Harry Potter..Gobbet of Fyre
Dec. 11th, 2005 09:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
howeirdFinally saw the latest Harry Potter movie. This one was the best so far, by far. Didn't even look at my watch till 90 minutes in. Didn't look at it again till the closing credits. Tightly edited, super special effects - right down to the closing credits - fine acting by a troupe which has grown together. It's so good to se a sequel which is better than the original. Even more so when it's 4th in a series.
This one reminded me what a huge risk the casting folks took when they chose the kids. As someone who has directed a few plays, I know it's relatively easy to recognize a fine actor in a crowded audition. And also not hard to match the actor's physicality to that of the character. But all that changes when you have to bet on a child growing into the adolescent.
My assessment so far:
Harry - At 14-15, it's too soon to tell, but it does not look like he is going to have the kind of look one would expect for a hero. Too short, too slim.
Hermione - She cleans up real good for a girl next door, but she's no Angelina Jolie.
Ron - He's already too tall. And unfortunately, he now looks like his given name, Rupert Grint. Poor lad.
Draco - He hasn't grown an inch, has he? Maybe next movie. We see way too little of him in this flick. I wonder why?
Fred & George - They're real life brothers, aren't they? Why are they not redheads this film?
Ginny - What a knock-out she has turned out to be! Odd, IMDB does not list her as being cast in Order of the Phoenix. Hmmm- I see they don't have much of a cast list for this 2007 flick.
Neville - He's turned into a rather handsome young man. Takes away from the character, methinks.
I don't like the way Gambon is playing Dumbledore. I blame the director - Gambon is a fine actor, and I think he's perfectly capable of playing the character the same way Harris did. The new Dumbledore is more temperamental, too temperamental, and not the softspoken man we saw in the first three movies. But this is in the book, as well. We are finding out he's a much more powerful individual than he appeared to be.
This one reminded me what a huge risk the casting folks took when they chose the kids. As someone who has directed a few plays, I know it's relatively easy to recognize a fine actor in a crowded audition. And also not hard to match the actor's physicality to that of the character. But all that changes when you have to bet on a child growing into the adolescent.
My assessment so far:
Harry - At 14-15, it's too soon to tell, but it does not look like he is going to have the kind of look one would expect for a hero. Too short, too slim.
Hermione - She cleans up real good for a girl next door, but she's no Angelina Jolie.
Ron - He's already too tall. And unfortunately, he now looks like his given name, Rupert Grint. Poor lad.
Draco - He hasn't grown an inch, has he? Maybe next movie. We see way too little of him in this flick. I wonder why?
Fred & George - They're real life brothers, aren't they? Why are they not redheads this film?
Ginny - What a knock-out she has turned out to be! Odd, IMDB does not list her as being cast in Order of the Phoenix. Hmmm- I see they don't have much of a cast list for this 2007 flick.
Neville - He's turned into a rather handsome young man. Takes away from the character, methinks.
I don't like the way Gambon is playing Dumbledore. I blame the director - Gambon is a fine actor, and I think he's perfectly capable of playing the character the same way Harris did. The new Dumbledore is more temperamental, too temperamental, and not the softspoken man we saw in the first three movies. But this is in the book, as well. We are finding out he's a much more powerful individual than he appeared to be.
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Date: 2005-12-12 05:13 pm (UTC)As for the others:
Harry/Daniel Radcliffe: Glad he's not ending up looking like a leading man. One never gets the impression that the book-Harry will either. Apparently he is commonly misidentified as Elijah Wood on the street, or as "Frodo." Fortunately for him, he's better looking that Elijah.
Hermione: I'm liking her more and more as the actress matures and gets at least a LITTLE more in her delivery than "peevish snappiness."
Ron: Yeah, he's too tall, but he's still got that quite wonderful clownish face and is a dead ringer for his "older brothers" which is inspired and unexpected, since it's his new-found gangliness that aids in the illusion.
Draco: He's not grown much physically in the last few films, but that's because he shot up like a weed between the first and second film. In III, he looked like a young man while Harry and the rest still looked like boys.
Neville: Nah, he still has those horrid horsey teeth, in an otherwise somewhat handsome face--it allows him to still have that sweet awkwardness he needs.
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Date: 2005-12-12 06:32 pm (UTC)As for Dumbledore, I guess I just liked the "hidden tiger" concept, where inside this mild-mannered, infinitely wise and patient fellow lurks the most powerful force on the planet. Harris never impressed me as an actor, and I've been a fan of Gambon's for years, so it's not the acting which is an issue for me, just the characterization.
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Date: 2005-12-13 05:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-16 08:53 pm (UTC)