Well, I'm a bit disappointed. Just got back from seeing the new Harry Potter film. Went to see it at Mann's Chinese Theatre (you know, the one with all the surprisingly very small handprints and footprints of the movie stars), which is pretty impressive as a movie theater (though overall not quite as good as the Arclight Dome, ten blocks away), an indeed the line did snake back three sides of a small block, and there was some buzz of excitement. But I am disappointed because there were no nutty fans with costumes or anything! What's wrong with the Youth of Today?! I had thought of this excellent title (almost tops my Tut-tutting at Tut Tat one... only the best for you, dear reader....) for the post I was going to do with pictures of these people. Nothing. So this post is completely pointless (i.e., more pointless than usual). I just had to use the title anyway, as I don't know when I'd get the chance ever again. Sorry. -cvj P.S. Oh, the movie was pretty good. They finally got the movies working properly with the last one (the first two each being a howling mess), and this one keeps the third's standard, although I still prefer the third. I must admit that for me there waas no real sense of dread at the Big Evil Climax, and it all seemed like a bit of pantomine by that point, but I suspect that is because I never read past the first book. (Ok, now scream at me Potter fans). This is different from say, Peter Jackson's successful capturing of the incredible sense of horror and dread when the Balrog appears near the end of the Fellowship of the Ring. You want to just curl up and hide. But I suspect that was partly because that is how it hit me when I read TLOR as an 11 (?) year old, and then read them another 20+ times (I'm not exaggerating) almost annually. Every detail of those books were etched in my imagination long before the films. The point is that film, if good, serves to amplify things you've already read and imagined yourself. I did not have that to fall back on in this film. I get the impression that if you've read the book it is a fantastic film, with a truly vivid emotional range. As it is (with no book memory), it is a pretty good film, and certainly full of visual treats, good humour, and several genuinely exciting moments. I'm told that the book was rather large, detailed, and under-edited, so to make a coherent two hour film of it that works so well -and the fans of the book still like- is impressive.
Advertisement
