disclaimer:
if you haven't read the books and haven't seen the new movie, i strongly recommend you stop reading now. i would even recommend this to fans who haven't seen the movie, because i get pretty specific.
the good:
1. neville: "i've killed harry potter!"
2. ok neville in general. by far the best character in this movie.
3. filch's gimpy run!!!!
4. any scene with the twins
5. jarvis cocker, phil selway, and jonny greenwood's brief but brilliant cameos at the yule ball
6. the emotional intensity of scenes, especially the scene where harry returns from the graveyard. the clapping and cheering crowd slowly turns into a screaming and hysterical crowd as they slowly realize cedric is dead... wow.
7. the perfect encapturement of teenage awkardness. i loved how all the girls were crying at the end of the dance. it's soooo true.
the bad:
1. i fucking hate michael gambon, but i'll get to this later.
2. there was an overuse of melodrama and flashy magic stuff.
3. moody's eye looked like a fisher price toy.
4. ron, fred and george all desperately need haircuts... it distracted from the funniness that is the weasley twins.
5. madame maxime eating something out of hagrid's beard? at first i thought she actually ate one of his hairs. WTF?!?!!??!!?!?!?!?!?!?
6. while i was impressed with ralph fiennes' portrayal of voldemort, i was unimpressed with the direction... i didn't think the movie really portrayed how evil voldemort is. blegh.
7. sirius in the fireplace... wtf was that? apparently gary oldman's face isn't good enough to show in the movie and must be replaced by cheesy special effects.. i'm sorry to tell you this newell, but oldman is one of your best actors, use him as much as possible. same with alan rickman, you dolt.
the ugly:
i think that's about it. oh yeah, michael gambon. yuck. now i didn't really pick up on his shitty dumbledore in prizoner of azkaban, but i did this time around. now, i know that replacing richard harris, who was clearly the best choice for dumbledore, is incredibly difficult to do, but to cast an actor who is completely apathetic towards his role and the harry potter series is simply unacceptable. i understand he's a well-recognized actor in the UK and all that, but the guy comes off sounding like a douche in this empire interview. here are the most telling snippets:
Are you kind of easing into the role a bit more now you have done one film as Dumbledore?
I just play him as myself, I don’t ease myself into any role really. I stick a beard on and play me. Every part I play is just a variant of my own personality. No real character actor, of course, just me.
now, granted, this man has a gazillion more years of acting experience than me, but i think this is pretty obvious to anyone who's studied acting: when you have a role like dumbledore, how the fuck can you get away playing yourself?!?!?!?! what. the. fuck.
What makes Dumbledore the greatest wizard of all time?
I have no idea. I learn the lines that JK Rowling or whoever writes them, and say them. There’s no subtext in Harry Potter really; it’s all magic, anything can happen. Why do I say this? Because it’s a magic spell. It’s quite nice in a way. There is a real freedom to it. Doesn’t say much for acting does it?
the last line in this ridiculous reply actually makes me second-guess (hope, really) the seriousness of his responses.
Have you still not read any of the books?
Well, I don’t see any point. I’ve got the scripts. People who have read the books get miserable because of all the bits that have been cut out. So I just read the script. That's the best way.
*bites hand off* asdj;fadsj;afdjlafsdjlafsjasfjdlajl;sfdjfaklsdjklfsad?!?!?!!?!?
You seem really busy in movies at the moment.
I am a theatre actor, but the last ten years I’ve taken parts in movies because it keeps me in money....
ok that explains everything.
Do kids approach you on the street when you haven’t got your beard on?
No, they don’t. But a kid came up to me the other day, though, and says, “Gandalf can I have your autograph?” and I said, “Piss off!”
wow. could you be anymore of a jackass?
i really wish ian mckellan had accepted the role. i really wish they would fire michael gambon. dumbledore is SUCH an important character in the series, and gambon plays him like a doofus... he is constantly agitated in the movie unlike his calm and collected JKR version, he shakes and accuses harry for putting his name in the goblet, something his JKR version never did, he plays every scene just going through the motions and being completely useless, which is the complete opposite of dumbledore's essence. dumbledore is the ultimate powerful positive force in the series and you never second-guess his abilities. but in this movie, you totally do. dumbledore is stressed out during the entirety of the movie, and we're only at number 4! the next two are a gazillion times more serious.
ok past that it was good.
