View Full Version : Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince


shaunhood
07-23-2009, 05:12 AM
Saw it last weekend and to be honest, it was very disappointing. A friend of mine said it should have been named Horny Potter and the Half Dead flick or Harry Potter and the Raging Hormones. Personally, I hope they were reserving the best stuff for the next film or films, so I heard. Your opinion? :scratch2: http://www.bargainscreeners.com/blog/spr.gif

twc5964
07-24-2009, 09:18 PM
I enjoyed it a lot,however,I agree with the horny part...got old after 5 seconds.Still,a good movie imo.

vinyldavid
07-24-2009, 09:50 PM
I enjoyed it a lot,however,I agree with the horny part...got old after 5 seconds.Still,a good movie imo.

+1!!!

They just hit you over the head with it...in the book it is WAY more subtle...

fotno
07-24-2009, 10:11 PM
+1!!!

They just hit you over the head with it...in the book it is WAY more subtle...

Pretty much every aspect of the books is more subtle, and more carefully and gradually told as well. I Just saw HBP last week and I enjoyed it, although it was quite a bit different than the previous films. I think it was a judgment call on the part of the Producers/Director/Screenwriter to try to get as much as possible done, before Deadly Hallows.

Knowing where the Ron/Hermione & Harry/Ginny storylines are headed, I imagine they were trying to get a little of the romantic back-story told so that when the finale' is reached, people who haven't read the books won't be caught flat-footed. If they tried to deal with the romances solely within the Deadly Hallows films alone, I think it would be so cluttered that even the two films planned wouldn't have enough time to do it all.

The films are kind of a "Reader's Digest" version of the books anyway, with a tremendous amount removed and altered.

vinyldavid
07-24-2009, 10:19 PM
Fotno, I have quite a few friends that have only seen the movies, not wanting to read the books, and I think that they are missing out completely....also, at the end of the second movie (before even the fifth book came out) I predicted Harry/Ginny...which surprised me greatly when I found out I was right.

fotno
07-24-2009, 10:53 PM
As much as I enjoy the films (as is most often the case) there's no comparison between the books and the movies. I'm in my 40's and I love these books, so I can only imagine what it would have been like to grow up with them as so many young people have. The closest analogy I can think of in my own life, would be Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, which were my favorite books in my teens.

Edit: I called Harry/Ginny too... I was quite proud of myself. Once you know for sure, if you go back through the books you can see it from the very beginning. In Sorceror's Stone at Platform 9-3/4, Ginny chases after the departing Hogwarts Express once Harry and the Weasley boys have boarded. The hints keep getting dropped almost continually thereafter.

Wolverine
07-25-2009, 05:02 AM
Never read the books so I am blissfully ignorant of what has been changed or altered.
My kids however have inhaled everybook since they came out and this is the first one where they really criticized the movie for what it left out and what it emphasized. Based on what they said it seems the Director made some odd choices. I agree with the comments that the movie seemed to be centering around hormones rather than moving the whole Voldemort/Harry conflict along.

2DualsNotEnough
07-25-2009, 05:25 AM
Personally,I liked all the romantic stuff in this one.I think it makes a nice break from the constant doom and gloom,which I like,too.One of my favorite parts in any of the movies was in #4,I think,when you have all these kids who bravely face demons and death,absolutely terrified by the prospect of a school dance.
These books and movies were supposed to be relatable for kids,so as they got older,it would make sense to mirror what their readers would be going through at the same age.
Prisoner Of Azkaban is still my favorite just as pure cinema.
Jimmy

Andyman
07-25-2009, 07:28 AM
I haven't seen it yet, but my very astute 17 year old loved it and said it was the best of the bunch. She's inhaled all the books and also feels that the movies pale in comparison, but she liked this one alot.

soundmotor
07-26-2009, 08:33 AM
I saw it last night and really enjoyed it.

The "raging hormones" were so minimal I am not sure what all the fuss was about?

Mystic
07-26-2009, 09:51 AM
I've not read any of the books but I have been dragged by my S.O. to all of the films up to 1/2 Blood, which we're seeing later today. Sadly and tellingly, I am unable, after viewing X number of the films in this series, to recall a character named Ginny. Anyway, here's to the hormonal rage onslaught. :beerchug:

fotno
07-26-2009, 10:14 AM
Ginny Weasley, youngest of all the Weasley kids, and the first girl born to their family in several generations. One year back of Harry, Ron and Hermione at Hogwarts - Started in 1992 instead of 1991.

Edit: Added link and extra comments.

http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Ginevra_Weasley

To be fair, she has a far greater presence in the books than the films. It's only in the last two films that she really stands out as she should, especially seeing as how she is a major character and influences much of the story.

Mystic
07-27-2009, 10:37 AM
Ginny Weasley, youngest of all the Weasley kids, and the first girl born to their family in several generations. One year back of Harry, Ron and Hermione at Hogwarts - Started in 1992 instead of 1991.



Yes, now I do remember the little sister of the "poor" magic family.



To be fair, she has a far greater presence in the books than the films.

Good call: As I have not read the any of books, it follows that the Ginny character would not have for me a level of salience equal to many of the other characters.

slow_jazz
07-27-2009, 11:58 AM
I thought it was decent but they left way too much out of the book.

Goblet of Fire is still my favorite....

steerpike2
07-27-2009, 04:37 PM
I have all of them on cassette, read by Stephen Fry. To me that is by far the best way to ingest them; nothing beats having a story read to you! Especially by someone with such a talent for language.

pioneervato
07-27-2009, 05:10 PM
Took the family to see it and did not care for it much. Frankly, I think the HP series of movies have been rather average.

What is up with the Harry Potter character anyway? He is supposed to be the chosen one and yet he disappoints when it comes to exhibiting great magical powers. I know he is still learning, but c'mon, give us something more than just a few lame magical tricks. It seems that Malfoy is always kicking his ass.

Transformers was more fun to watch than HP.

fotno
07-27-2009, 06:00 PM
All I can say in response is - The stories do use magic to gain the attention of the reading (and viewing) audience, but they're not stories about magic, but about friendship, loyalty, courage and responsibility.

I Harry were able to simply overpower all the demons in his life, where would the value of his story lie? He's the underdog, the figure who must overcome the odds, and defeat those who are more powerful. Not by matching them blow for blow (and therefore evil for evil); but by being true to the memory of his parents, his friends and himself.

Just my opinion of course, but I find great worth in these stories, and have greatly enjoyed reading the books and watching the films.

Transformers? I watched the first one - Looked like an hour and a half Leatherman Tool demonstration to me.

vinyldavid
07-27-2009, 06:04 PM
All I can say in response is - The stories do use magic to gain the attention of the reading (and viewing) audience, but they're not stories about magic, but about friendship, loyalty, courage and responsibility.

I Harry were able to simply overpower all the demons in his life, where would the value of his story lie? He's the underdog, the figure who must overcome the odds, and defeat those who are more powerful. Not by matching them blow for blow (and therefore evil for evil); but by being true to the memory of his parents, his friends and himself.

Just my opinion of course, but I find great worth in these stories, and have greatly enjoyed reading the books and watching the films.

Transformers? I watched the first one - Looked like an hour and a half Leatherman Tool demonstration to me.

+1!

Also: :lmao: @ Leatherman

steerpike2
07-27-2009, 06:51 PM
HP, Star Wars and LOTR all share an identical theme; same story, different setting. I'm not saying that's bad - I love all three.

75Center
07-28-2009, 09:29 AM
I have read all the books and have watched all the movies, including the latest. The books are magnificant - there is no way the movies could include everything. Different directors have brought different "flavors" to the movies.

I think the first book and movie were my favorites, made me want to be ten years old again and have my own magic wand. :D

botrytis
07-28-2009, 09:34 AM
All I can say in response is - The stories do use magic to gain the attention of the reading (and viewing) audience, but they're not stories about magic, but about friendship, loyalty, courage and responsibility.

I Harry were able to simply overpower all the demons in his life, where would the value of his story lie? He's the underdog, the figure who must overcome the odds, and defeat those who are more powerful. Not by matching them blow for blow (and therefore evil for evil); but by being true to the memory of his parents, his friends and himself.

Just my opinion of course, but I find great worth in these stories, and have greatly enjoyed reading the books and watching the films.

Transformers? I watched the first one - Looked like an hour and a half Leatherman Tool demonstration to me.

Here - here!! Remember after HP and the Order of the Phoenix when Harry said at the end he felt sorry for Voldemort because he really had nothing to fight for - like friendship and that is worth fighting for.

It is snippets like above that make these books/movies transcend it all (just like Star Wars, King Arthur, etc.).

napsomendo
07-29-2009, 04:38 PM
Saw prince the first weekend, dissapointment meter was pegged.
Pondered for a week and went back again and the lights came on. The film is about what each character was doing and what was important to them when they were a kid at Hogwarts.

The opening, Harry meets a pretty girl and considers letting her ride his "broomstick'. Hooray for hormones.

Voldemort sends Death Eaters to kidnap the person that he thinks can explain his "wand" problem.

Dumbledore has injured his hand trying to right the wrong he commited as a young man.

Lilly Potter was conjuring random acts of magical beauty.

Snape gave himself the name "Half Blood Prince" to score some dark magic "cool".

Hagrid was playing with creepy spiders.

Mr. Weasley sits in his man-cave surrounded by muggle treasures/junk, his wonder for the other world still fresh. Would've been a good spot for an old radio set.

It goes on and on. J.K. Rowling herself has said the story is about the kids and by extension all the characters when they were kids.

I have read all the books and I have to give "Prince" the film high marks.

soundmotor
07-29-2009, 06:19 PM
Transformers? I watched the first one - Looked like an hour and a half Leatherman Tool demonstration to me.

I had the same thought -

http://filmonic.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/megan-fox-transformers-set.jpg

vegabass25
07-31-2009, 12:37 AM
:puke: is what I though of it.

Bigerik
07-31-2009, 07:44 AM
i loved the book and I loved the movie. Actually thought it was one of the better ones in the series. Number one and two are likely the most true to the books, but there is much less material there also. MUCH smaller books to deal with.
For the most part, I agreed with, or at least understood why the changes were made from the book to the movie.

Two thumbs up from me.