Some thoughts on PoA Film Reviews so far....

[pennylin]

Hi all --

MUSIC -- I too adored the music ------ though I must confess to rather liking John Williams and his bombastic orchestral scores!  But I loved the jazzy and contemporary pieces, as well as the medieval elements in other areas.  

EMOTION ---- This may well be a cultural thing I suppose.  I've always thought Harry could do with a little more crying, and it didn't seem quite natural to me that he really hasn't cried on-screen per se (by that I mean in the view of the reader, not in the movies so much).  It may be that this British stiff-upper lip business bothers us Americans (like Kloves, who obviously decided to remedy that with this film).  But it would seem from comments from Neil and Catherine that they think Rowling is more accurately portraying how a British boy would react in general.  

So, I liked the crying under the invisibility cloak (though mainly there because I think it was natural *and* because I liked seeing Hermione interact with him in that scene).  I also liked the Lupin conversations, as well as the conversation Harry had with Hermione about wanting to live in the country with Sirius.  I didn't find any of this to be over-sentimentalizing at all, but then again, it may be chalked up to cultural differences I suppose.  

BUCKBEAK ----- Okay.  I am without question the most gullible person on the planet.  So, are y'all serious ....... there are *really* hippogriffs?  No guffawing please.  Just set me straight one way or another.  I do know that hippogriffs aren't something Rowling made up (like blast-ended skrewts) ..... but I assumed they were mythological like phoenixes.  Ahem.  

<<<<The map: I liked the map, but thought it was weird that everyone's 
names were written on fairly large scrolls of parchment. If there 
were 100 people in one room, they'd all be on top of each other like 
windows on a computer. Hey, there's a thought: perhaps there's a 
technique to minimise the scrolls to a more compact version?>>>>

Yes, glad I wasn't the only one who was trying to puzzle out how the names could be written so large.  Great map though!
And, yes, directing made all the difference in the world in getting great performance out of the Weasley twins, who were lacklustre in the other films (though that might be script more than poor acting so much).

<<<I'm with Penny on that boys' dormitory scene. That was wonderful and 
engaging and did so much to represent the house bonding. I also liked 
the drama of the Quidditch scene and Harry's flight into the camera 
on his spanking new broom at the very end of the film. That freeze-
frame on his face was the perfect way to say "to be continued".>>>>

Yes, I adored the dorm scene even more on the 3rd viewing; it's just really great.  

I'm with Neil ---- the ending was just right.  Not at all the cheezy mess that Columbus had on both the other films.  

<<<Tom Felton - when he's through with HP adaptations he should definitely stick to fishing.>>>>

LOL, Catherine!  I couldn't agree more.  What *is* his accent anyway?  It's really grating.  

<<<<Sirius - Gary Oldman was OK, but I still think Colin Firth would have been better(!)>>>>>>>>

I cannot believe I've come to this: commenting on casting.  <vbg>  I shall never get over the fact that Sirius was not played by Daniel Day-Lewis.  Sigh.  Now Colin Firth might have made a nice Lupin though.  Oh well.  I do still think both Oldman and Thewlis far exceeded my expectations so that's wonderful.  

Okay, the Entertainment Weekly issue with HP on the cover this week has some awfully interesting things to say that bear on some things people have been discussing.  I trust Heidi won't howler me if I quote some of this here:

Cuaron and Kloves were committed to doing a lean production, so lots of things were cut before they started shooting.  "Their game plan: Pick a Big Theme (Harry's transition from child to adolescent); keep what else was appropriate; lose everything else."  

"Snip went two games of Quidditch; cut-and-paste went Harry's new Firebolt broomstick, moved from the middle to the end.  The most provocative deletion for fans: the backstory of the Marauder's Map, Harry's magical guide to Hogwarts.  The filmmakers believed the details would work better in a future film.  To bring both more structure *and* mystery to Azkaban's time-travel climax, Cuaron gave the heroes more to do -- notably Hermione, whose werewolf calls and pebble-throwing aren't in the book.  J.K. Rowling was consulted on many of the changes.  She approved of adding a bridge and clock tower to the Hogwarts campus.  But she vetoed Cuaron's idea for a graveyard, as well as some of his bits of whimsy...."

The above is all from a sidebar.  Here's a few snippets from the main article:

** Cuaron enjoyed ..... "thinking of the story as Y Tu Mama writ large, and younger.  'It's the same movie.  Two boys, one girl,' laughs Cuaron.... (Look for his homage to Y Tu Mama in the scene where Buckbeak the Hippogriff is about to get killed).  :::cough cough Love Triangle cough cough cough:::::

** Paraphrasing: the essays that Cuaron had set for Radcliffe, Watson and Grint.  Watson's was 11 pages and really made her see the similarities between herself and Hermione.  Radcliffe's was only one page but full of "provocative" ideas, such as the new angry!Harry (which is a precursor to OoP!Harry obviously).  Grint didn't do his essay, which is in keeping with Ron's underachiever character.  Cuaron said: "Rupert is not with us.  Rupert is in a happier place, called Rupertland."  LOL.

So, I think that while we all missed the Marauder's backstory, at least we have an explanation.  There's an explanation for why Hermione doesn't seem frazzled and stressed ... that doesn't tie into entirely with the Big Theme of Harry's transition.  And, I might add, it doesn't bother me because the PoAFilm!Hermione completely comports with canon Hermione .... it's just OoP!Hermione a little early.  <g>

Penny
  












  Okay, that's it for now!

  Neil


        Yahoo! Groups Sponsor 
              ADVERTISEMENT
             
       
       


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Yahoo! Groups Links

    a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the_old_crowd/
      
    b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    the_old_crowd-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com
      
    c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]