an actual post! with things in it! and by things I mean flail!

[lirazel]

Some pretty much random thoughts about Deathly Hallows Part 1. :D


First, I have one major complaint. And yes, I loved the movie overall and thought it was by far one of the more faithful adaptations, but.

WHERE WAS RON SCREAMING HERMIONE'S NAME WHILE SHE WAS BEING TORTURED? HOW COULD THEY LEAVE THAT OUT? BIGGEST OTP MOMENT FOR ME, SERIOUSLY. I went into the movie most excited about two scenes: 1) Ron destroying the locket (which definitely measured up), and 2) RON SCREAMING HERMIONE'S NAME WHILE SHE WAS BEING TORTURED. WHERE WAS THAT? STILL DEPRESSED IT WASN'T THERE!

On the other hand, the shot where it was clear they'd fallen asleep while holding hands was there! I didn't expect that! Or it to be as big of a deal as it was! They really lingered, didn't they?

Okay, brief break from shipping. Let's talk acting. SO GOOD. Seriously, Emma has always disappointed me in the past. I've always wanted to like her as Hermione because she seems like an absolutely wonderful person, the kind you'd want to be friends with and she's obviously very thoughtful about Hermione and I love that. But in the past she really has "acted with her eyebrows" (see also: Ian Somerhalder on TVD) and generally not been all that great. But no longer! She was good in this movie! I was so proud! She's still nothing like my Hermione, but I was so pleased! And I thought Dan was solid, too!

And of course Rupert Grint is perfect. He's always been the most like the book character, but I was still a bit worried he might not be able to handle the emotionally heavy-lifting in this film that was so necessary to Ron's character. And since Ron is my favorite, this had me on edge. But! He was flawless. Again, I was so strangely proud. GOOD FOR YOU, RUPERT GRINT. LET'S BE BFFS.

Speaking of acting, HBC has way too much fun in her part. And Jason Isaacs! Not in it too much, but he is always perfect. And the guy who played Harry while under polyjuice has to be one of my new favorites--the way he walked! I was in stitches! Love that guy! Evanna Lynch is perfect as Luna. Had forgotten how much so. I know she wasn't in it much, but her few brief moments just shown. And when she called Dobby sir and he said he liked her, I clapped my hands with delight!

The scenery was gorgeous beyond gorgeous. And I loved how they shot everything to look so vast and empty. Picspams, please. It made my heart hurt it was so beautiful.

Along those lines, I felt like they really took their time with this movie. The last few have felt too chock-full of stuff happening; in some ways they seemed more like outlines of movies than actual movies. But there was so much room to breathe in this film, so much silence and drawn-out moments, and it fit the tone of the book absolutely perfectly. The fact that it didn't feel rushed really made this whole movie for me.

THE ANIMATION IN THE TALE OF THREE BROTHERS SCENE!!!!!!!!!!! OMG SO, SO, SO IN LOVE. I cannot even verbalize how perfect it was.

R/Hr shippers were all worried about the dance scene with Harry and Hermione. Silly people! It was perfect! Absolutely perfect! Because it was all about Ron! It started because Hermione was depressed because Ron wasn't there and Harry wanted to cheer her up. And then he did, for just a moment, and it was cute and adorable and loving and yet very platonic, to my eyes. But then! She snapped out of it and remembered that Ron was gone and that brief moment of happiness slipped away because Ron was gone and nothing can be okay when he's not there. OH MY HEART. *clutches it*

I liked that there wasn't a lot of Ginny stuff, because A) Bonnie Wright is, I'm sure, an absolutely lovely person and I think she's adorable. But she can't really act, unfortunately, and B) it let the focus stay on the Trio, which is where it belongs.

One thing that the movies always do for me is remind me of how much I love the Trio as a Trio. The three of them, together. It fills my heart with warm fuzzies! Because it was so very, very clear how much Harry and Hermione love each other and how much Ron and Harry love each other and how much Hermione and Ron love each other, and each kind of love is different, but it is perfect, and I wrote a fic about that once. SO MUCH LOVE.

The scene with all the Death Eaters at the table was flawless. Absolutely perfect. So in love, I cannot tell you. And the Godric's Hollow sequence was creepy and weird and surreal, and it felt like the book.

Last things that was missing--Andromeda and Ted. I wanted to see them. *pout*

So generally: very, very good. I can't wait for the last one!

Comments

[unbridled-b.livejournal.com]

I loved the three brothers tale -- it was so beautifully animated and Emma did a wonderful job narrating it. I also thought the dance scene was lovely. I don't know why so many Ron/Hermione shippers are up in arms about it. As you said, it was clearly all about Ron.

(SPOILERS FOR THE DEATHLY HALLOWS BOOK BELOW)

The only things I didn't like were the sudden appearance of the mirror shard (they didn't even try to explain it) and the utter lack of Snape. As it stands now, I'm starting to wonder if they're going to even attempt The Prince's Tale in the final film. They completely removed Lily from Snape's Worst Memory in OOtP, and I just don't see how they can establish his affection for her this late in the game. I wonder if they're going to alter his motivations to protect Harry as being simply out of loyalty to Dumbledore. The thought of this makes me very sad. :(

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

It was such a gorgeous sequence.

I just loved the dance scene to little bitty bits.

I have to admit--I am apparently the one person on earth who doesn't much care about Snape and who found the whole idea of Snape only doing what he did because of Lily a really big letdown. So I am not as concerned as you are. But I am a fan of faithfulness to the books, and so I hope for everyone else's sake that they manage to make it work.

[anythingbutgrey.livejournal.com]

i am actually really concerned about the snape/lily noise as well, because otp forever and they cut that out and i was like "THIS MAN'S ENTIRE NARRATIVE IS BASED AROUND THE LOVE HE HAS FOR THIS WOMAN, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO PULL THIS OFF?"

HOW ARE THEY GOING TO PULL THIS OFF?

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

OH SHIT YOU ARE MAKING ME REALLY WORRIED NOW TOO. *bites nails*

[anythingbutgrey.livejournal.com]

ugh ginevra.

this will never be a ginevra appreciation blog. there isn't even a smidgen of liking of her left in me anymore.

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

I like her fine. I do not like movie!Ginny. I kind of wish Harry didn't have a ship at all in the books? Basically because I think when you boil it down, the series is a love story between the Trio, and I kind of wish it had just focused on that (sort of like how I think Doctor Who is a love story between the Doctor and humanity and I never, ever had a Doctor ship. But now there's River Song, and I think that's going to change, but still). But whatever. I am not too bothered, because Harry's not my boy the way he is yours. I am sorry for your sake, though.

[anythingbutgrey.livejournal.com]

i actually think the books shouldn't have gone shippy at all, should have just stayed gen, because you can't have r/hr without giving harry anyone and that's where ginny came from. so either put him with luna, which makes sense or could have been built to make sense, or shut all that shit down. it didn't have to have a romantic aspect. we all would have been perfectly fine still fighting over this shit if there was no conclusive endgame. not that i'm biased or anything. but harry's my bb, i can't handle him by himself when he deserves so much more.

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

I would have absolutely adored a Harry/Luna ship. The moment in all of the books that made me cry the most was when he was talking to Luna after Sirius died and she did her little speech about death. I sobbed, and I could have shipped that. *sigh*

[anythingbutgrey.livejournal.com]

when i came to the conclusion that r/hr was endgame i sort of acclimated myself to h/l because it was the only other female relationship he had and then they were like LOL GINNY and i was—

enraged.

[crackers4jenn.livejournal.com]

OH NO, OH NO: they do not include Ron and his bellowing and sobbing (!) of "HERMIONE!" in the movie? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? How do you leave that out, that's like--that's SUCH a good moment for Ron, and for Ron/Hermione. It is a moment in the book that I always have to re-read, because it so emotionally heavy and satisfying and sad.

DISAPPOINTING.

I haven't watched the movie yet, clearly, but I have to say, even as a fan of Ron and Hermione, how could ANYONE hate the idea of Hermione and Harry dancing? I love those two together. Not necessarily romantically, because my heart beats and bleeds for Ron, but they are FANTASTIC together. One of my very favorite scenes from ALL of the movies is when Harry comforts Hermione after Ron and Lavender first kiss. SO GOOD, SO SWEET, SO AMAZING.

BUT FOR REAL, HOW COULD THEY NOT HAVE FILMED THE SCENE OF RON SCREAMING FOR HERMIONE???

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

It is my one major complaint about the movie, I cannot even tell you. The rest of the movie is utterly fantastic, but IT IS MISSING AND MY HEART. MY HEART. I've reread that scene so many times because it leaves me all tangled up inside in the very best way.

I love that you love Ron as much as I do. My boy.

I think some people were concerned that the idea of them dancing while Ron was gone would make it sound like they didn't care that Ron was gone, and all of us as fans of the Trio know that that just isn't true--they always care. But the scene was perfect, and I think everyone should appreciate it. Harry and Hermione have a lovely relationship.

I DO NOT KNOW BUT I AM DISAPPOINT.

[eilowyn.livejournal.com]

Hi. I am a douche for not saying anything in your last "I'm not dead! I just only have time for tumblr!" post, so let me say "yay the job's going well!" and "boo to having no time!" right now.

Anyway, I am as gen as gen can be when it comes to Harry Potter, and so shipping is kinda redundant with me. I've been listening to the books on tape for the past three months, and that's the major epiphany I've had. So there wasn't much shipping from me (except for my insistence that season 5 Dawn ships Draco/Hermione). As much as I love the books, I've never delved into the fandom, but it has been fun hanging out on tumblr this past week with all the excitement going around.

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

Whatever. You could never be a douche to me. AND I AM GLAD TO HEAR FROM YOU AND YOUR GLORIOUS HERMIONE ICON.

Being gen for HP is wonderful. It's definitely a good fandom for that. The fandom has its ups and downs, but it's very fractured. If you can find one corner of the fandom where you're very comfortable and don't bump into any of the others (which is what I did), you can have a quite lovely time.

[callmepatsy.livejournal.com]

I approve of HBC as Bellatrix so very much.

But yes, Andromeda and Ted...well, I didn't think they'd be in there, so I wasn't disappointed so much as like "Ah well, yeah, I figured..."

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

She's so gloriously unhinged. I also really love her hair.

Before I actually watched it, I thought, "There's no way they'll be there." But then as I was watching, the movie took its time so much that I kind of started to hope that they might at least pop up and have a line or two. So while I definitely wasn't crushed, I was a bit let down.

Ah, well. Overall I was satisfied.

[callmepatsy.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean...I had had a little hope they might include a little of the overheard conversation of Ted and the Goblins and Dean, but I know what they found out there is insignificant enough to be glossed over.

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

But in the past she really has "acted with her eyebrows" (see also: Ian Somerhalder on TVD)

lolol. Yeah, I've been up and down on Emma Watson for the last six too, but she was PERFECT IN THIS ONE. THEY WERE ALL FLAWLESS. MY BBS.

And also: can we please freak out about Ron Weasley for a minute? Because HE IS MY BOOOY and I had no idea that you loved him as much as I do! Because I do. Harry is also my boy too so this film made me happy on his account also, but The Deathly Hallows has a special place in my heart because it is the first time I realized how much. I. love. Ron Weasley. I love that he's the one who is the most vulnerable to the effects of the Horcrux. There are no words for how much I love that. I love the entirety of the psychological torture sequence. I love that he was the one to smash the first Horcrux. I LOVE HIM STAAARING AT HERMIONE. BE STILL MY HEART.

And - it pains me to admit this, it pains me because I am a ridiculous Ron/Hermione shipper, but I have not read Deathly Hallows in a long while and cannot remember this big name-screaming moment you speak of. RE-READ SCHEDULED.

And the guy who played Harry while under polyjuice has to be one of my new favorites--the way he walked! I was in stitches! Love that guy!

Oh man, that moment after he comes out of The Umbridge's office and everyone looks at him and he's like, ~~walking~~ away. Hysterical.

R/Hr shippers were all worried about the dance scene with Harry and Hermione. Silly people! It was perfect! Absolutely perfect! Because it was all about Ron!

Yes! I did see some potential something-something in that scene, but Hermione is so ridiculously in love with Ron, there was never gonna be anything happening there in a good way.

I liked that there wasn't a lot of Ginny stuff

*snerk* I ACTUALLY LIKED the tiny bit of Ginny in the film (I ACTUALLY LIKED IT, YO), but yeah. Don't care, generally. I am mostly of the opinion that her characterization is weeeak, and why is Harry/Luna not canon again?

But yes. SO MUCH LOVE for this film. SO MUCH LOVE.

[kelpyfinners.livejournal.com]

I love this whole discussion and I'm late to it because my real-life HP bud is in the Army, so I had to wait until today to see it.

YES. YES. YES. I agree with almost everything said here! (Although I'm a lover of Ron/Hermione I haven't read the books in a while so that I can watch the films on their own terms so... I FORGOT the Ron-screaming bit and now am heartbroken just thinking about it.)

Also, I think that Ginny gets a bum-rap. She's awesome in the books. I actually think she's too cool for Harry and love that she loves him! It makes me all squealy :) AND Emma was bomb in this film! I was sad for her the *whole* time! She's so sad and sad... and beautiful. *sigh*

Her dancing scene was awesomely awesome. Early on Rowling realized that Harry and Ron can't get on without Hermione. And I love that there was a moment for Harry and Hermione to be teens... even if it was only a moment. Their friendship is beyond words.

That being said ... I totes ship Ron/Luna (though more in the sense that I think Ron and Luna could have what Harry and Hermione have) and Ginny/Luna...

.... but never Harry/Luna... and I find Draco/Hermione shippers strange and terrifying.

[mollivanders.livejournal.com]

I could barely watch the dance scene but I admit that was mostly because I was very much um what this is not canon which is my own fault and it felt so... so much like a last token to H/Hr shippers. I'm a purist, it's my own damn fault :)

The scene with all the Death Eaters at the table was flawless. Absolutely perfect. So in love, I cannot tell you. And the Godric's Hollow sequence was creepy and weird and surreal, and it felt like the book.

It was little moments like this that really made the movie for me. Overall I thought it was a bit choppy in terms of a timeline but there were moments where the sheer intensity of the story comes across and I was staring at the screen, worried for everyone, even Snape. Who I've come to like but in a way outside of his Snape/Lily context. Hmm.

But at least Ron was beautiful in this movie. I am so proud of the movies for finally, if grudgingly, admitting how awesome he is. And the Trio! Long may it live :)