(This is the first of... possibly several posts I'm trying to catch up with. RPoL takes so much of my writing energy that it's hard to write here!)

I went and saw this movie with Jon not once, but twice in the theaters recently. That said, it is one of my favorite, possibly MOST favorite book to movie conversions of the Harry Potter series.

I am really looking forward to the two parts of Deathly Hallows. I can only imagine that they will be very dark, very bleak and powerful movies. I suppose that excites me because I'm a morbid person to begin with, even though I did enjoy all the humor of Half-Blood Prince!

However, I would imagine that non-fans would be bored by the 6th movie (there weren't a ton of action scenes, many more dialogue scenes and even scenes where few if any words were spoken.) And fans would be upset that certain parts of the books were cut.

SPOILER WARNINGS ON

One of the most significant cuts was probably the entire part in the Burrow with Bill and Fleur's wedding. Those characters weren't even in the movie at all, and the whole attack on the Burrow placed in a different place chronologically (with Harry visiting during holidays).

Also, Ginny's role in the movie. She did a lot less Quidditch, so her tomboy aspect got played down, though I still think she came off as a really strong-headed girl (you'd have to be with what, 6 brothers?) She's supposed to be a star player for the Gryffindor Team now that Harry's the captain, so I thought it a shame we didn't really get to see much of that. I'm not even sure if Ginny appears during the Quidditch scenes at all! So that's a little bit of a shame. Though of course the movie retains Ginny and Harry eventually falling in love, the actual relationship they share isn't really portrayed either.

Another scene that got totally rearranged was Horace Slughorn's first Slug Club meeting. Originally it occurs in the train but instead it happened sometime afterward. Not a big deal, though.

The other complaint I've heard about things left out of the movie was toward the end, after Harry returns with Dumbledore with the Horcrux that turns out to be fake. Apparently people didn't like that the battle that occurred before and during that time (after Draco used the vanishing cabinets to get the Death Eaters into Hogwarts) was cut. My own memory of the book doesn't recall the battle being described all that closely, though. Maybe I'm just forgetting details.

Poor Neville didn't get enough screen time either, which was rather sad! But Luna got a good amount of it, I thought. I love Luna's actress and she got a lot of laughs from the crowd the second time I watched.

The one most unfortunate omission, IMO, was the part portraying Tom Riddle's mother. I can think of various reasons why it wasn't shown. Time constraints, possibly too disturbing to keep a G rating (his mom lived a horrible and abused life, after all). Also, that memory has no direct relation to the false Horcrux Harry finds at the end, but rather shows the origins of the ring that burned Dumbledore's hand -- something glossed over in the movie. But that particular part of the book is a favorite of many for showing what sort of circumstances could have led Tom Riddle to become Voldemort later in life, and provides a seed for Harry to realize that Riddle had human failings, difficult circumstances in life, and was not simply "born evil".

So, as for my actual impressions of the movie...

A lot of stuff to me was really spot on. Horace Slughorn's portrayal was perfect, and fitting! Rickman as Snape was in top form (but I am a Snape fan! What can I say?) The Quidditch portions were exciting, Ron really got to shine and there was less of his awkwardness showing. All the castings for the movie have been great, even the minor ones (Dean Thomas was totally the smarmy jock who thinks he's a chick magnet! Poor Hermione!) Of course when choosing from a pool of sometimes THOUSANDS of hopefuls it's hard to think one would have to settle for a bad choice!

I really thought the movie was SPOT ON with Ron and Lavender. Lavender was hilarious and sickeningly sweet and smothering! I thought the casting was perfect for her. I remember thinking Ron was kind of a jerk for falling for her when I read the book, but the movie I think gives more the impression that he was kinda just swept up into it, having never experienced a girl actually putting the moves on him, and being... well, kind of socially inept, really. That was also true in the book, but the book also gave plenty more pages for Ron to seem really ignorantly heartless about it. ^^; I do think teenagers don't often make smart decisions about love, though.

It's often all awkward and confusing at that age. That's one of the things I always thought realistic about Rowling's portrayal of teens, though I suppose if it was super realistic there'd also be a lot of talk about sex, because kids lose their virginity so early nowadays. Heh.

Plenty of laughs to be had in this movie. But at the same time, it also had some very serious, somber, even downright depressing moments. I think that the darker side of the movie is actually what I found most striking to behold, though I laughed at all the funny parts and thought they were a blast. I kept explaining to my husband that the movie just had this ambiance to it. The director portrayed a lot of this not necessarily with plenty of action and dialogue, but with still scenes and moments between characters with few, even no words.

I think my favorite parts illustrating this were all the Draco parts of the movie. The scenes really played up how alone, stressed, and eventually downright scared Draco was during the entirety of his attempts to set up the vanishing cabinets, and arrange for Dumbledore's assassination. I loved it because for once Draco was not just there for the main characters to look awesome at his expense, while he cowered and sniveled. This time he had a momentous task on his shoulders and there was nothing funny about it. You could see the turmoil and strain on his face. You could even see some remorse for what he was doing, particularly the part when Harry talks to Katie Bell (after she recovered from the necklace that nearly killed her) and he just runs off with this stricken look on his face. In the bathroom he's crying, and it's really just heartbreaking.

Then the climax of the movie, when Draco actually has Dumbledore alone (well with Harry watching from below, if only because Dumbledore insisted he leave). I thought that was a powerful part of the movie. All that stress and fear that Draco's carrying the whole time just crashes down on him at the moment he's supposed to do the deed. Dumbledore says that the attempts he made to kill him seemed as if Draco's heart really wasn't in it. And Draco tries to hold onto his bravado but he just can't take it any more. He snaps and says if he doesn't do it, the Dark Lord will kill him.

You see in that moment after he shows the Dark Mark and says those words that Voldemort had totally manipulated his desire to prove his superiority, to do something his family could be proud of, in order to make him do his bidding. And at the same time, punish Lucius (who was in jail at this time) and terrorize his mother Narcissa. (By the way, I LOVED that the movie kept the scene where Bellatrix and Narcissa go to see Snape. That chapter is totally one of my favorites in Half-Blood Prince!!) I actually think the movie, perhaps even more than the book, really gets the audience to feel sympathy for Draco's plight, and makes him into more of a human character. He's not evil either... he's a product of his circumstances and the choices of his parents. Even Dumbledore alludes to the comparisons to Tom Riddle: "I once knew a boy who made all the wrong decisions." (Possibly paraphrased :P)

The end of the movie was just continuous with the bleak scenarios. Right on from when Harry and Dumbledore go to find the Horcrux. That part was the most CG heavy part of the movie, but I thought was still pretty much spot on with how I would have imagined it. The cave, the lake, the detail on the boat, the water Dumbledore had to drink, the shell-shaped cup... then afterward, the Inferi crawling out of the lake, and Harry's near death until Dumbledore could do his fire spell. (One wonders how the older powerful wizards manages those 'area effect' spells since it doesn't seem that is the norm at all.)

After that was the confrontation with Draco, and then Severus stepping in to fulfill his Oath, and killing Dumbledore. I should add that I loved that one scene slipped in right before Harry and Dumbledore Apparate out of Hogwarts -- the one where Snape tells Dumbledore that he's asking too much of him. It isn't explained, then (and it isn't in book 6, either) that Snape was referring to the fact that Dumbledore asked Snape to kill him.

The mourning after Dumbledore's death had some beautiful and sorrowful music in it. I actually liked that theme a lot, as well as the one that plays when Draco is working with the vanishing cabinets. I thought the soundtrack did a lot to convey that dark ambiance when there were no speaking parts, and I really enjoyed how much that immersed me into the experience.

SPOILER WARNINGS OFF

I am thinking of buying the Half-Blood Prince soundtrack. Possibly even the game! Though even more than a Harry Potter game, I wish that there could be a Harry Potter MMO. Or Harry Potter tabletop RPG rules. Darnit, I don't like playing freeform. :( I would so much prefer rules, even if they were light rules. Even if it were family friendly, it'd be fun! (I always thought of having Ryshy in it as a student. She'd probably be in Hufflepuff! I am also a Hufflepuff, and my husband Ravenclaw. Surprising? No!)

Or maybe I'll just see the movie a third time. Though I think our next movie going excursion will be to see GI Joe. Hee. I wasn't a huge GI Joe fan back in the day, but Jon was, and I can tease him about Scarlett... oops! Heh, actually it's just because I kept mentioning Mellauna ought to go around with a tight jumpsuit and a crossbow (Mellauna is a redhead, too). And the Pale Gaze/Snake Eyes parallels. Hee hee.