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I was surprised and delighted to discover that OotP opened a day earlier than expected here, so my eldest and youngest sons accompanied me to the first session at 9.30am yesterday. I was shocked to find the cinema FULL, but then remembered it was school holidays. ;~P
First impression - I liked it! (Certainly more than GoF!) And I'm really looking forward to seeing it on IMAX this Saturday!
OotP was my favourite book of the series (so far), so I was a wee bit concerned how it would translate to the big screen. Well, I have to say my initial reaction was not "Argh! That sucked!", which is a very good thing. I didn't fall madly in love with it, as I did with PoA (and desperately wanted Cuaron to direct OotP), but I do think I liked it! Yes, I was disappointed with what was left out, not so much stuff like Quidditch (which I knew had been cut), but things I had seen clips of that had obviously been filmed and then edited out since. I saw a clip of Harry congratulating Ron on becoming a Prefect that is no longer there. McGonagall in the wheelchair after beign attacked by Umbridge. Young Lily and James. And there were a few other bits like that, that I can't think of right now.
I bought the game for my kids at the start of the holidays and was delighted with Mrs Black's screaming portrait in that (though sadly you don't see her, she's just behind the curtain), so I expected her to be in the film and was sad she wasn't. That said, I liked the portrayal of Grimmauld Place. It was perhaps a little more cramped than I'd originally envisioned, but I know my imagination is tempered by the sort of space we're used to having in our houses here in Aus, and that's what those old London houses are like!
I was delighted to see Padfoot at the train station! ( so glad they used a real dog this time, even if it wasn't the sort of 'bearish' dog described in the books and that I'd imagined!!) But I don't like the thing about an animagus losing his clothes in the transformation. When Pettigrew transformed from Scabbers in the Shrieking Shack, he was fully clothed. They should have stuck with that.
ABERFORTH AND THE GOAT in the Hogshead!!!!!!!! The cinema was FULL and I was the only person who laughed. I thought it was completely hysterical and a definite nod at we obsessives. I laughed loudly (and alone!), and heard the little boy behind me ask him mum what was funny and her answer 'I don't know' and thought, "OMG! I am the only book fan here!!"
I need to see it again, but did Sirius and Remus have an arm around each other when Harry arrived at Grimmauld Plc? Cos I thought I caught a glimpse of that and had a little squee for all the puppy fangirls. ;~)
I'm probably in the minority here, but I really liked the way they did the veil! I loved that it was a creepy sort of see-through thing. And I have to say I liked they way they made sure the audience knew Sirius had been Avada Kedavra'd before he fell through. It saved having to explain WTF the veil was, and clarified that he was actually dead. The silence with the slow-mo visuals of Remus holding Harry back etc. I wasn't so sure of. Yes, it was poignant and made sure the audience realised that this was a BIG thing that had happened. But, as my 10yo son pointed out as soon as the film finished, that's exactly what they did with Frodo and Gandalf in LOTR. :~\
Luna was ABSOLUTE and TOTAL PERFECTION. If I hadn't read the books I would be a total Harry/Luna shipper right now.
Grawp was much less annoying and WTF than he was for me in the book.
Umbridge, was fantastic. Her only flaw was that she was too good looking for Ron's toad comment to make much sense, except in a random derogatory way. I LOVED the small scene with her and the twins and the little boy she'd been torturing. That made her look even more vile and sadistic than when she was inflicting it on Harry, which is saying something.
Filch and the Room of Requirement. Much love!!!
Did not like that Umbridge and co were able to blast their way in. (and sniggered that she used 'girlpower' Hermy's spell from PoA!)
I missed capslock!Harry, though I really liked Depressed!Harry and thought it was appropriate considering the end of GoF. I missed seeing him trash Dumbledore's office, yet thought they covered that info quite well.
I was initially shocked that it was Lucius who dropped the Prophecy, but in hindsight - and I'm assuming this is why they did it! - that will work well as the explanation for Voldemort's anger at Lucius in the next film, and why he therefore gives Draco the impossible task of killing Dumbledore.
Did anyone else notice how powerful Ginny was? All her spells were kickass, which I suspect was deliberate.
Alan Rickman's Snape. So perfect. "Ob. viously" = me - puddle of squeee.
Was it sick of me to want to see Dudley throw up?
I'm sure I'll be able to say much more about it after my 2nd viewing on Sat!
First impression - I liked it! (Certainly more than GoF!) And I'm really looking forward to seeing it on IMAX this Saturday!
OotP was my favourite book of the series (so far), so I was a wee bit concerned how it would translate to the big screen. Well, I have to say my initial reaction was not "Argh! That sucked!", which is a very good thing. I didn't fall madly in love with it, as I did with PoA (and desperately wanted Cuaron to direct OotP), but I do think I liked it! Yes, I was disappointed with what was left out, not so much stuff like Quidditch (which I knew had been cut), but things I had seen clips of that had obviously been filmed and then edited out since. I saw a clip of Harry congratulating Ron on becoming a Prefect that is no longer there. McGonagall in the wheelchair after beign attacked by Umbridge. Young Lily and James. And there were a few other bits like that, that I can't think of right now.
I bought the game for my kids at the start of the holidays and was delighted with Mrs Black's screaming portrait in that (though sadly you don't see her, she's just behind the curtain), so I expected her to be in the film and was sad she wasn't. That said, I liked the portrayal of Grimmauld Place. It was perhaps a little more cramped than I'd originally envisioned, but I know my imagination is tempered by the sort of space we're used to having in our houses here in Aus, and that's what those old London houses are like!
I was delighted to see Padfoot at the train station! ( so glad they used a real dog this time, even if it wasn't the sort of 'bearish' dog described in the books and that I'd imagined!!) But I don't like the thing about an animagus losing his clothes in the transformation. When Pettigrew transformed from Scabbers in the Shrieking Shack, he was fully clothed. They should have stuck with that.
ABERFORTH AND THE GOAT in the Hogshead!!!!!!!! The cinema was FULL and I was the only person who laughed. I thought it was completely hysterical and a definite nod at we obsessives. I laughed loudly (and alone!), and heard the little boy behind me ask him mum what was funny and her answer 'I don't know' and thought, "OMG! I am the only book fan here!!"
I need to see it again, but did Sirius and Remus have an arm around each other when Harry arrived at Grimmauld Plc? Cos I thought I caught a glimpse of that and had a little squee for all the puppy fangirls. ;~)
I'm probably in the minority here, but I really liked the way they did the veil! I loved that it was a creepy sort of see-through thing. And I have to say I liked they way they made sure the audience knew Sirius had been Avada Kedavra'd before he fell through. It saved having to explain WTF the veil was, and clarified that he was actually dead. The silence with the slow-mo visuals of Remus holding Harry back etc. I wasn't so sure of. Yes, it was poignant and made sure the audience realised that this was a BIG thing that had happened. But, as my 10yo son pointed out as soon as the film finished, that's exactly what they did with Frodo and Gandalf in LOTR. :~\
Luna was ABSOLUTE and TOTAL PERFECTION. If I hadn't read the books I would be a total Harry/Luna shipper right now.
Grawp was much less annoying and WTF than he was for me in the book.
Umbridge, was fantastic. Her only flaw was that she was too good looking for Ron's toad comment to make much sense, except in a random derogatory way. I LOVED the small scene with her and the twins and the little boy she'd been torturing. That made her look even more vile and sadistic than when she was inflicting it on Harry, which is saying something.
Filch and the Room of Requirement. Much love!!!
Did not like that Umbridge and co were able to blast their way in. (and sniggered that she used 'girlpower' Hermy's spell from PoA!)
I missed capslock!Harry, though I really liked Depressed!Harry and thought it was appropriate considering the end of GoF. I missed seeing him trash Dumbledore's office, yet thought they covered that info quite well.
I was initially shocked that it was Lucius who dropped the Prophecy, but in hindsight - and I'm assuming this is why they did it! - that will work well as the explanation for Voldemort's anger at Lucius in the next film, and why he therefore gives Draco the impossible task of killing Dumbledore.
Did anyone else notice how powerful Ginny was? All her spells were kickass, which I suspect was deliberate.
Alan Rickman's Snape. So perfect. "Ob. viously" = me - puddle of squeee.
Was it sick of me to want to see Dudley throw up?
I'm sure I'll be able to say much more about it after my 2nd viewing on Sat!
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I think the reason why I didn't warm up too much to this movie is because they cut out Quidditch all-together, ultimately cutting out my favorite part of the book: "Weasley is my King" and the kiss on the cheek. :\
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I hadn't thought about a serialisation... I think a whole season would be too much, but perhaps a 4-6 hour miniseries for some of the them.
(Not at all sorry to lose the Quidditch, actually.)
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Really? I guess I really like the thought of having 13hrs each to get all the info from GoF and OotP. Imagine not having to skimp on characterisation!
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I dunno. Watching the film made me appreciate just how much editing the book could have coped with. (Still love it, though!)
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So, what's been killing me...and I'll probably see it for myself before you answer this, but what's Ginny's patronus? Is it a horse like it looks like in the clips or a phoenix that's been rumored? I've been reading everyone's reaction posts, and no one's mentioned it, argh!
I'm looking forward to seeing the movie tomorrow, which I definitely wasn't based on past history. Great review!
And Alan Rickman = LOVE!
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I really loved PoA. There are a lot of things in it I didn't like, but overall, I adored it. And it was fascinating because the book of OotP came out while they were filming it, and I couldn't believe the forshadowing that Cuaron had somehow managed to put in. I could see capslock!Harry in Cuaron's PoA.
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Being a book reader, though, means you must see the movie more than once becuase the first time (well for me anyway) is all about getting the movie and the book sorted and separated =)
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I cannot wait!!!
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Ooh. Good point. I was bothered by that bit and thought Harry should have been the one to drop it rather than handing it over, but this reasoning works for me. Yay!
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Let me know what you think of it, and perhaps I'll go next week sometime to ramp up my HP anticipation to fever pitch.
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What ya got planned for the 21st? I wasn't going to do any sort of dress up or party this time round, but our local bookshop are doing the 'Elthwarts Express' at the nearby miniature railway... and that's tempting. Then again, my 16yo just informed me he has to be at Point Cooke at 8am on that day, so I'm not sure what I'll do. I may just be ducking into K'mart or Target and fleeing home with the book.
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I went to the big launches at Readings in Carlton for the last two books, but that's so far away from where I'm living right now, and I'm not so fussed. It's not like I didn't leave straightaway for HBP or OotP anyway, so the big do isn't that necessary. Still, they were both very fun and atmospheric, and I'm sure the little independent bookshop we're going to this time will be similar. When I was in there last week prebooking, a girl of about 14 was talking the ear off everyone she could find about the new book, and when it's coming out, and how long it is, and what JKR's said about it already and... I'm sure she'd turn out to be a devotee of Mugglenet or TLC or something! She was funny. The staff she kept accosting looked rather weary by the time she left. Hee.
The little railways thing sounds like a grand idea. How inconsiderate of your son to have to be miles away that morning! I'd disown him for the day.
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The last one we saw was about deep sea exploration, and when the fish swam around, both our kids were reaching out to try to touch them.
I don't know as we'll get to see HP in IMAX, then again, seeing Lucius in 3D? GODS! I don't know what'd happen. I might implode, or have multiple orgasms and wind up in a puddle of my own goo on the floor or something.
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I missed the goat and Aberforth, and I was looking for it, too! There's another spot that ours skipped. Stupid piece of crap theatre. Must see again to watch the things it skipped over.
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Me too. I laughed at the goat and was the only one and before the movie started I asked people about the book and most of the people hadn't even read it.
I was aghast!
But yea, I felt the same way.
And oh yeah, the Harry/Luna action was all over the place. I was even rooting for it, when in the books I never got that feelings.
And Snape's obviously... I really wanted more Snape... but then, I always want more Snape.
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That PLUS in the FIRST scene of movie 1 McGonagall keeps her clothes when she changes into a human in front of Dumbledore.
Additionally, JKR would have mentioned how Sirius was dressed shortly after transforming from Padfoot in the cave in GoF. They keep their clothes. I pretty disappointed with the inconsistancy of it all. I'm sure Jo wouldn't have minded answering that question way back in the beginning (and maybe she did) so who's ignoring it? RAR! Sorry... *steps off soap box*
I LOVED this movie and (after only seeing it once) think it's the best yet. I adore most of the changes and agree with an earlier poster that this film goes to show how much could have been edited down in book form.
I wanted either Dudley or Harry to throw up too. Right after Harry has the vision of Arthur getting attacked he's supposed to to be sick with the pain from his scar. I WANTED IT!!!!! They down played the scar pain significance, but really up-ed the psychological pain he goes through. I thought it was masterfully done. Dan is sooooo good!
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I laughed at the goat, but TOTALLY missed the Aberforth connection. I am a loser.
I commented a lot in my own journal and basically came away with the same feeling you did--that overall it was very enjoyable and true to the book despite having to be gutted to fit the time of the film. I originally hadn't planned on seeing it more than once in the theater (the last one wasn't worth it and I had low expectations this time), but I may end up going again. (Technically I've already seen half of it twice since I had to run out of my first showing to pee and then snuck into the neighboring room to rewatch the last hour! lol)
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If I wasn't a LUna/George shipper, I'd be right there with you.
Alan Rickman's Snape. So perfect. "Ob. viously" = me - puddle of squeee.
Snape wins at life.
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Filch and room of requirement was such a laugh!
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From: (Anonymous)
my opinion
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I also loved Aberforth and the goat:) I missed capslock!Harry, his destroying Dumbledore's office and the screaming Mrs. Black too.
I didn't like the part when Harry handed out the prophecy, it seemed like the Death Eaters defeated the children, however in the book it never really happened, moreover in the book they nearly managed to escape. It not's the same IMO.
About the animagi and their clothes, if there was in POA anything I didn't like, that was when Pettigrew transformed into a rat beside the Whomping Willow, and his clothes remained empty in the ground. Behind the glass door when Sirius transformed it seemed to me, he was wearing his robe. He wore his bathrobe maybe because he was supposed to remain at home that time.
All the best
Kathleen