Movie Rec: Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince
Sunday, July 19th, 2009 07:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
retsukoObservation the first: If Alan Rickman works one iota more of loathing into his voice, there will be none left for the rest of us for the next twenty years or so.
Observation the second: When the couple behind you spends their time making out and whispering through most of the frikkin' movie, it's a testament to the film's storytelling power that certain scenes got them to shut up completely.
Observation the third: I want a word with the editors, mostly because I get the feeling that the narrative would have been a lot more coherent were the editing better. The most glaring example was the scene between Dumbledore and Harry towards the end:
Dumbledore: Once again, I must ask too much of you, Harry.
(Scene cuts to Dumbledore and Snape arguing.)
Snape: Have you ever considered that you ask too much of people, Albus?
I'm not sure what the editors were thinking here: ironic cut? (If so: not so funny, and confusing to boot.) Match on dialogue? (Huh?) But whatever they were thinking, it was clumsy, and detracted from the impact of the dialogue of the previous sequence. There were several other parts like this, particularly involving seasons changing without warning, which muddled the story. The only reason I kept track of most things was because I'd read the book; I don't see how first timers would be able to keep straight what was going on.
Observation the fourth: The film's visual themes appeared to be 'smoke and mirrors' and 'cluttered spaces' and for the most part, this lead to some great visuals and metaphors. The pensieve memories, for example, falling into the water and becoming liquid smoke that coalesced into people and places, were astonishing and gorgeous. Likewise, the mirror theme kept showing up as people were reflected in memories, window panes (although I'd never seen a window pane used as terribly as a Valentine as by Lavender Brown!), and pools of water. I particularly liked seeing Slughorn's altered memory, and finally, painfully, seeing the real one--Slughorn only wishes he were reflected in a certain way, but his dark and cowardly secret is that his reflection is flawed, and it's his own fault.
The cluttered spaces scene worked a little less effectively. To me, cluttered spaces tend to suggest there's a cluttered mind somewhere behind them and I got that feeling that the filmmakers were trying to throw a lot in to suggest there was more in them than there actually was. The cluttered space that was Arthur Weasley's shed worked because it was part of a quiet and meaningful scene. (And can I just give props to the set dressers for giving his a collection of broken blenders?) However, the cluttered space that was the Weasley twins' joke shop didn't work because it was loud, and the dialogue that took place in it was too exposition and book reference-heavy (The love potion! Puking pastilles! Look, there's Lavendar Brown! Look, there's Cormac! Hey, Fred and George, you're in this, too! Oh, look, it's a special effect! Hey! WOW! Are we having magic yet?!?) Also strange was the cluttered space that was the Room of Requirement--when Harry and the others used it last year, it was only full of things they needed; why then was it full of furniture when Malfoy was there? And when Harry and Ginny were in it (they were just there to hide the book--they didn't need to see all the spare furniture, right?) Unclear and confusing.
Observation the fifth: There are a million more reasons why Luna Lovegood is my favorite character now! Her appearance on the train; her subsequent rescue of Harry and line about having him around is like having a friend; the lion; and her presence at Slug Club Xmas party... the list is short, but she's a great character to watch and brings all kinds of fabulous perspective to the story as a whole.
And a great many excellent performances on the parts of most of the cast. Jim Broadbent was excellent as Slughorn. I thought Tom Felton did a very good job as Malfoy;![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
yebisu9 commented that he was like Hayden Christensen, but without the pouting. (Which is how we wished Anakin Skywalker had been played.
Observation the sixth: We interrupt this film for a giant spider funeral and slightly drunken hero! :D
tl;dr version: While the film is not without its flaws, this is highly entertaining piece of work that neatly sets up the two-part opera that will be HPatDH, (frustratingly) due in the next few years.
Observation the second: When the couple behind you spends their time making out and whispering through most of the frikkin' movie, it's a testament to the film's storytelling power that certain scenes got them to shut up completely.
Observation the third: I want a word with the editors, mostly because I get the feeling that the narrative would have been a lot more coherent were the editing better. The most glaring example was the scene between Dumbledore and Harry towards the end:
Dumbledore: Once again, I must ask too much of you, Harry.
(Scene cuts to Dumbledore and Snape arguing.)
Snape: Have you ever considered that you ask too much of people, Albus?
I'm not sure what the editors were thinking here: ironic cut? (If so: not so funny, and confusing to boot.) Match on dialogue? (Huh?) But whatever they were thinking, it was clumsy, and detracted from the impact of the dialogue of the previous sequence. There were several other parts like this, particularly involving seasons changing without warning, which muddled the story. The only reason I kept track of most things was because I'd read the book; I don't see how first timers would be able to keep straight what was going on.
Observation the fourth: The film's visual themes appeared to be 'smoke and mirrors' and 'cluttered spaces' and for the most part, this lead to some great visuals and metaphors. The pensieve memories, for example, falling into the water and becoming liquid smoke that coalesced into people and places, were astonishing and gorgeous. Likewise, the mirror theme kept showing up as people were reflected in memories, window panes (although I'd never seen a window pane used as terribly as a Valentine as by Lavender Brown!), and pools of water. I particularly liked seeing Slughorn's altered memory, and finally, painfully, seeing the real one--Slughorn only wishes he were reflected in a certain way, but his dark and cowardly secret is that his reflection is flawed, and it's his own fault.
The cluttered spaces scene worked a little less effectively. To me, cluttered spaces tend to suggest there's a cluttered mind somewhere behind them and I got that feeling that the filmmakers were trying to throw a lot in to suggest there was more in them than there actually was. The cluttered space that was Arthur Weasley's shed worked because it was part of a quiet and meaningful scene. (And can I just give props to the set dressers for giving his a collection of broken blenders?) However, the cluttered space that was the Weasley twins' joke shop didn't work because it was loud, and the dialogue that took place in it was too exposition and book reference-heavy (The love potion! Puking pastilles! Look, there's Lavendar Brown! Look, there's Cormac! Hey, Fred and George, you're in this, too! Oh, look, it's a special effect! Hey! WOW! Are we having magic yet?!?) Also strange was the cluttered space that was the Room of Requirement--when Harry and the others used it last year, it was only full of things they needed; why then was it full of furniture when Malfoy was there? And when Harry and Ginny were in it (they were just there to hide the book--they didn't need to see all the spare furniture, right?) Unclear and confusing.
Observation the fifth: There are a million more reasons why Luna Lovegood is my favorite character now! Her appearance on the train; her subsequent rescue of Harry and line about having him around is like having a friend; the lion; and her presence at Slug Club Xmas party... the list is short, but she's a great character to watch and brings all kinds of fabulous perspective to the story as a whole.
And a great many excellent performances on the parts of most of the cast. Jim Broadbent was excellent as Slughorn. I thought Tom Felton did a very good job as Malfoy;
yebisu9 commented that he was like Hayden Christensen, but without the pouting. (Which is how we wished Anakin Skywalker had been played.Observation the sixth: We interrupt this film for a giant spider funeral and slightly drunken hero! :D
tl;dr version: While the film is not without its flaws, this is highly entertaining piece of work that neatly sets up the two-part opera that will be HPatDH, (frustratingly) due in the next few years.
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no subject
Date: 2009-07-21 01:50 pm (UTC)But it does sound good from all I've heard. :nods:
no subject
Date: 2009-07-21 02:35 pm (UTC)Good luck on the bar, BTW! *hugs*