PoA MOVIE DISCUSION

[montavilla47]

Montavilla47:
Thanks for the questions!  I'm answering before reading the other posts, so I apologize in advance if I end up simply repeating everyone else.


> 1. We have a new director for movie 3. Did you know of his work before? How do you think he did on this movie? Do you think he read any of the HP books? 

I hadn't seen any of Cuaron's films before (unless he directed the Devil's.. Backbone?)  I think PoA is the best of the films so far.  I think he did an amazing job.  I don't know if he read any of the other books, or saw any of the other movies, but I don't think it matters that much.

> 2. John Williams wrote this music, as he did for the 1st two. What did you think of it? Any favorite tunes from this movie?

I think that the music is wonderful.  It's the only score that I would really want to have all on its own--well, except for GoF, which is by my favorite film composer, Patrick Doyle,

> 3. What do you think of PoA as a stand-alone movie?

A very good fantasy film.  Most of the effects are really well done (there's a little wierdness that I recall in a Hagrid shot--forget where.)  The story is excellent and everything really hangs together as a film.



> 4. The opening scene, with the somber music and Warner's symbol in a worn gray seemed to set a dark tone to this movie. What did you think of the sudden switch to the scene of Harry practicing magic and Vernon trying to catch him? What did you think of the movie's mix of darkness and humor?

I liked that scene.  I think it drew in the viewer because it was a recognizable situation.  Kid playing around in his bedroom, pretending to be asleep.  Father-figure comes in, trying to catch him at being naughty.... goes away frustrated.  Very fun.


> 5. Practicing magic over the summer? How many un-canonical scenes can you identify in this movie?  That is, a scene that contradicts canon, as opposed to noncanonical scenes that are additions? Count them too, if you like. Or just comment on the more glaring ones. Did you like the changes, or not?

To be fair, the book starts by talking about how Harry LIKED to do his homework.  :)

> 7. What about the changes to familiar characters like Tom of the Leaky Cauldron, or Professor Flitwick or the Fat Lady? Or the changes to costumes--even Arthur looked like a Muggle! Did the changes work?

Someone pointed out (here or another forum) that the Tom of film!PoA is actually closer to the actual description of the character than Tom of PS/SS.

The changes to Flitwick were jarring, because we'd seen him in a film before.  On the other hand, I actually like the new Flitwick much better.  I thought the PS/SS make-up was really atrocious.  

I liked both Fat Ladies, but it's always a plus to have Dawn French!

Um.  Yes.  The costumes worked really well for me.  Except for Rosemerta's costume.  That one was just odd.

> 8. Lupin's description of Lily created a lot of comment at main. Now that we've read all the books, was movie!Lupin correct? Do you think Snape would agree with Lupin's opinion of Lily?

I think Snape would probably agree with Lupin.  But I think Lupin was overstating
Lily's ability to look beyond the faults of her friends.


> 9. Harry tells Lupin he's used a memory of his parents talking to him, and says something like, "I don't even know if it's real." Does that remind you of anything?

Sorry, no.  But I liked that scene a lot.  I thought it improved on the original.

> 10. For the first time I heard Hermione say something along the line of "I heard Snape telling DD that it would take a powerful wizard to conjure that Patronus." Where was Snape supposed to be that he saw the Patronus? Did anyone catch sight of him in the "rewinding of time" when Hermione and Harry used the TT to go back.

I don't remember seeing him.  I tried going back very slowly through that sequence a
couple times and it never makes much sense.  Although, it's pretty funny!


> 11. We get an abbreviated version of the Marauders, and only a touch on the Snape/Marauder animosity during this movie. How do you think that will play out in later movies?

I don't think it's going to come very much into play.  The time to fix it--if it needed
fixing--was in OotP and it didn't happen there.

> 12. Do you think the newer movies will have to explain the Patronus again? Will it be clear that a Patronus is an animal shape?

The animal-patronus connection was pretty clear, I thought, in OotP, when the DA
cast a bunch of them.
  
> 13. Buckbeak attacks Lupin in the movie.  Do you think the movie will repeat that action in HBP when he should attack Snape?

I kind of doubt it, since it only makes sense if you bother to bring Buckbeak (or 
"Witherwings") back.  And why bother for a throwaway moment like that?
 
> 14. There were lots of clocks in this movie, Lupin's solar system, his floating time candles in the shape of spines, the pendulum, the clock and its gears in a tower. Do you think Cuaron thought the time turning sequence was the crux of the movie?

That makes sense to me.  And don't forget the turning of the seasons through
the Whomping Willow!


> 15. There are lots of special effects in this movie--Aunt Marge, Dementors, and the werewolf, to name a few. Did you like the way they were done? Were the Dementors and their effect what you expected? 

I thought the Dementors were pretty darn cool, especially in the train scene.

> 16. Any scenes in particular that you'd like to discuss? Was anything missing from the movie? Did the plot make sense? Was anything better in the movie than the book?

There's one thing, plotwise, that cracks me up in the film.  When Harry is 
spying on the adults telling Rosemerta about Sirius, Rosemerta exclaims with
horror about Sirius betraying the Potters.  "But wait!" McGonagall says, "It's worse!"

"What could be worse?"

We wait with baited breath along with Harry....

"Sirius was... as is to this day... Harry Potter's GODFATHER!"

Dun dun DUN!

I can't for the life of me figure out how being his godfather is worse than
killing his parents.

> 17. And the first question that really just popped into my head--Did anyone ever say who the manufacturers of the map were? Did we ever get the nicknames?

We hear the names, but we never get the connection.  This seems to be a 
problem when you've read the books... but I don't think it really matters 
in the film world.