Harry Potter

Yeah I did wonder, I don't think he's really into it anyway so maybe he was dragged along. I thought I remembered that newspaper bit happening but wondered if I had just filled in the blanks from reading the book.
 
It was OK as an adaptation but EXCELLENT visually, and acted rather well by all concerned. David Yates has really put his stamp on the series, especially IMO in that moment when
Harry is possessed by Voldemort and we have big foreshadowing of Half-Blood Prince (and probably Deathly Hallows) with Harry pitying Voldemort, which pisses him off making him leave Harry's body.

The whole film flowed quite nicely, apart from maybe the first 15-20 minutes which crammed so much in (this was the shortest film of all 5, weird considering it's the longest book, why could they not have added a few more minutes?). It would have been good to see more of the Dursleys, namely the moment that suggests Aunt Petunia knows more about the wizarding world than she's letting on. I suppose that's more crucial to the overall plot rather than this film's so that's why they cut it. The flashback to Snape and Harry's dad at school was also extremely short. They must have shot more there because they cast Harry's mum and she wasn't even seen. Hopefully in the DVD deleted scenes.

Finally, will they ever get the ending scene right? It seems a tradition that Harry has to say a cheesy line at the end (e.g. in Chamber Of Secrets when it enRAB with 'there's no Hogwarts without you, Hagrid'). I know they can't end the films how the books end (they usually end with them at King's Cross station again) but they could at least come up with something better.
 
I believe this was because:

they cut the part with Rita Skeeter and the Quibbler, when Harry left his date with Cho abruptly, this way it gave another reason for why they had suddenly split up
 
Disagree.
Imo they managed to turn the worst book into one of the best films. Order of the Pheonix was an endurance test it was very tedious imo and the bits cut out were best kept cut out. The Story flowed much better that the book imo.
The stuff that had changed as someone earlier pointed out was just to cover what was cut out and it all made sense really. Some scenes could have been extended as they were so good to look at but not for story really.
 
It's not that it's hard to follow, it has massive plot holes in it. It jumps from A to C without addressing B.It's just a series of events in other worRAB, with very little to link them, which makes it seem extremely fast paced. It's a film that doesn't stand up on it's own, so therefore a bad film. David Yates should've stuck with TV, he's way out of his league, adapting a book for the silver screen. Why they didn't let Terry Gilliam direct it, I don't know.
 
I think reading the books does help you to understand some areas of the film that aren't particularly clear, but at the same time, the films are produced in such a way that its not necessary!
 
People appluaded when I went to see Pirates 3 (it was one of the preview showings before the actual release date). No idea why, I thought it was quite crap. Good action, and Johnny Depp is still so awesome, but apart from that, too confusing.

Went to see Harry Potter on Sunday night and was mightily impressed. The battles were brilliant, and this is one of the films that was actually better than the book in some respects. :)
 
hear hear! The book was easily one of my least favourites, full of Harry being a stroppy teenager, with all the action at the end, I wondered how they would make it into a good film. But Yates did brilliantly!! Yes bits were omitted/changed or not fully explained, but its such along book, to fit everything in Yates would have ahd to done a two-parter ala 'Kill Bill'.

Staunton and Bonham-Carter were amazing, I am so going as Bellatrix to any halloween parties this year!

Overall a tremendous job.
 
Went and saw it first thing this morning.

Great film really enjoyed it, Dudley and his chavy mates at the park where funny and it was nice to see Privet Drive again.

Thought Evanna Lynch was great as Luna she was exactly as I'd imagined her from the books.

The twins exit was as good as I'd hoped. Umbridge was as annoying as in the book and the kitten plates in her office were just scary! An escalation is swearing from "Piss off!" in Goblet of Fire to "Tosspot!" I expect the final film will have "Hey Volde - f**k off!"

I also loved all the references to previous films/books -Snape standing behind 11 year old Harry in the mirror, Cedric's death, Neville's Mimbulus mimbletonia, the Quibler. Winks and noRAB to things to come - Ron and Hermione, Ginny hanging back as the DA leave at Christmas watching Cho and Harry, Fudge saying he had alerted the Muggle Prime Minister about the mass breakout at Azkaban.

Overall I think they did very well to shrink down the book for the film, lots of shortcuts made but nothing that caused any problems

I also was the only one who laughed when Harry and Hermione are at breakfast and in the background there is a box of cereal called "Cheeri OWLS" :)
 
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