Thank you Pandy, that's the kind of enthusiasm I was looking for!

Still... Saira and Gimli do have reasonable points, my critically low excitement-level has a lot to do with the younger actors. They might be talented but I would cut them out any day just to give exclusive screen time to Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham-Carter etc.!

I'm excited to see the movie adaptation (as I always am with movie adaptations!) and I haven't read the book since it came out so I hope I can be open-minded about it but my HP-fandom never reached to.. well, fandom... (Only my Snape-ism ever did!! )

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>>Be the change you wish to see in the world<<



Banner credit: Shadowcat & Nurrantiel Mashiara

my HP fandom went hardcore pretty fast.....and, since the movie is out at midnight tomorrow, my friend and i are camping out at the theater like...all day tomorrow to get perfect seats

EDIT:
SNAAAAAPE!!
*goes to photobucket to get more random pics*
*stares at my sig for an indefinite length of time*

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V.T.W. 1/11/61-11/30/10

i didn't make this, but i can tell you who did.

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^ By me and my SS *squiggle hugs*

^ Really? -drools- Is there any chance it will be up on pavedwithstars soon dearie?

I think that for me the movies dont compare a) because most of the younger actors do not portray the characters as they should be (according to one very cynical and suspicious 17 year old ) and b) because of the lack of depth. Depth is one thing that even if the movie is rubbish - it saves it.

Still psyched though!

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And all will turn to silver glass...



By Goldstrike

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^ By me and my SS *squiggle hugs*

You are most welcome, IMO I enjoy all the actors, of course the most seasoned ones steal the movies, Alan Rickman, Gary Oldman, Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon etc..., but I don't mind the younger actors. But that is just me

Annnyways, still deciding on what to put on my t-shirt, I need to work on that asap since I only have a few hours really until leaving to go to the show with my box of tissues in hand

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The waves that C R A S H E D upon
The R O C K S that you were trying to step along

And in my head I heard them play a S O N G

Tomorrow is the day when it's finally time for magic !!

Sorry, had to get that out of my system

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Tumblr ~ LotR Tumblr

SPOILERS
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So I have mixed reviews about the movie. It was really good, don't get me wrong. I absolutely loved it and it is one of my favorites out of them all, but once again there is so much that wasn't in it.

Entire backstories of Voldemort's childhood weren't in it, no that it took away from the movie, but still it would have been nice to see how he became so evil and corrupted instead of just glimpses.

Then the epic battle at the end with Harry and Snape was nothing but a few seconds. I really thought there would be a lot more of Snape and Harry but there wasn't and it was a bit depressing seeing as this is the Half-Blood Prince aka Snape!

Oh well, Dumbledore's death was played out tragically beautiful. The moment between Dumbledore and Harry with the inferi, then with Dumbledore and Malfoy, then Snape's killing curse and the slow fall... it was heartbreaking and yes I did cry... a lot.

I think they spent too much time on the many relationships that was going on in the books, Lavender/Ron/Hermione, Dean/Ginny/Harry etc... it took a good portion of the movie just setting all of that up which could have been used for other parts of the book that were more important, but it was funny.

"She has nice skin" =)

Overall it was great though and I will definitely be seeing it again, and yes I did attend in full costume!

_________________

The waves that C R A S H E D upon
The R O C K S that you were trying to step along

And in my head I heard them play a S O N G

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^ By me and my SS *squiggle hugs*

SPOILERS















I think this is the first time in the history of me writing reviews for Harry Potter movies [I think my first was GoF] that I will not ramble on for paragraphs about everything I had a problem with or everything that was wrong, because to be honest, this movie was the best one yet despite its flaws.

Let's get the negative stuff out of the way. Everyone is going to miss minor details that did not make the cut including apparition tests, Tonks/Remus angst, DADA with Snape, etc. I have to admit that I was not nearly as disappointed in these missing tid bits [along with those I can't remember] as I was with one single scene toward the end of the movie. It is the scene where Harry and Dumbledore view Slughorn's true memory of Tom Riddle. Afterwards, they discuss the idea of Horcruxes and the fact that Voldy has seven of them. The line in particular that I believe may ruin a bit of DH was said by Dumbledore, and it was something along the lines of "Horcruxes can be anything." This is the most untrue statement I have ever seen put into a Potter film, and highly detrimental to the idea of what a Horcrux really is. Dumbledore doesn't even mention to Harry what exactly the other Horcruxes could be! He can't magically know them in DH now, can he?

Other than those minor issues, I thought the movie was brilliant. The trio's acting has improved so, so much. I know that's been said before, but it was definitely evident in this one. Angst was everywhere in this movie, and you know I eat that for breakfast, so I was very happy. The veteran actors of course carried their roles extremely well. The newest addition, Jim Broadbent, was amazing!

JF said she has a problem with all the hyped of romance and comedy in this movie. I promise you, it's not that bad. To be honest, it's more of a background thing when you get down to it. Jessie Cave is convincing as Lavender Brown [in other words, you'll be really annoyed by her], and Bonnie Wright really steps it up at Ginny Weasley whom Harry is persuing throughout the movie.

The comedy is at it's best in this movie. Although many of the iconic lines from the book seemed to be overlooked what they were replaced with was not half bad at all. The audience I sat in with laughed at everything, and there were some moments where I was nearly falling out of my seat. Fans of the books will be especially happy with those funny bits and pieces from the book that were included. [Dumbledore and his Muggle knitting patterns, anyone?] This isn't slapstick comedy. Some of it is very subtle. Snape no longer has to hit students over the head with books to get an audience to laugh. [Thank goodness!]

Speaking of Snape, and in turn Alan Rickman, he is at his best. For once, he has been given scenes that do not merely portray him as the dark Potions master with a personal vendetta toward Harry. They've actually given him some substance to work with for once! Although Alan Rickman has always done a fantastic portrayal of Snape he has taken the character to an entirely new level. His elongated pauses between words and use of those deliciously dark eyes really brought the entire performance together.

I'd also like to gush on another actor for a moment. Tom Felton, though not a veteran of acting, has improved ten fold since we saw him for the first time in PS. He, like Alan Rickman, has added layers to the character of Draco, making him into something other than the mean boy from years ago. Felton effortlessly portrays a young man trapped in an awful situation and absolutely afraid of what he must do. This is the first time I have EVER felt sorry for him. Not even when I was reading the books did I ever pity him. But now I do. There is a scene, after Katie Bell returns to school after being cursed by the opal necklace, when Draco knows that he is failing at his mission and Harry catches him in the bathroom crying. I felt like crying along with him. The desperation and fear he portrayed in that scene was amazing. There are actors far older than him who I do not think could act in such a way.

Since I'm on the vein of actors in this movie, I suppose, inevitably, I shall have to discuss Michael Gambon, who is, as many of you know, my least favourite actor in the movies. Something has changed since we last saw him in OotP, and I do not know what it is. Perhaps he took the fact that Dumbledore is gay and toned his version of the character down a bit. I don't know, but whatever it is, it works. There was no yelling and intimidating Dumbledore in this movie, much to my relief. I was particularly impressed in the cave scene. Dumbledore, sporting a very Gandalf-ish appearance, drinks the potion in order to obtain the locket. Gambon's performance as a man tortured by unseen demons is amazing. It is the first time I have ever appreciated his portrayal of Dumbledore before.

The cave scene was probably my second favourite scene after the actual confrontation between Dumbledore and Malfoy, and later Dumbledore and Snape, on the astronomy tower. Again, Malfoy perfectly captures the feeling of being trapped and having no alternative but to kill Dumbledore. When Snape appeared, though, the scene was indescribable. Just imagine Michael Gambon and Alan Rickman opposite each other. That's mind blowing enough. For those of you who are worried about this scene, don't be. It is done perfectly, beautifully, systematically . . . I cried, so of course it was good.

The only other scene I want to talk about or perhaps warn people about is a sequence toward the middle of the movie at the Burrow during Christmas holidays. The Death Eaters attack and a chase through the surrounding fields ensues and later culminates in the burning of the Burrow. I realise the significance of such a scene; to show that not even their homes are safe, however it felt oddly out of place, and left me wondering where they were going to live and what would happen to them in DH. I'm not sure if that scene worked as well as the film makers had hoped it would.

Lastly, before I conclude, I'd like to take a moment and look at the U.S. rating of this film. The movie was rated 12A here, which I think was appropriate. The equivalent of such a rating in the U.S. would be PG-13, and apparently the movie has been given a PG. This makes no sense to me whatsoever. First of all, some of the humour is definitely not appropriate for younger children. [Ron asks Harry, after Ginny has helped him hide the Half-Blood Prince's potion book if "he (Harry) and Ginny did it". You can imagine the laughs that would get from an adult crowd.] Also, there is some violence and scary-ness in this movie, which I know my sister, whose 10, might be a bit frightened of. The Inferi were terrifying, even to me, especially when they attempted to drag Harry down into the water with them. Another scene, where Harry fights Draco in the bathroom, ends when Harry does the Sectumsempra spell. There is a lot of blood in that scene, and it was highly disturbing to me. So yeah, I don't really understand the American rating on that.

Overall, the film is great. It's my favourite now, beating out PoA, and I'm not just saying that because it's new. I could watch this particular film and never get bored of it like I have with some of the past films [OotP especially]. The music, by the way, is also fantastic. Nicholas Hooper does a good job at hinting at darker things yet to come through his music. There is so much in this review that I did not touch on, so you'll just have to go see the movie in all its glory to get the full effect. I'm positive even JF would enjoy it, and I know how she feels about the movies.

Now I gotta go get a banner like Pandy's. That's brilliant, that is.

Haha, I can make you one if you like my dear, and after reading your review I shall recalculate my own reviews.

I agree with everything you just said, all the actors have upped their games, even the veterans. Narcissa was great and Helena-Bonham Carter really got into that crazed Bellatrix role. I hated when she ran screaming "I killed Sirius Black" it was heart-wrenching.

All the paused looks from all the characters were brilliant. Hermione's tears, Snape's pauses, Harry's grins, Dumbledore's eyes... all those silent moments fit so well into the feeling of the film.

I can't wait to see it again when my boyfriend comes back!

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The waves that C R A S H E D upon
The R O C K S that you were trying to step along

And in my head I heard them play a S O N G

Oh, would you make me something? That'd be brilliant, Pan. You're the best.

Yes, that's exactly the point I was trying to get across! There was so much in this movie that was conveyed with looks and silence. The amount of nonverbal communication was amazing in this film.

Thank you so much, Pandy and Lara for your reviews. I'm getting so excited. I'm seeing it on Mondoy so I hope I can read a few more reviews before then.

Larael, I'm so glad Michael Gambon seemed to have found the key to Dumbledore, looking forward to his scenes since he's such an important character in this movie.

By the way, Pandy, what did you end up putting on your T-shirt?

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>>Be the change you wish to see in the world<<



Banner credit: Shadowcat & Nurrantiel Mashiara

you'll love it i am sure and on the front it said half blood prince with trust snape beneath it then the back said make love not horcruzes i was inspired!! ha... i will have pictures up soon!

(sorry about lack of caps...i'm using my phon to typ this out and i cannot cap in the forums don't know why?)

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The waves that C R A S H E D upon
The R O C K S that you were trying to step along

And in my head I heard them play a S O N G

larael, i completely agree with your review.
so much, in fact, that i don't particularly feel like typing all the zillions of things that my buddy jess and i have discussed that are really similar to your review.

i also loved:
--the added "cormac puking on snape's shoes" thing. many lulz.
--everything that slughorn did. much more brilliant than i thought he was going to be.
--draco getting all complex.
--SNAPE. SNAPESNAPESNAPE.
--the emotional "snape healing draco from the sectumsempra" scene. something about it was so touching...
--the "cave plus death" scene at the end. PERFECT. (and gambon getting MUCH better at dumbledore.)
--...and so many other things.

disappointments:
--the ginny/harry kiss in the room of requirement. so awkward, and not in a good way. the rest of the ginny/harry stuff was fine, even if there really wasn't enough of it.
--"the burrow's on fire!" scene. yes, i knew they added it, but it still wasn't really necessary.
--...not THAT much else.

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V.T.W. 1/11/61-11/30/10

i didn't make this, but i can tell you who did.

Bouncing off of a few things you mentioned Maironiel:

I had no idea that Cormac vomited on Snape's shoes! Somehow I missed that part. Was that where he and Harry were hiding behind that curtain, and he was stuffing his face with those pastries or whatever they were? The audience really laughed right after Snape found them, but I thought they were laughing because Snape had caught the two of them together.

I whole heartedly agree about the Ginny/Harry kiss. It really was terribly awkward. Actually, there were several awkward moments with them. The Burrow Christmas scene especially. Actually, in a video from the HBP press junkit the other day Dan Radcliffe actually apologised to Bonnie Wright for kissing her so terribly. He likened his lips to that of a horse, and was slightly upset that David Yates had not allowed him to see the playback afterwards.