Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

[ahoythematey]

With the proper direction, the big battle and chase would have helped Dumbledore's death resonate with the viewer a whole lot more.  Of course, it didn't help that the big reveal of the Half-Blood Prince would have still fallen flat due to how little time was paid to the search of discovering the identity of the HBP.

At this point, it feels to me like most involved are purely interested in collecting the rest of their paychecks, now that the book series is finished, and nothing more.

[Merusk]

  They never even explained what Dumbledore's black hand was about, so if you missed the book  you missed that entirely.

He made reference to it when he cockblocked Harry on the really cute chick.  It was way too passing a reference, though.  I've been trying to remember if it was explained how bad off his hand really was in the HBP or if it was left until the last book. (That trying to destroy the horcrux that scarred him had killed him anyway, and he was drinking potions to slow its progression.) Remembering the speculation about Snape at the time, I believe it was left until the last book.

I'd check the books, but my wife lent them out.

[Selby]

That would be the last book Merusk.  It was barely even touched upon in the 6th.

[kaid]

You really did not find out about the whole hand thing in the half blood prince book. harry was worried about it and asked about it a few times but I don't think he really found out about it until he looked into snapes memories as it all tied into the whole why snape killed dumbledore thing.

[Slyfeind]

I think there was another moment in the book, where Harry goes "You gonna tell me about your hand now?" And Dumbledore says "No, go to bed!" They RUINED THE MOVIE by leaving that out! Now everybody will think Harry never ever sleeps!

[Merusk]

That would be the last book Merusk.  It was barely even touched upon in the 6th.

Ah thanks.  Like I said, I figured it was the case due to the speculation but they've all begun to bleed together.  Book 6 was really, really pointless overall though, that much I do recall.  It could have been half the size it was and still told what it needed to of the story.     Hell, the movie illustrated this by ripping out the whole Bill/ Fleur - Fenrir thing entirely and was no worse off for it.

I think there was another moment in the book, where Harry goes "You gonna tell me about your hand now?" And Dumbledore says "No, go to bed!" They RUINED THE MOVIE by leaving that out! Now everybody will think Harry never ever sleeps!

Oh no, they totally covered that when he tells Ron "I'm going to go to sleep now." 

[Selby]

Hell, the movie illustrated this by ripping out the whole Bill/ Fleur - Fenrir thing entirely and was no worse off for it.

Hell, the book didn't even need that part.  Same with the 7th one and random people dying "just because" it would seem.  Don't even need to mention it or bother in my opinion.

[Merusk]

I think I said that. 

[Slyfeind]

Oh no, they totally covered that when he tells Ron "I'm going to go to sleep now." 

Whew!

[LK]

Some of us haven't read the seventh book and don't need the details, kthx. >_< But I figured Snape killing Dumbledore was more than just an insidious thing.

[Ironwood]

Are you serious ?

[Slyfeind]

I've heard of these mythical people who still don't know why Snape killed Dumbledore. In that case...I'm pretty sure it's not what you think.

[Khaldun]

Yeah. Turns out Dumbledore owed Snape a lot of money, and Snape got tired of breaking his  kneecaps and withering hands and shit like that.

[Samwise]

I think it's very safe to assume that anyone who hasn't finished the HP series by now doesn't care what happened in it.

[Nightshade]

I have one reason to see this movie,

1- I hate watching series movies without it ending
2- I read the books growing up as a kid

That being said, I'm seeing this movie after I saw Transformers 2, so it's got to be better than that! 

[Samwise]

I read the books growing up as a kid

God, way to make me feel like an old man.

[Quinton]

I read the books growing up as a kid

God, way to make me feel like an old man.

Wow, I too feel old.  Not entirely prepared to deal with people who grew up on Harry Potter yet.

[Merusk]

Just wait until the girls posted in the NSFW thread have birth dates around or after your high school start date.  "Hey, that could be the daughter of one of my classmates.. " 

[ahoythematey]

 

[Broughden]

Just wait until the girls posted in the NSFW thread have birth dates around or after your high school start date.  "Hey, that could be the daughter of one of my classmates.. " 

Happened long ago. The actress who plays Hermoine? Born after I graduated high school.

[Evildrider]

Don't forget Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) is over 18 now as well.

[Triforcer]

That doesn't make her hot. 

[Evildrider]

That doesn't make her hot. 

I think she's kind of cute. 

[RhyssaFireheart]

Went and saw the movie this weekend, and while I think it's the furthest from the book in terms of adaption, it still worked for me.  I enjoyed it and thought the writer/director focused on some things that needed to be touched on and completely missed others that should have been shown.  I thought the whole storyline about Draco needing to fix the vanishing cabinets was shown rather well though.  It wasn't spelled out for you at the end, but you weren't just left wondering where he was all the time either. 

The waitress at the beginning was lame. I think she was only there to give Harry a place to be when Dumbledore came to pick up up, instead of showing the Dursleys once again.

Bellatrix's part in the movie was expanded, wasn't it?  I don't recall her up on the astronomy roof and I know she wasn't the one doing all the talking at Snape's house.  Maybe it's because I really can't bring myself to like Helena Bonham Carter at all.  She bugs me.

WTH was the cavern full of crystals and crap like that?  Was there something wrong with just having shale and broken rocks around?  Dumbledore drinking the potion didn't have nearly the same impact in the movie as it did in the book, with him crying out and Harry having to make him drink more.  Although, the fire effects were awesome there. 

Fire not so awesome in the Burrow scene.  How freaking lame, yet again.  Was that supposed to show how close Ginny and Harry have gotten when she follows him (blindly and senselessly) into danger? 

Definitely needed more memory scenes, since those were really well done.  I think we needed to at least see the one with Riddle's uncle, when the muggle relatives were killed off.  Without that, the significance of the ring is lost because we don't know why it's being shown (unless you've read the books, of course).

And I really only notice these things when I go back and think about the movie.  I really wasn't thinking all this when I was in the theatre at the time.

[Slyfeind]

They also showed Harry hitting on the waitress to show how they're growing up and aren't kids anymore. I guess they missed the last two movies where they ALREADY DID THAT. TWICE.

I would have loved to see the Dursleys meet Dumbledore. That was just brilliant in the book. They could have opened the same was as Sorcerer's Stone, with Dumbledore walking up Privet Drive with his light put-outter. It would have been a nice throw-back. Either that, or start with a clock ticking, show the Dursleys all sitting together on the couch, scowling for a moment...then cut to Dumbledore sitting at ease, already there...back to the Dursleys scowling at him...then back to Dumbledore sitting quietly...finally he says "I see your agapanthuses are flourishing nicely." Dursleys just keep scowling. Harry comes down with his trunk, ready to go. And scene!

Bellatrix's part in the movie was about the same as the book, except for the fire attack on the Burrow. They just wanted to do another action scene in the middle of the movie.

[Murgos]

It's very much a movie you have to have read the book for.  There were 5 things of major relevance in the book and they were all important enough that diluting them like the movie did makes it very 'wtf'-ish, yeah.

 1) The rise of Voldemort's power/ disappearance of 'good guys'.
 2) The discovery of Horcrux's and what they mean about destroying Voldemort
 3) The teenager plot line you all hate. - Most important for Ron's character as he stops being such a cringing self-doubting coward.
 4) Draco Malfoy's attempt at being an assassin and Snape's role in that plot.
 5) Dumbledore's Death

I just saw the movie and since I haven't followed the books I'll go even further on each of these points from my point of view.

1) Voldemort himself is a non-issue in this movie and the only mention of good guys disappearing is by a non-descript guy that I had to ask my girlfriend who he was.

2) Was a pointless revelation because Dumbledore already knew about them and had been destroying them AND someone else knows about them and was replacing them with fakes.  So, the only people of importance who didn't know about them was the Scooby kids?

3) The reveal is never made of Ron finding out his ability isn't just luck and it's never followed up on to show any evidence that he changed at all.

4) and 5)  Draco lets the baddies into Hogwarts and none of them does anything important and then they leave.  Really?  20 minutes of Draco sneaking around Hogwarts and fiddling with the cabinet and the whole thing could have been cut without changing the movie at all?

Also, the whole Half Blood Prince book plotline (You know?  The sub-title subject of the movie?) went, uh, no where.

[Brogarn]

I haven't read any of the books yet. I figure I'll just go back and read them all after all the movies are done. I have enough nerd rage in my life. I don't need to add to it by reading the rest of the series just to watch them get borked by the director/screenwriter/whatever.

In any case...

Saw the movie Saturday. It was ok. I don't like the director because while the movies he's done are visually excellent, the plot lines seem to come and go at will with nothing tying them down and holding them firmly in place. The closet part with Draco was easy to follow, though. Also, at least in the movie, you could tell that he felt forced to follow in his father's footsteps and while being an all around douchebag, really didn't want to go down this path. Made him more interesting than in the past where he was just a whiny bully which was understandable (his prejudices) and useful as an "enemy", but mostly boring. Personally, if you're like me and just watching it to see what happens, then I'd wait until it's on DVD.

[Hoax]

WTF was that?

That was awful.  No, I haven't read the book, but I was actually looking forward to it after Order of the Phoenix.

It was long, boring and made no fucking sense.  More of a teen soap.  Twilight influence I expect.  Very disappointing.

Edit: it's not worth a rant, but what a lack of plot.  I thought the whole world was upside down after realizing His Badness was back in the last book/film.  There was no jeopardy, no risk -- no sense of mission.  No fucking plot.  "I am the Half Blood Prince lulz." 

I know there is hardly anyone left so why would they cater to us but I haven't read a single book but did see the last movie in theaters and the rest on dvd. 

This movie was fucking trash, nothing in it made a lick of sense.  The book turning him evil was confusing and not explained at all, the whole Snape signing the unbreakable vow thing?  Left field completely.  Nothing in this story made any fucking sense EXCEPT the snogging which still was poorly done because the actors were all bored as shit.  The slimeball guy was a random unexplained poorly introduced foil, Ron is too fucking fugly for her at this point anyways and I would have enjoyed the Harry/Ginny thing if not for the fact that the entire movie sucked ass and that was rushed and shitty also.  Everything with Dumbledore was a confusing waste of time since it didn't make any sense (hello his hand) and then they are like

Aha! It was Harmonix all along!
-I was like, wtf are they taking about and Dumbledore goes
Well I already destroyed one and you destroyed one but good thing you found out the name of the dark magic I've been off destroying because now we know everything or something

What a fucking mess.  For me the early films were too kiddy and while it was cheesy I enjoyed the one before last for the silly high school dance stuff and the last one for the action and the ramping up of the great evil which I expected to continue.  Instead this movie totally shit the bed.  I almost walked out because I also saw it in a theater with a shit screen and that always pisses me off.