Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Harry Potter and the obsessed fan

Over the weekend Miss C. and I saw the new Harry Potter Movie - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I am not sure who was looking forward to it more - me or Miss C. I love HP so much that I insisted she have a Harry themed party instead of a Pokemon one for her 10th bday. I have attended most of the Barnes and Noble parties (kids in tow), read every book, watched every movie, and am so sad this magical road is coming to an end.

For Half Blood I worried less about the movie staying true to the book, missing or underdeveloped, characters, missing "chapters", etc and just enjoyed the movie.

For a quick refresher Miss C and I watched Movies 4 and 5 before going to see number 6. I must admit that it was helpful - it has been a while since I read the books and I needed to brush up on who's who outside the muggle world. (Our favorite part in 5 was is the public, classroom rebellion, led by the Weasley Dynamic Duo complete with fireworks, destruction of school property and insubordination).

In The Half Blood Prince it was great to see Harry, Ron and Hermione. I missed my favorite antagonists such as the Dursley clan, and "he who shall not be named" but we got our loathing fix via Team Draco. There was plenty of evil Malfoy action abrewin'. Helena Bonham Carter was superb - As Bellatrix Lestrange she was beautifully creepy, evil and horrid, taunting and ridiculing Harry at every turn.

A few other brilliant Brits magically appeared. Alan Rickman brought Snape to life again as only Rickman can. We also had the wonderful portrayal of Horace Slughorn by Jim Broadbent (aka Bridgit Jones' dad) - he showed us a quiet, subtle wizarding opportunist with a conscience but an opportunist nonetheless. Slughorn apparently is not as flamboyant or unethical as Kenneth Branagh's Gilderoy Lockhart for example, but was just as enjoyable.

Movie Number 5 was more action packed so Miss C. was expecting more mayhem than was given in Half Blood Prince. The subtle (and not so subtle) humor was there though, as it has been all along. Oh, and Romance - can't forget that. There is a little snoggin' going on too. Actually a lot. These are teenagers with raging hormones after all. Jessie Cave deserves a standing ovation, or at least some one on one time with Ron, for her hysterical, teen-angst driven portrayal of Lavender Brown. Despite the snogging, Half Blood Prince was a little darker, deeper and much more depressing, laying the groundwork for the finale(s).

Yes, the final movie will be split into 2 parts and I am thrilled. We can stretch this out just a little longer.



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