the boy who lived

Well, I just got home, and my heart is still racing like you would not believe.

....oh, did you think it was because of HP 7, pt 2? No no, silly person. I was driving home from the theatre, and there was a police cruiser next to me, and he decided that the best time to start his siren and lights to chase some dude in front of him down was RIGHT when I was next to his cruiser. I basically just freaked out, but thankfully, nothing bad happened. As soon as he was out of sight, I pretty much just gunned it home.

Oh right, the movie. Yeah, I went to go see the 12:15 show, which was cool. People dressed up, which was entertaining, and everyone was really into it....and then the movie started. Okay, so, I was a little tired beforehand, having worked all day, so I mean, I was exhausted. But...the movie was decent. It wasn't anything crazy, really, and that's what I expected. They changed a few things, and I believe it was for the better. I won't spoil anything, but, the changes they made served to help the movie as a whole. There are parts in the novel that, if DIRECTLY translated to film, would....well, be goddamned boring. No one wants to go see a blockbuster as popular as Harry Potter and be BORED. Hence, the changes. Where the Battle of Hogwarts takes place over maybe 75-100 pages of that novel, perhaps even less, that translates to nearly half the movie. I think 'Siege' of Hogwarts works better, since that's what they do, complete with magical artillery. It was visually stunning, that's for sure. The special effects were absolutely fantastic, and I loved them. A note: do not go see this movie in 3D. 3D in general makes things darker, and considering this movie was already pretty gloomy (just the setting itself was always dark and drab, being in Gringotts, and then skulking about at night, or in the day time in washed out colours), the 3D just made it darker. Seeing it in 2D is not only visually nicer, but it costs less, too. Screw you, 3D!

My issues with the movie are somewhat minor, but also somewhat major. They were enough to make me like it less....so here goes, I guess. Two main issues: the dialogue and the pacing. My goodness, who writes the dialogue?! Being someone who writes short stories/normal stories/etc., I will admit, it is difficult to find dialogue that snaps for each character, that conveys what they're feeling, and all that. Considering that this is a book adaptation, they can (and did, frequently) just take lines directly from the book itself, which is perfectly fine. The lines they didn't, though....it was just awful. Cheesy, dumb things would just come out of these character's mouths, and it would just sound stupid a lot of the time. It just came out really forced, even from the likes of actors such as Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, or Ralph Fiennes, who are all absolutely fantastic actors. Indeed, the latter two definitely hammed it up a bit with their performances. I don't think there's an actor alive who can put so many pauses into a speech as Alan Rickman. It's like he added a lengthy pause after EVERY sentence. Ralph Fiennes, as Voldemort....it was just silly at times. I definitely laughed, along with much of the audience, at some of the most serious moments in the entire movie, thanks to him. I can just see the .gif files being made now, honestly. I also cheered for Voldemort during his battle with Harry...we all know how THAT ends, but still. Suck it, people cheering for HP! There were way more people cheering for him than Voldemort (i.e., I was the only one, hehe), so I didn't feel bad. Also, people who cried? Really? I'm watching a MOVIE, please don't ruin my movie experience. The acting by the main trio was as wooden as usual, but, I didn't expect anything different, so that's not really a complaint. The pacing was a subtler issue; the movie would have large amounts of time where SO MUCH is happening you can barely roll your eyeballs all over the huge screen to catch everything...and then there are times where NOTHING AT ALL is happening. It kind of accordioned back and forth between 'lots of stuff happening' and 'nothing happening', which was unfortunate. Appropriately, however, the ending was very well done. Again, no spoilers, but it was calm and was a nice ending....a nice way to send off the most lucrative movie franchise ever made.

Speaking of that, Monday heralds the arrival of some new records, I'm sure. Millions upon millions went to go see this movie; tickets had been sold out for the midnight release a month beforehand. I have found, by looking at a lot of stuff from boxofficemojo.com (that stuff interests me, what can I say), that while the opening weekend absolutely trashes every other movie, in the coming weeks, the increase in revenue drops like you would not believe. All the hardcore fans go and see it immediately over that opening weekend, and then casual people go see it....well, more casually. This has been true for every HP movie, which is why the only HP movie with the staying power is actually the Philosopher's Stone, considering it was the first one, and had appeal that lent itself to being a kids movie. I firmly believe that, considering this is the LAST one, it will have the same staying power in that it will not fade as drastically as the other ones did, but it is DEFINITELY not a kids movie. It will probably break a billion dollars, but I mean, Pirates of the Caribbean 4 is probably going to achieve that feat. If PotC 4, a mediocre movie at BEST can do it, if Avatar, an even MORE mediocre movie (at best) can do it....then yes, HP 7 Pt 2 can do it for sure, as it's not THAT much better than those two films. Indeed, my rating for this movie would waver between 7.5 and 8/10, which is not bad at all. It's pretty solid, actually, so....yeah, go see it. As I said before, I'm not the biggest fan of the movies, I just wanted to go for the experience, which I did. Going with Ashley was super fun, and I don't regret it...despite the fact that I have to go to bed and wake up in less than two hours for a full day of stuff. woo! =P

With this movie under my belt, I've now seen almost all the summer blockbusters I set out to see. The only ones left at this point are 'Captain America', and 'Cowboys and Aliens', in that order of release. I am WAY more excited for Captain America than I was for HP 7 Pt 2....but, then again, it's a Marvel movie, and it's going to be goddamned awesome. I don't like the marketing tagline of 'Heroes are made in America', but....well, it's a movie about a dude called Captain America, I don't mind THAT much. Cowboys and Aliens has Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford (!) and Olivia Wilde. Need I say more?

But yes, HP 7 Pt 2. The movie franchise is done, for now, and it has been an interesting experience watching them all. It's sitting at 97% on Rottentomatoes.com; Pt 1 ended up at 79% when it was all said and done. I think this one will be a little higher, but 97%? Way, way too high. Now that it's commercially out, I foresee it dropping a bit, but still, maybe down to 88% or so. Anyway, it's done. Oh, the 'The Dark Knight Rises' trailer was in this showing! It was AWESOME. But yes, the Avengers will be assembling soon, because up next: Captain America! I can't wait.