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keladryb and I saw PoA last night.First impressions, in no order whatsoever:
-The sequence at the Dursleys was flawless. And I was wrong -- they let her say "bitch" after all. The audience gasped.
-I was delighted to see that Cuaron had done a complete re-imagining of the world, not worrying about making it continuous with the other books. He was making *his* movie. Maybe this will drive home for fans that the movies aren't canon -- they're merely interpretations.
-I loved the way they all seemed like *real kids*, laughing, shoving, uniforms messed up -- it was so much more natural and realistic, and made it seem like a real school.
-Crookshanks got nothin'.
-Snape got less than Crookshanks. We don't understand why he hates Lupin. We don't understand why he wants to kill Sirius. To someone who hasn't read the book, it would seem that Snape was taking revenge on behalf of Harry.
-Revealing that Peter is alive earlier was a very smart way of cutting down the exposition in the Shrieking Shack. Also, he confessed more or less right away, so there's less question of Sirius's guilt.
-The scene of Harry beating up on Draco in the snow had a purpose in the book. In the movie, it was useless.
-McGonagall or Rosmerta or whoever says that Peter followed Sirius around, not James. No point to that, afaik.
-THE CLOCK TOWER. YES YES YES. ♥
-Though the Shrieking Shack scene was almost painfully short, it did allow for a Time Turner sequence that actually worked and wasn't exhausting, which is an improvement over the book. The emotional climax shifts to the moment when Harry realizes he saw himself.
-Sirius is much less scary and dangerous. He bites Ron's leg instead of breaking it. The second break-in, with Sirius wielding a knife, is not included. We are more willing to accept his innocence, and Harry's sudden love of him (which is more obviously tied to his love of his parents).
-Remus/Lily, apparently.
-Okay, here's the thing about the Shrieking Shack. I knew they wouldn't have time for both Snape and Peter to have their moment, and they picked the right one to keep. But if they were going to do it that way, it was actually not necessary for Snape to be there. If they weren't going to explain what the hell Snape was doing, I would rather have had him not be in the movie at all.
-Much less of a sense of the four friends. Sirius is friends with James, Peter follows Sirius, Sirius and Remus know each other, Remus was friends with Lily... We don't know why they're Animagi.
-I refuse to pronounce Animagus with a hard G. It will never happen.
-Peter. I think it's hard when you LOVE a character, because no matter what, it'll never be what you wanted. That said, I can accept movie!Peter. It's more of an evil!Peter characterization (not as cringing and hysterical and pathetic), which probably worked for the movie. He got to say all his important lines, at least. (No "I let you sleep in my bed", which was probably just as well, as the scene lacked the gravity that makes that line work in the book.) I did like how ratty he was. Ew fingernails! Disgusting. ♥
-Remus. This is such a hard character to pin down. Thewlis played it more "up" than book!Remus, less reserved. I liked him, though. He worked as that awkward-yet-cool science teacher who really likes his subject, sometimes gets embarrassingly overenthused. The phonograph was a nice addition.
I'm going again with my mom and my brother, and there are some things that I need to see again before I comment... so, more stuff later.
keladryb's thoughts are here, and are more coherent than mine.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-06 11:20 am (UTC)Sushi said I should bug you. . . sooo. . . ummm. BUG!
Oh, you're visiting her, aren't you? Give her a hug and a kiss from me.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-06 04:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-06 04:45 pm (UTC)