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vaznettiWe very nearly didn't see Order of the Phoenix this evening: we went the the theater, bought tickets, sat through the ads and previews, and then, where there ought to have been a movie, there was a big blurry mess. After abut five minutes of that we learned that even if they could fix the picture, they couldn't restart the movie (why on earth not? I mean, aside from the fact that the theater was run by teenagers?), so we got our money back, I yelled at the manager, and we walked over to the other movie theater and saw it there. All through the ads and previews, we were on the edge of our chairs, though, sure that something would go wrong; and about two-thirds of the way through there was a blip with the sound, but other than that it was OK.
As for the film itself, it was deeply enjoyable. The book is probably my least favorite of all of them: too sprawling, with too many new characters and too much of Harry shouting and full of angst. Whereas in this version, the story was a good deal more streamlined (almost to the verge of being hard to follow if you didn't already know it, I suspect) and Harry's angst made perfect sense: BH said on the way to dinner that Daniel Radcliffe gave an amazing performance as a boy caught up in grief, guilt and a healthy portion of PTSD. And that was exactly right, and just what it was. Dumbledore's distance and Snape's behavior also made more sense here, somehow: in the book, I got the sense that Snape was just being a bad teacher for random, plot-related reasons, whereas here one got the sense that he was trying to get Harry to learn, even if he was doing it in the wrong way. And the scenes between Harry and Sirius were also really affecting.
I might have felt differently if I was strongly attached to anything in particular about OOtP, but there was nothing missing that I particularly wanted. And I really, really liked Luna here -- much more than in the book. She was luminous, and stole every scene she was in. And because of the change with Cho, where she was the one who betrayed the DA, and Ginny not having any lines at all, it really seemed that Luna/Harry was a reasonable possibility. I would be behind that. They had some chemistry.
And visually, it was spectacular. One of the things about the Harry Potter books is that the world doesn't always make a great deal of sense, but it's very deeply imagined, and the movie gave a great sense of the depth and richness of the world. I loved the Ministry, in particular: an amazing set, and to see it at first with all those people in it, the whole world, was wonderful.
Imelda Stanton wasn't the Umbridge I imagined, but she was terrifying in the role, both as sadist and as true believer.
And EEEE! Potterdammerung approaches! I am finally getting excited about that; maybe I will reread HBP this week, to catch up.
So all in all, it was worth the hassle.
* * *
Afterward the movie, we went to a pretty good Brazilian and Mexican restaurant -- with two-for-one margaritas, although they were quite weak compared to my mother's. (Mom starts each margarita with three shots of tequila, and then there's the Controy and lime juice, in some lesser quantities. One makes you happy; two make you go to sleep.)
* * *
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musesfool, I am pleased to see that hossgal and I are not alone in our belief that Dean was meant to be in Hufflepuff (our conversation was here, back in November of last year); and I maintain now, as I maintained then, that John can best be understood as Hufflepuff Gone Bad.
* * *
Also on the way to the restaurant, BH pointed out the striking resemblance between Hermione Granger (or I suppose, Emma Watson?) and one of his students.
Me: Wasn't she the girl I had the very long, very drunk, very earnest conversation about lesbianism with?
Him: Yes, but if you got Hermione really, really drunk, isn't that exactly the conversation she would have?
Me: I bet one of my friends has written that.
Have you? Presumably, with the sex scene as well.
As for the film itself, it was deeply enjoyable. The book is probably my least favorite of all of them: too sprawling, with too many new characters and too much of Harry shouting and full of angst. Whereas in this version, the story was a good deal more streamlined (almost to the verge of being hard to follow if you didn't already know it, I suspect) and Harry's angst made perfect sense: BH said on the way to dinner that Daniel Radcliffe gave an amazing performance as a boy caught up in grief, guilt and a healthy portion of PTSD. And that was exactly right, and just what it was. Dumbledore's distance and Snape's behavior also made more sense here, somehow: in the book, I got the sense that Snape was just being a bad teacher for random, plot-related reasons, whereas here one got the sense that he was trying to get Harry to learn, even if he was doing it in the wrong way. And the scenes between Harry and Sirius were also really affecting.
I might have felt differently if I was strongly attached to anything in particular about OOtP, but there was nothing missing that I particularly wanted. And I really, really liked Luna here -- much more than in the book. She was luminous, and stole every scene she was in. And because of the change with Cho, where she was the one who betrayed the DA, and Ginny not having any lines at all, it really seemed that Luna/Harry was a reasonable possibility. I would be behind that. They had some chemistry.
And visually, it was spectacular. One of the things about the Harry Potter books is that the world doesn't always make a great deal of sense, but it's very deeply imagined, and the movie gave a great sense of the depth and richness of the world. I loved the Ministry, in particular: an amazing set, and to see it at first with all those people in it, the whole world, was wonderful.
Imelda Stanton wasn't the Umbridge I imagined, but she was terrifying in the role, both as sadist and as true believer.
And EEEE! Potterdammerung approaches! I am finally getting excited about that; maybe I will reread HBP this week, to catch up.
So all in all, it was worth the hassle.
* * *
Afterward the movie, we went to a pretty good Brazilian and Mexican restaurant -- with two-for-one margaritas, although they were quite weak compared to my mother's. (Mom starts each margarita with three shots of tequila, and then there's the Controy and lime juice, in some lesser quantities. One makes you happy; two make you go to sleep.)
* * *
Via
musesfool, I am pleased to see that hossgal and I are not alone in our belief that Dean was meant to be in Hufflepuff (our conversation was here, back in November of last year); and I maintain now, as I maintained then, that John can best be understood as Hufflepuff Gone Bad.* * *
Also on the way to the restaurant, BH pointed out the striking resemblance between Hermione Granger (or I suppose, Emma Watson?) and one of his students.
Me: Wasn't she the girl I had the very long, very drunk, very earnest conversation about lesbianism with?
Him: Yes, but if you got Hermione really, really drunk, isn't that exactly the conversation she would have?
Me: I bet one of my friends has written that.
Have you? Presumably, with the sex scene as well.
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no subject
Date: 2007-07-16 10:43 pm (UTC)Old Thingstones (http://eloise-bright.livejournal.com/145868.html)
no subject
Date: 2007-07-17 05:06 pm (UTC)