Well, this Dish is being served up late, but there's still plenty of good stuff to dig in to!
1. Harry Potter! Yes, I've been waiting for what feels like an eternity for this movie. And of course it was never going to live up to the book or my expectations. I've always said the movies are basically the Harry Potter cliffnotes -- or Harry Potter - Lite. I knew that going in already, but still, I left disappointed. I won't share anything spoiler-y in here unless you are one of the rare few that haven't read the book and still want to see the movie. Also, if you haven't seen it yet and don't want to read anything negative about it, I suggest you read on. I know that when I read someone's negative critique before seeing a movie, I go in prejudiced looking for the said flaws.
But I'll start off with the good stuff!
- Daniel Radcliffe has really improved his acting over the years. In this film, he gets to showcase his comic chops.
- Jim Broadbent is PERFECT for Professor Slughorn. I HEART that actor. Bridget Jones, Moulin Rouge, to name a few. He doesn't exactly look like I thought the character would (pudgier, etc.) but his acting is spot on. FUN FACT: speaking of Bridget, I like that both her parents are in this film: Dad as Professor Slughorn, Mom as Madame Pomfrey.
- The Weasley twins' joke shop was awesome. If they are still doing that Harry Potter theme park in Florida, they HAVE to include that.
- Dumbledore & Harry finding the Horcrux was better than I imagined when I read it. They did an excellent job on that scene.
- I really like Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. My sis & bro-in-law don't like him and say he's not as fun/silly/charming as Richard Harris was, but I think Michael Gambon plays him more stern and see the seriousness of the situation and I like that. But, he's still amusing. Love the line he says about Lavendar: "Oh to be young and to feel love's keen sting." Plus, I think it's amusing that he admitted that he (nor Alan Rickman, nor Ralph Fiennes) hasn't cracked open one of the Potter books. He sees "no point" because he says he's going off the interpretation of the screenwriter.
The stuff that bugged/disappointed (SKIP THIS if you haven't seen it):
- That girl that plays Ginny Weasley is terrible. Ginny is so much more interesting in the books. Get her in some acting classes, Stat!
- What happened to Ginny and Ron's amazing first kiss? Remember, he's been in detention and Ginny fills in as Seeker. They win the Quidditch game and when he shows up at the victory party, they start kissing in front of everyone -- even a dismayed Ron. Stupid, stupid, stupid choice to leave that out!
- Wasn't crazy about the casting of Draco's mom. And I've never liked the girl who plays Tonks. You know who should've gotten that role? Anna Friel. She was in "Pushing Daisies." I read that she is living with/dating Lupin in real life and her dream role was to play Tonks. She would've been awesome.
- I know that the film has a darker tone, but I miss some of the whimsy from the earlier films. Especially movie 3 with that director, Alfonso Cuaron. One of the things I love most about Hogwarts is the talking and moving portraits, and the ghosts flying around. There was none of that in this movie. Blah.
- Was that Burning Burrow scene in the book?
- I feel like this in every movie, but Snape needs more screen time.
- Those are all silly complaints, but my biggest issue in the film was they wasted WAY too much time focusing on the teen romances which short changed the action at the end. Movie 4 had a really good balance. There was the underlying romantic theme and the dance, but enough focus and time to really give you the emotional and powerful impact of the action scenes. I felt like they basically ran out of time and the showdown at Hogwarts was sacrificed. Again, I don't remember the book completely, but I recall a lot more fighting and action when the Death Eaters show up and the whole Snape/Harry confrontation. Plus, was really disappointed by the Half-Blood Prince reveal. There was no explanation as to how he got that name. They were really light on the Horcrux explanations too.
Basically, I felt like the movie would've been a lot better had they toned down the romance, pumped up the whimsy, and focused more on the mystery/action, especially in the finale. Still, it was a good movie. I just wish it had been better.
2. I Netflixed the most random movie. It's a Michelle Pfeiffer/Paul Rudd romantic-comedy that was supposed to come out in 2007, but had this crazy drama with the producer and went straight to DVD. I can't decide if I like it or not. There's this really weird distraction of Tracy Ullman playing Mother Nature and popping up all the time to rant about getting old and mating, but the other stuff is actually good. Pfeiffer and Rudd have really good chemistry and I like the relationship between the mom and daughter. One completely bogus bit of casting: Jon Lovitz as Pfeiffer's ex husband who left here for a younger woman. Like that would happen. So, if you are totally in the mood to check something out for curiosity's sake, rent: "I Could Never Be Your Woman."
3. Why can't I go to Comic Con? This is my new Fangirl dream. It's held every year in San Diego and is said to have a greater impact on movies, TV, Pop Culture, etc. than any of the other festivals or events out there. Basically, it was just a little event for comic book enthusiasts, but it's turned into the mecca for all Fanboys/girls out there. They are showing clips for "Iron Man 2" and the new Tim Burton "Alice in Wonderland." Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are breaking their "radio silence" and going to discuss "Lost" season 5 finale and season 6. GAH!
Anyway, I was looking for clips, but couldn't find anything. I did come across this cool-but-in-a-I-can't-believe-someone-spent-this-much-time-kind-of-thing Lego trailer of the first "Iron Man" that is really amusing. Check it out:
3. Emmy nominations came out yesterday. Another reason I love Thursdays! Nominations I was excited about: "Lost" finally, and deservedly, back in the Emmy race again as Best Drama, Michael Emerson as Benry in "Lost" -- please give it to him already!, the supporting cast of "30 Rock" with Tracy, Jenna and Kenneth all getting nods -- definitely deserved, Jemaine Clement in "Flight of the Conchords" -- except I kind of feel bad for the other guy. SO pissed that Elizabeth Mitchell got snubbed for her work as Juliet on "Lost"; she is AMAZING. BOO!!!
4. I'm totally watching "Dance Your Ass Off" on Oxygen! It's kind of terrible, but totally motivates me to dance...er, exercise my OWN ass off. The judges are lame. And why do all of this shows have to have the British guy? Anyway, the judging is biased and totally random -- they aren't consistent at all and never judge on technique, because well... they are fat people. We should just be happy that they are off their butts dancing, right? You don't really get to see any of the behind the stage stuff on how each of them are doing on their dieting, etc. They show a little, but not enough to make it interesting like on "The Biggest Loser." This last episode was painful. It was pole dancing. The poor girl who got voted off basically got the boot because she was insecure and felt unsexy. Um, hello? I don't care what kind of body you have. Most of us would feel that way. There was a guy from Orem that got booted, so now I'm kind of rooting for this boy from SLC. There's a couple of decent dancers that may get my allegance, but we'll see. Anyway, it's great Treadmill TV.
That's it for this week!
2 comments:
I have this thing for watching Michelle Pfieffer movies, so I will have to check that one out. When my Dad was a mission president in Central America, the only TV we had was cable and Grease 2 was played on HBO about 5 times a day for about three months. I used to have the whole movie memorized.
I am glad that the Ron & Ginny kissing scene was scraped (don't remember it from the book) it would have been yucky. :)
Just teasing your typo!
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