OOTP movie (maybe spoilers)

[The Upright Man]

oh no not 5 its at most 4

[kythe]

Really? What would you prefer to see him like? I think he is quite good.

[The Upright Man]

i prefer him to show more emotion in the kiss and the death...ok he did show some with the death but it was a silent screeming-inside-that-lasts-3-seconds moment

[PTeppic]

Isn't that as much the script and director?

[Commonmind]

Anything having to do with plot-progression and characterization has more to do with the production team than with the actors. Harry's reaction and his kiss with Cho were scripted and directed by another individual, and therefore if anyone is at fault it's the folks behind the camera.

Gammon's often aggressive, and sometimes fear-inspiring portrayal of Dumbledore, now that's something we can point fingers at.

[The Upright Man]

Gambon, Come On Theres A Corner Named After Him

[Majimaune]

I see you as an avid watcher of Top Gear then Upright?

I thought he wasn't too bad in OotP but that is just my opinion.

[Sharkey]

What did you guys think of Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix? I hope Bellatrix plays a big part in the seventh book so that we can see that character a little more. That was one of the highlights of the movie for me.

[Majimaune]

She wasn't bad but not a standout to me for some reason.

[Sharkey]

Originally Posted by Majimaune

She wasn't bad but not a standout to me for some reason.

If her role was more up front is what I meant. There is a lot of potential there.

[Theo]

Enjoyable discussion, but I guess I better not get too comfortable around here. When a teenager, I was the "fastest finger in the west". We won't go into how long ago that was, but it was definitely pre-Giget (sp).

Anyway, I stand by my comment that the movies should have been longer to give both scenes and characters more depth in interpretation. But then, who knows what got left on the cutting room floor?

[PTeppic]

I think the movie version of Bellatrix is ironically more likely to be what she would be like than the novel's version. Twelve years of Azkhaban would leave most people unhinged, whilst in the novel she seems almost normal. In the movie, though I've always been a big Helena fan, she's played almost to Johnny Depp level of cuckoo...

[Commonmind]

Originally Posted by Theo

Enjoyable discussion, but I guess I better not get too comfortable around here. When a teenager, I was the "fastest finger in the west". We won't go into how long ago that was, but it was definitely pre-Giget (sp).

Anyway, I stand by my comment that the movies should have been longer to give both scenes and characters more depth in interpretation. But then, who knows what got left on the cutting room floor?

If length would have been increased to appease even the general audience of readers, we'd have a piece of film so long we could use it to tie the earth in a bow -- presumably as a gift to J.K.R., for bringing us such a controversial, debate-inspiring story.

Which scenes do we lengthen? Whose favorite characters do we bring to the foreground? Which sequence of events should have been given more line from Yates's cinematic fishing pole? As popular as this series has become, selling close to 400 million copies, it's safe to say that quite a few (I'd even go so far as saying the majority) of the movie-goers are also fans of the novels. If that is even remotely close to the truth, anyone that walks into the theater should view the films as a Cliff's Notes to the literature. If you walk in as a critic, you'll leave as one, and your impression of the movie will be arbitrarily skewed in that direction. Sometimes I wonder if fans of the series continue to go see these films simply to berate them, to weigh them against the source material, on principle alone. Where book-to-film adaptations are concerned, there are very few of them that get it right, and the Potter films have done a good job of capturing the charm of the books, while at the same time trying to remain cinematic experiences. I'd love to see a Jackson-esque extended edition of these movies, I bet even the fans would be bored by the outcome, having to watch what was better left to prose.

In the end, of course, it's a matter of opinion. In a perfect world I'd imagine everyone going to see these movies and paying credit to the filmmakers for doing the best job possible, within the alloted time given to them.

(No offense Theo, this was a general response, rather than a direct rebuttal to your post)

[HoopyFrood]

Well, I have just returned from seeing the film and I have to say that although it was this book that turned me away from the whole Harry Potter series, I actually quite enjoyed the film. It certainly was condensed quite a bit, and I know what people mean when they said that they were constantly filling in the gaps or thinking "OK, so next, this will happen" or "Hmm, that's different to the book". But just taking the film by itself, it was quite good (and it's not often I utter those words about the Harry Potter films). And I'll even go as far to say that I could actually bear watching Emma Watson in this one (I have to say that I'm not particularly a fan of that girl). Mind you, this was, as people have said, 'Harry's Film', with the concentration almost entirely on him.

Although I had my misgivings when I first saw pictures of Imelda Staunton as Umbridge (she wasn't toady enough for my liking!) I have to say that she was excellent in the film -- she had that annoying laugh, that simpering attitude, but then that evil streak when she needed it towards the end.

Ooh, and the end! I did like the 'smoke-y' transporting abilities that everyone had. And the magical battles were certainly visually stunning, especially the one between Voldemort and Dumbledore, that was very good!

Ah, one last thing. No, two, sorry! Luna was great as well, the actress playing her was especially good, had the right dazed, off-on-another-planet personality. And finally, I really liked the Threstals. In fact, I want one.

There were a few things that irked me, but I'm going to mention them because I'm still getting used to the fact that I actually quite enjoyed the film.

[Majimaune]

And Long winded Commonmind is back!!! Hurrah! And Hoopy is learning.