Harry Potter Movies

[Shanmac]

I agree. He's also been there, done that with the old, wise wizard role.

I don't get the criticisms I'm seeing about Emma Watson. I think the "acting with her eyebrows" thing is working for her -- at least for this character.

[kostgard]

I normally don't like to throw the jealousy card out but in this case, it so painfully obvious and disgusting that I can't help it. The veiled and sometimes unveiled racism had me running from that forum. It was disgusting. Those kids need to be slapped into reality and they really need to get over themselves. It is an effing movie.

I can only guess that's what this is, because otherwise...geez. Where do these kids come from?

But, I suspect a lot of these kids are the same people who absolutely FREAKED when Harry hooked up with Ginny in the most recent book instead of Hermione, calling it a huge betrayal, and wailing about how could Rowling do that to her devoted readers. I think those people had seen the movies a few too many times and were thinking about the chemistry between EW and DR and somehow didn't pick up on the fact that Rowling has been setting up a Ron/Hermione pairing since day one.

I agree that Katie Leung is just as cute as a button and I love her Scottish accent (I'm a sucker for Scottish accents anyway). I hope she has a cool family that can help her deal with the crazies saying all those awful things about her.

I'm also one of the few people who prefers Gambon - I agree that he seems less frail and more able to tussle with Voldemort if the need arises.

[january]

I think I prefer Gambon's Dumbledore. He doesn't have the gravitas that Harris did and I do agree that he seems to yell and freak out a little too much. However, I get from Gambon this sense of extreme power as a wizard. Harris commanded respect because, well he was Richard Harris, and he had this grandfatherly, extremely wise thing going for him but Gambon looks like he could tussle with Voldemort and come out on top. I don't know. I don't think Gambon is a vast improvement or anything but I like his sort of unhinged quality.

That's exactly why I prefer Gambon. While I agree that the shouting and pushing Harry in GoF was a little over-the-top, I just like his energy. Richard Harris was wonderful, and I loved how he portrayed Dumbledore's twinkly sense of humor, but he always seemed too fragile to be the kick-ass wizard I imagined.

[Deleted]

january said:

I think I prefer Gambon's Dumbledore. He doesn't have the gravitas that Harris did and I do agree that he seems to yell and freak out a little too much. However, I get from Gambon this sense of extreme power as a wizard. Harris commanded respect because, well he was Richard Harris, and he had this grandfatherly, extremely wise thing going for him but Gambon looks like he could tussle with Voldemort and come out on top. I don't know. I don't think Gambon is a vast improvement or anything but I like his sort of unhinged quality.

That's exactly why I prefer Gambon. While I agree that the shouting and pushing Harry in GoF was a little over-the-top, I just like his energy. Richard Harris was wonderful, and I loved how he portrayed Dumbledore's twinkly sense of humor, but he always seemed too fragile to be the kick-ass wizard I imagined.

On the other hand, I always imagine Harris' Dumbledore when I read the line "you seem to be under the impression that I'm coming along peacefully" (or something like that) just before his escape in Order of The Phoenix ;D

[MrsCatHead]

I wish there were more World Cup bits in the movie and yes, I agree that the dragon bit went on a little too long and kinda stopped the flow of the movie even. But I think it was probably so expensive to create the dragon that they had to have it in for more than a few seconds to make it all worth the cost.

Emma's acting IS getting worse! I agree. And the girl who played Cho was adorable.

Did anyone feel that the editing was crap? It was like a bunch of scenes that were spliced together. It didn't have a good flow in the beginning. As the movie went on, it got better. Also, I didn't like some of the choices the director/screenwriter made.

[Deleted]

Think this is the best movie out of the series yet. Was also very pleased with the hottness of Cedric and Viktor.

I agree. I know people love Azkaban, but I was bored in that movie, just bored.

I think Dan, Emma and Rupert are all coming along nicely as actors. I don't see the weakness of Emma Watson's acting at all. I thought her entrance at the Yule Ball, where she feels uncomfortable and is trying not to smile too much was perfect. Very fourteen. If there's a weak link, it's Rupert, in my opinion, but he's not awful or anything.

My only beef with the dragon bit is that I thought there should have been more of a reaction when the dragon broke its tether. I thought it was a nice action scene.

Did anyone feel that the editing was crap? It was like a bunch of scenes that were spliced together. It didn't have a good flow in the beginning. As the movie went on, it got better.

I wouldn't say crap, but the beginning was choppy. I think the beginning of book four is hard as far as putting it on film. You have to have three things that are not really linked--the graveyard scene, the World Cup/Dark Mark and the Triwizard Announcement. And while the details are fun to read about most of them aren't really important to the story. Those three elements are a little over 1/4 of GoF. I was disappointed not to see the Veelas and that the whole bit with the Dursleys was left out as well as the Muggle torture (or whatever you want to call it).

Also, I didn't like some of the choices the director/screenwriter made.

I'd be interested to know what because there are definitely deviations and I'd like to hear other reactions.

In general, I enjoyed the movie and as a reader of the books I wasn't too upset with any of the changes. I thought they did an excellent job of foreshadowing the Ministry of Magic coverup in Order of the Phoenix and I was really happy to see Neville get a bit more attention. As far as the films go Neville could be a throwaway character. I am delighted that he is not. On the other hand they could get rid of Hagrid completely and I would not miss him a bit. I hope they leave out the tedious trip to Giantland and Grawp in OOtP.

One bit of editing I will agree was crap was the Bartemius Crouch murder. He's dead and then we see Harry going to Dumbledore's office and no mention of him again.

My last comment is that I am glad to read that Radcliffe was 16 when shooting this. I don't feel quite so pervy thinking that he looked really good with his shirt off while getting into the bath.

ETA: Thanks Coffeecakes for making me feel totally pervy again

[Coffeecakes]

Actually they shot this when he was 14 and 15. He barely turned 16 a couple of months ago. I know this because of so many damn tweens mentioning it.

[susyhomewrecker]

My only beef with the dragon bit is that I thought there should have been more of a reaction when the dragon broke its tether. I thought it was a nice action scene.

I LOVED the twins' reaction to that--one of them shouted "way to go dragon!!" Which was so funny (and so in-character!)

[kostgard]

Well, I finally got my butt to the movie theatre and saw this. I thought it was pretty good - I think I'll need a second viewing before I can determine whether or not I like it better than PoA, but it is definitely in first or second place.

I was pleasanty surprised at how much Daniel Radcliffe has improved! He's gotten better with each film, but this was the first time where I didn't think, "Aw, he sure is trying hard." He finally felt natural and seemed to embody the role for the first time. I don't know if it was the director or the acting workshop he put the three main actors through, but whatever it was, it definitely worked. I am actually looking forward to his performance in the upcoming movies because I think he'll do well with the darker material. He seems to do better as "pensive" Harry than as the wide-eyed innocent kid.

Rupert Grint did a much better job as well. First time Ron seemed like a character and not just a cartoon. Unfortunately, I thought Emma Watson was the weak link this time around - which is weird, because she's always been the strongest of the three (IMO). The eyebrows were serious distracting. She used them to punctuate every. Single. Word. However, she did a very good job in the Yule Ball scene and her heart break/frustration over Ron's blindness.

I liked Voldemort too. I liked that they kept his eyes normal. Sort of a reminder that he was once human before going all evil. Moody was great too. And I just love Fred and George.

Overall, it did feel kinda choppy because there was no transition - they just jumped from one thing to another, but with so much material to cover that isn't too surprising. I still think I need to see it again (or on DVD) to really digest it.

[Deleted]

I feel sorry for Katie/Cho. The crazy ranting about her by the demented fangirls drove me permanently away from HP fansites.

Supposedly, her father is loaded, she goes to a very exclusive private school in Glasgow, and she was the star of GOF's Hong Kong opening (her dad emigrated from Hong Kong to Scotland before she was born). I read an interview her dad gave a British paper about the harassment Katie suffered. He seemed very sad about it, how people wanted to make what whould have been a happy moment for her into something terrifying and ugly. Poor thing.

BTW, I loved the movie. I saw it with someone who's never read the books and only seen the films. He had no trouble following any of the plots and thought GOF was a blast. Like Star Wars and LOTR fans, HP fans can get ludicrously bogged down in the details of plot and canon text until we can't see the forest for the trees. The movies do work incredibly well on their own.