Who would you have liked to see cast as Voldemort?

 

Well I haven't exactly given it alot of thought, but my problem with Ralph is he does not convince me at all. In the book, Voldemort is supposed to be the darkest wizard of all time who everyone fears, but in the film, the likes of Bellatrix especially are portrayed so much more menacinly, and as much as I love Helena, that's not how it should be.

I'm pretty sure in the book Hedwig

falls from the sidecar rather than gets hit by a killing curse?

I kind of wish more had been made of that (in the film and the book). SAD TIMES.

 

And I think Fiennes is fine as Voldemort but what has ruined it for me in the past is the fact that his face just LOOKS RIDICULOUS. I don't think he needed to look quite so sub-human.

 

she gets hit by a killing curse and then harry has to crash the sidecar with her in it as a distraction

 

I think someone needs to reread The Seven Potters chapter!

 

"Screams, a blaze of green light on every side: Hagrid gave a yell and the motorbike rolled over. Harry lost any sense of where they were: street lights above him, yells around him, he was clinging to the sidecar for dear life. Hedwig's cage, the Firebolt, and his rucksack slipped from beneath his knees -

'No - HEDWIG!"

The broomstick spun to earth, but he just managed to seize the strap of his rucksack and the top of the cage as the motorbike swung the right way up again. A second's relief, and then another burst of green light. The owl screeched and fell to the floor of the cage."

 

 

yeah...

Edited November 24, 201014 yr by CJ.

"Screams, a blaze of green light on every side: Hagrid gave a yell and the motorbike rolled over. Harry lost any sense of where they were: street lights above him, yells around him, he was clinging to the sidecar for dear life. Hedwig's cage, the Firebolt, and his rucksack slipped from beneath his knees -

'No - HEDWIG!"

The broomstick spun to earth, but he just managed to seize the strap of his rucksack and the top of the cage as the motorbike swung the right way up again. A second's relief, and then another burst of green light. The owl screeched and fell to the floor of the cage."

 

 

yeah...

Just about to post that :lol:

 

If anyone is interested, while there has been a lot of debate about the Harry and Hermione dancing scene, which reviews seem to find either cringey or touching (I am of the latter opinon) there is another tender/light hearted camping scene moment that was filmed between Ron and Hermione; Yates cut it, but it will be on the DVD.

 

"There was a scene we shot up in Scotland; it's a scene where Ron is showing Hermione how to throw a stone on a lake, how to spin a stone on the lake, and Hermione is being really girly about it. She's got a really rubbish throw, and she has to insist that Ron show her how to spin the stone to sort of entice tactility and physical contact, and it's a really funny, tender and moving scene," Yates described. "They're both very funny in it, but it ended up on the DVD because the overall tone of our film, as you know, is quite intense."

 

Some shots from the scene:

http://sadpanda.us/images/283883-5H2RSR4.jpg

Edited November 25, 201014 yr by Daniel II

i liked the dance scene

 

i thought it was nice that harry showed hermione some affection after ron left. it was sweet. he's a bit of a turd in the novel after that point.

Hated the dance scene...talk about cringey.

 

BUT that is about the only criticism I have of the film. It is actually the first film i've seen in the series and not had complaints about it because i've read the books. The way Dobby was portrayed was beautiful. He's not in the film series nearly as much as he in the books but a lot of people had the hankeys out in the cinema for that scene. I wish that Sirius's death would have had that impact in the films...but alas no.

 

My favourite part of the film however, was probably the deathy hallows explanation sequence. It shouldn't have worked within the context of the film...but it really did.

Quite a sharp decline of 60% in its second weekend in America (falling faster than the last November Potter film, Goblet of Fire, which fell by 47% back in 2005); grossing a still repectable $50.3 million to lead the Thanksgiving weekend during the fri-sun period (over the total five day weekend it grossed $76,284,815). However, having picked up $220.4 million in 10 days, Deathly Hallows: Part 1 has manged to secure the highest grossing 10-day launch of the series, beating The Half-Blood Prince which made $201.2 million in the same timeframe. It is also gaining on last November's big fantasy flick New Moon, which grossed $230.9 by Day 10. Although when it comes to estimated attendance, it ranks #3 overall in the series, behind the Philiosopher's Stone and the Goblet of Fire.

 

Overseas it has grossed a mighty $389,200,000 (although this figure may need updating) for a current worldwide total of $609,552,000.

 

Source: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2996&p=.htm

Edited November 29, 201014 yr by Daniel II

I don't know what the previous two films' total WW gross stood at after a week and a half but surely this is on course to be the first film to surpass $1bn?

I don't know what the previous two films' total WW gross stood at after a week and a half but surely this is on course to be the first film to surpass $1bn?

It very much will, although there is a 'big' debate going on at the moment ever since Alice hit the $1bn mark earlier this year; that with rising ticket prices and the revival of 3D, more and more movies will pass what used to be considered an almost unreachable landmark; thereby making it less of an achievement than it used to be.

 

Regardless, I think it will clear it quite comfortably and yeah it will be the first of the franchise to do so. Philosopher's Stone came very close with $974,733,550, although adjusted for inflation it would be well over.

 

Worldwide grosses

 

1) Philosopher's Stone $974,733,550

2) Order of the Phoenix $938,212,738

3) Half-Blood Prince $933,959,197

 

4) Goblet of Fire $895,921,036

5) Chamber of Secrets $878,643,482

 

6) Prisoner of Azkaban $795,634,069

 

It looks like at first the rule of diminishing returns applied for the first two sequels before getting back its stride and hitting the ground running from Goblet of Fire onwards. It's odd however that the most critically accliamed of the series, is the least successful.

Edited November 29, 201014 yr by Daniel II

I never understood why Prisoner of Azkaban was the most acclaimed. For me the most recent three films are head and shoulders above all that came before - they're like their own trilogy in terms of quality of the storytelling, production values etc etc. Compare Goblet of Fire with Order of the Phoenix and the gulf in quality is laughable.

I never understood why Prisoner of Azkaban was the most acclaimed. For me the most recent three films are head and shoulders above all that came before - they're like their own trilogy in terms of quality of the storytelling, production values etc etc. Compare Goblet of Fire with Order of the Phoenix and the gulf in quality is laughable.

I think you have to look at it in context, compared to the first two awfully twee movies, Cuarón took the series and gave it a complete overhaul aesthetically (which Rowling has publicly stated is truer to her vision than Columbus's Hogwarts was) and his vision has been the cornerstone of the series ever since. His offbeat direction was also a breath of fresh air, and he seemed to infuse his move with a sense of magic (without the tweeness). The one criticism that can be levelled at Yates is that he sucked that out almost completely in hs movies to make them more "gritty and realistic". Around other boards there seems as many people that dislike him as like him for this. I agree with you completely however regarding Goblet of Fire, the editing for that was fantastically awful; to the point I find it almost unwatchable.

Edited November 29, 201014 yr by Daniel II

rewatched this. it was way slower the second time, the cut is bugging me more and more. i still can't really see it any other way to be fair, but it really drags on second viewing, especially without the second part (which will surely be great, considering how great the source material is).

 

dance scene is the best scene. THAT. SONG.

 

prisoner of azkaban is still the best film of the series hands down for the reasons stated above. it's easily the most fluid and creative of them all. i do like yates, but there's something very static and awkward about his directing at times. gritty and realistic for the sake of being gritty rather than coming off as honest. prisoner of azkaban was a beautiful mix of humor, angst, action, etc.

 

i think the only reason the previous three seem better is because they have the advantage of having the same director. if cuaron had directed them all, i think the movies would have bee incredible (whereas now they're just really good).

if cuaron had directed them all, i think the movies would have bee incredible (whereas now they're just really good).

+1 yeah it's pretty predictable to say this, but, I love what he did with Pan's Labyrinth. <3

+1 yeah it's pretty predictable to say this, but, I love what he did with Pan's Labyrinth. <3

*cough* Guillermo del Toro *cough*

 

Also, I agree about Yates forcing the shaky and awkward camera work at times. I think it's most noticeable in Order of the Phoenix, but his style benefited Deathly Hallows for the tent scenes, and no matter how try hard the directing may have been for it, it made the Snatchers chase scene very visceral for me. And [+2] regarding the tent scene, it is the best moment for me in the entire series. It moved me more than any death has done so far.

Edited November 30, 201014 yr by Daniel II

*cough* Guillermo del Toro *cough*

 

Also, I agree about Yates forcing the shaky and awkward camera work at times. I think it's most noticeable in Order of the Phoenix, but his style benefited Deathly Hallows for the tent scenes, and no matter how try hard the directing may have been for it, it made the Snatchers chase scene very visceral for me. And [+2] regarding the tent scene, it is the best moment for me in the entire series. It moved me more than any death has done so far.

Woops I thought Cuarón directed it also, my bad!

Woops I thought Cuarón directed it also, my bad!

Happens to the best of us!

Deathly Hallows - just a snap-shot overview - Good beginning, good ending, pretty saggy mid-section.... Got a bit irritated with all the faffing around in the tent/forest stuff tbh... Might be great in a book, but when you watch it in a film, it begins to drag slightly... the "dance" I thought was awkward and cringy tbh, was it supposed to be like that..? I really dunno, it just struck a pretty wrong note for me... On the whole, it was pretty okay, not bad, did what it said on the tin, etc, etc, (it's always a bit difficult to "review" something that's clearly only the first part of a whole...) setting things up nicely for what I hope will be a complete "balls-to-the-wall" epic finale........

the "dance" I thought was awkward and cringy tbh, was it supposed to be like that..?

 

in a way, yes

awkward, at least

I really enjoyed this. But Hermione's alias of Penelope Clearwater didn't work so well since that character has never appeared in the films. Not important but it made me think.