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First, let me say that I'm writing this as a big fucking post that comes in basically two parts. The first part is the day I spent yesterday and the second part is about the movie. Please note that I'm assuming one thing when I get to the movie part. I'm assuming that you've read the books. The reason for this is because I'm going to talk about the movie in very specific ways. These will undoubtedly be spoilers if you have NOT read the books. So when I get to the movie portion and you don't want to be spoilered, stop reading then. I'll warn you then.


So yesterday I took the entire day off. I had won advanced screening tickets to "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1" and had no idea if there would be a line. The main problem is that my daughter and I saw each HP movie on opening day and it's our "thing". But she's doing badly in a class at school and I didn't want to take her out early to do so. My wife stepped up and agreed to pick my daughter up at the end of school and bring her to the theater so I could wait in line.

The movie started at 6 so I stressed and finally showed up at noon. I was alone. I sat in the video game area for about 20 minutes when I spotted a woman bringing in a chair. I naturally assumed that she was a part of the line and made sure by just asking. Yup. And she was very surprised to see that she wasn't the first. Apparently she went to a lot of these and was always the first. Not this time. She showed me where the line would be and we set up camp...and were alone for about an hour. Then the people started showing up. Lots of people. Lots and lots of people. Several times we had to tell people to get to the back of the line. They'd try the old "hang out & talk to the promo people and just try and stand there when done talking" that I've seen before and was NOT going to fall for. It was the first time I've ever been to that theater and don't give a shit if they didn't like me. So I made it known that I was there first and was not going to let anyone cut.

Finally at about 5:15 they started letting people in and I - of course - rushed in quickly to find the best spot. Trouble is, all the promo people from the radio stations had their families come in and take the choicest spots. I did find 2 in the front row of the stadium seating so I grabbed them quickly and waited for my daughter to finally get in - she had a big bag and they searched it.

The movie only had 2 previews and they both SUCKED!! The first one was for the live action Yogi Bear movie. The second was a movie about teenage love and werewolves. Sound familiar? Yup. By the director of Twilight. It's called Red Riding Hoodand it looks like teenage girl bullshit yet again. I guess since they've ruined vampires for everyone werewolves are next. When is Frankenstein gonna get some hot teenage lovin'?

Anyway, I had a bad feeling about the crowd around us when they "ooh"ed and "ahh"ed about these and especially about the Yogi Bear one. Yes, I was surrounded by little kids and fucking morons. But since they were radio station family morons they didn't actually have to wait to get in since their seats were reserved. And why would they want to wait in line with - and I'm not kidding - 3 & 4 year old kids in tow? They had 3 & 4 year old kids with them to a pretty intense movie. Every time someone new would come on screen they would ask, "Who's that, mama?" and she'd answer them patiently. About the tenth time I turned around and said, "Really?" After that she started shushing the kids up but when really loud intense things would happen they'd scream. I truly and sincerely hope these kids have nightmares for the rest of their lives. Nightmares of giant snakes and bad men in black who kill you with a word and flick of a wrist...

So how was the movie, you ask? Let me tell you....[SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!]


I loved it. But I can also see how people who have not read the book might not care for it very much. There were several parts where things just happen without any explanation. I knew what was going on as did Sammi, but you could tell there were those around us who didn't know what the hell was happening. As always there were things in the book that didn't make it to the movie as well as some things that they did in the movie that were an improvement over the book. Also, several things that took FOREVER in the book were kinda glossed over in the movie - and I think that it was done for the better.

Examples of each:

When Harry and Hermione go to Godric's Hollow and meet who they THINK is Bathilda Bagshot, Harry is separated and speaks only in parseltongue. In the book they explain that Harry was intentionally separated and didn't realize that he was speaking the language. In the movie he just does it. But if you didn't know what was happening it would be confusing. A lady near me said, "What the hell was that?!?" right before Nagini attacks. (Which caused the kids behind me to fucking freak out!!

When Harry, Ron and Hermione go on the run and get back to Sirius Black's house, there was a door that had a name plate reading "Regulus Arcturius Black". This lets them know who RAB is. This took like 5 seconds. In the book it took them CHAPTERS to figure it out.

Also done much, much more quickly was having Kreacher help out. In the book it was a real love/hate thing with them before he was sent out to find Mundungus but in the movie it was about 15 seconds of dialogue. (Okay, maybe a minute. But it was a LOT less!)

They had Ron listening to the radio while they were on the run, but they didn't have anyone from the Order broadcasting. All they got was news reports from the ministry. Actually the broadcasts could have been from the Order as they gave lists of missing wizards/witches but they never really touched on anything.

One thing they did very, very well was the story of the Three Brothers. Instead of telling it or reading it and just showing the characters reacting, they had Hermione reading the story while they animated the sequence. Holy shit was that well done! It was seriously one of the best parts of the movie. Sammi and I both loved it.

The movie started interestingly. It showed Ron, Hermione and Harry all getting ready to strike out on their own, not going to Hogwarts. Harry watched as the Dursleys packed up their stuff and moved away. I was a bit annoyed that they didn't show Dudley & Harry making up. I thought it did a lot for the Dudley character in the books and helped Harry to realize that he did, indeed have a family. I guess they didn't think it was that important to keep in.

Ron didn't do much to get ready other than standing outside their house looking apprehensively into the distance, contemplating what was to come.

Hermione...well, Hermione's vignette was heartbreaking. In the books they almost gloss over the fact that to keep her parents safe she erases their memories of her. In the movie they actually show her doing it. She cries silently behind them as you can see their faces go blank and she fades out of family photos.

These three things happen before they show the movie title. Very powerful and very well done.

Then it opens with a closeup of Bill Nighy as the Minister of Magic, assuring the people that things were perfectly fine. Of course, they are not. Right after that they cut to the scene where Voldemort murders Charity Burbage, feeding the body to Nagini. This also freaked out the kids behind me. -heh-

Next they go to Harry's fleeing of the place he'd always known as home and although they show the death of Hedwig, Mad-Eye dies off-screen and his death doesn't seem to be as powerful as it was in the book. Later, when Harry goes to the Ministry he sees Mad-Eye's magical eye on Umbridge's door yet doesn't seem to care like he does in the book.

After the attack at the wedding the movie tends to drag a bit. Not sure if that's supposed to be that way as the characters felt the same way, but it did drag - especially after Ron left. The scene where Ron comes back was well done and you get to see an animated partially nude Harry and Hermione making out & possibly more. They came VERY close to taking this scene to an "R" rating and the mother with the little kids behind me went, "Oh my!"

When Ron destroys the locket it is very well done. And this is where I thought they'd end this portion of the movie but instead they chose an ending closer to "The Empire Strikes Back". *I* thought that they'd end it on a happy note with Ron coming back, destroying the horcrux and having them reunite.

Nope.

After Ron comes back they go to Lovegood's, learn about Luna being taken, then getting captured themselves. The movie ended when they escaped Malfoy's house, ending up on a beach with a dying Dobby. Harry, Hermione and Ron bury Dobby and it cuts to Voldemort entering Dumbledore's grave - retrieving the "Elder Wand" that makes him unbeatable in a duel. He raises it to the sky and releases a huge lightning storm...end of movie.

So the movie ended on a real down note with a (sort of) major character dying and the bad guy getting the unbeatable weapon. A heard a few people who were unsatisfied with it, but when listening to them further I realized that these people hadn't read the book. Pretty much everyone else I spoke to liked it...and each of them had read it.

So my rating is a bit odd.

If you've read the book I give this 8/10 stars.

If you have not you'll probably rate it at about 6/10.

So how many times were they saved by something completely random like a sword appearing in a hat dropped by a previously dead bird, or a magic car that was also previously thought to be out of commission or the revelation that they have a fucking time machine?

Oh man, I'm even more pumped now. Can't wait to see it!

Now I havea greater desire to see it on opening night. Hrm.

---------- Post added at 10:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:40 AM ----------

phil said:

So how many times were they saved by something completely random like a sword appearing in a hat dropped by a previously dead bird, or a magic car that was also previously thought to be out of commission or the revelation that they have a fucking time machine?

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I'm glad you live in a world where you know everything there is to know, and nothing is random simply because you happen to understand all the connections.

In my world, characters have limited knowledge, and are sometimes surprised by, to them, unexpected circumstance and events. Further, books would be boring if the reader was not also treated as a character with limited knowledge and understanding. Pacing information to the reader is an important part of storytelling.

Granted, the author of this series is hardly a stellar storyteller, but she improved greatly over the course of the series, and if nothing else the entertainment is worth the small expense.

I didn't even want to see it, and now I do. Good job!

First Lady Puffinstuff said:

Now I havea greater desire to see it on opening night. Hrm.

---------- Post added at 10:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:40 AM ----------

phil said:

So how many times were they saved by something completely random like a sword appearing in a hat dropped by a previously dead bird, or a magic car that was also previously thought to be out of commission or the revelation that they have a fucking time machine?

Click to expand...

I'm glad you live in a world where you know everything there is to know, and nothing is random simply because you happen to understand all the connections.

In my world, characters have limited knowledge, and are sometimes surprised by, to them, unexpected circumstance and events. Further, books would be boring if the reader was not also treated as a character with limited knowledge and understanding. Pacing information to the reader is an important part of storytelling.

Granted, the author of this series is hardly a stellar storyteller, but she improved greatly over the course of the series, and if nothing else the entertainment is worth the small expense.

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And I'm glad you live in a world where characters don't have do to shit for themselves because a bird will always be there to save them in the end.

Also, Harry potter and twilight are basically the same thing!

phil said:

Also, Harry potter and twilight are basically the same thing!

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wat

Philosopher B.;452634][QUOTE=phil said:

Also, Harry potter and twilight are basically the same thing!

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wat[/QUOTE]

Well, he's right in a way.

HP: appeals to the reader's desire to be more than they really are.
Twilight: appeals to the reader's desire to be loved by the perfect man.

And, quite frankly, HP is not significantly better than twilight in terms of literary value. We're not talking about literary giants here - these are stories aimed primarily at teenage audiences, and are not meant to change the reader, nevermind society. Consider Oliver Twist - which in and of itself is a fine example of a well-crafted story, also led many people to better understand the issues of orphans and poverty in London at the time it was published.

Not that every book must fulfill some great calling, but we should at least admit that these are not much more than cotton candy at the fair - enjoyable each time we partake, but of no lasting substance or value.

I love you guys but sometimes the pissing in the Cheerios for pissing sake annoys me.

It's a fucking movie. Like it, hate it, whatever.

They don't spend most of the movie camping do they? I really hope they don't follow the book that literally.

They kinda do in the middle, which is where I said it really slowed down. It was important to show that they were on the run and not actively doing anything, but it did drag things in the middle by a bit.

Dave said:

I love you guys but sometimes the pissing in the Cheerios for pissing sake annoys me.

It's a fucking movie. Like it, hate it, whatever.

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Ah I just like to mess with HP fans. I'll take it elsewhere.

I tried to watch the movies but I dunno, Ratface annoys the hell out of me.

Jay said:

I tried to watch the movies but I dunno, Ratface annoys the hell out of me.

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You may as well just admit your secret crush on him and get it over with.

On the plus side, there's a lot less ron and a lot more harry and hermione during the boring part, so you may find it more to your liking than the previous films.

I meant Harry.

First Lady Puffinstuff;452657][QUOTE=Philosopher B.;452634][QUOTE=phil said:

Also, Harry potter and twilight are basically the same thing!

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wat[/QUOTE]

Well, he's right in a way.

HP: appeals to the reader's desire to be more than they really are.
Twilight: appeals to the reader's desire to be loved by the perfect man.

And, quite frankly, HP is not significantly better than twilight in terms of literary value. We're not talking about literary giants here - these are stories aimed primarily at teenage audiences, and are not meant to change the reader, nevermind society. Consider Oliver Twist - which in and of itself is a fine example of a well-crafted story, also led many people to better understand the issues of orphans and poverty in London at the time it was published.

Not that every book must fulfill some great calling, but we should at least admit that these are not much more than cotton candy at the fair - enjoyable each time we partake, but of no lasting substance or value.[/QUOTE]

wat

No but seriously, gonna have to disagree somewhat there. I mean, I wouldn't claim that Harry Potter is some kind of literary juggernaut, but not only was the series written far better and more carefully than Twilight (well, better than the first, anyway, I couldn't bear to start New Moon), it handled various themes in a fairly competent way, such as death (specifically, coping with it), racism/discrimination, impotency of government and press, etc., all packaged neatly within a cauldron of fantasy tropes stewed to near-perfection. At least she knew what she was on about, hell, Stephanie Meyer wasn't even into vampires! She just wrote a bunch of badly-constructed garbage about two one-dimensional characters who creeped on each other and spent all their free time wishing they could eat each other out.

Bottom line, as stepping stones to reading more thoughtful/literary works go, if I ever have boys and girls of my own, I'm-a hand 'em Harry Potter every time. Get that garbage about 'feline' sparkly vampires who spend hundreds of pages basically having the same conversation about whether Bella can be turned out mah house.

So to sum up (I probably should have just written this to begin with and foregone all that other gab):

Harry Potter is cotton candy.

Twilight is a shit sandwich.

How wrong is it of me to think that the Riding Hood trailer was kinda hot?

mr_thehun;452911][QUOTE=Raemon777 said:

How wrong is it of me to think that the Riding Hood trailer was kinda hot?

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I still think mummies are sexier[/QUOTE]

... Paaaging Dr. Freud...

Ahh I loved it so much! I loved that it felt like a true sequel. I didn't feel as if someone was holding my hand through the movie, explaining every little thing. "We're going to the Ministry of magic!" It was more "you should remember this from the previous movies" and "if you read the books, then you know what's going on now!" It truly felt like a movie for fans of the books.
I'm really hoping they do the big kiss the right way in the next movie. They completely left out SPEW in the previous films... so I wonder how they'll make that work?

that excerpt for a new sequel was hilarious.

Element 117 said:

that excerpt for a new sequel was hilarious.

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??

Wut?

See, since I saw it on Monday there were hardly any trailers. What did I miss?

I enjoyed the beginning. I enjoyed the end.

The 30-45 min in the middle where they camped in the woods and did nothing but feel sorry for themselves drove me up the wall. Just like in the book.

I saw it at 7:00 p.m. with my brothers. The theatre was packed - college kids behind us, young kids in front. We sat really close and I thought the strain on my neck would kill me - but I didn't remember my neck until after the show, I was so engrossed in the movie (and Reese's Pieces ).

I thought it was pretty close to fantastic. This movie, coupled with Part 2 (assuming they don't screw anything up, and I don't think they will) could be one of the most well-realized of the adaptations yet. Of course part of that is due to having the proper space in which to tell the story for a change.

Speaking of the proper space, I wasn't annoyed by the pace at all. Frankly, the last couple of Potter movies have seemed a tad rushed to me - as if each scene barrels into the next. This movie slowed it down, allowed for some more character moments.

My favorite parts:


The score and the cinematography. The scenery was just gorgeous and bleak and desolate and crowded and awesome.

My theatre had two unified reactions. One was during the trailers, when the Cowboys and Aliens title popped up. I jumped! people hooted so uproariously.

The other was when
Aside from that, there was a lot of laughing going on. I dunno if it was just because I haven't gone to see a Potter movie in the actual theatre in a while, or if they upped the humor, but there seemed to be quite a few amusing moments.

I might think of some nitpicks later, but for now, the only thing I remember bugging me slightly was when
Overall, I had a great time. I am now super-psyched for Part 2.

My wife and I watched it yesterday, and we enjoyed it thoroughly.

The next one is coming out July 15, about 8 months from now. I expect that they will follow the lead of Avatar, and release a movie-only DVD and blueray of part one before part two so people can watch it again just prior to seeing 2. Then they can later release the special feature edition right before next Christmas. If they're on the ball, they'll have a special 8 movie boxed set with additional special features before next Christmas.

But they may draw it out and have something the following year instead.

Either way, it's netted 5 billion over the last 6 films, and this one has already hit 60 million between yesterday and today.

SO what were the trailers? I only saw Yogi Bear and Red Riding Hood. Both of which are going to suck and make a lot of money.

Dave said:

SO what were the trailers? I only saw Yogi Bear and Red Riding Hood. Both of which are going to suck and make a lot of money.

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Also saw trailers for Green Lantern (meh), Cowboys & Aliens (awesome in an awful kind of way), Tron (still undecided), Green Hornet (pretty awesome), Kung Fu Panda 2 (meh, but could be cool) and Open Season 3 (wtf?)

I saw a trailer for Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It had a minotaur in it.

mr_thehun said:

Damnit, I really want a WOT movie.

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I can do without watching two hours of braid-tugging, I think.

I'll tell you what... you can have a Wheel of Time movie when I get ether a non-made for TV version of a Terry Pratchett book (Where's my Wee Free Men!?) or when Death: The High Cost Of Living gets out of development hell.

It shouldn't even be hard for the first one to happen... Disney is supposedly working on making Mort into a hand drawn animation movie (with Rob Clements and John Musker heading it). But we'll have to survive the apocalypse for that, as it's slated for 2014.

Saw it on Sunday, I thought it was really good. I thought where they ended this one was appropriate. I knew it'd be SOME kind of cliffhanger, since it's the middle of a two parter.

I saw Ebert gave it a favorable review. He points out that though he hadn't read the book, and was confused at a few points, it was still a really good enough movie that those points didn't hinder it.

I enjoyed seeing Emma Watson side-boob (even though it was CGI enhanced side-boob).

Well, that goes without saying.

It was a very, very long movie. I was quite bored but the people i went with really enjoyed it so good on Yates for making a good Harry Potter movie.