GoF highlights (and OotP observations)

[vincentjh]

Saundra:
> >Harry entering the Weasley tent at QWC the look on his face and the 
> >quote "I love magic!"

Richard: 
> I wasn't so keen on that line the first time I saw the movie, and
cringe at 
> every subsequent viewing when it comes up. One of the things not
only I, 
> but several others, liked about PoA was that magic had become
"normal": we 
> didn't have a huge explosion (notably in the music, but also visually) 
> almost every time something magical happened.

VJ: 

I wouldn't say that magic has become "normal" per se but agree that
it's a bit odd for Harry to proclaim "I love magic." It's as if the
audience needed to be told to know that there's magic in the film. The
beauty of Cuaron's adaptation is that magic has blended into every
scene and, as a result, there is no need to remind the audience that
they're in a magical world. 

For all the good work that Newell has done, I just don't feel that GoF
can approach the magical quality, the style, and the fluency of PoA.
It lacks the kind of emotional pull and a clear purpose. (I am not
quite sure how to phrase this. It just seems to me that I had no idea
why I should be concerned about Harry's fate or where the story was
going.) Therefore, even though the scenes went by quickly, I could
feel the length of the film and was having a hard time sitting through
the last 1/3 of it. 

That said, Newell did an admirable job trimming down the story to the
bones and rebuilding it. The plot is clear and it focuses on *Harry
Potter* instead of drifting everywhere like PS & CoS did or becoming
Hermione Granger's Advanture. (I love Cuaron and do feel that,
cinematically, PoA is still the best HP films out there. But its
interpretation of the trio's dynamic is so wrong that the reader in me
simply cannot stand it.) Newell also did a great job in bringing out
the acting abilities of the young cast and giving the recurring
characters something to do. The "character moments" blend into the
storyline effortlessly so we actually got to know the characters while
watching the movie progress. 

The trio has stepped up more in this film. Radcliff and Grint can
really make a comic duo. Watson has some good scenes but still
overacts in other scenes. It seems to me that sometimes she did not
know on how to gradually build up her emotion. (For example, the DADA
class.) At times, I also wonder if Newell made it clear to her where
the scene might fit into the entire story. She seems to be always
under very intense emotion.

Richard:

> >12. The ending (the best ending since SS)
> 
> As I've said before, I wasn't all that keen on the scene. The last
*shot* 
> was fairly standard for this kind of movie, but the last conversation 
> between the Trio was handled wrongly and (IMO) badly performed.
Whilst I 
> appreciate the idea behind taking out Hagrid's input and leaving the
kids 
> to realise what awaits them, I would've liked Draco and his posse to
have 
> been there, to underline that their enmity is now about the big
picture, 
> not personal dislike (bookending the scene at the QWC).

VJ:
I also feel that it was badly performed. I can more or less understand
what Newell is trying to do there but it just didn't come across the
right way. IMHO, if the actors cannot convey the message, it's better
to change the script instead of forcing it.

Richard:
> I just flicked through OotP and I feel that the only way to put the
heart 
> of the book onto the screen is to re-write the plot structure. And I
don't 
> see how the GoF ending can possibly lead into Angry!Harry, given
that it's 
> meant to be barely a few weeks later.

VJ:
Well, I am not as concerned about continuity between movies in terms
of character development. After all, I don't see how wimpy Ron becomes
laid-back Ron in a few weeks' time but apparently he's gone through
dramatic personality change between PoA and GoF. :-) 

Richard:
> In fact, whilst the DA *should* be the middle act of a five-act OotP 
> adaptation, I suspect that it'll more like the romance angle in GoF,
as an 
> incidental element to the other events.

VJ:
It really depends on what you think is *the* story of OotP. (The novel
itself, as you have mentioned, is not very suitable for movie
adaptation. Too many things are jumbled together and too many new
characters are introduced. It reads more like a work that builds the
fundation for the next book, answers questions from previous books,
and sketches out the politics of the magical world instead of an
independent story with clear structure.) The purpose of the entire
story, as you have mentioned, is to establish Harry as the "chosen
one" (chosen by Voldmort, not by fate). But that alone is not enough
to fill the screen time. So the question is how to make the story
progress toward that end. If, say, the filmmakers decide to focus on
Harry's transition into adulthood, growing independence, and emergence
as a worthy rival of Voldmort, I can see how DA can play a larger part
in the movie. I can also see OotP as the "middle act" of the entire
series where the filmmakers build up the supporting cast for Harry.
However, if this is the direction where OotP is going, the movie
audiences are going to be mighty disappointed about HBP when they find
out Harry and Co. are back at school instead of heading to the battle
field.... 

VJ

PS. It's getting late here and I am hopeless when it comes to
spelling. Please forgive my spelling errors, typos..etc.