--= SPOILER ALERT =--
I just realized that some of the info below might be considered a spoiler if you've never read/seen Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix or Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I guess I just assumed since there's such a small group of people who read this, and they all seem to have read/are greatly anticipating the movie/book to come out, that it'd be common knowledge. BUT, just in CASE it's not, below are things you might not know yet, nothing earth-shattering, but still, so alert alert...-----------------------
I haven't done a book or movie review in awhile, and I'm not sure it's something most people will care about, but I like to look back on them for myself, to see what I was reading/watching at the time and how I interpreted it.
I was REALLY looking forward to seeing Order of the Phoenix. I'm a complete nutjob over the books, and always will be. Watching my 4th graders in Thailand, of which, nearly NONE of them had ever read a book for enjoyment in their life, gobble up Harry Potter with the enthusiasm only a child can freely express, will remain one of the greatest joys in my professional life forever. But also, I just love the books for myself, and can almost match that 10 year-old enthusiasm.
I was pretty exhausted when I went to see this movie on a Friday night at 11:30pm after about 13 hours of working, but I didn't want to wait another day. And to put it simply - I LOVED IT! I did! And I would love to see it again very soon, something that is pretty rare for me. It was appropriately dark, the plot was good, well-acted (good job to Daniel Radcliffe for showing Harry's growing angst), and just plain entertaining. Of course, no movie, without being a marathon mini-series, could include all necessary elements of a 900 page book, but
this movie made sure to include all the key ingredients. I find myself only wishing for small details or expansion of present ones to be added, such as:- (missing) Lilly defending Snape during the memory where James is a real dick to him.
- Expansion on the coolness and colorful-brightness that is Tonks.
- More Remus Lupin (just 'cause he's my favorite and I love him).
- (missing) The sexual tension between Ron and Hermione (where WAS it in this film??).
- (missing) Lucius Malfoy's spotting of Sirius Black (in dog-form) at the train station.
- (missing) That the prophecy could (have) be(en) about Neville as well.
Things that I loved:
- Tonks
- Luna Lovegood and her spacey, lovely self (could have used more of her social-awkwardness as described in the
book)- The fight scenes, particularly the great battle(s) at the end, but also including opening Dementors scene (I never get enough of the invocation of a Patronus!)
- The Aurors (love them all)
- The Occlumency lessons between Snape and Harry
- Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, because like Alan Rickman, he kicks ass in EVERY role he does and brings a certain gravitas to a film already filled with hyper-talented British actors.
And I know I'm supposed to love Ginny because she's cool, smart, secretly-talented, and obviously Harry's love interest, probably forevermore...but I just can't get into her. I guess it's because she was so annoying in Book 6, particularly at the end with that sage-like acceptance of Harry needing to be apart from her (didn't seem to fit her personality at all). Maybe that will change in Book 7. Which I will be reading in 5 days!
Shit, I better hurry up and finish (re)reading Book 6, (Half-Blood Prince). But that's made a slight bit more awkward since when Beau and I were playing around, he ACCIDENTALLY knocked the book into the toilet where it immediately blew up like a water-logged tampon. You think carrying around that big book was a pain before, sheeesh, now it's a literal (damp) tome.
10 comments:
I was going to write a review very similar to yours (but now I probably won't bother) except that I liked it a little less. I really enjoyed it - its just that they had to cut out SO SO SO much to fit it into its 2 hours 18 minutes. I also thought Luna was fabulous...really all the characters are just about exactly right. Gary Oldman makes me feel all quivery inside, btw. I also loved Tonks (although I thought her hair was all wrong) except that she had like 3 lines in the whole damn thing! I was irritated by the fact that Umbridge used veritaserum to quiz the members of the D.A. and thus Cho Chang was the one who turned them all in. That was very wrong to me. I could go on for PAGES about the rights and wrongs but I'll just go back to counting the minutes until the book gets to my door.
Yeah, I find I can get easily caught up in that too, but I try, VERY HARD, to resist it and just enjoy the movie. It doesn't always work, but it did this time, probably because it's been a few years since I read OotP and I don't remember that many details. I loved it, though!
I also loved the movie, was a date with my Mom. Awesome. I hadn't read in so long, I forgot many of the little details that were skipped, but over all, it was an enjoyable movie. 'Cept when I had to haul ass down the hall to go pee because I couldn't hold it anymore. Don't know when I'll get the book, but soon after it comes out, I hope.
I'm so glad to hear you liked it! I'm pining away, wishing I could go see it. I want to try to find a "mommy matinee" so that I don't have to wait for it to come out on DVD but part of me thinks I should just be patient (Audrey is the kind of kid who would stare at the screen and knowing there are some scary parts makes me not want her to see it).
I just finished book 6 again on Sunday and hope to be on line at B&N before 10am Saturday so that I can have my copy of 7 while we're at the shore. I reserved one months ago on Amazon but I think the UPS guy might not get around to dropping ours off until afternoon, at which point it'll be way too late.
Can't you guys get a babysitter and have a nice date night? I'm sure you both have definitely earned it!
Our babysitter moved to Montana, which is a shame, because I'm a good tipper.
Well, I am looking for steady work...
I wanted to read all the books before 7 came out. I started on book 4 on May 7. Needless to say, I am only about 1/8 of the way through it. Do I jump ahead to read 7 even though I don't really remember what happened in 5 and 6, or do I ignore all the comments from folks who will read 7 right away and continue my re-read?
I'm not sure when we'll see the movie, but I'm not as interested in that as the book. I don't mind waiting for DVD.
My "strategy" has been to just re-read book 6 (which I'm about 1/3 through, so I better get crackin). I would have loved to re-read them all, but I just don't have that kind of stamina atm. But at least with 6, I'll feel I'm caught up on the CURRENT situation, like watching the most recent cliffhanger of a soap opera.
Anyone going to any of these midnight parties for the book release? Ophelia? I know of 2 here in Missoula, one at B&N and one at the University. I won't be going to either. It'd be neat if one of the stars were at one of these things though for a book signing (or, of course, J.K. herself).
Dang babysitters are so unreliable these days. ;)
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