Professor Snape…erm, I mean, Harry Potter June 7, 2004 ~ 12:08 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedOkay, everyone else has posted on this, I will too. Spoilers are no doubt below, read at your own risk!
Because the theatre was tremendously crowded when we got there, Rick and the girls sat in the second row. I headed back further, because I can’t watch movies from the second row, or I’ll puke. I ended up in the seventh row, and after having a serious talk with my stomach through the previews, it settled down to a dull roar and I was able to watch in relative peace.
I *loved* this movie. I would have been happy for it to last another 2 hours. I was worried about Michael Gambon playing Dumbledore, but I needn’t have, because he was brilliant. Richard Harris was missed (my favorite movie quote ever is still “Alas, earwax!” from the first HP), but Gambon truly inhabited the role and made it his own, never an easy task when you are coming in for someone. The directing was wonderful…Chris Columbus had a hard row to hoe with laying down the foundations, but the new director (can’t remember his name) took all of that work and made this movie sheer poetry to watch. Wonderful build-ups of tension, great transitions, it was just incredible. He also did a hell of a job laying the groundwork for whatever is to come, which I can only imagine would be tough, as even if JK Rowling has ideas about what will happen, she hasn’t written it yet, and it might change. Points to the director for putting seeds out there for any number of future relationships between the characters. The acting was also amazing in this regard…Ron and Hermione in the beginnings of teenage love came through for me in a way I didn’t really see in writing until Book 4. We got to experience Harry’s growing pains with being stuck with the Dursleys, and got a hint at the relationships that happened with the generation before (Lily and James, Lupin, Sirius, and Snape) at Hogwarts. The whole movie just left me wanting more, and I can’t wait till movie 4 comes out - it’s going to be great to see how they work through that on screen!
Favorite moments/pleasant surprises: Rupert Grint is going to be a great comedic actor when he gets a little older. He’s leaving behind the schtick that kid actors do and really coming into his own. Especially loved the little scene with his nightmare about the tap-dancing spider. 
The flights on Buckbeak were just great to watch - I felt like I was flying right there with them! And I liked watching “Beaky” jump after the ferrets. Snape in Neville’s grandma’s clothing - priceless. We all know I’m a Rickmaniac (Alan Rickman fan, as opposed to fan of my boyfriend, Rick ;)) but he outdid himself in that scene. There were more, but I’m going to have to go see it again before I can give more details. Hopefully this time we’ll manage to get tickets to the IMAX showing!
