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July 4th, 2004
01:00 am
Saw the third Harry Potter flick tonight. Was impressed by much of the visuals, and the ruined cloister look of Hogwarts was quite nice. I enjoyed Alfonso Cuaron's directing -- what Chris Columbus had rendered plodding and almost too-ponderous, Cuaron found a way to make it ethereal and beautiful. I was suckered in by the shots of the wet playground at the beginning, and enjoyed almost every bit until the end.
He reused way too many things, though -- one or two iris wipes are unique, but as symbolic shorthand for "oh nos losing consciousness/coming back to life" they grew tiresome. I did like the little nature interstitials, such as the leaf falling off the Whomping Willow, but they could've quickly grown tiresome too.
But it was nice to see things so dark. And much love for Michael Gambon, who admirably took over the role of Dumbledore. I admit I probably was the only one in the theater who giggled when he was hanging around the infirmary, but that's just me.
I think I'm about to pass out now. Up waaaaay too late, which is hilarious to think about. This used to be noon for me. Such is life when you actually have to Have one.
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Enh. I thought it pared far too much away compared to Columbus. Another half hour making Sirius Black creepy at the beginning and explaining some of the relationships more would have been about right.
Also, I thought Michael Gambon was way too drab as Dumbledore.
I agree with you about the visual look, though. He reused way too many things, though -- one or two iris wipes are unique, but as symbolic shorthand for "oh nos losing consciousness/coming back to life" they grew tiresome. I did like the little nature interstitials, such as the leaf falling off the Whomping Willow, but they could've quickly grown tiresome too.
I've heard a few people complain that there were too many "establishing shots" of the willow. But surely those shots weren't establishing the willow, they were establishing the seasons -- so there weren't too many or too few, but exactly the right number. You're right. Late Summer, Autumn, Spring Thaw, and Early Summer (bookended, of course, by an unfortunate bird.) However I only realized the Willow interstitials straddled the fine line between clever and overused only when Harry or one of his pals managed to tip over the crystal ball in Trelawney's class, sending it rolling down the hall. "Great," I thought, "Now we're going to have an extended tracking shot of the ball."
But these are minor quibbles, really. I enjoyed the third movie a lot. I still think the second is my favorite, but the third is close close yap-yap-yapping behind.
"Great," I thought, "Now we're going to have an extended tracking shot of the ball."
Hee hee. Okay, that's a fair point. The major thing that I thought was really cool but overused was the gimmick in the end credits -- very clever, but far far far too fucking long. Although it is kind of impressive how 28,000 smart people can work together and produce something reasonably tight and cohesive, rather than a big random mess.
Overall this is my favourite film of the three by a long way. I thought the first two were reasonably enjoyable, but it wasn't until I saw Azkaban that I realised how little Columbus was bringing to the table. (Another reason may be that the books are improving; but if Columbus had directed Azkaban it'd be like four hours long.) The ticking in the background during the last part of the movie thrilled me unto death. The werewolf was truly, truly awesome and scary. All the little things going on in the background. The way the Leaky Cauldron looked. Professor Trelawny.
*sigh*
I loved this movie so much. I have a huge artist's crush on Alfonso Cuaron. Did the leaves falling off the tree make you think of this? Some of my viewing companions thought I was nuts for giggling at it. I found out today that Chris Columbus has been tapped to direct the film version of Rent. Philip Glass Gapes, Astonished, At A Directorial Decision |
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