ciroccoj | ::dusts off livejournal::

Hey, wow, it's been three whole days that I've been able to log in relatively easily. Yay!

And I realized, seeing half my flist wishing Harry Potter a Happy Birthday (he would be 31 today, btw), that I never posted what we thought of the movie over here. Huh.

So: The Movie! Saw it! Loved it! Had a few huuuuuge quibbles but otherwise, Eeeee!!!

Obviously, spoilers for the movie below :)

Quibbles

OK, I'm sorry but I'm still ticked that Goyle died instead of Crabbe*. Also Lavender "Chihuahua" Brown instead of Colin Creevey.
Ariana Who? ~~Doomed tragic first love that turns Dumbledore into a gay character who is safely celibate for life~~ Grindelwald Who?
Minerva McGonegall. Sweetie. We know why you did it, but on screen this seemed rather iffy:

Voldemort: Give me Harry Potter!

Unnamed Girl: There he is! Get him!

Professor MM: For no reason the audience who has not read the book could possibly fathom, all Slytherins are hereby expelled.

I didn't like that part much in the book. Liked it even less in the movie. I liked even less that after the Slytherins all basically responded with "Kthxbi," it went on to:

Slughorn: Don't worry, gentle viewers: I will help lead the Slytherins and other underage students to safety, and then come rushing back, in my green pajamas, at the head of a charge made up of Hogsmeade townsfolk, Hogwarts family members, and other concerned citizens, with Charlie Weasley at my side, proving that it's not true that the only good Slytherin is a dead Slyther--

Wait, what?

Ah.

OK, nobody remembers I'm head of Slytherin House or even really connected to Slytherin at all, nobody is going to send the underage students out, there will be no charge full of fresh troops, Charlie Weasley Who, and my lovely green pjs will never grace the screen.

Carry on, then.
I kinda think Harry/Ginny is cute. In the books and occasional fics, that is. Their onscreen kiss, though? Dude, I get more excited doing my nails.
The Riddle & Potter Endless Amusement Ride: Why for?
House elves, Grawp, and Centaurs in the final battle: Where for?

There were a few others, but those were a few of my biggest peeves.

* BTW, I did know that Goyle bit it onscreen instead of Crabbe because the actor who played Crabbe had been arrested for, um, Recreational Herbology, but apparently he's also actually on the lam? Owing money to bad people?

Dude. The role of incompetent bad guy was supposed to be just a role. You poor, dumb guy.

SQUEEES!!

Neville? I’m sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of how awesome you are.

I could have done without the little speech he gave after Harry "died", but it was delivered in a heartfelt manner and I wanted to cuddle him.
Draco, Draco, Draco.

I wanted him to hold on to Goyle even while Harry was trying to rescue him, putting himself in peril but not abandoning his friend; I wanted him to ask about Crabbe, after Crabbe had just defied him and nearly killed all of them. I wanted him to show that he cared about his two oldest friends, even though they had always seemed more like sidekicks and hired goons than actual friends. I wanted... a lot of stuff I didn’t get.

'Sokay, though. Instead, he looked like a deer in the headlights when Harry asked why he didn’t turn him over to Voldemort. And he was outside standing with the good guys. And he didn’t run to the bad guys quickly with a breathless "here I am here I am here I am pleeeease take me back!!" He didn't even go when his father asked him to. He only went when Mummy did.

He looked appropriately OMGWTF-I-can't-show-how-horrified-I-am during the Snakeyface Hug, flesh wanting to crawl away and girly scream itching to come out - oh, no, sorry, that was me.

And then his whole family ran away. Yes!!

And, best of all, at the very end, he smiled. Not a smirk, not a sneer, not a malicious grin - a real smile. And am I right that he and his wife hug their child goodbye at the station? I think I am...

Finally, after eight movies, Tom Felton's actual lovely smile was allowed out to shine so Draco could have a not-entirely-a-complete-a****** moment.
The Crapilogue. I like it even better now. Partly because they don't look like ~~they’re~~ the boys are all going to head straight to the retirement home for Doddering Wizards ~~and Witches~~ right after dropping off the kids. I won't hold it against them that they turned them all into twenty-somethings. The eye makeup was good, a bit more grey would’ve made it better but who cares, and is it me or did they deepen Harry’s voice?
Professor MM - other than her petty moment with the Slytherins - was brilliant. "I've always wanted to do that spell!"
The defense of the castle, the teachers casting wards, crying over the dead...
NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH.
Harry: We're looking for something. I think it may help us to defeat Voldemort.
Dean (?): Do you know what it is?
Harry: No.
Seamus (?): Do you know where it is?
Harry: No.
Voldemort => Snowglobe.
Daniel's favourite part? NEVILLE. Being Made of Awesome.
Justin's: The fact that the Chamber of Secrets was exactly the same as it was in the second movie!

Um... OK. To each his own, I guess.
I live with all boys. They all loved the EXPLOSIONS.
Damn, all of it. It may be fluff, and not do justice to a book that many felt did not do justice to the series, but damn it was a fun ride!