01-02-2006, 07:32 PM
Dee Dee and I caught this at the Emeryville AMC on 12/30.
This was my favorite book in the series (I'm a sucker for ring-of-fire type trials) and had high hopes for the film.
It did very well in capturing the awkwardness of growing up, the characters were fairly well given room to breathe (with the possible exception of Hermione who only had room to whine). The acting was decent, although a shade melodramatic at times.
However, I felt something was missing, and brother Greg nailed it.
I was constantly scouring the paintings for animation, the halls for moving staircases and the great hall for the ubiquitous Nearly-Headless Nick. Everything was mundane and static. The last 3 films were filled with ghosts, goblins, spells, monsters, mischief and mystery.
The book had all those things. They were cut because they were sub-plots and did not contribute to the already lengthy main story. Taking the trimming off the tree is not the way to handle Holiday faire. This should have been a 2-part Harry Potter with the conclusion released in the summer.
I still enjoyed the dark, edgy feel of the film, but I can get that from "Hellboy", " Sin City" and "Batman Begins".
Maybe the Directors DVD will include all the missing bits about Hermione's 'House-Elf Protection Society' and Harry's interaction with the Dursleys.
Oh Well. Next stop 'The Chronic WHAT! cles of Narnia'
This was my favorite book in the series (I'm a sucker for ring-of-fire type trials) and had high hopes for the film.
It did very well in capturing the awkwardness of growing up, the characters were fairly well given room to breathe (with the possible exception of Hermione who only had room to whine). The acting was decent, although a shade melodramatic at times.
However, I felt something was missing, and brother Greg nailed it.
I was constantly scouring the paintings for animation, the halls for moving staircases and the great hall for the ubiquitous Nearly-Headless Nick. Everything was mundane and static. The last 3 films were filled with ghosts, goblins, spells, monsters, mischief and mystery.
The book had all those things. They were cut because they were sub-plots and did not contribute to the already lengthy main story. Taking the trimming off the tree is not the way to handle Holiday faire. This should have been a 2-part Harry Potter with the conclusion released in the summer.
I still enjoyed the dark, edgy feel of the film, but I can get that from "Hellboy", " Sin City" and "Batman Begins".
Maybe the Directors DVD will include all the missing bits about Hermione's 'House-Elf Protection Society' and Harry's interaction with the Dursleys.
Oh Well. Next stop 'The Chronic WHAT! cles of Narnia'