I saw Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince. I had a good time, though the movie itself was subpar. I guess this is going to be a movie review, so I'll begin with the negative and end with the positive in hopes that you will still go out and support the entertainment industry with your ten dollars of ticket-fare.
Michael Gambon may be a talented actor in other roles, but he is completely wrong for the part of Dumbledore. His interpretation was completely off. I've never found him likeable as Dumbledore, especially not in this movie. If anything I was happy that Dumbledore died so that I wouldn't have to see Michael Gambon butcher the role any more.
There were many slow sections. It's Harry Potter. The movie oughtn't to bore me even once, much less several times.
The romantic tension was totally unresolved. The book was full of kissing. There was barely any in the movie.
But now to look at the positive side, the romantic tension itself was amazing. There were so many awkward moments, it was delicious. Every scene with the Ron/Hermione/Lavendar or Ginny/Harry/Dean triangle drama had me in stitches and there was a really touching Harry/Hermione scene where they comforted and helped each other through the hardships of unrequited love.
The effects/camera work are amazing. This movie is one of the most visually pleasing Harry Potter movies yet, which is quite a feat because they are all beautiful. They must have used a special filter on the lens because every image is dusted with this fantastical layer that adds magic to everything (as if there weren't enough magic already... :-) ).
Helena Bonham Carter. Enough said. But I'll say more anyway. Her part is tiny and yet she's incredible. Every time I see her on screen or hear her voice as Bellatrix LeStrange, chills of fear run down my spine. In the post-Dumbledore's-death sequence, she puts herself into this creepily ecstatic dance--guess which of her past characters came to my mind while watching (and really, guess--the comment box isn't there for nothing :-P ). The moral of the story is, she's a very gifted actress.
Finally, I loved the the energy coming from the audience. The theater was fairly empty for a Harry Potter opening night, but the audience was abuzz with excitement for the movie, which made it so much fun to watch. The vocal reactions to various moments on screen were very funny and there's such a sense of community about a room full of people who have all addictively read the same books over the last decade or so.
So see it. It's not a movie I'll be watching a lot on DVD when it comes out, but it's worth a trip down to the theaters. So see it.
I don't quite know what else to talk about.
This video is pretty funny:
Love,
Christian
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2 comments:
Oh yes, Christian--Helena Bonham Carter. She really was an incredible part of the movie, as she has been for the last couple. She merits her title credit coming right after the 2 leads, even though her part is so small. I also didn't mention how much I'm liking Lena these days. I've always thought she does a good job of that part. Do you think she has a crush on Harry? Hope you had a good rest of your Saturday--Dave's working on getting Polly nice and calm for bedtime right now :). Yea for good husbands and fabulous brothers.
hmm, well, I've only seen one other movie with Helena Bonham Carter and that was A Room with a View. Is she more of a stage actress? But she was very good, I agree. Naomi, I also liked Luna. I always had hopes that she and Neville would get together. Christian, I'm surprised you didn't like Michael Gambon. A few of the reviews I read loved him in the part (a few saying that was the only good part of the movie). I agree with you about the movie being a little slow - but I've felt that about all of them. Remember when we saw the fifth one together last year? fun times.
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