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Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

I saw the film yesterday and I really enjoyed it.

The only thing I didn't understand though-

(SPOILIER) If Dumbledore didn't know about the Hawcross, then why did he already have the ring and knew about the book? (SPOILER)

Also the points you made were good ones Rush..
 
spicy said:
I saw the film yesterday and I really enjoyed it.

The only thing I didn't understand though-

(SPOILIER) If Dumbledore didn't know about the Hawcross, then why did he already have the ring and knew about the book? (SPOILER)

Also the points you made were good ones Rush..

I believe in the film he basically said he had made the assumption that they were Horcruxes, but had no evidence until Harry got the memory. In the book Dumbledore was sure they were Horcruxes but was unsure how many others existed.

The back story of that ring would of also explained why exactly Dumbldore would have found it even more interesting outside the fact of Voldemort had possession of it.

I believe that is why initially in the film he hid both the book and ring from Harry as he was unable to explain them.
 
Finally gotten around to seeing it.

I thought it was a fantastically well-made film, Yates clearly knows what he's doing as a director, far more than some of the others before him.

For the most part the acting is excellent. Watson has come on hugely (apart from the crying), Grint is great as always (fantastic physical acting during the love chocs, even if he did look like he was having a "crisis" at first), and I disagree with you Furie, Radcliffe is pretty good considering the material he's dealing with sometimes.

Someone thought Felton as Malfoy was fail - I thought he played it really well, another big improvement.

Gambon's Dumbledore is a bit of a mess though - what the hell is that accent meant to be? I still miss Richard Harris :(.

They're all blown away by Jim Broadbent, best actor alive IMHO <3.

There's a lot debate about the film/book comparison, I've eased into taking the films as "heavily inspired by" now (despite the mangling of Azkaban), and I think this is the best yet for dealing with the transition.

What makes the film seem slow is the editing - it's often just that tiny bit too lingering in a conversation, which makes all the difference. Plus the occasional protracted shot is used which can't be cut.

The writing on some key scenes doesn't quite nail it either - small but significant details don't quite land properly. This is particularly true of Snape (who should have been on-screen more often, Rickman <3).

I love the comments on how "few" FX there are - it's stuffed with them, they're just so well done that for the most part they go undetected, which shows what can be achieved with modern technology in aid of strong storytelling. I didn't like the cave that much though strangely, thought they were struggling a little there.

I suspect the fight from the book was cut so as not to detract from the final film.

Overall, my favourite so far, I'm very happy indeed that Yates is closing this out :).
 
I watched it a second time on Wednesday, and I didn't enjoy it as much as the first time. Perhaps this is to be expected, but it just seemed to lack something second time round.

However, I do agree with Slayed's review in its entirety. Woo.
 
I've just started reading HBP again and am shocked by how much more I enjoy the book. From the very beginning it grabs my interest and doesn't let go, I find it very hard to put down.

I just feel that the film failed hugely in capturing the essence of the HBP. I felt there was no rising panic in the wizarding community, not enough Snape, and a seriously poor show by Dumbledore. It just wasn't dark enough for my liking.

I guess I'm just too big a fan of the books to ever be able to enjoy the films.
 
Books allow you to imagine.
The films force an image to you.
I don't like how volermort looks in the films, I imagined a better version.


To be fair, I don't think the films do it any justice, just makes big bucks for Rowling & the wizard crew.
 
nadroJ said:
I've just started reading HBP again and am shocked by how much more I enjoy the book. From the very beginning it grabs my interest and doesn't let go, I find it very hard to put down.

Same. I started it on Wednesday. 10 pages to go.
 
I too am re-reading the book, cause the last time I read it was just after it came out, so I totally forget it.

And I ENTIRELY disagree.

The book is SO bland. I really don't like it. It trundles along with nothing really happening, "oh, that's Voldemort's grand-father"... You know what? I don't CARE. And because there's nothing happening, you're forced to focus on Rowling as a writer to keep you interested. And she as a writer is um... not good. As a plot and character developing person? Brilliant. As an actual writer? She's very, very poor. Whereas in the film you've still got great acting, directing, visuals and humour to keep you going through the points where nothing happens, in the book you're bored stiff.

I still <3 the film.
 
Saw the film the other day. It's good, but slow and boring. Too long and nothing much happens. Should have ended with the funeral, rather than in the office, thought it ruined the emotion of the ending and draged it on, it just felt right to end it at the funeral but they added the scene. In the book it ends in the funeral, the filsm should have done also. Still, it was a good film, love Loony Lovegood, she is my new favourite character, she was really funny. Three and a half stars from me.

***.5
 
Just back as well.

Yeah I'm with Ben. I prefer the movie to the book. I find the book to be very cack.

Also I fond the lack of Dumbledore's funeral better as well now. The funeral in the book was very cheesy and kinda pathetic.

So yeah. Movie was gewd.
 
I thought the movie was great, I just don't think that it was a good book to movie transition. Book was so much better. Great movie tho.
 
Pokemaniac said:
I saw it last night, and I think it really stayed true to the book, scene-to-scene-wise. Some scenes simply exceeded my expectation.

However, there were a few flaws:
1) The field scene. Totally pointless. The Burrow also plays a role in the next book, how can it do that when burnt down?

Because -

they're not going to use it in the next film are they. They need something that will get them back to 12 Gimmauld Place, because that's where Kreacher is and that's where the real locket is that Regulus got Kreacher to destroy. And because they cut so much stuff out of OOTP and HBP about how Harry inherits all of Sirius' stuff and gives the Order 12 Gimmauld Place they needed a plot device to get them back there. Burning it down was it.

I've seen the film twice and am half way through re-reading the book. I honestly couldn't remember much of what happened in the book the first time I saw it but it (the film) wound me up no end because of all the teen love scenes and apparent glossing over of important plot issues. But then re-reading the book I see that's what the book is! But I do have one complaint about the film/book conversion, the total glossing over of all the Lupin/Tonks stuff. But that's because he's my favourite character and David Thewlis is ace.

I can't wait for the DH films to come out though, as according to some interviews I've seen with David Thewlis they sort out my complaints above and the book had some of my favourite bits in with Snape.
 
Film was good, but I enjoyed the book more. Probably, as said earlier, I painted a better picture for myself, and inevitably you miss the bits that don't go into the film, even though its illogical to expect it all to go in.

I was a bit disappointed that so little was made of Fenrir Grayback, because he had the potential to be a proper terrifying character, and he really looked the part, and the lack of any decent battle at the end too. Helena Bonham Carter also didn't have enough screen time. But, still, it was a good film, and for the length of it, it flew by.
 
I saw it today, and honestly, I don't see why people are saying it's so bad. I loved it, it stayed pretty true to the book, although as the films are only based on the books, this comparison shouldn't really be made.

I loved the direction and the dark feel of the film. It was long, but not too long that I got bored. There may not have been a lot of action, but this was the book where you find out a lot about Voldemort and how he came to be, and this film does exactly that.

Not my favourite of the series, but a solid 9/10.
 
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