Harry Potter

[mrv3000]

I finally watched the Harry Potter "Half Blood Prince" movie.



Was it just me or did absolutely nothing happen in this movie? And it was long. Why was it so long? It was 2 hours of this:



Followed by 30 minutes of Dumbledore dragging Harry off to find a necklace, and then Snape killing Dumbledore. And even though it was a really long movie, it feels like it didn't answer some basic questions. (No, I've never read any of the books, so maybe that's why I'm missing things. However, a movie has to be able to stand on its own - any movie.)

1. Snape: I - wait for it - I AM THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE! *DRAMATIC MUSIC*
   
   Me: Okaaaaay. So you wrote your D&D RP name in a text book years ago. I've absolutely no idea why this is apparently important. None. And yet the movie is called this. WHY?
   
   
   
2. Harry's Friends: You have to get rid of that book OMG!!!
   
   Me: Why would he do that? It's like having to use a cookbook that tells you to make an omelet out of carrots, but someone's helpfully written in the margins "carrots are lame - use eggs. srlsy."
   
   
   
3. Movie: Harry and Ginny are in love!
   
   Me: Okay, I really really really want to buy into this because a) it has the potential to be cute, and b) I know how the books end and I'm somewhat of a canonwhore. But couldn't they have, I don't know, a normal conversation with each other? Or interact with each other in a non "we must fight/hide a book now!" setting? Something? Just a little scrap might get me there.
   
   The movies have consistently shown me that Harry and Hermione are way better suited for each other than Ginny and Ron. If the books are anything like the movies in this aspect, I can see why there were so many Harry/Hermione shippers. At this point Hermione/Ron makes more sense than Harry/Ginny to me, but still I get the impression that if Hermione and Ron hadn't grown up together and bonded through childhood, they wouldn't be together. I doubt they'd give each other the time of day. Maybe this all went down better in the books, but again, the movies are supposed to stand on their own.

I might have more "wut?" points, but this is all I can remember right now. :D

I like the HP movies - even though I'm not super into it, I think they're really entertaining. But this was the first movie where NOTHING HAPPENED. FOR TWO AND A HALF HOURS. Okay, Dumbledore died, but I stand by my "NOTHING HAPPENED" statement. No adventure. No quest. Lots of talking.

Comments

[arabian.livejournal.com]

The movies have consistently shown me that Harry and Hermione are way better suited for each other than Ginny and Ron. If the books are anything like the movies in this aspect, I can see why there were so many Harry/Hermione shippers. At this point Hermione/Ron makes more sense than Harry/Ginny to me, but still I get the impression that if Hermione and Ron hadn't grown up together and bonded through childhood, they wouldn't be together. I doubt they'd give each other the time of day. Maybe this all went down better in the books, but again, the movies are supposed to stand on their own.

It is apparently much worse in the movies, but it's pretty bad in the books too imo. Harry/Ginny are ridiculously awful in the books, but I guess one could say that H/R have some set-up. It's just a set-up based on 11 year old children having a love/hate relationship that suddenly becomes love (without any explanation) when they turn 14 or so. Uhm, yeah. But what do I know? I'm one of those ridiculous Harry/Hermione shippers.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

If I'd gotten into it, I probably would have found myself on the Harry/Hermione side of things as well.

It's just a set-up based on 11 year old children having a love/hate relationship that suddenly becomes love (without any explanation) when they turn 14 or so.

*nods* So far it feels more like the crushes you get in high school/junior high rather than True Love.

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

1. In the book it's much, much more important who Snape is. It's kind of a mystery and a treasure hunt all at once. And then it means something at the end. But since it all got cut in the movie and relied entirely on Alan Rickman's delivery, it seemed VERY STRANGE.

2. The last time there was a book with extra writing in it, it tried to kill all the half-bloods and nearly killed Ginny (which is why she especially was freaked out).

3. The movies have consistently shown me that Harry and Hermione are way better suited for each other than Ginny and Ron.

OOOOOOh, this is one of my pet peeves with the movie! The screenwriter is an admitted, unapologetic Harry/Hermione shipper, and thus futzes with the material to make his point clear. Most of Ron's good moments get cut entirely (or given to Hermione), and Ginny's been a non-starter for most of the series. It frustrates me, because in the books it's very much NOT the case, and I am not sure why the screenwriter thinks he has the right to do this. (Harry/Ginny still isn't great in the books, but it sort of makes sense and I adore them.)



These movies invariably let me down because they don't tell enough of the story. Goblet of Fire, for example, was a massive conspiracy and set up nearly everything that was to come...but in the movie it was about a dance and a sporting event. Prisoner of Azkaban might be one of my least favourite movies of all time because so much got cut (and there were too many fade to blacks). In the case of Half Blood Prince, however, I could fill in enough of the gaps myself, having read the books, and it didn't bother me so much. But every since the Travesty that Was Prince Caspian, I've made it a point to not think about movies too much.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

1. In the book it's much, much more important who Snape is. It's kind of a mystery and a treasure hunt all at once. And then it means something at the end. But since it all got cut in the movie and relied entirely on Alan Rickman's delivery, it seemed VERY STRANGE.

I would have LOVED a mystery and a treasure hunt! As it is, the whole Half Blood Prince thing seemed extremely pointless.

2. The last time there was a book with extra writing in it, it tried to kill all the half-bloods and nearly killed Ginny (which is why she especially was freaked out).

Yeah, I guess that was it. But I got old books with writing in them all the time in school. It just didn't seem that ominous. It was helpful! :D

and I am not sure why the screenwriter thinks he has the right to do this.

Very weird.

These movies invariably let me down because they don't tell enough of the story. Goblet of Fire, for example, was a massive conspiracy and set up nearly everything that was to come...but in the movie it was about a dance and a sporting event. Prisoner of Azkaban might be one of my least favourite movies of all time because so much got cut (and there were too many fade to blacks). In the case of Half Blood Prince, however, I could fill in enough of the gaps myself, having read the books, and it didn't bother me so much. But every since the Travesty that Was Prince Caspian, I've made it a point to not think about movies too much.

Not having read the books, I had the opposite problem. I didn't miss any other plots going on in the books, because there was an entertaining basic plot in the movie. But HBP really didn't have a simple plot (like the search for something, or a tournament), and I couldn't fill in any gaps.

[outforawalk.livejournal.com]

I have trouble with the ship questions, because I called the pairings by the end of book 1. (But I think the Harry/Ginny interaction in the last couple of movies has been weird. Like, in the books, she hasn't mooned the entire series. She goes and has a life. They are far more awkward on film.)

As to the nothing happened, I think they decided to save up everything for the next movie. Or something. For some reason, I usually just enjoy the hell out of the HP movies though, even when nothing happens. (Unless they are super cirtically acclaimed. It is my least favorite so far.) I'm just hyper-uncritical when it comes to these movies.

Also, Snape is such a melodramtic little twit. (Which is somehow different to Harry's drama queen.)

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

I have trouble with the ship questions, because I called the pairings by the end of book 1. (But I think the Harry/Ginny interaction in the last couple of movies has been weird. Like, in the books, she hasn't mooned the entire series. She goes and has a life. They are far more awkward on film.)

Very awkward. I really would love to see the cute in them, but I can't. Maybe the other movies will be better?

As to the nothing happened, I think they decided to save up everything for the next movie. Or something. For some reason, I usually just enjoy the hell out of the HP movies though, even when nothing happens. (Unless they are super cirtically acclaimed. It is my least favorite so far.) I'm just hyper-uncritical when it comes to these movies.

You know, I think you might be right. I remember thinking at around the hour and a half point that we were still in exposition.

Also, Snape is such a melodramtic little twit. (Which is somehow different to Harry's drama queen.)

[shaela]

I don’t know. I haven’t been paying attention to the Harry Potter movies, and I never really cared about the romantic subplots in the books. The most important relationship in the series, for me, was Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s friendship. I figured Hermione and Ron would end up together because that could happen without changing the Trio, and that’s more or less what happened. But I can’t say I ever shipped them the way I did Doctor/Rose.

(I thought the second most important relationship in the series was Harry’s relationship with Ron’s family, and that Harry would end up with Ginny as a way of showing that he’d become part of that family. And I did ship them, for more or less the same reasons I shipped Doctor/Rose, till Ginny’s character changed dramatically in the fifth book.)

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

The pairings do make sense from a practical standpoint. But it kind of reminds me of when I was a kid, my best friend and I wanted my brother and her sister to get married so we could be sisters. :D

[fid-gin.livejournal.com]

I've also never read the books, and your reactions pretty much mirror mine to this movie, EXACTLY. Sweet zombie Jesus, what a bore!

However, I absolutely adore The Goblet of Fire, and own it, for obvious reasons. :)

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

*CLINGS TO YOU*

And ha! I'm bad - I always forget DT's in that movie. But I did like it just because it was fun to watch in general.

[katesutton.livejournal.com]

RIGHT? I've read all the books, and at the end of the movie...well, I enjoyed it, but why on EARTH was it called the Half-Blood Prince? WHY? They totally dropped the ball on that part of the story.

As to Harry/Ginny, I am slightly fond of the book version in a resigned to canon spirit, but the movie take is...lacking. Even in the books though, I always felt like JKR was shoving Ron and Hermione at each other in a 'look, they're exactly like his parents!' sort of way. Too much perpetual exasperation on Hermione's side for me. And then the movie cut out nearly any good parts Ron had and made it even worse.

Oh, and I agree with mls03j that Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione were intended to make them all one big happy family at the end. It's just really weird, that both Harry/Hermione and Harry/Luna come off better, especially in the movies, and some in the books too.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

RIGHT? I've read all the books, and at the end of the movie...well, I enjoyed it, but why on EARTH was it called the Half-Blood Prince? WHY? They totally dropped the ball on that part of the story.

It makes no sense to me. None.

I always felt like JKR was shoving Ron and Hermione at each other in a 'look, they're exactly like his parents!' sort of way.

EW. Really?

Oh, and I agree with mls03j that Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione were intended to make them all one big happy family at the end. It's just really weird, that both Harry/Hermione and Harry/Luna come off better, especially in the movies, and some in the books too.

To me it's sort of a strange way of thinking. Presumably it's not the only reason they all got married, but you can be "family" with people without making it legal.

[skippity-doo.livejournal.com]

See, I re-read HBP before I watched the movie and thought that was why I was so disappointed in the film.

I'm glad to see that you had exactly the same problems with it that I did.

I say this as a big ol' Ron/Hermione shipper, but - Radcakes and Emma Watson have such good chemistry together and she and Rupert just... well... don't.

Have you ever read Cleolinda's Movies in 15 minutes? Her HBP one is particularly good.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

BWAH!! That review is perfect! XD

[elismor.livejournal.com]

I stand by my "NOTHING HAPPENED" statement. No adventure. No quest. Lots of talking.

Wait until the next one. The book was about 800 pages of NOTHING HAPPENING.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

Oy vey.

[threerings.livejournal.com]

I just have to put in: I don't know what any of you people are talking about. HBP is my favorite book and I kinda thought the film rocked.

So...yeah.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_thirty2flavors/]

HBP wasn't my very favourite but it was up there. I remember thinking it was really funny.

The book, anyway. The movie was interesting the first time but probably not the second.

[goldy-dollar.livejournal.com]

lol Harry Potter.

Yeah, I dunno. I shipped Harry/Hermione like a crazy thing because I was convinced that despite whatever feelings Ron had for Hermione, she was in love with Harry. I WAS WRONG. VERY WRONG. HBP threw me for a loop. I especially did not see Harry/Ginny coming.

So... I lost interest and wandered out of fandom, pretty much. Though clearly the movies were done with the sole purpose of TAUNTING ME. *shakes fist*

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

*PETS YOU*

[http://users.livejournal.com/_thirty2flavors/]

I'mma go ahead and defend Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione in the books. They're not Great Epic Romances, they're subplots that are primarily dealt with for the sake of humour, and that's one of the things I liked about Harry Potter, romance was never on the forefront, it was more about epic BFF shenangians. I'm... gonna stop. I never got into shipwars while reading Harry Potter, I should probably not start now. I think the issue is that the ships are one of the things whre JKR was very upfront about it all the time, and since in basically every other aspect of the books she keeps throwing in plot twists, I guess people expected it to be more complicated than it was.

Also, H/G in this movie WAS terrible, the books were not so... ....weird. Like.. why did she tie his shoe, what kind of weird foreplay is that, idek.

In the book there' san epic battle at Hogwarts at the end. In the movie they just kind of kill Dumbledore and knock over some plates.

[shinyopals.livejournal.com]

Ooh, you pretty much said what I wanted to, so now I don't have to respond with an essay for Michelle! XD

So... DITTO.

[jedi_of_urth]

I sort of liked the movie, in the sense that it was better than the book in its nothing really happening aspect. I think it bothers me less in the movie that the plot kind of stalls in this movie/book, because the book was just...nothing. Admittedly, I read the book exactly once because afterward I was like...wait, sure I was shocked by the ending, but most of it is horribly out of character and what's more, they're OOC while *nothing happens*.

I think the book shenanigans went better in the book but my memory is kind of clouded on the issue.

The ships...oh the ships.
The movies have consistently shown me that Harry and Hermione are way better suited for each other than Ginny and Ron.

The movies have taken that fact, that was clear to me in the books, and amped it up to MORE OBVIOUS. I never really got the canon ships in the books in fact they ticked lots of my ANTI-ship buttons while H/Hr just rolled on being more or less perfect for each other. And then the movies, especially this movie which is supposed to be the turning point in the canon ships, gave the canon ships...nothing.

They really do feel like high school crushes, or people that try to be together because they somewhere along the way decided they should date their significant other but with no basis for a good relationship.

Anyway, that's my two cents.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

I sort of liked the movie, in the sense that it was better than the book in its nothing really happening aspect. I think it bothers me less in the movie that the plot kind of stalls in this movie/book, because the book was just...nothing. Admittedly, I read the book exactly once because afterward I was like...wait, sure I was shocked by the ending, but most of it is horribly out of character and what's more, they're OOC while *nothing happens*.

I remember when it came out and all the "OMG NOOOOOOOOO!" posts.

They really do feel like high school crushes, or people that try to be together because they somewhere along the way decided they should date their significant other but with no basis for a good relationship.

I totally agree. Totally totally. I mentioned this to someone else, but I seriously wouldn't care this much about the pairings (or even think about them that much) if who's with who hadn't basically been the point of the whole movie.

[fiona-conn.livejournal.com]

By the time JKR got to the 6th book, you could see her straining at the seams, slightly. I liked books 1-5 (though I'll admit to not being especially fond of books 2 and 4), but found the 6th book a massive disappointment.

I don't tend to pay much attention to the movies, honestly. The only movie version I was fond of was Prisoner of Azkaban, and that was because Thewlis made such an awesome Lupin. xD *Has a vague crush on Lupin*.

Book 6, though... was truly terrible, and book 7 just bored the crap out of me, and intensely pissed me off at the end where JK pretty much kills off nearly everyone Harry cares about, and then gives us a bad "happy ever after" epilogue that reads like a bad fanfiction. -.-

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

In your opinion, would it still be worth going through it all? I've always meant to get the audiobook versions - someday - since I thought it'd be fun to listen to in the car.

[rosie-not-rose.livejournal.com]

Oh, the books are so much better than the films. I watch the films just because, well, it's Harry Potter, but I've yet to properly enjoy one. Most of the characters are totally wrong, or one-layered, and relationships aren't built. Particularly the interaction and building friendship between Harry and Dumbledore was really special in the books, and the Harry/Ginny was a lot more believable. I always got the impression that the makers of the films really don't know the books well enough. Major flaw.

I could rant about this for hours, but I won't. XD

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

It's gotta be hard turning a book into a movie. Not many people have done it well.

[alienish-being.livejournal.com]

I wonder if the seventh (eighth?) film will keep in the bit about Ron and Hermione's daughter being named Rose.

Was nice of her to put that in at the last minute for me. But I suppose I did stop some Fluripdians from eating her computer.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

AWWWW! *PETS YOU*

Was this when you were separated from Rose?

[goldy-dollar.livejournal.com]

I think this post needs more D/R.

Look, wee baby Ten with Rose:

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

Everything's better with more D/R!!!!

[makingmywayhome.livejournal.com]

I disliked this one the most specifically for their dropping of the Snape storyline. I mean, wtf? Half-blood prince means nothing unless you've gotten the backstory, and if we had to watch the excruciatingly bad Harry/Ginny storyline, couldn't we have CUT IT DOWN A LITTLE? I mean, I don't ship anyone in HP, but fuck, how boring/lacking in chemistry can you get? (River Song/Ten caliber? Idk.)

Did anyone ever explain the Snape/half-blood prince story to you? I don't want to repeat anything.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

No one's explained the half blood prince thing to me yet, so I'm still completely clueless. :D

[wikkit-key.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen the movie yet (I'm a bad fan), but from what I've heard I think they focus too much on the romance aspect of the plot. I think the Horcrux and Snape subplots were more important and more interesting in the book. Although that might be because I never really shipped any of the Harry Potter characters. Ever since Chamber of Secrets (which I read when I was 11), I always assumed it would end up Ron/Hermione and Harry/Ginny. But I never really cared that much.

I really wish they'd put more pensieve scenes in the movie. Learning about Voldemort's past was way more interesting than Ron snogging Lavender Brown.

I always kind of thought one of the major reasons Hermione didn't want Harry to keep the book was because she was no longer the best in Potions. A bit immature, but they are only teenagers. She always seemed jealous when Slughorn praised Harry and even accused Harry of cheating. Hermione is a stickler for following the rules (except when she isn't).

The Half-Blood Prince reveal was more dramatic in the book. I think it's because Harry had a bizarre fascination with the book. He'd read it in his spare time and seemed to really appreciate the HBP's sense of humor. He felt a kinship with the HBP. So when it was revealed that Snape was the HBP (Snape, who just killed Dumbledore), Harry felt betrayed.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

Now that's the story I would have like to have seen! Even you telling me a few paragraphs is more interesting than all the teen drama that was there instead.

And I had a similar thought about the reason Hermione didn't want Harry to have the book. At least, it came off to me that way. So I was more of the mindset of can't everyone share these helpful hints? What's so bad about it?

[gowdie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they majorly bollocks up the entire Half Blood Prince plot. I don't think he's even mentioned for over an hour of film, so when Snapes finally, "I'm the Half Blood Prince!" I expected the non-book reading folk to be, "Who?"

wikkit_key did an excellent job of explaining it. The point is mostly that Harry feels a connection to the person leaving the notes - like a friend from long ago. And then it turns out to be Snape, a man he has always hated, who hates him, and has just betrayed him in the most horrible way he can imagine. It's also a piece of Snape's past/psychology - we know he was a member of Voldermort's inner circle, and yet here we learn that Snape was half-blood. Just like Voldemort. So it goes that that element of self-loathing as well. Prince was his mother's maiden name - and the part of himself he values more, the wizarding blood.

2) Hermione refuses to use the book on principle. She feels it's cheating. Harry would have let her use it, but she makes such a big stink about NOT using it that then Harry is pretty much, well then, watch me be fabulous ha ha ha!

3) I pretty much hate the way the relationships have played in the films. Ginny has gotten the shaft over and over - and so it is no surprise to me that people are don't get why Harry likes her. Yes, she is barely around in book 1 and 3, but she has a major role in book 2, yet the film gives her 2 lines. And she storms onto the scene in a major way in the fifth book, holds her own and becomes Harry's friend. Basically, he becomes attracted to her because he thinks she's hilarious, and fun to be around. She is a source of levity when everything else around him sucks - and that element of her personality and their relationship has been completely ignored by the films.

I wrote a whole essay about why their relationship works between HBP and DH, and it focuses on the idea that in the books Harry wants a girl who makes him laugh. Hermione is the best friend he could ask for, he wouldn't make it out of the seventh book alive without her, but Hermione is always about the mission. He is sexually attracted to Ginny precisely because she provides a break from all that.

So uh, yeah, pet peeve of mine. To be fair, the movies pretty much equally bollocks up Ron's character as well. They use him pretty much exclusively for comic relief, and yes, he is definitely a major source of humour, but there is a lot more to him going on. To start with, he is not a coward. Ron is very brave. And I HATE how they constantly give a lot of his big moments to Hermione. The end of HBP the movie was SHAMELESS in the way he just sits idly by while Hermione is doing the great, "We'll fight with you!" speech all by herself.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

I really really really wish they'd gone more into the whole thing with the book and the HBP. That would have been not only intersting, but I wouldn't have been scratching my head at the end.

It's too bad they've shafted Ginny - how you describe her isn't the way they've had her in the films. She's mainly been wallpaper. I really wish they could have shown her as "the funny one."

[okelay.livejournal.com]

you've never read the books?
let me ask again, YOU'VE NEVER READ THE BOOKS?!??"?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

god, why not?!
the movies don't even begin to compare!!
since POA they've cut down all the oh-so-interesting backstory.
HBP is one of my favourites because of said backstory and there's none of it in the movie, it's awful.

and I've always been a H/Hr shipper. I never liked Harry/Ginny. but JK did.
a lot of us have speculated that it's rather unbelievable they they're still together and married with children later. school crush I can believe, but true love and marriage and all that?

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

Nope, never read a single page. :D I wouldn't mind doing it sometime, but I'm thinking audiobooks I could listen to in my car.

[morgaine-nicely.livejournal.com]

lol this was a great post :)

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

:D It certainly got a lot of reaction!

[morgaine-nicely.livejournal.com]

have you heard about how Harry's supposedly naked in two scenes in the next movie? O.o

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

Yes! And HE IS A WEE CHILD. HMPH.

[memento1.livejournal.com]

I am an HP whore, adore the books, and even there Harry/Ginny leaves me "WTF?"

It appears out of nowhere with no chemistry, little previous interaction...I don't feel it, at all, and never have. So that was a boring part of the movie as well, for me.

I wasn't a huge fan of the Half Blood prince movie, although I loved the book. Honestly, the first few movies were my favorites.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

It's interesting the varried reactions the shipping has. I think I might have opened a can of worms! :D

[needlereview.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

This is the HP movie I least like, and I enjoyed the others a lot for what they are, because it 99% sidestepped the reason why it's called The Half-Blood Prince. I love the story of Snape (considering even the last book where it's... well...) and this film, I think, does him and his relationship with Harry huge disservice.

I love the books for the adventures, mystery-solving and the friendships made between the characters. I love that it's about love and death, and not being alone. I'm not to grouch about the films about where the hell this and that stuff from the books are because I know it's going to be impossible but sometimes, all I ask is just a line or a look from the characters.

As for the ships in the movies, it shows the difficulty of casting kids whose characters grow up and paired with someone. That time, nobody would really see the chemistry between actors. I think even without the help of anybody, writer or director, grown up Emma Watson has more screen chemistry with Daniel Radcliffe than Rupert Grint. And film!Ginny? Oh man. Ginny in the books is a far stronger character than in the films. And yeah, in HBP, Harry and Ginny's scenes are just awkward.

One thing I'd thank HP movies for is David Tennant. Of course! It's all over the HP online community I visit when he was chosen for Doctor Who and it's what made me try to watch it and got addicted to in the end. :D

Well... I'm sorry I got carried away. :)

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

As for the ships in the movies, it shows the difficulty of casting kids whose characters grow up and paired with someone.

That I think is a big problem. You just have no idea what the on-screen chemistry is going to be like later on. And it's taking a pretty big chance on child actors you have to use for years.

One thing I'd thank HP movies for is David Tennant. Of course! It's all over the HP online community I visit when he was chosen for Doctor Who and it's what made me try to watch it and got addicted to in the end. :D

How cool!