I unashamedly admit to being a huge Harry Potter fan.
When the books first started becoming popular, I actually had the temerity to laugh at people for reading ‘kiddies books’. I think I may have thought people were mad, right up until I think the third book was written.
The first movie came out, and I thought to myself, “Alright, let’s see what all this fuss is about shall we?”
I went to see it, and was unconcerned that I even missed the first 5 minutes of the movie, due to arriving late at the cinema.
To cut a long story short, I became an instant fan. I saw the second movie when it came out, and loved it just as much.
By this time book five (Order of the Phoenix) had been released, and my SIL offered to lend it to me once she was finished.
So I read it. It was a little hard to follow, owing to the fact that all I had seen up to this point were the first two movies (and everybody knows the books have way more detail).
A week after reading it, I was on a business trip up country, and got stuck at the airport for a good couple of hours, and picked up a copy of Book Four (The Goblet of Fire), and it was as if *everything* just clicked into place, and I spent the next couple of hours, including the two on the flight back home, absolutely glued throughout taxi-ing, safety demonstration, take-off, flight and landing.
Then Movie Three was released, (the Prisoner of Azkhaban) and I was first in the queue the night it was first released. It happened to be a cold night, so I wore an old school scarf which just happened to be in maroon and gold. A coincidence? Methinks not.
Books six and seven saw me at the bookstore first thing in the morning, with a clear schedule for at least two days following their release, just so that I could bury myself in ‘fantasy land’.
On Saturday (18 July) I went to see the movie (I can’t believe I had to wait 3 days to go and see it, as it was released on the 15th of July – but then I have since become a mom and these things take some organising), and I can honestly say, that thusfar, it is by far my favourite of all the movies.
Perhaps it is because I felt the Order of the Phoenix (though I enjoyed it immensely) was a little weak, and left out the entire plot line of Hermione and Ron becoming prefects etc and the resultant effects of that.
So I went into the cinema to see The Half Blood Prince, and I was NOT disappointed at all! I love the fact that at times the screenplay quotes the book verbatim. I also loved the fact that they included additional scenes in the movie that did not even appear in the book – which had me feeling like I’d found a whole new chapter that somehow I’d missed out on before.
I’m exceedingly glad that they included things like Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley.
My only quibble, is that they did not make a bit more out of the Harry/Ginny romance. The book spoke at length of him admiring her from a distance, and yet, they barely had any scenes like this, and only sought to catch up the romantic aspect of it using verbal references. However, whilst it played a large role in the book, at least they did give it some attention, and did not ignore it completely.
Having spoken to some friends who have not read the books, they do raise some valid points which weaken the movie’s strength. For example, one friend asked that if Dumbledore was such a great wizard, how come he could not apparate to the centre of the cave, but had to use the boat? Which to me, was a no brainer – knowing that in the book Dumbledore had stated that apparition inside the cave was not possible. But for someone who is going to see the movie without any book knowledge this would seem like a glaringly huge mistake.
Another thing that saddens me is how the English press treat some of the cast and characters – I mean here are three kids who’ve basically grown up in the public eye, and now that they’re ‘of age’ they’re suddenly fair game for the papparazzi, which frankly, I think is distasteful. I think that they do a fantastic job of interpreting the characters from the book, and they should be left the heck alone when they’re off set and in the real world.
Back to this particular movie – did anyone else notice how Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) suddenly shot up a foot and a half, and developed a manly jaw? Hello.
That kind of took me by surprise and it’s probably because of this that I took more notice than usual, and I have to applaud his acting in this movie, where he’s gone from (in books 4 and 5) a minor annoyance, to major player in the plot, and Tom Felton portrays his increased role and depth of character brilliantly.
So, I give Harry Potter VI: and the Half Blood Prince, 5 solid stars and a big thumbs up and if you’re any kind of fan, make sure you go and see it.
Don’t forget to pick up your Berti Botts Every Flavour Beans before you go though, you can get them right here (thanks to Amazon!).
For movie nerds like me – did anyone else notice that there’s one scene (Ron in the hospital wing), where the people who play Bridget Jones parents – are both in the same scene? That’s right, Professor Slughorn, and Madame Pomfrey are the two British actors who play the parents of Bridget Jones in both editions. I love that kind of random trivia.
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