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Potters and Doctors and such, oh my!
Jul. 20th, 2009 09:09 amA relatively quiet weekend...
Went to see Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince -- not in one of the big megaplexes, but at one of our small local independents, a few of which are now getting the big films in first run. No stadium seating, no rocking seats, no cup holders in the arm rests . . . but the matinee ticket, a bag of fresh-popped popcorn, and a soft drink together barely cracked $10.
As for the film itself: I enjoyed it, though I wasn't precisely blown away. Then again, this is not exactly a film that *tries* to blow you away; more than any of the other Potter films to date, this is not an action/adventure movie. This is a character piece, with surprisingly focused arcs and not a lot of diversion from the primary plot(s). Consensus is right; our three principals have improved their acting skills immensely over the life of the franchise, and it shows. The one place where the tight focus on character -- as opposed to spectacle -- arguably hurts the picture is the climax, in which the Harry/Snape duel badly needed more fireworks in both the pyrotechnic and emotional realms.
It's going to be interesting to look at the series of films as a whole once both parts of Deathly Hallows have hit screens. Corporate franchise-building notwithstanding, I don't think there's ever been or will be another ensemble acting epic done on so large a scale.
Meanwhile on the home front, I've been working my way through the library's Season 4 set of new-run Doctor Who. [Also need to get in this week and pick up a reserve copy of Sarah Jane Adventures: Season 1.] Just hit "The Unicorn and the Wasp" over the weekend, and was vastly amused and impressed by the homage to Agatha Christie (it wouldn't surprise me if they managed to work every one of her titles into the dialogue). It reminded me of the Davison-era serial "Black Orchid", and strikes me as one of the few occasions where the new series has really gotten into the spirit of the original run.
Which prompts an LJ-tech question for the groupmind: it's easy to get into individual journal archives and see what one person was posting in, say, May of 2008. But is there a way to easily flash back to one's friends page from a specified day or month, short of hopping back a page at a time through umpty-thousand posts?
Went to see Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince -- not in one of the big megaplexes, but at one of our small local independents, a few of which are now getting the big films in first run. No stadium seating, no rocking seats, no cup holders in the arm rests . . . but the matinee ticket, a bag of fresh-popped popcorn, and a soft drink together barely cracked $10.
As for the film itself: I enjoyed it, though I wasn't precisely blown away. Then again, this is not exactly a film that *tries* to blow you away; more than any of the other Potter films to date, this is not an action/adventure movie. This is a character piece, with surprisingly focused arcs and not a lot of diversion from the primary plot(s). Consensus is right; our three principals have improved their acting skills immensely over the life of the franchise, and it shows. The one place where the tight focus on character -- as opposed to spectacle -- arguably hurts the picture is the climax, in which the Harry/Snape duel badly needed more fireworks in both the pyrotechnic and emotional realms.
It's going to be interesting to look at the series of films as a whole once both parts of Deathly Hallows have hit screens. Corporate franchise-building notwithstanding, I don't think there's ever been or will be another ensemble acting epic done on so large a scale.
Meanwhile on the home front, I've been working my way through the library's Season 4 set of new-run Doctor Who. [Also need to get in this week and pick up a reserve copy of Sarah Jane Adventures: Season 1.] Just hit "The Unicorn and the Wasp" over the weekend, and was vastly amused and impressed by the homage to Agatha Christie (it wouldn't surprise me if they managed to work every one of her titles into the dialogue). It reminded me of the Davison-era serial "Black Orchid", and strikes me as one of the few occasions where the new series has really gotten into the spirit of the original run.
Which prompts an LJ-tech question for the groupmind: it's easy to get into individual journal archives and see what one person was posting in, say, May of 2008. But is there a way to easily flash back to one's friends page from a specified day or month, short of hopping back a page at a time through umpty-thousand posts?
