Reactions to Half-Blood Prince (Spoilers!! Spoilers!! Spoilers!!)

Well, I saw it!! Last night at 11:59 P.M. (Why not just actually make it midnight?? It makes no sense.) I guess on the whole I was really impressed, but there were a couple of big things that really, really bothered me. So here are my thoughts...

(Spoilers!!)

(SPOILERS!!)

(Beyond here there be SPOILERS!!)

*The very first thing, the little bit of Harry and Dumbledore at the Ministry at the end of OotP, was very odd. At first I thought it was going to be a dream. It seemed a little random and unnecessary, and it was weird that it was before the movie title came up, but it wasn't a big deal.

*We'd heard all this talk about Harry flirting with a waitress, and I was a little unsure how that was going to come off, but it was cute and amusing. I really feel the movies are lacking without the Dursleys, but it still made for a pretty good opening.

*Slughorn was brilliant. I had no doubts about Jim Broadbent at all, as he's one of my favorite actors because of Moulin Rouge and Narnia. He didn't look exactly like I wanted him to, but McGonagall in the movies hasn't ever looked quite like the McGonagall in my head, and I wouldn't want anyone other than Maggie Smith in the role.

*I really liked the first Burrow scene. The shot of Ginny sitting in her window was really sweet. It would have been fun to see them getting their O.W.L. scores, since I'm sure Emma was just like Hermione with her A-Levels, but it does make sense that they cut that out.

*The Unbreakable Vow was good as a movie scene. The blatant turning-inside-out of the canon rankled a little, but Helena Bonham Carter was really creepy and kind of funny. I thought Narcissa acted well, but I couldn't get over the Cruella DeVil hair.

*Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was perfect!! That was probably the thing I was looking forward to the most. I just wish it could have lasted a little longer, and I wish they didn't make the twins always speak in unison, but I'm greedy. ;)

*It was clever how they changed the Borgin and Burke's thing to an initiation. I didn't mind that at all. But having the Trio climb up on the roof?? Seriously, THEY'RE WIZARDS. And they'd just come from WWW...why couldn't they have resurrected the Extendable Ears?? Those couldn't have cost the CGI folks too terribly to produce.

*The train scene was pretty good. Luna was great as always, and I thought it did a great job of establishing how frustrated Harry was getting with Ron and Hermione and vice-versa. My friend Carie and I almost died laughing when Malfoy was talking about how Hogwarts was getting so bad...it was totally, totally crying out for a "Pigfarts" reference!! (If you don't know what I'm talking about, please, please, PLEASE go watch "A Very Potter Musical" by StarKidPotter on YouTube!!) Draco stomping on Harry was just exactly like I was hoping it would be. I'll say right now that Tom Felton was absolutely brilliant throughout the entire film. Of course I didn't expect anything else, but even so, I was totally blown away!! I would have liked to have Tonks find Harry, since I just love Tonks, but I didn't mind that it was Luna. And I'm really glad that they didn't make her Spectrespecs able to see through the Invisibility Cloak, because that would have just been blatantly wrong. Maybe Wrackspurts do exist!!

*I loved that Hermione was freaking out over Harry and Ron just cared about the food. Dumbledore's comments to the whole school about Tom Riddle were a little off canon, since very few people know Voldemort's real name, but I'll let it slide.

*I really love that Professor McGonagall got some comedic lines!! That's rare even in the books. I really, really loved the comedy throughout the entire movie. The romantic, flirting, cat-and-mouse stuff was really fun, as well as just the friends kidding around with each other, and I thought Lavender was perfect. I think they struck a really good balance between the humor and the dark stuff in this film, which OotP lacked somewhat. Most people, including me, don't often think of the books as having comedy in them, but there really are so many little out-and-out hilarious moments.

*Potions class was pretty close to perfect. I loved Harry and Ron fighting over the books in the cupboard. I thought this was funny about myself: For some reason, probably because the actually HBP book is purple and green, I was expecting the copies of Advanced Potion Making to be purple and green too!!

*Quidditch was great, although it was a little random that Ginny was helping Harry with try-outs. MacLaggen was hilarious, and I'm so glad Rupert finally got a chance to do some real showing off!! I so wish they would put more Quidditch in the movies, because it's so much fun, but I understand why they don't.

*I really liked the scene where Harry was comforting Hermione and Ron and Lavender burst in. It was a bit different from the book, but I really, really liked it. And I'm sure Frak was happy that they put in the "Oppugno!" I remember him going on and on about that.

*The scene with Katie and the necklace was really good. Really freaky too.

*I thought the Pensieve scenes came off really, really well (although you can't actually pick up memories!!). Michael Gambon really had some shining moments in this one, which is more than you can say about the previous three. And both young Riddle and teenage Riddle were really, really good.

*The Slug Club scenes were great too, except for Neville. Poor Neville, who had maybe two lines in the whole film!! That really, really ticked me off. For one, movie audiences wouldn't have clue why Slughorn thought Neville was important enough to be at the dinner, and then having him be a waiter at the Christmas party just made me really mad. I know that the movies are specifically from Harry's POV, but I think including Neville's backstory makes our understanding of Harry's trials and his destiny so much richer. I'm really looking forward to Neville at the end of DH, of course, and I honestly don't think they'll screw that moment up, but I was really hoping to see Neville grow into his BA-ness. The rest of the Christmas party scene was really hilarious, though.

*Lupin and Harry's conversation at the Burrow was good. I really wish the movies had done more to develop Lupin's character, and also David Thewlis has just never quite fit the role for me, but that scene came off well. I really could have done without the attack on the Burrow. I actually had high hopes for that scene even though it wasn't in the book, but it was just random and patchy and didn't really accomplish anything. It occurred to me later...was there any mention anywhere of Greyback being a werewolf, or were you just supposed to pick that up?? When he started chasing Ginny all the fans gasped, because we knew what he was, but I'm not sure people who have only seen the movies would get that.

*Ron and the love potion was beyond hilarious. "Harry, I'm in love with her!" "Okay, you're in love with her. Have you ever actually met her?" "No...Can you introduce me?" So great!! And the poisoning was good too, although the bezoar probably wouldn't have made sense if you hadn't read the books. The hospital scene was really good as well. More cat fighting done well.

*Sectumsempra...Oh. My. Gosh. Incredible. I wish Snape had forced Harry to give him his book, though, because that would have been an important underscoring of its significance. For a movie called Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, they really spent way too little time on figuring out who the Half-Blood Prince was.

*And then...the Room of Requirement scene. Minor complaint first: I wish they'd put the diadem in, because that's such a great surprise in DH. Major complaint: IT WAS SOOOOOO CHEESY!!! Oh my gosh, Ginny said her first line in that scene, and I went, "Did George Lucas write this dialogue?!?" It was terrible. It was awkward and cringe-worthy and I was so disappointed. I loved the way Harry and Ginny's kiss was in the book, and I'd heard Bonnie say in an interview that this kiss was different and softer and more private, and I was okay with that. But I was not okay at how it turned out. Fail, Steve Kloves, FAIL. And you know what?? I don't think they ever mentioned Ginny and Dean breaking up, so I suppose Ginny was being a player. But that's minor compared to the epic fail kiss.

*Felix Felicis was awesome. "Harry on drugs," as Emma referred to him at the press junket in New York, was sooooooo funny. I love Dan so much. Aragog's suddenly needing a funeral was a little random, but c'est la vie. (C'est la morte?? Lol.) I thought what Slughorn said about Lily and the fish and then what Harry said in return were really beautiful.

*Horcrux hunting: Apparating to the rock was really neat. And the set inside the cave was really cool...I hadn't pictured the rocks all crystal-y, but I liked that. The coloring was so completely two-tone, though, that it suddenly seemed like a black-and-white movie. I really would have liked the horcrux to be emitting green light, because it would have been easier on my eyes and of course the green would have been symbolic. It would have been better if Harry had seen the hand in the water and they'd had the conversation about Inferi while they were crossing in the boat, because it would have made much more sense for Harry to try to get water from a charm rather than the lake at first, and it would have been much more suspenseful while he was reaching toward the lake. And the Inferi were not as truly creepy as I was expecting. They were too much like Gollum and not enough like faceless, soul-less zombies. And we'll ignore the fact that Harry would have been dead if he'd gone under the water.

*Why did we not see the Dark Mark before Harry and Dumbledore arrived back at Hogwarts?? How on earth did Dumbledore know that he and Harry were in danger?? And if he had known the Death Eaters were coming before they went horcrux hunting, he wouldn't have left the school at all. Malfoy and Dumbledore's conversation was brilliant. Really, really, really brilliant. But without a battle raging downstairs, and without Harry being invisible and immobilized, it was like, "Harry, you're an idiot, run and get some help!!" I was really, really disappointed in Dumbledore's death and the subsequent chase after Snape. I really didn't feel affected at all. I think it lost about 90% of the emotional impact without the battle raging downstairs and knowing the sense that they had lost their greatest ally while they were all fighting for their lives. Bellatrix destroying the Great Hall without anyone trying to stop her felt really annoying and pointless. Snape's revelation that he was the Half-Blood Prince didn't really have any gravity to it because so little was mentioned about the HBP throughout the film. The wand salute that wiped out the Dark Mark was really powerful, however.

*I really didn't like that there wasn't a funeral scene for Dumbledore, even though we've known for a very long time that it wasn't going to be included. That scene might have induced some emotion into Dumbledore's death for me. It also feels like Harry's relationship with Ginny is just a loose end without him breaking it off with her. It won't make any sense when we get to DH. I liked Harry and Hermione's conversation at the end, but it felt really, really wrong that Ron was just sitting there and not saying anything. Poor Ron gets overlooked again. However, I loved the last shot. Ending on the image of the phoenix was really poignant and beautiful.

*A couple of final film-y things: There were some really awesome transition shots of the castle. I especially loved the one that panned from Ron and Lavender making out in the window to Draco standing on the balcony and staring out into the snow. I really disliked most of the coloring in this film, however. Everything, everything, except maybe Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and Quidditch, seemed SO washed out. I can see doing that for effect in the Muggle world, but the Wizarding world should be so rich and bright and saturated. Hogwarts might be dimly lit, since they don't use electricity, but it should still be full of color.

So those are my thoughts. I know, I'm picky and long-winded and I have trouble separating the book from the movie. But frankly, if you're going to do something, do it right. There were high points and low points, and the title "Madeline's Favorite HP Movie" is currently up in the air. I'm seeing it again with my dad this weekend, so we'll see what I think then. I'd love to know what you thought of it!!

Happy Independence Day!! :)

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!! I love this holiday; it's probably my favorite one after Christmas. I'm so blessed to be an American and to have the freedom to watch people do ridiculous things, like the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, which is about to kick off on ESPN. It's become something of a Fourth of July tradition for my dad and me to watch it together. I'm not sure why, other than that it's hilarious.

I hope everyone gets a chance to get out and see some fireworks tonight. I usually go to the local symphony's outdoor concert, which is followed by an awesome fireworks show, but tonight I'll be hanging out with my friend Maddy at her house. She just had surgery and her face is really swollen at the moment, and I don't blame her for not wanting to go anywhere right now. I love fireworks a lot, but I love my Maddy more. :)

That's pretty much all I've got for today, other than this awesome little tidbit, which was tweeted earlier by Cheryl Klein (@chavelaque): "Set your clocks: At 5 minutes and 6 seconds after 4:00 on the 8th of July, the time and date will be 04:05:06 07/08/09." How cool is that?!?