Of Potter

we had an amazing turnout for the harry potter charity screening today. 4 theatres at suntec eng wah cinema, all filled to the brim with medics. it was quite a sight really, to see the entire faculty, including graduated students and teaching staff, hanging around eng wah. i got my ticket quite by accident really as i had planned to watch it later, but since it was for charity, i didn't mind.

which brings me to the movie. if not for the fact it was for something good, i would have mighty pissed at having to spend ten bucks on it. it was quite a let down, compared to the previous installments, and this is coming from a person who has never read the books.

-warning: a dash of spoilers ahead-

for starters, the movie was choppy. jumping from one scene to another might be acceptable for a b grade movie, but not for a franchise such as harry potter. perhaps the film makers wanted to keep the pace up, but the rather abrupt scene changes got on my nerves.

and since i've never read the book, i would have appreciated some explanation as to what the prophecy was. i watched potter and company run for their lives and fight the death eaters while trying to figure out the mystery of the prophecy. the characters didn't seem that well developed, occasionally uttering random lines that apparently alluded to their true selves in the book. more importantly, this was supposed to be the darkest movie yet, but the poor transitions from happy to sad scenes did not allow that foreboding atmosphere, so wonderfully created in the previous movie, to be felt. the producers really should consider getting back the previous writer who did a better job on the adaptation!

third, i still think voldemort looks ridiculous. he's not sinister-looking enough. that collapsed nose of his reminds me of michael jackson. he comes across like the evil witch of the east (or was it west?) instead of a representation of our darkest fears.

fourthly, the acting was mostly flat. only evanna lynch stood out with her mesmerizing portrayal of luna lovegood. (doesn't she looks like jane krakowski from ally mcbeal?) imelda staunton was an excellent choice for dolores umbridge - just the right amount of pompousness and wickedness. absolutely hilarious. heh.

-end of spoilers-

the movie could have been better i suppose (no more than 3 out of 5 stars!), but it was enjoyable enough, and it was nice to go out with my clinical group in the middle of a posting. pardon my rather lengthy sentences; reading robbins does not help me with my brevity at all.