so long since my last update ... i even wrote half an entry ... but it wasn't perfect enough to make it

Hell Week OVER!!! (LS182 Paper, Marketing Midterm-bad, LS182-def bad, Marketing Presentation-hate grp projects)

ok now that the academic complaining is over ... on to the long overdue HARRY POTTER - POA REVIEW (disclaimer: my opinions so if you don't agree - tell me or just plain get over it!)

i went on opening day (hence the overdue part) ... every screen was either sold out WAY early or at least by 30mins b4 the show. there were sooo many people! i was SO excited!

unfortunately, the movie itself did not live up to my expectations. it was a joyride along the way, and because of my hp dedication i even convinced myself i "loved" it afterwards.

BUT ... the more i think about it now, the more BITTER i am! it was 80% fluff and 20% substance (maybe why some dumbass ppl think it's the best hp movie ever - i enjoy fluff too, but NOT at the dispense of substance).

to be fair. it was NOT a BAD movie. at least, not taken by itself. it was creative and pretty funny. SOME of the added features and sceneries had favorable effects. the special effects were pretty cool too. of course, the best thing for me is the improved acting by the kids and the expected brilliant performances by the adults. dan radcliffe still seems somewhat awkward, but emma watson got a lot better. i love rupert almost as much as i love ron, which is a lot, and i even enjoyed the new dumbledore. emma thompson is the BEST!

BUT (yes there always is one) - in their attempt to "make something of their own", the director and crew fail to realize this movie IS A PART OF A BELOVED SERIES.

first of all, what's wrong w/staying faithful to the book?! THERE'S A REASON HP IS SO POPULAR; CUZ THE BOOKS WERE THAT GOOD! THERE SHOULDN'T BE SHAME IN FOLLOWING THE BOOK FOR THE MOVIE!!!

ok i understand it's a movie, and not everything can make it from the book to the big screen. i'm ok with that - EXCEPT MANY CHANGES OR ADDITIONS WERE TOTALLY UNNECESSARY AND SOME STUFF THEY CUT OUT TOTALLY COULD'VE BEEN INCLUDED!

to illustrate, i summed up my 3 main problems/disappointments w/the movie:

1) it SHOULDN'T be so disconnected from the first 2 films. i think perhaps i would've liked this better had it been more consistent w/the first two (or i guess if it were the first or only hp movie made), but NOooo they changed BOTH the substance and the look of the hp world.

the above criticism is best seen from the scenery - HOGWARTS LOOKS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! (walk to hagrid's hut, clock tower) - sure they were pretty (again, FLUFF), but since the set was already established in the first 2 films, i felt really displaced with the change. it didn't add anything to the movie other than buff up the director's ego (i read in a magazine he wanted to change a lot of things at first but toned down after realizing he needed to "serve the movies and not his own ego"). well i think he should've toned it down some more!

how am i to ever watch a hp marathon now, it would be so incoherent ... damn cuaron - damn you to HELL!

2) the change of scenery wasn't all bad i s'pose - the flight on buckbeak was quite magnificent - BUT! for all the time this STUPID CUARON was willing to allot to harry flying on BB, he couldn't spare just 30 SECONDS to EXPLAIN THE MARAUDER MAP AND THE RELATIONSHIPS OF PRONGS, PADFOOT, MOONY, AND WORMTAIL?!?!?! WTF WTF WTF!!!

ok shit i accidentally just erased a HUGE chunck of what i wrote (DAMMIT!) ... i think it went something to the effect of CUARON IS STUPID - he adds all this stuff, but it's NOT cuz he's a good director, it's juss cuz he's too DUMB and INCOMPETENT to HANDLE THE ORIGINAL. i mean anyone can come up with crazy wild ideas (such as cuaron and his add a graveyard to hogwarts plan), but it takes talent to know to restrain yourself and to serve the work and not your own ambition! cuaron failed miserably in his self restraint.

i mean cmon! the shrunken head got more screen time than ginny or even crookshanks!!!

3) *this part got erased too (i'm SUCH a klutz; i wanted to copy it so i won't lose the work; instead i accidentally pasted smthg in it's place; fudge!)*

luckily this was a big problem for me, so i remember pretty well. the misplacement of the FIREBOLT impacted 3 major issues. first it was the CRAPPIEST ending of any hp film. what a cope out! so LAME! aside from the obvious, the lack of the firebolt in its rightful place undermined the tension between the trio throughout the year. ron and herm FOUGHT CONSTANTLY, and b/c of the firebolt, harry was mad at herm too. yet one could hardly see these internal conflicts from this movie. and finally, the introduction of this broom at the end evaded the fact gryff WON THE QUIDDITCH CUP! i mean it may not be THAT important, but at least it was more so than some stupid "hogwarts choir"! at least worth a mention!!!

* ok back to the original *

4) ok yeah i know i said 3 main problems - this is just some other things i was bothered by: * didn't feel magical * ron did not have a big role and he is NOT COWARDLY! * hermione gets all the good lines (esp RON'S good lines!) * tom of the leaky cauldron is a hunchback?! what? * draco is not THAT whimpy * ron would NEVER agree w/snape (outloud)! he stuck up for herm!(yeah i'm sticking up for ron big time) * harry does magic way BEFORE he blows up aunt marge (ie "lumos" instead of flashlight like in book) - inconsistency WITHIN the movie * who's that skinny kid w/draco who's not goyle(or crabbe)? and who's that chubby black kid who's not dean thomas? * using the "immobilus" charm on the whomping willow ... HAS CUARON EVEN READ THE BK (i mean i'm seriously beginning to believe the cliff notes rumor!) ... if that charm would work, hermione could've done it! made the tree much less intriguing and magical (used to NOT explain the marauders' relationships/past) * lack of crookshanks (possibly b/c they used the "immobilus" to NOT mention marauders' past) *

... i'll stop there - i guess i had more problems w/this movie than i expected ... like i said, maybe i'm juss a kid at heart, but i liked the magical 1st two movies better. i don't mind a movie being dark. in fact, it was not at all what bothered me in this movie. it's all the other changes that were just too much. (btw this movie was NOT SCARY AT ALL - and this is coming from the biggest wimp ever - trelawney's prediction was prolly the creepiest moment of the entire film)

i don't think the director deserved all those praises for changing the hp universe the way he did. just cuz he DARED to make it different does NOT make him a genius. after all there is a very thin line between a courageous man and a fool.

i'm kinda glad in a way this movie is not doing so well (mixed with sadness cuz it's hp), but it's not cuz i'm not a loyal fan, more like i want a msg sent to WB to be careful about the next movie. i'll probably get the dvd tho ... i hope the next movie would be better ...

PS. My theory on the performance of this movie: it COULD have done so much better. the 3rd book was so many hp fans' favorite! (including myself) this explains the big opening weekend (i wasn't surprised it surpassed SS).

many people did love this movie, but these same ppl didn't hate the first two (prolly juss thought it was so-so). on the other hand, fans like me hated or were EXTREMELY disappointed by it. (and we tended to love the first two, esp in comparison) thus, the huge drop in box office is very much predictable for me (i don't buy the summer competition; the other movies haven't done that well. and the other 2 hp's had LOTR to compete with). people who loved this movie prolly went to see it again, but all those ppl who hated it stopped going (whereas all these ppl prolly went multiple times for the first 2 movies).

seems the reactions for this film were: "this was the best!" or "this was disappointing", or "this was crap" ...

<sigh> wow i wonder how many ppl would actually read this  man, i was SO hyped for this ... i sooo wanted to love it ... reality is sad