What, no cookies? You got it right, we had a DATE DAY today! Other than a movie in June (my husband’s friend watched our girl), and a VERY quick dinner later that same month (sister in law watched), we have not had any time ‘alone’ since our daughter was born. Wait, a quick hour and a half while we closed on our house, but I’m not sure that counts! It was a long day, but well worth it for some good in-car discussions regarding our house, and so on. Yeah!
My mom and dad graciously agreed to watch Keeley for us. We dropped her off around 10 am and didn’t pick her up until around 7:30. We drove back to the metro area, swinging through McDonald’s for lunch, hit the movie, a couple of stores, and then realizing what time we had to be back, and how few diapers we actually left, we scurried back. It was still glorious, though, to be kid free for a few hours on a gorgeous Saturday!
Now, the movie:
Overall Impression:
Wow! What a ride. This film was 2.5 hours. Usually, a 2 hour film makes me wiggle with an insane need to use the bathroom. I can tell you, for this film, I was glued to my seat. I would have only reluctantly gotten up for an emergency. I can honestly say that that 2.5 hours was the fastest 2.5 hours of my life. They should have had those funky drop down handles like they have on carnival rides attached to the seats. Whew.
Does it stick to the book?
If you like the book and hate being disappointed by the movie (like me), you’ll find this movie: VERY GOOD. Stuck to book on a fairly consistent basis. Even the dialogue was straight out of the book, which I think a true JK Rowling/ Harry Potter fan appreciates. There’s a few things I’m wondering how they’ll ‘tweak’ since they didn’t include/didn’t foreshadow them in this film. Namely, the hallows themselves. There wasn’t a whole lot of mention specifically about them, and that’s a bit surprising. The crux of the book I think is the question of horcruxes or hallows, (just added horcruxes to my blog’s dictionary)—and I have a feeling that this won’t be a ‘decision’ that needs to be made, if that’s not giving too much away. Big disappointment: They didn’t let Dudley ‘redeem’ himself at the beginning of the book. Such a shame.
The book split:
In case you didn’t know, the book (7, HP & The Deathly Hallows) was broken into 2 parts for movie’s running time sake. They actually did a really good job of moving the pace of the book along without jumping too much, or leaving out too much. The first movie ends at Shell Cottage. If you’ve read the book, you have a fair guess as to what I’m talking about. One of my friends said it’s about 2/3 of the way through, and that’s probably pretty accurate. I’m okay with the split, I figured it might go a few scenes more (to the dragon) but this was okay, too.
Something I NEVER write about:
The music, the scenery, the way the story unfurled was almost seamless. These ‘kids’ that have played the main characters in the book have seen some of the most beautiful scenery in the British Isles, and beyond, I’m sure. Several of those places I would love to just sit and stare around for a while, soak it all in. Absorb it into my soul, fully. I wonder if they realize the enormity of the beauty, or if touches them at all?
The music was overall very nice, although I must admit, the soundtrack wasn’t foremost in my mind.
The way the Tale of Beedle the Bard (The Three Brothers) was told was absolutely brilliant. I want to hug whoever came up with that. Genius.
Violence, etc: The movie was rated PG 13. There were some obvious scenes that would be hard for small children to take. Since most kids will have read the book ( I hope) before they see it, they’re probably okay if they are old enough to go to Hogwarts themselves. I wouldn’t suggest taking a 5 year old, though.
Grade: A –there were a few omissions that bother me, I’ll admit.
Worth the price of admission?: We saw it in the city, $8 for a brand new movie matinee. Not bad. Would we pay it again? You bet. Will we buy the DVD? Absolutely!
Oh, thank you! I’m going to see it this morning and was feeling strange about it. None of the other HPs have disappointed, but I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about a split story. Even the intermission in Gone with the Wind irritates me. And on the DVD, they split it into two discs at the intermission. Anyway, thanks for you impressions. I feel better going in now!
I absolutely loved it too. Best movie yet. I also loved how much humor was in the movie. And the scenery was beautiful. I can’t wait for the last movie!