A Study in Contradictions

That was me, obviously...

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1. Whoa when did Emma Watson suddenly stop being annoying and learn to act and look nice and stuff? This is absolutely the best movie!Hermione has ever been ever. It was kinda a revelation for me actually. She carried so many of the scenes and it was better than ok.

2. THE BIT ON THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS WHEN NEVILLE SAYS "HEY, LOSERS, HE ISN'T HERE." TO THE DEATH EATERS! That was completely awesome. Neville is love.

3. Everything to do with Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Everything. From Alan Rickman coalescing from smoke and still looking like a moving shadow when he's solid, his even unflinching gaze at Charity Burbage while Draco hardly holds back tears, through Lucius Malfoy's wonderfully acted breakdown, Yaxley's exisquite brutishness, Helena Bonham Carter's Bellatrix finally seeming to make sense to me, Draco and Harry staring evenly at each other and not saying a word. Bellatrix torturing Hermione! Oh wow, this stuff was all just so perfect. AND EVERYTHING VOLDEMORT DID. HOW DOES HE MOVE LIKE THAT. At the end (oh god why did it have to stop there, I need the end, I need it) with cracking the tomb and looking so evilly happy. Breathtaking.

4. The Three Brothers Story. Was gorgeous and creepy and just how fairy tales are meant to be.

5. EVERYTHING ELSE, FREAKING EVERYTHING, OH MY GOD.

WHEN SHALL WE HIT UP THE IMAX?? MUST HAPPEN.

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YESYESYS TO ALL OF THIS

1. Rupert Grint has always been fabulous at comedy but it was incredible to see him tackle such serious, nuanced emotions and really pull them off. The whole locket scene was fabulously creepy, with the extra beautiful Harry and Hermione and the voice and Ron's DEVASTATED face.

2. Oh GOSH, wasn't it so cuuuuute. DanRad, such a dork. Have you seen him sing Tom Leher's element song yet?

3. Ahahaha, so the only trailer that I saw on TV for DH seemed to mostly revolve around the Weasley twins being UBER PERVY and the film did not disappoint. It was hilariously awesome as a moment, and yes, did detract from the fact that yet again, they are replacing the few vaguely good H/G moments with weird, weird stuff, and also that Bonnie and Dan seem to have next to no chemistry. Where is awesome book Ginny?

4. THISSSS. I saw a review where they discussed how this book really lends itself to being a film because it's less of a boarding school story and more of an action-adventure. I just loved what David Yates did with everything, the gorgeous sweeping scenery, the use of colour with was totally one of my favourite things about HBP, along with the set building. Like, the Lovegood's house in this movie, the RoR in the last, they are so great and detailed, I could look at them forever.

5. SO COOL. The breath and the chains hitting the tree and I was so caught up in it.

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YAAAAAAY!

1. YES, it was so great. I heard that David Yates just gave the whole thing over to a totally different director and said, "Go for it, knock yourself out" which is also amazing. The whole shadow puppet fable things was just AMAAAAZING.

2. YES. She is suddenly SO AWESOME. Like, she was funny and the bit where she was like, "no actually I am just highly logical which allows me to see past (extraneous?) detail" I was just like, YES, THAT IS MY HERMIONE.

3. Ahhhhhh the piano scene was SO GREAT. Me and my friend were just going AWWWWWWW the whole time. His tiny adoring face. You could see the hearts in his eyes. SO GREAT *ships FOREVER*

4. SO GOOD. So much of the creepy stuff in this movie was unexpectedly SPINE CHILLING. It was so cool the way they did the whole Uncanny Valley thing with H&H. There was an interview with DanRad where he was like, "EMMA WATSON KISSES LIKE AN ANIMAL" which, just, lol forever.

5. AH YES, I lovedloved that bit! Silly teenage boys. My whole cinema laughed really hard at that.

LOVE

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I AM EXCITED BY ALL REITERATION OF EXCELLENT POINTS

1. Yesssss, there were a few moments right when he first came on that I was like, wait, who is this Irish actor (because I forget everything I read about casting) because his accent was spot on. He was amaaaaaazing and his interactions with Luna were SO CUTE.

Not sure why Bill Nighy was randomly Welsh but !!! he was excellent, nonetheless.

2. The way everyone was just like, IT'S RUNCORN O_O. The whole thing was so fabulously done. The sheer terror on his face after he got out of the lift with Umbridge. Perfect. The actor playing Ron was so Rupert Grint also!

3. DOBBY. I knew it was coming but I was still unprepared for how much of a gut punch it would be. The CGI was absolutely flawless. The whole Free Elf speech was a great cinema moment, because you could feel the whole audience going \o/

4. I was so impressed by how they totally WENT THERE with the torture. That shot of her lying on the floor, just one tear going down her cheek. Gave me chills. And she wasn't upstaged by HBC, which is pretty much impossible.

5. His reactions were so great. He didn't have many lines but his facial expressions told his whole story so perfectly.

Oh my god the next part is going to be SO EPIC. Because they went further in the story that I was expecting so they clearly plan on GOING TO TOWN with the ending. Cannot. Wait.

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AHHHHHHHHHH YES SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE FOREVERRRR

1. The last two films have been so, so visually stunning. The washed out palate of the camping parts, and then the stark, sharp black of the Ministry. So amazing. And it worked so perfectly with the story, as they lose hope and things become more desperate and the weather gets colder, the colour gets less and less.

2. ME TOO. Emma Watson acted the HELL out of that scene. It was so clear and great, even though there was NO dialouge.

3.RON! I thought he was great throughout, the usual great comedy but so much more. The way he made it TOTALLY clear what was going on in Ron's head, what the locket was doing to him. Amazing. That scene fitted so well that I couldn't remember if it was in the book or not. TBH, I think this film is good for pretty much any ship :D

4. So swoopy! The way he was so On Task, but was just holding himself together in the face of it. I feel that the next movie, Snape is going to BREAK me. Alan Rickman is a pretty awesome actor, he really makes the character for me.

5. Oh, Harry. He's just so determined and sure. Hee, there was some murmuring approval in the cinema when he started to strip *g*

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1. There is no getting away from this! But I think any movie like this can do with a little LotR esque action...

2. EXCALIBUR, PLUCKED FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE.

3. HBC, always a scene stealer. The thing I liked about the Death Eaters in this movie is that they were kind of competently mad, which made them SUPER SCARY in a way they haven't been before.

4. Oh MALFOYS. The part where he came up and put his hand on Draco's neck, and the brokeness of having his wand taken and SNAPPED. Oh, least subtle metaphor for the destruction of masculinity, ICU.

5. I was all kinds of shocked by how explicit they went with the torture. So creepy. That was exactly what I thought too. I am hoping for a good ol' fandom revival.

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1. I found that scene genuinely goose bump inducing. They really didn't pull their punches with it. I mean, holy crap, it was intense.

2. Roooooon! Every scene he did was aaaaaaaamaaaaaaazing, and I think those two scenes are perfect examples because most of what he did in and around the Ministry scene was for laughs (when he changed back while snogging Mary Cattermole and then was all ... O_O? AWESOME) and the part where he came back and was so unsure but so determined and THE TINY BALL OF LIGHT THAT WENT INTO HIS HEARRRRT.

3. Me and my friend were AWWWWING out loud. I would watch a WHOLE MOVIE of those two being awkward and adorable.

4. EPIC.

5. I loved that! Everyone was sort of caught between laughing and aww-ing and sniffling, it was amazing. It felt so natural and lovely and of course Harry would have NO IDEA what to do but he would try anyway.

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Aw, that is sad. What didn't you like? I am open to all interpretations!

1. That was cool, because they made it very striking visually, with the only light being the ghostly blue of the Patronus.

2. Oh yes! That was so heartbreaking, and I liked the call back to the first movie (which IDK if that was the one you saw but tiny!Harry plays with those soldiers and he's so small and dear)

3. SO COOL. I loved the whole shadow puppet vibe that it had, to go with the fable aspect. It was fairly creepy in its own right. And it was a totally seperate team who made it to the rest of the movie.

4. Ahaha, WAND JOKES.

5. OMG, Draco's conflicted, desperate face. So great. The opening was uber creepy, I loved it. I wasn't sure that they would really go for it as much as the book did but they didn't shy away from the horror aspect.

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littlered2.livejournal.com

Just ... all of it, really. I don't think it was the film itself so much as the fact that I really love the books and the films were unlikely to be able to match up to that - what I wanted was essentially just the books but in 3D. (Also, I'm not a fan of Emma Watson's acting, and Hermione is one of my favourite characters; I really dislike film!Hermione, which makes me sad.) I think I'm just weird about films in general; I much prefer books, really. And lines that I love when I read them always seem to sound awful and cringeworthy when spoken, and I am horribly cynical and can't stand watching stuff at the cinema and hearing everyone laugh at stuff that I think sounds juvenile and unfunny, even if it's something I found amusing in the book. (I have always been like this; I remember watching videos in primary school and thinking, "Why is everyone laughing? This is patronising and childish and stupid!".) Basically, I think my brain is broken.

That bit is just so chilling - the spare, detached dialogue, the sense of a moment of utter stillness before all hell breaks loose - I find it so disturbing.

I did see the first film, yes (my parents took my siblings and I to see it for our twelfth birthday. We all hated it), but that was nine years ago now, so I didn't remember the toy soldiers that clearly. But poor Harry; we see so little of his pre-Hogwarts life, and the image of him taking a moment to connect with it when he's changed so much since then is just heartbreaking.

I'm really glad they made the opening as creepy as in the book! It's so wonderfully disturbing - the image of the Malfoys being completely in over their heads and trying to keep hold of their sanity (I have a strange love for people put in overwhelming situations) and Snape having to remain utterly calm while his colleague is murdered in front of him and the civilised veneer of the Death Eaters while they are killing people horribly. *hearts*

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hanelissar.livejournal.com

(Also: my utterance to my Mum of 'that's Dave's Coaches!' when Ron's guy appeared.)

*facepalm*

THAT'S who he was! Oh god I spent so much of the Ministry scenes muttering 'Who is he? I know him dammnit, who is he?!' And now you have solved my mystery - thanks! :D

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1.I KNOW. I was so impressed by her. And wanted a lot of her clothes but that's by the by. This film's Hermione is the closest to the version in my head by a long way.

2. GO NEVILLE! AHHH, CANNOT WAIT FOR KICKASS NEVILLE. Also, Matthew Lewis, kinda hot?

3. YES, omg, the villains in this were so good on every level. They were scary in a mad way but also in a very competent way that is extra creepy, I think especially as you get older. And the horrifying veneer of alnmost politeness they kept using, in the Ministry and at the Manor, all sitting round the table. THE MALFOYS, oh, god, my heart, they didn't have many lines but the whole thing was so intense and desperate and Tom Felton's face was just incredible, he had a whole internal monologue going on, so amazing, and Lucius and his grasping and yes, you just felt like the whole family were teetering on the brink, the whole time. Voldemort was soooooo good, because this is the most extended screen time he has had and it's easy to be creepy when you just flash up now and then, but maintaining it is hard and it worked SO WELL.

5. AHHHHH YES EVERYTHING. The human terror of the Snatchers. The epic sweeping scenery. The dirigible plums!

OMG YES. I AM TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHEN I WILL BE IN LONDON NEXT...

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LAL, you have already stolen so many of my favourite moments!

1. Snape swooping along the path at Malfoy Manor and up the stairs. OH MY GOSH.
2. Ron and Mary Cattermole snogging. Or practically everything Ron did as Reginald Cattermole.
3. Hermione when Ron got splinched. I suddenly LIKED Emma Watson!
4. Ron's attempt to win Hermione back over. "Those in favour, raise your hands!" Silence.
5. Dobby's death. OH MY GOD DOBBY'S DEATH. I cried so much. :(

I loved basically everything too! The Tale of the Three Brothers was so well done! The whole Hermione/Ron going on!

And your #5... absolutely! The three of them were incredibly great at imitating the Trio. AND OMG XENOPHILIUS LOVEGOOD SO MUCH LOVE. He looked like a second Lucius, don't you think? :D

Also: Pius Thicknesse. YES. That's what he's supposed to look and be like.

Worst thing about the movie: Daniel Radcliffe. And the way it reminded me of the flaws in the book. But it did so very rarely, so yay for Yates whom I have come to love now!

ETA: BTW, there was much cheering going on in our audience too. I'm still waiting for one to erupt in applause though. :( I absolutely want that to happen to me!

ETA2: Damn, I forgot to include Scabior in this post! Nick Moran = damn hot. I just love him SO MUCH. OH MY GOD HE IS CREEPY. AND AWESOME. He's also credited for Part 2 so I hope he will be in there A LOT.

Edited Date: 2010-11-21 06:01 pm (UTC)

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1. THIS. I was so taken aback at how good she was! I wanted to squee over her and OMG I loved her so much. I'm not coherent about her. :D

2. GOSH, YES. And Matthew Lewis = definitely hot. I still remember when he was a teensy weensy cute button. HE IS JUST SO AWESOME NOW MORE SCREEN TIME FOR HIM PLEASE, Y/Y?

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3. GOSH YES. How are they so adorable? <3

4. This was so heart-wrenching! Because this was the moment when I realised that Dobby was about to die and I just started crying SO HARD. (God, I'm starting again.) And I was just sobbing and smiling and crying so much.

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cellophane_ria.livejournal.com

I'm glad you think it's worth the wait--I read one extremely awful review, and was afeared. :) I'm re-reading the books though! I haven't since DH, and it was a horrible time in my life, and I was kind of wary of the books since, it's nice to see I can read them again...

Having the boy back, writing, and getting paid sound A+. High five on the being ground down by work front. I am boringly busybusybusy and generally away from the internet because I have to finish the job, I miss you all! <3

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I was so impressed by Emma Watson too! I was near calling out, "HOLY CRAP HOW ARE YOU SO GOOD NOW, EMMA? <3" Plus she was so adorable with Rupert! And OMG, the perfume got me laughing so hard. :D "Oh, I'm on the run and in hiding, now where's my perfume?" There were so many downright stupid things of that kind. I know a lot of them were from the book, and they all made me giggle a LOT. Although I thought that the perfume scene was reaaaally creepy, which was mostly due to Nick Moran. <3

#4 - oh yeeeees! So awesome! #5 too!

And the atmosphere was so great where I saw it. Tons of awesome fans watching the film = <3.

Edited Date: 2010-11-21 06:13 pm (UTC)

From:

miabee023.livejournal.com

1. I KNOW, RIGHT? I have a friend who hates Ron Weasley and thinks he's a despicable character and I just cannot understand that at all. Ron is a. hilarious and b. SO INTERESTING, because he actually has flaws and all that shocking literary content. (Or maybe it's just that my hair is brown and enormous and I really <3 books and thus obviously I will root for the man who is clearly my soulmate in book form.)

2. WELL, NOW I HAVE. Quite adorable indeed.

3. Personally, though, I think bringing George in during that scene was a brilliant move on the part of David Yates because, well, Bonnie just cannot bring any life to Ginny's character at all. I'm sorry, I'm sure she's a lovely person, but she really lacks all the spunk and vitality that I think is so essential to Ginny's personality and her romance with Harry. I would rather crack up over George's fantastic eyebrow raising than have to suffer through having the best book moments of their relationship ruined by Bonnie's inability to have a facial expression.

4. I think I read that an interview or something along those lines as well, and I would definitely agree - less confinement of setting and staging and such, in particular. Also, I wanted to comment on the GORGEOUS animation sequence for the Tale of the Three Brothers. At first when they went into animation, I was super confused, mostly along the lines of, WHAT IS ANIMATION DOING IN MY HARRY POTTER FILM?, but then within the first ten seconds it was made very obvious that the animation style was absolutely to die for and I spent the rest of the tale with my brain in a gooey puddle of joy.

From:

khasael.livejournal.com

4. The husband was also NOT A FAN OF THE SURPRISE SPIDERS.

5. I laughed my ass off during that scene. LOLboys! Husband snickered when Ron handed him the wand and said something like "it's not much. [...] 10 inches..." and I just knew he was thinking "that's what she said!"

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khasael.livejournal.com

I kept hearing "watery tart [...] handing out swords" and such in my head :)

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khasael.livejournal.com

OMG WHERE DO I START?

1. Ron. I've never particularly enjoyed Ron in the films (and I'm honestly not sure if that's a Ron!issue or a Rupert!issue), but oh! I am more than a little in love with him right now! Both Ron and Rupert! Because he nailed everything in this installment--the jealousy, the nervousness, the vulnerability, the way he tried so damned hard to redeem himself when he came back! Also, LOVED the "what about my wife??" // "Ron, you don't have a wife!" exchange.

2. The interspersed bits of humour. The goofy dancing with Harry and Hermione (which, OMG, also heartbreaking). Harry and Ginny being spied upon by George (with a toothbrush in his ear!). When Harry casts Engorgio on the flame and then has the 'OMGWTF' moment immediately after. THE WAND JOKES (10 inches!! Heee!).

3. The way then just freaking went for the torture scene and did not soften it at all. Wow. I've always been okay with Emma Watson's Hermione, though sometimes she's more...stuck up...than I saw her in the books, but wow, this. That single tear, and the closeup of her arm. And the screaming. *shivers*

4. Seeing what the Horcrux showed Ron as it's attempt to get him to turn on Harry/save itself. Ugh. Hearing your worst fears, and seeing Hermione so cold. Also, the perfect!Hermione and perfect!Harry were...wow, nice choice. (Comment from husband on the way home: "We almost saw Hermione's side!boob! Damn you, wispy smoke stuff!"

5. The Malfoys. So barely holding it together. Lucius being so desperate, and then the moment when he has to turn over his wand and Voldemort snaps the head/handle off it. And Draco, kneeling before Harry and the freaking tension and how much TF puts into just his expressions--fear, conflict, etc.!

And more! Wow. The seriously creepy scene of Hermione Obliviating her parents. The entire Trio in the beginning, actually!

OH! HOW DID I NOT MENTION THIS? The Seven Potters scene!! Fleur's "Don't look at me, Bill! I'm hideous!" as it's Harry in a bra. The whole freakin' scene, actually, but yeah, loved that part especially.

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1. I too wished for some of her clothes. The red dress, her array of loose but shapely mauve tops. I was actually so impressed by Emma Watson in this movie, I'm starting to feel a bit bad for all the mean things I have said about her in the past... oops. But also, finally! Thank you, acting god, acting muse, whatever, for finally smiling on the role of Hermione as she deserves.

2. KICKASS NEVILLE ROCKS. I only wish we could see more of him. All the real story of character development is Snape, Draco and Neville. Trufax. Ron goes through the same arc over and over, that must be sad for him. I think Matthew Lewis is reasonably attractive, as is the character of Neville, but I physically I prefer his brother :P (Increasingly realising how much I would have preferred Ginny/Neville to Ginny/Harry, I do hope they had a bit of a thing during that last year at Hogwarts...)

3. Oh totally. The thing that's so creepy about Umbridge (to me at least) is that you know there really are people like that. They could be anyone. And they seem so harmless, but given half the chance... *shudders* It's wonderful that they've cast these wonderful actors even in the small roles, because Jason Isaacs delivered such a wonderful/kick in the teeth performance with just two tiny bits. And if it wasn't HP you know a part with so little screentime would be given to a less amazing actor, obvs. And I am so so happy about Voldemort, because it would be so easy to have got it wrong and made him into a jokey camp panto villain that isn't scary at all, but they didn't, they so pulled it off. And I'm so grateful for that.

IT MUST HAPPEN. SOONER RATHER THAN LATER PREFERABLY.

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She was an absolute revelation to me. Really really good. Yay Hermione!

I like Matthew Lewis, but I think his brother is hotter :P But yes, really hope they give him plenty of screen time in the battle and with the BAMF-y snake killing :D

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OMG THE THREE BROTHERS! Was just exquisite. I'd hardly even wondered how they'd do that stuff, and it was breath taking! That's how fairytales ought to be, always.

The Hermione/Ron bits were love. Literally. I've never been particularly passionate about Hermione/Ron but I was full of squee for them throughout. So cute. !!!

When shall we hit up the IMAX? :D

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1. I thought Rupert really nailed all the stuff in this movie too! I've always liked him, but he was just so dead-on in this part! I'm actually surprised at how much they have all grown as actors! I was SO BAFFLED. Also, the exchange in the ministry about the wife... pure win. :D

2. George had a toothbrush in his ear? WTH? How did I miss that? (Oooh! I think I remember now! Very vaguely though.)

3. Oh yes, so freaking awesome. And I liked the way they kept it really, really simple which made it more creepy and horrible and everything. The "mud-blood" on her arm really gave me the chills. So, so well done.

4. Ahaha, your husband! :D I loved how they did this, especially Harry and Hermione. I also loved the surprise spiders because it just reflected back on earlier movies and to see Ron overcome his fears was great. :)

5. YES YES YES. OH MY GOD, Jason Isaacs and Tom Felton were both SO GOOD. I am not a fan of the actress who portrays Narcissa, but those two... so fucking, fucking awesome. I loved how Lucius's voice cracked on the "my wand?", and how Voldemort snapped off the handle, thereby showing that the wand was not Lucius's anymore. Anyway, I loved Jason and Tom so much, and it's such a pity they had so little screentime, but they made everything they could out of the little time they had.

Goooood, I want to rewatch this film!

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Do you mean Anthony Lewis? I didn't know him, so I just googled him, and nah... but this is good! We won't have to quarrel over them! I get Matt and you get Anthony! Deal? :D

I'm so looking forward to the snake killing!

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