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Harry Potter stuff (No Spoilers at all)
Saturday, July 21st, 2007 12:24 pmLast night, the family went to dinner at Casa de Lara, where we discovered they've updated their menu and added a few more authentic Latin-style dishes. Rupert ordered teh veggie fajitas, and they looked great. I'm getting them next time - a heap of grilled onions, peppers, yellow and zucchini squash, mushrooms and tomatoes. Rupert said there was too much squash, but I thought the dish looked really well balanced.
After dinner we went to the movie. We had stopped for tickets earlier, thinking that there would still be lines, but as it turned out, the theatre was less than half full for the 8:30 showing.
Right off the bat, I was a little disappointed with the cinematography. I realize the hazy, gray cast to the entire thing is a stylistic choice that is probably authentic Scottish countryside, but nearly *everything* in the movie seemed drab. Even the holiday scenes. There were some fireworks that were pretty brightly colored, and the Patronuses were bright, but all white. there was just very little that grabbed me visually.
Also, there were a few scenes that gave me a touch of vertigo. It wasn't the cool vertigo of the original Star Wars, where the fall is a looong way down. It was a motion-triggered vertigo, where the camera weaved all over the place, and the movement made what was on the screen so busy that I actually missed what was happening.
The portrayal of Dolores Umbridge was spot on. The twins were great. there were some good lines and some sweet moments throughout. Emma Watson is still not the best actress in the series, but she occasionally pulled of a good scene. I don't know what to say about Luna. In the book, she didn't do much for me, and it was the same in the movie. Does that mean the portrayal was true to the story? I think maybe the actress did the best that could be done with the part, so good on her.
We enjoyed it. I enjoyed the undercrowded theatre also. We got home and were too keyed up to go straight to bed, but we didn't do a whole lot of verbal replay that tends to happen after a stellar movie experience. It was more of a dissection of the differences between the screenplay and the book. I'll be happy to see it again on a small screen.
Actually, the thing that got the best reaction out of me all night was the preview for Get Smart. LOL! I hadn't heard this was being done - it's scheduled to come out next summer. From the moment the telephone booth showed up on the screen, all the way to the end, I was giggling madly. I loved that show as a kid! It was sooo silly and campy. Even then I knew it was ridiculous, but it embraced and flaunted it's ridiculousness with abandon. What's not to love there? hee, I can't wait to see this one. That will be a fun date.
Today, our copy of HP 7 is shipping. I pre-ordered it, but I got the free-shipping option, which did not guarantee arrival today. I'll be reading it aloud again, but I don't know if the kids will be hanging out to listen. They'll probably devour it in the first nights it's here. I'm looking forward to seeing it unfold. I remain totally unspoiled at this point, and I'm hoping to stay that way. I'm also hoping that the final chapter won't be a huge disappointment. I won't be surprised if it is, after all, JKR really set herself up for a potential fall here, but I'm rooting for her to get it right.
ETA: I was wrong! I was wrong! It arrived today!! Yay!
After dinner we went to the movie. We had stopped for tickets earlier, thinking that there would still be lines, but as it turned out, the theatre was less than half full for the 8:30 showing.
Right off the bat, I was a little disappointed with the cinematography. I realize the hazy, gray cast to the entire thing is a stylistic choice that is probably authentic Scottish countryside, but nearly *everything* in the movie seemed drab. Even the holiday scenes. There were some fireworks that were pretty brightly colored, and the Patronuses were bright, but all white. there was just very little that grabbed me visually.
Also, there were a few scenes that gave me a touch of vertigo. It wasn't the cool vertigo of the original Star Wars, where the fall is a looong way down. It was a motion-triggered vertigo, where the camera weaved all over the place, and the movement made what was on the screen so busy that I actually missed what was happening.
The portrayal of Dolores Umbridge was spot on. The twins were great. there were some good lines and some sweet moments throughout. Emma Watson is still not the best actress in the series, but she occasionally pulled of a good scene. I don't know what to say about Luna. In the book, she didn't do much for me, and it was the same in the movie. Does that mean the portrayal was true to the story? I think maybe the actress did the best that could be done with the part, so good on her.
We enjoyed it. I enjoyed the undercrowded theatre also. We got home and were too keyed up to go straight to bed, but we didn't do a whole lot of verbal replay that tends to happen after a stellar movie experience. It was more of a dissection of the differences between the screenplay and the book. I'll be happy to see it again on a small screen.
Actually, the thing that got the best reaction out of me all night was the preview for Get Smart. LOL! I hadn't heard this was being done - it's scheduled to come out next summer. From the moment the telephone booth showed up on the screen, all the way to the end, I was giggling madly. I loved that show as a kid! It was sooo silly and campy. Even then I knew it was ridiculous, but it embraced and flaunted it's ridiculousness with abandon. What's not to love there? hee, I can't wait to see this one. That will be a fun date.
Today, our copy of HP 7 is shipping. I pre-ordered it, but I got the free-shipping option, which did not guarantee arrival today. I'll be reading it aloud again, but I don't know if the kids will be hanging out to listen. They'll probably devour it in the first nights it's here. I'm looking forward to seeing it unfold. I remain totally unspoiled at this point, and I'm hoping to stay that way. I'm also hoping that the final chapter won't be a huge disappointment. I won't be surprised if it is, after all, JKR really set herself up for a potential fall here, but I'm rooting for her to get it right.
ETA: I was wrong! I was wrong! It arrived today!! Yay!
