Thursday, July 23, 2009

in which i geek out and complain about things

SPOILER ALERT! FOR THE MOVIE, NOT THE BOOK, OBV.

I love David Yates. I think he's great. I think the cinematographer is great. I think all of the actors are great now (I do not want to stab Emma Watson for having to speak with her mouth open as wide as possible). There's Lots of Love for the people who worked on Half-Blood Prince.

I hate the screenwriter with a fiery passion. I was not aware one could adapt a book without reading it and with reading it at the same time. There are some really great things about the movie, Daniel Radcliff on Felix: HILARIOUS. And let's start there, that scene has some things about the screenwriting I find so infuriating:

-The potion isn't gold. I know it's a little thing, but COME ON. Is it really that hard to make it gold? Why is it in a Christmas ornament? INFURIATING THING ONE: Changing little things for no reason.

-Harry drinks it all. I thought why is he drinking it all how will he give some to his friends at the end of the book so they stay alive?

-Oh snap that doesn't happen. INFURIATING THING TWO: Making the characters seem weaker by taking away their motivation and then not putting anything in its place. If they don't fight, how can Harry be shown to be a leader, someone the other students look up to not because he's famous but because he gets shit done? Death eaters in the castle? No one will notice.

-Which brings me to the lack of petrification. Here's the thread: Harry isn't at the Dursley's (why would he be why would that even be really important in the last book) so Dumbledore never sends him a letter so Harry is never told to have his cloak at all times and the prophecy is never addressed (why would that be important, come on viewing public) and so he doesn't have it at the end and so he just watches Snape kill Dumbledore and so he just looks weak and cowardly. Also: If Dumbledore is at death's door and he can apparate into the grounds and "there are perks to being [him]" why wouldn't he apparate into Snape's office? Agh.

-No Defense Against the Dark Arts classes are shown. Wasn't that kind of a big deal that Snape got to teach them and oh goodness look how possibly evil he is?

-Dumbledore never explains his theories about the Horcruxes to Harry. How does Harry even begin to find them? Dark magic leaves traces? Harry has an ultraviolet light but for dark magic now?

-Wait, Harry and Ginny are going out? Are you sure?

-Don't worry, we've read the book so we know what Inferni and all of Voldermort's tricks are without having to see the giant posters supposed to be plastered all over Diagon Alley, you can rest about that one.

-Olivander is gone! Oh noez! Thank goodness no one is really freaked out about that, surely it will not have lasting consequences.

-Destroying a footbridge with visibly no one on it means two things: That hundreds died as a result (thanks, The Daily Prophet) and the dementors are out of ministry control.

-Going to cut out stuff about the Gaunts and other important information? THEN DON'T DESTROY THE BURROW WTF.

-Tonks calling Lupin sweetie was way more confusing than if she hadn't said anything in part because they are supposed to be at odds.

Gah. I am going to stop now because I should be working. It was a similar reaction I had to seeing the third one after no mention is made of who Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs are and what that means and that it would have taken TWO SENTENCES. Gah.

Finally: How are they going to make the seventh and eighth movies make any sense with the groundwork they've laid here and in the other movies?

Finally finally: When either Ron or Lavender says "It looks like this room is taken" because Harry and Heromine are on the stairs it must be because he or she often confuses rooms with HALLWAYS. Gah.