OOTP Movie

[vincentjh]

Kimberly:
> I agree, in the books I just didn't get that attached to Sirius but
> I do love 
> him in the movies, especially this one !!!!!!!!      I LOVED when
> they
> > showed
> > up at the house for I believe it was Christmas and Sirius was in
> the
> > doorway.
> > Harry ran up to him and they hugged each other so genuinely.   It
> really was
> > one of my favorite single moments of the movie.
> >

Missy: 
> I'm so glad there are other people who feel this way.  I never
> really "got" the Harry-Sirius thing.  He barely ever even spent that
> much time with him.  And I've also never understood why Harry
> didn't/doesn't have more affection to Lupin, who he's spent a great
> deal of time with.  I know Sirius is the official godfather, but from
> what we've been told, Remus was always right there with Sirius and
> James.
> 

I, too, don't feel that there's such a strong bond between Harry and
Sirius in the book. Harry is simply looking for a father figure while
Sirius is looking for James through Harry. It isn't a bond between
"Harry" and "Sirius" but two people hoping to find that missing piece
in their life in one another. But perhaps this is exactly how Rowling
wants us to feel?

Back to the movie-

Visually, I thought OOtP was beautiful, the best-looking since PoA. It
has a very different feel than other Harry Potter films - dark and
edgy with the right amount of "magic" in it but also more "real,"
making it even more unsettling. The tone is a lot more mature and it
sometimes reminded me of an X Men or Spider Man movie with the
grayish/blueish color and its mixture of "muggle-ness" and fantasy.
The production design simply blew me away. Most effects were well
done, although Grawp still looked a little odd.

I am one of those people who don't like OOtP the book so I'm not too
concerned about the cuts made in the film. In all of the books, OOtP
is the hardest to adapt, not only because of its length but also
because it didn't follow the classic "three act" structure. Movie OOtP
has a clearly defined theme (isolation vs. friendship/love) and stays
closely with it. That, for me, is what a good adaptation should be
like. The alterations they made from the book were largely successful.
They kept the parts that help moving the story along, added 2 or 3
scene to smooth the transitions and help holding the story together,
and combine different scenes/dialogs in the book together nicely. My
only complain is that it can still be confusing at times with so many
characters and so many back stories. A person who's never read the
book could easily be confused and would not be able to see the
significance of having Tonks, Lupin, and a few other characters
around. Frankly, I'd keep most members of the Order completely in the
background (to show that the Order isn't only made of Sirius and the
Weasleys) and limit all the lines/actions to about 3 of them. Of
course, doing so would infuriate millions of book fans so Yates and
Co. did what they could and still kept these beloved characters around.  

One of the best thing about the movie is that they get the dynamics of
these characters right. We see the bond between Harry and Sirius (but
also see how Sirius is clinging to his memories of James and how he's
barely keeping things together). We see the friendship between DA
members. We see how close the Weasley siblings are and how they take
Harry into their family. We see the Trio being the Trio instead of
Super Hermione and Harry.... Why does it take five movies for them to
finally figure out that it takes three to become a trio? I'll admit
that I love how artistic PoA is and absolutely admire Cuaron as a
director but cannot stand what they have done to Ron (and Hermione). I
didn't get the DVD for it because I feel like to erase that from my
memory. (I didn't buy Cos, either, simply because it's bad.)

Evanna Lynch is fantastic. She brought the right amount of childlike
innocence and vulnerability to make the dreamy Luna believable. Alan
Rickman must have had a lot of fun playing Snape the comic relief.
Gary Oldman is fine as usual. Helena, I can't wait to see more of her
in DH if, according the JKR, she's going to play a big role in it.

The kids have really grown. I had never been impressed by Dan's acting
before but he's quite good in this one. All the hard work he put into
it finally paid off. But Dan seems to lack something that can make the
audience relate to his character more. I see how Harry feels. But I
don't feel it. (Does it make sense?) Rupert doesn't have a lot to do
in it but he did great with whatever he's given. Cannon!Ron made me
wanting for more from him. Emma is much better but still labors too
much when delivering her lines. ("It means," panting, eyebrows rising,
 "the Ministry," eyebrows rising, eyes shifting, lips twisting, "has,"
panting....) She's fine when she's acting against other actors,
especially when she's interacting with Rupert. But when she's "acting
to camera" like saying they need a proper teacher or explaining
something, it does look like she's aware of the camera's existence. I
like the chemistry between these kids and hopefully, with the
improvement Emma has made in this one, she'd be able to be in the same
level as the boys in the next movie.

VJH, going back to lurkdom.