Dan's acting, and other observations

[jeanico2000]

--- In HPFGU-Movie at yahoogroups.com, Valerie Flowe 
<valerie.flowe at ...> wrote:
>
> My family and I were watching "GOF" again today. My husband had to 
> comment "He (Dan) really can't act, can he? How can he get away 
with 
> that?" I was trying to be objective...course I'm NOT when it comes 
to 
> my greatest obsession, the HP books and movies! I do think Dan has 
much 
> improved on his delivery since SS/PS. There were still a couple of 
> moments where his delivery might have been a bit too quick...what 
comes 
> to mind is when Cedric, in the maze, says "Some game, huh?" and 
Harry 
> responds "Yeah, some game", a bit too quickly. Or when he's going 
to 
> the 2nd task with Neville who says "You look a bit nervous (or 
> something to that effect) and Harry replies "Do I?!" with his 
teeth 
> gritted. Some of those moments were a smidgeon less than perfect. 
But 
> then there are other moments when his facial expression is so 
great, 
> such as when his name gets called from the goblet...he looks so 
> terrified. And then later when he's having the "piss off" 
discussion 
> with Ron...I love when he says "I don't want eternal glory, I just 
> want..." Or when he's talking to Sirius in the fire and says in a 
panic 
> "I'm not ready for this, Sirius!!!" And how believable he was when 
> Voldemort was searing his scar his his finger!!! That was awesome! 
I 
> mean, he's not a Rickman or an Oldman or a Gleeson or a 
Fiennes...but 
> perhaps he will be some day. OK, I could go on and on...I love the 
> movies, I love Dan and all the other actors.
> 
> By the way, has anyone seen "Friend's Money"? Jason Isaacs is in 
it, 
> and it just amazes me how American he sounds. How do Brits DO 
that?! 
> Now THAT's good acting!
> 
> One little bit of inconsistency that I noted today while watching 
GOF. 
> When the camera pans to the World Cup stadium and we get that wild 
> perspective of how it looks like it's underground...this was all 
Art 
> Direction for the movie, THEN, the Weasley, Hermione, Harry crew 
has to 
> trudge all the way UP to the top (which was in the book). Huh?! 
> Wouldn't they already be at the top, if the top is level with the 
> ground? Just an observation...!
> 
> Valerie
>

Hi, Valerie: to each his own, but I can't read a comment like this 
one and not respond. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, 
including your husband (though I'm rather glad you don't share is 
point of view), but I just wanted to vent because I find that a lot 
of Harry Potter movie going fans out there are simply 'nit picking' 
and trying to find fault where there is none to be found with Dan's 
acting. 2 of the little movie sequences you're talking about are, to 
me (and my daughter, and my husband, and... you get the point) so 
totally spot on. No, he's not answering Cedric's question too fast 
when they're in the maze! he's on a major adrenaline rush! How was 
he supposed to react? "let me mull this over before I tell you what 
I think about this game, Cedric, seeing that we've just been 
attacked in this forsaken maze that I don't even want to be in in 
the first place?"... and answering Neville with his teeth gritted is 
just too right (he's tense, for crying out loud! it's a very comedic 
delivery!). I guess a lot of people are forgetting that Harry (and 
Dan) are teenagers, and their reactions are those of a teenager. Dan 
is superbly understaded when he acts, and this is just what Harry is 
supposed to be like. Is he a good actor? Heck, yes! he's a fantastic 
actor, and he keeps improving by leaps and bounds. I do find that 
his crying in POA is a little off, but I think it's because of the 
circumstance surrounding that particular scene. In GOF, Dan's 
performance is totally credible and achingly heartbreaking when he 
is crying over Cedric's body. Dan conveys a lot through facial 
expressions and body language, and he did a consistently great job 
trhoughout GOF. If the kid is this good at 16, he will be amazing in 
a few more years.
Just my 2 cents worth!
Nicole