural and believable.) 
However, Columbus used his "rubber face" too much and Rupert ended up 
making faces most of the time. Somehow that became hard to watch 
simply because he did not have to act that way. 

Ron's little sister is also problematic. Her reaction after waking up 
in the chamber just baffled me. Why's she so calm? (And that 
dialogue. Urrrr!) In fact, the whole scene in the chamber didn't make 
much sense to me. They seriously needed an action director (besides a 
different writer). 

When Harry got back from the tunnels (or whatever those are), he went 
directly to Ginny and kneeled by her. Just when I thought he was 
going to drag Ginny out of there (which should be the first thing 
anyone would do), he didn't. Instead, he and TR started some lengthy 
conversation. If that's not odd enough, Harry then ran himself onto 
the statue when Basilisk came back. There's so much space in the 
chamber, why did he choose the most difficult path? During the whole 
time, I kept asking why. Why there? Why did he do that? But the 
hardest thing to understand is that Harry deliberatedly stab the 
diary with that fang (for three times) as if he knew clearly how to 
kill TR. Yes. Once again, Harry intentionally killed someone. (Even 
though, technically, TR isn't a really person.) Exactly how many 
people do they want Harry to kill before he reaches legal age?

The ending has been critisized by many so I won't go there. That's 
just another part that could have been cut much shorter. And the 
hug/non-hug really didn't have to be there. There's little to no hint 
of Ron and Herm's relation or feelings towards each other throughout 
the movie. So the non-hug only seemed abrupt. I can care less about 
who is going to be with whom. But if they had to add that scene, they 
should've at least shown us something about Ron and Herm (such as 
Ron's disaproval of Herm's crush on Lockhart) early on.

Of all the books, I'd think CoS is the easiest one to adapt. It's 
more focused and shorter. But K&C didn't deliver this time. The movie 
isn't all bad. It just didn't do the book (and the characters) 
justice. Thankfully, a different director may bring more sparks and 
edge to PoA. Now if only they can get another script writer....