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Old 07-15-2011, 04:12 PM   #10 (permalink)
AlwaysSnapesGirl

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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Narnia
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Hogwarts RPG Name:
Ezra Hensley
Gryffindor
Fifth Year

Hogwarts RPG Name:
Florence Schultz
Slytherin
Second Year

Ministry RPG Name:
Penelope Grimm
Law Enforcement

Ministry RPG Name:
Regina Amstern
Minister's Office

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Baguette | there is no D in my name | TRAITORclaw | Queenie of Narnia

I saw this movie at midnight last night (or this morning, I guess?), and it was everything I hoped it would be and more. I didn't cry quite as much as I thought I would, but still I cried a lot. I don't think there was a dry eye in the theater; there was a lot of sniffling going on, and at one point someone was even sobbing. The movie was so sad in many places, I'm surprised more of us weren't like that.

This midnight premiere was so cool though. There were quite a few people who went all out and wore their Hogwarts robes and everything, and one guy even came in as a Death Eater. A lot of people in the theater were cheering when he came in It was too cool.

But anyway, moving on to reviewing the actual movie - I really can't think of a whole lot, if anything, to complain about. I thought the entire thing was incredible, even the bits that were different from the book because they worked so well onscreen and fit in really well. The only things I really missed, I guess, was Lupin coming in to Shell Cottage to announce Teddy's birth and still no Dumbledore backstory. And yet, somehow, I'm not really that mad about either, especially Dumbledore's past. We who have read the book know about those things, so in the back of our minds we can sort of (for lack of a better word) "insert" that into the movie and it all fits and makes sense. For those who haven't read these wonderful books, I hope that if they're really curious about either, as they were touched upon in both parts, their curiosity will lead them to finally read them, and then they will finally discover just how incredible these books are, even more than any of the movies. So, yeah, no really big complaints from me.

No, wait, now that I think about it, I do have one little complaint - we didn't get to see the Ravenclaw common room! I was so looking forward to that part, but it didn't happen. It's not huge, and it doesn't affect my enjoyment of the movie in the least, but I'm rather sad about it.

Anyway, since I loved pretty much the entire movie, I won't go through every scene (or try not to ) just to gush over every little detail; I'll just talk about the parts that really stood out to me:

That brief little scene at the very beginning, just a simple shot of Dobby's grave, and Harry just sitting there, looking into the broken mirror piece. The scenery was gorgeous, for one, and I'm so glad they made sure we got a shot of what was written on the stone. "Here lies Dobby, a free elf." I teared up a bit here, and I knew I'd cry a lot during this movie.

Of course, I loved the Gringotts scene. All of it was really well done, and the entire theater was cracking up watching Helena as Hermione as Bellatrix. She was brilliant! And I liked the clips afterward, when Voldemort is in a rage and killing everyone in sight, that he also killed Griphook. I didn't want Griphook to die, but I thought it was fitting. And then the sword of Gryffindor disappeared from his hand - I thought that was nice too.

Aberforth was great during his scenes, and I'm glad they at least sort of touched upon his bitterness towards his brother and Dumbledore's past, but what I really loved was the addition of Hermione's line, after she thanks him and he's left the room, "He did save our lives twice. That doesn't seem like a person who's given up."

I really liked the Grey Lady and her scene with Harry. She seemed haughty, like she was described, but also so angry and so embarrassed and ashamed of having helped Tom Riddle find her mother's diadem, and therefore so reluctant to help Harry at first. Her actress was brilliant during the entire scene.

Maggie Smith as McGonagall is going to get a whole paragraph to herself from me - she was FANTASTIC. She was always a great Professor McGonagall in the previous movies, but here, she really took it to a whole new level. She was a strong leader, but she got some great humorous lines and delivered those so well. I think my favorite is after she uses Piertotum Locomotor, and the suits of armor/statues are marching past, and she says, "I've always wanted to use that spell!" The entire theater cracked up

And now, of course, I feel I must talk about Alan Rickman. I can't find the right words to describe his performance as Snape - amazing, fantastic, incredible, and awesome just don't fully capture just how great it was. Snape's death was the moment when I really, truly started crying. The memories coming from his eyes in the form of tears was a nice, subtle change in place of it just pouring out of his eyes, ears, and mouth like in the book. And then changing his last words from, "Look...at...me," (which I am SO SO SO glad they kept in!) to "You have your mother's eyes," - oh my word, I just broke down.

And then the Prince's Tale part - that was really, really well done. I had been wondering whether doing as the book did, with it just playing scene after scene after scene, would feel like it was slowing the movie down somehow, but they easily amended that. It all flowed and helped explain all that it needed to explain, even with many of the scenes from the book being cut. The addition of Snape going to the Potters' house after Voldemort was destroyed, seeing Lily's dead body and little Harry crying in his crib, and completely breaking down and holding onto her - I completely broke down again. AND they kept in the "After all this time?" "Always." lines, which really just made my love for this movie skyrocket. I was hoping so much that they'd keep those lines in, as they're some of my favorites, and they did!

As for the rest of the deaths, at least on the good side, Lavender, Fred, Tonks, Lupin... I can see how some people could be disappointed by them, but I thought they were all done well - at least enough so they could have an impact, instead of dwelling upon it and dragging the pace of the movie down too much. Particularly in the case of Fred, I thought it was enough to get anyone, or at least me, crying by seeing his family huddled around him, holding on to each other. Ron, George, and Molly especially really brought the grief home. And Lupin and Tonks lying beside each other, looking like they had been holding hands when they died - that was incredibly touching. And it sort of reminds me of in the first part, where Ron and Hermione's hands were just inches from each other as they slept in Grimmauld Place, as if they'd held hands. I'm not sure whether that connection was intended or not, but for me, it adds to the emotion of it all.

Speaking of Ron and Hermione, GAH. The kiss! It was awesome! I admit, I was a little worried the way it was being described at times. I was totally fine with it taking place in the Chamber of Secrets, I actually really liked that idea, but the way it was described with them just pouncing on each other right after getting soaked with water or whatever - I dunno, I just thought it sounded like it could feel random and just kept in just because. But it definitely didn't feel like that at all. It was executed very well, and I love how they start laughing a bit right after. It felt very natural, so I was really happy

The Forest Again sequence was excellent and pretty much exactly like the book. Everyone did so well in here, but what really stood out to me was after Harry says, "Stay close to me." Lily replies, "Always." I was again crying after that line. The connection between that line, when it was played in one of the trailers/TV spots, and Snape's line never occurred to me until that moment. I think "Always" is going to become my favorite word.

Narcissa saving Harry's life in the forest by saying he was dead was great, and I'm so relieved and happy they kept it in - in fact, now that I'm on the subject of the Malfoys, I really loved how they portrayed the relationship between them in this movie. My favorite bit, I think, is when the Death Eaters are back in the courtyard facing off against the the Order and DA, and Draco's among them. Lucius calls to him, telling him to come, but Draco just kind of looks, almost glares at him, but when Narcissa tells him to come, he does. It shows more than anything just how close Draco and his mother actually are, and just how broken his relationship with his father is. Loved it.

Neville, though I haven't mentioned him 'til now, was just as awesome as I knew he would be. When he faced off against the Snatchers, when he pulled the sword out of the hat, when he tried to attack Voldemort and got shot back, and when he finally killed Nagini - all of it was incredible. We were all cheering him on the whole way.

Molly's line! SO glad they kept that in too! I really liked the delivery of it; you can just feel her anger and hatred for Bellatrix radiating off her as she delivers it; you can tell she's ready to get rid of Bella for good. And I was so happy when she finally did. THAT'S what you get for killing Dobby and torturing Neville's parents, Bella!

I also enjoyed the entire duel between Harry and Voldemort. It was different from the book, but this works better on film, I think. Somehow I think it'd be a bit anticlimactic after all that's happened, if all we did was watch Harry and Voldemort talk, shoot a spell, and then it's over. It works in the book, of course, because when you read, it can feel longer, since Jo Rowling writes it so well and can build up the suspense with the conversation until the final moment when Voldemort dies. On screen, I don't think it'd work as well, so making the fight longer helps build that same suspense and get the audience into the moment until it all finally ends.

And I did enjoy the change of Voldemort bursting into - I guess - ashes. I feel like it makes sense. With his soul ripped up into so many pieces, and with it being so unstable, it makes sense, at least to me, that both his body and soul would be unable to take the hit of the Killing Curse a second time. I mean, the first time he tried to kill Harry, his soul was already so broken and unstable that a piece of it broke off and latched onto Harry; since then, after he came back, he split his soul even further by making Nagini a horcrux, so by this time there's probably not much soul left to keep his body in tact when hit with something as powerful as the Killing Curse. And so his body, like his soul, breaks into pieces. I'm not sure whether I explain this very well; it makes sense in my head.

One last thing and I'll shut up The epilogue scene was fantastic, so much better than I expected. The children were adorable, the make-up/CGI/whatever they used to make the trio and the others older looked so much better (especially Draco, he looked great), and THEY KEPT ANOTHER OF MY FAVORITE LINES: "Albus Severus, you were named for two Headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin, and he was the bravest man I ever knew." I again feared they'd leave it out but hoped they'd keep it, and they did. Dan delivered it well too, and I teared up a bit, though not simply because of the line. The entire epilogue scene had such a nice, bittersweet feel to it, watching the children go off to Hogwarts, so much like the very first film. Feels like we came full circle. Perfect way to end the movie.

*takes a deep breath* Oh my word, this post is so long I didn't think I'd write so much! *flails* But I feel loads better writing all my thoughts down and stuff. Now I'm ready to go see the movie again!

EDIT: Having watched the movie again yesterday, I feel I need to add two things that I forgot to put in here. They're both very small parts in the movie, but they really stood out to me and I loved them.

The first is getting to see Cho again. As a fan of Cho Chang, I was a bit worried they might not keep her in there, but not only did she show up, she even got a few lines and some nice moments, so I was really happy I think my favorite bit with her was at the end, after Harry defeats Voldemort and he enters the Great Hall where everyone's just having a nice, quiet moment after all the fighting. He and Cho look at each other and kind of smile - a nice little sign that, despite their falling out a couple years before, after all they went through tonight, they can be just friends from then on. I thought it was really nice closure.

The second thing was during the King's Cross scene when Harry asks Dumbledore about his mother's Patronus being a doe, "same as Professor Snape's." HE ACTUALLY REFERRED TO SNAPE AS A PROFESSOR That made me so happy. It was a nice, subtle way to show how Harry respects Snape after seeing his memories. It was perfect. I think the first time I heard that at the midnight showing, I teared up again. Seriously, I love it so much. *squeeeeee*

Okay, now I'm done
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if we fall, we will fall together; and when we rise, we will rise together__________________

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Last edited by AlwaysSnapesGirl; 07-18-2011 at 08:51 PM.
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