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Alrighty. So I decided to stay up to type this now, because I might forget a lot of what I want to say.


WARNING!!!: Movie Spoiler Alert!!! DO NOT READ if you want to wait until you see the movie for yourself!



The earlier Harry Potter films all made me very angry with how much they cut out and switched around, so this time I read reviews in the paper before going to watch the movie. The reviews were not very good, as they all cited that much had been cut out and the magic of the story lost. I went in with a heavy heart, with low expectations.

The first five to ten minutes left me with a dozen things I wanted to complain about; how much they'd cut out mostly. First of all, after he uses magic to fight off the Dementors, in the book he gets several owls discussing his expellment and nonexpellment at Hogwarts. After these, his Aunt Petunia receives a mysterious howler to keep him in the house, despite Uncle Vernon's raging for him to leave. This does not happen. Instead, right after they get home from the Dementor attack, the elder Dursleys lock Harry in his room and take Dudley to the hospital (assumingly) because he's "gone funny" due to Harry's spellwork.

And then there is no Disillusionment charm(I think that's it, but can't quite remember) where he blends in with everything. They just unlock his door, waltz in, then are suddenly in the lawn hopping on brooms. No invisibility cloak, no hiding at all. Very disagreeable.

Anywho, I could spend hours nitpicking and complaining, but I won't. I will only say a lot was left out, and some things needlessly changed around. Once you get past the usual disappointments of a Potter film, things aren't so bad.

This is the first movie where I walked out not angry, not highly annoyed, but pleased, as much as could be. I don't know if it's that I"ve accepted the low standards dealing with 'keeping with the book', or that it really was better than the others. Either way, I liked it.

As for our favorite character, Professor Snape, he got as much film time as can be expected. I was a little disappointed at how short the memory was, but since they put it during the Occlumency sequence, it's to be expected. My favorite part of the entire movie is near the beginning, when Umbridge has just been announced as part of the staff. His expression when she gets up to make her speech and after she sits down again are priceless. I can't wait until someone gets a screenshot of that and puts a caption on it.

I laughed the hardest, though, during her 'investigations' as High Inquisitor. When she intervies Snape, it's quite hilarious. I don't want to spoil too much, but I will say although it's a short scene interspliced with others, it's probably a tie for the best Snape scene in the movie.

The two main creatures, Kreacher and Grawp, appear briefly. The storyline with Kreacher going to Bellatrix is totally left out, as is the cleaning of the house and other several interesting parts of the book. You never get to see Sirius's mother's portrait, and it never screams or anything. Just five seconds of muttering behind her curtains.

The big ending of George and Fred's education is awry, as well. No swamps. This is the part that really gets me; that was the main reason that they'd be known in Hogwarts history, is it not?

With the ending of the film came the part that we all dreaded. Throughout the movie, every time I saw Sirius I began crying. The archway doesn't look like it's supposed to, the curtain isn't orange and normal curtainy material. It's clear and what I would say an "obvious doorway to somewhere else".

Voldemort comes in near the end with his devilry. Everything is played out close enough to the books. The ending in it's entirety goes by very fast, and I was left going, "That's it?" and a little dazed.

All in all, it was a very good Potter movie. The only gripe I have is that if you didn't read the books, it wouldn't make sense. While me and the rest of the theater were laughing at things that should have been funny, and at things that were horribly wrong from the books, my boyfriend and his brother and cousin had no idea why we were laughing, or booing, or clapping... They didn't get most of the 'inside jokes', for lack of a better term. By that, I mean things that were hinted at in the movie that should have been funny were they like the book, or things that were horribly amiss because they weren't like the book.

Bottom line: if you haven't read the book, you'll be feeling like an outsider and won't understand things much. If you're a fan of the Potter realm and are well-read, then you shouldn't find this movie so bad; perhaps annoying at times, but not that bad.

Meh, needed more Snape <3


>.>
Stupid cutting the pensieve scene and making it one of Snape's memories in his mind. It went by too fast ;__;

I just got back from seeing it and well I have to say it has
to be the best HP movie so far.
The only thing that really bothered me was Snape's worst memory, it was
just flash scenes and hard to see. @_@ and if you hadn't read the book
then people would have no idea what was going on during it.

Other than that, I love Fred and Geroge! Oh and Luna! Oh my gosh I love her! Shes sooooo sweet! I want to adopt her for my daughter.

I actually liked Harry in this one, I love it when he had to fight Voldemont
out of his mind, Its kinda like Luke and Darth Vader lol.

Did anyone hear the rock n roll in the back ground in the Gryfindor tower?

I hate the movies. I liked this one. That should say enough. stare

I felt another half an hour could have done some justice, but I felt this was the most accurate one so far.

Yes, I, too, was expecting the Howler, a bit more secuirty when Harry was being flown to the Order's headquarters, and I was a bit disappointed to the lack of the pensieve, but I felt the changes made compensated enough, considering the time frame they worked with. stare

And I cried for Snape. It caught me off guard when I first read the book, and it caught me off guard again in the movie.

Peeves has not been around the entire series, hence, when the Weasley twins made their escape, a lot of things were improvised.

...I rather liked the portable swamp. Shame it was not there. stare

from the commercials it has tons of special fx to make up for screwing up the timeline of the story. they messed up and put things in fourth movie that was supposed to be in the fifth.

there is nothing that our dear professor can do wrong heart