The New Harry Potter Movie (Reviews, Commentaries, Etc).

[elsol]

On the first viewing, probably my least favorite of the first four so far... it will be a competition for this one and the second. It might be getting a bad rap because I thought Three was about as good as you can get from a director translating a book to another medium. My opinion, Three was the best 'movie'... four is the worst one.

The problem with GOF is that I thought it was her best book hands down, but the movie had NO flow. It was 'important' scene... cut to next scene... cut to next scene. It might just have been too big a challenge to reduce it to one movie and maintain what I loved about GOF.

The really unfortunate part is that I thought these were the best 'scenes' shot for any of the movies.

I couldn't imagine the KEY scenes being done better.

-- The Harry Potter versus the Horntail... EXCELLENT!

-- Hermione's scene at the Yuletide ball... BRILLIANT! (With the caveat that it isn't as effective because the girl playing hermione was always TOO pretty for the role.)

-- The cemetery scene with Voldemort... FANTASTIC!

The casting was also spectacular... Rita was not how I imagined her but I absolutely LOVED her. Although Cho Chang having a 'scottish' accent threw me for a loop... it made sense but wow! And of course... the character my dog is named after 'Krum' is pretty cool... he even looks like my puppy.

Cedric was also perfect... and let's not discuss Mad-Eye... 'too young' but otherwise excellently casted.

(Now, I can't wait for Tonks).

Anyway... I'll see it again this weekend and see if my judgement changes.

 

[Wildcard Ky]

I haven't seen the movie yet. I wanted to go this evening, but it's sold out.

I also thought GOF was by far the best of all of the books, so I'm a bit prepared to the movie not living up to the book. I don't think they will be able to capture all that was in the book because the book was 600 ish pages.

 

[Violette]

Staying true to the books was hard enough when they were a little over 300 pages!

Think I'm going to check it out once the holiday hoopla's died down. Unless you can do a noontime screening in NYC, you might be out of luck getting tickets until December!

 

[Amy Sweet]

I haven't seen it yet, but I wish they wouldn't keep changing directors. Star Wars was directed by the same guy, you know. Every director wants to put there own spin on it- which is fine if it's all one director, but terrible for continuity- which I demand from a movie series like this- when the directors change. Kris Columbus was the most faithful to the books so far, but lacking a bit of the magic. Alfonso C. made to many changes to existing elements, and went overboard on making it 'his own.'

That being said, I'd like to see how M Night Shamalan would approach a HP movie. (This would have been a good one, because it's quite creepy in places)

 

[simply_cyn]

I know this sounds weird, because I have/own ALL the Harry Potter books, but I REFUSE to read them until AFTER I have seen the movie. I enjoy the movies because of it and then I LOVE the books afterwards. That way, I'm not disappointed ...

Like right now, my daughter and I are reading TPoA and enjoying the changes. I won't open TGoF until AFTER I've seen the movie. It works for me ...

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Great photo, amazing effects!

I was so disappointed I almost screamed that they didn't show more of the Quidditch Cup - in fact, I was so verbal that some people talked about complaining to those in charge and have me thrown out...

(Bloody pervy Weasley-fanciers!!!)

 

[elsol]

I watched it again and my opinion has altered some. It's probably the third in the four for me.

I rank them in the order of 3 1 4 2...

Again, it might just have been too much.

But one thing has convinced me with watching this movie, they NEEEEED to bring back the director that directed book 3 for book 5.

It requires a DIRECTOR with vision to chop that book down... there's a significant amount of fluff in it but it's probably the easiest to translate into a movie.

Although my girlfriend made a very important point about this movie... the director did not maintain an eye on what was to come later.

Absolutely NOOOOO mention of the 1000 galleons for winning the wizard cup, and that's so terribly important to the fifth and sixth book.

I'll say it here and now... if they hire somebody that does not treat George and Fred Weasley with the respect they deserve in book five, I'm not watching these anymore.

Personally, i think that's the best casting done in any movie ever. Those two are PERFECT!

Sincerely,
ElSol

ps. The Cho Chang dress was absolutely lovely... weird thing to be thinking in a movie though. I really think the costumer deserves an Academy award... the clothes throughout the series have been perfect.

 

[arienette]

Hmm...commentary: Stop making Harry Potter movies!
Also, not all books need to be movies.

 

[Guest]

Sighs*

Okay... so I went and watched this... even though I didn't want to (personal reasons)

I was disappointed that SO much of the book was left out

important things... KEY things that make book five and six....

ugh... did they even read book five and six before making a mess of movie four....

ppppppppfffffffffffftttttttttttttt

 

[Halo_n_horns]

I saw it this afternoon and for me it was the best of the four. It was darker (and I'm always a fan of the darkness), and because the characters were a bit older they seemed a bit easier to identify with, as did many of the "social" situations they found themselves in. There were also a number of sexually suggestive moments in the movie that I thought were fairly appropriate considering the pubescent ages of the main characters. I can't imagine that at nearly 3 hours long that the director was really able to deliver every detail of the book (no, I don't read the Potter books), but I could see that they were really trying to get a lot in there, and their efforts were commendable.

In short: I dug it.

 

[elsol]

Hmm...commentary: Stop making Harry Potter movies!
Also, not all books need to be movies.

1 Billion dollars between movie, dvd, and paraphernilia.

And that's just for THIS movie.

People might not like it but when you're talking a billion dollar franchise, the movies will continue to get made.


Sincerely,
ElSol

 

[Bon Bon]

Hmm...commentary: Stop making Harry Potter movies!
Also, not all books need to be movies.

but all books need to be shovelled into the money-making-machine

 

[Svenskaflicka]

They cut out atleast half of the book, and the movie was STILL 2 hours 37 minutes long.

Book 5 is so full of VITAL info, you CAN'T cut out as much as you did with the GoF! There's only 2 options: make the movie 5 hours long, or divide it into OotP part 1 and OotP part 2.

Me, I vote for the second alternative.

However, all the glances between Harry and Hermione gave me hope. OK, so JKR said they're just friends, but doesn't those glances give you a tiny little fragment of a hope that she might change her mind and give Harry the girlfriend he deserves in book 7?

 

[Guest]

They cut out atleast half of the book, and the movie was STILL 2 hours 37 minutes long.

Book 5 is so full of VITAL info, you CAN'T cut out as much as you did with the GoF! There's only 2 options: make the movie 5 hours long, or divide it into OotP part 1 and OotP part 2.

Me, I vote for the second alternative.

However, all the glances between Harry and Hermione gave me hope. OK, so JKR said they're just friends, but doesn't those glances give you a tiny little fragment of a hope that she might change her mind and give Harry the girlfriend he deserves in book 7?

I agree completely....
I think there are parts of book 4 that were left out that will make book movie five off... its going to be rough for them to try and get it together.... part of the issue is that the books got increasingly longer... and more indepth..... I keep thinking of Episode one of Star Wars.... Lucas shoved so much into three hours many had to see it a few times to get it all.... I have a feeling that they need a better director for books 5, 6, and 7 to make it work out correctly.

 

[Wildcard Ky]

I'm wondering if they'll take the Peter Jackson route and do the 4 hour extended version for DVD.

For the die hard fans of Lord of the Rings, the extended versions were awesome. They put back all of the little information that was left out of the theatrical release.

I think the true Potter fans would enjoy it as well.

 

[McKenna]

I watched it last night. I kept getting the impression that they are running out of new and interesting things to include in Harry Potter movies. It lacked.... something. Substance?

I was disappointed the mer-people were cartoonish. That could definitely have been done better.

Movies 1 and 3 were my favorites. This one just didn't seem to have that elusive quality that makes a movie a hit.

 

[Guest]

I watched it last night. I kept getting the impression that they are running out of new and interesting things to include in Harry Potter movies. It lacked.... something. Substance?

I was disappointed the mer-people were cartoonish. That could definitely have been done better.

Movies 1 and 3 were my favorites. This one just didn't seem to have that elusive quality that makes a movie a hit.

I don't think they were running out McKenna... I think they were desperately trying to figure out what to cut out of the book and leave in the movie...

They changed completely how the dark mark was sent into the sky at the beginning.... and how it was found out who did it.... there was large chunks just simply missing....

 

[McKenna]

I don't think they were running out McKenna... I think they were desperately trying to figure out what to cut out of the book and leave in the movie...

You could be right.

I like the idea of an extended version on dvd. Maybe they'll do that for subsequent movies.

 

[Wildcard Ky]

I just got bacl from seeing it.

All in all, I thought it was pretty good. Yes, there was a lot that was left out, but that was to be expected given the length of the book.

It is pretty dark, but I like dark. I was suprised at how little Fleur and Krum were included in the story. Being a fan of the dark, I wish Snape had a bigger role as well. Someone already mentioned the 1,000 galeons, but I wish they would have expanded on Rita Skeeter a bit more as well. She was integral to alot of the angst between the friends. Her columns are very important for setting the stage in #5.

This one definitely needs an extended version DVD. I hope they do it.

 

[Guest]

from yahoo news....

"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" grossed $101.4 million in its debut weekend, the best results yet for the franchise, according to studio estimates released Sunday.

"Goblet of Fire" was the fourth-best, three-day opening weekend ever, behind "Spider-Man" at $114.8 million in 2002 and "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith" and "Shrek 2," at $108 million apiece.

 

[yui]

Saw it. Liked it, but I'm not a diehard fan. The ending felt incomplete, but I suppose that is allowing for the sequel. Loved the ball, the humor, and the dragons, but there were definitely parts that didn't translate well to film. Cartoonish in places, but overall worth the price of admission, eh?

 

[Svenskaflicka]

I don't think they were running out McKenna... I think they were desperately trying to figure out what to cut out of the book and leave in the movie...

They changed completely how the dark mark was sent into the sky at the beginning.... and how it was found out who did it.... there was large chunks just simply missing....

Yeah, and I was totally stunned in the beginning, hissing loudly "who's that third guy??? There's not supposed to be anyone else but Voldemort and Wormtail in that house!!!"

Did you notice how they had chanegd the whole colour theme to get a more sinister feel to the whole movie? In the previous ones, the lighting always had a yellowish tint that made the scenes feel warm and not-really-dangerous... children-friendly, so to speak. This time, the light was blue and cold and adult almost the entire time, and it felt really spooky and depressing, like they're fighting against overwhelming odds.

Well thought out effect, methinks.

 

[fieryjen]

Saw it two days ago... and I was actually pleasantly surprised. I'm a huge fan of the books, but I was prepared for big chunks being cut out and accepted that very quickly. I think they did a good job considering th lenght of the book and the information they filtered out of it. I do not believe that the movies will ever come close to the books in continuity, nor do I believe them to. The subplot of the weasley's bet, for example, wasn't all that important, you did see them taking bets and my guess is that they will explain them having the funds for their business from that. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the twins, but in the movies there just wasn't time to include extra scenes for something they could just explain like this.

The most pointless scene I actually found to be Harry scrambling around on the roof with the Horntail. The hell? I thought that scene was too long and pointless, and I'd rather they had shown us some of the world cup game instead.

The most confusing scene was definitely Barty Crouch Dies And Nobody Cares. So Harry finds his body, runs to Dumbledore's office where he is locked in and poor Barty is never mentioned again. Did I miss something there?

 

[woodnymph_O]

With Fred and George being my two favorite charcters I miss them in the movies, they haven't seemed to be able to include much of that wit yet. Hopeing to see this one over the weekend.

 

[matriarch]

Still reading the book, just read the part where HP takes the bath to listen to the golden egg's message.

Definitely will NOT see the movie until I've finished the book. I prefer to do it that way.

I thought the previous 3 movies were absolutely true to the books, and was very impressed with the transfer to the screen, but agree, that this one will be much harder and a lot more complicated.