I suppose there's probably a point at which one ODs on being a geek.

I took the day off to go and watch Harry Potter. That's almost like quitting! Oh man, I wish. Briefly: it was awesome. It was so awesome. I'd like to go see it again.

When we got to the theater, slight panic happened because of what we found there: schoolbuses. Dozens and dozens of schoolbuses. It was chilling. But! It seems that all the camps and organizations and what have you caught the earliest showings. (We got there early to secure tickets for the 1 o'clock.) By the time we were standing in line, we were amongst a largely adult crowd. And I didn't have to sit next to anyone large or noisy. And I only had to deal with a minimum of stupidity*. I usually don't like it when movie theaters are too crowded. But this was nice. At the end, nearly everyone applauded, and it's awesome when that happens.

On Friday, I'm totally going to the PotterCast that's being done in the city. When they ask the crowd if Harry's a Horcrux, I'm going to cheer really loudly. It'll be awesome. Or embarrassing. Probably both. I'm so excited!

Review.

[Begin Spoiler for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix — Highlight to view]

Before I went to see the movie, I had read a few newspaper reviews. I stopped, because they were somewhat upsetting. There seemed to be a pretty even split between reviewers who thought that this was the best one yet, and reviewers who thought they dropped the ball. After watching it, I can understand both.

I'll try like heck to assess the movie as its own element, and not as a translation of the book. A little of it will sneak in, I'm sure. I'm pretty impressed that, like the filmmakers have been saying, OotP really does pare down into a pretty streamlined story. It totally does! But it turns out that, apparently ... the streamlined story is kind of boring? OotP is my favorite of the series (so far, anyway). I know that a lot of fans say it's their least favorite. I had been a little shocked to hear some people say that they don't like it because, despite being the longest book by far, it's light on plot. After seeing it in movie form ... that's totally true! Nothing really happens in the whole movie!

Except, I mean, Sirius dies. Oh man. Gary Oldman. Gary Oldman is truly a master craftsman of acting. Actually, all the acting in the movie was outstanding. I first decided this when I was surreptitiously watching clips from the film on mute while I was languishing in my office. I know, I know. But you read my entry title, didn't you? It was amazing: it looked like normal people just talking to each other. I know that sounds like ridiculous praise, but it's actually very very high praise.

David Yates might be a genius. The direction in this movie truly is wonderful. Aside from the work with the actors, there was also lots of adventurous camera work going on. Shots from upside down, things like that. It was awesome. I wish, though, that he could have directed the film in another 15 years or so. While he's obviously very talented, he's also obviously brand new. If he had had time to perfect his skill, this may have been the best movie ever.

Anyway, back to Gary Oldman and how great he is. Oh! Also, Alan Rickman. Seriously. The Occlumency scenes were incredible. I'm trying not to use the word "boss" because then my boyfriend will despair for me. But, no, really, they were. They were so boss.

Except what the hell! Snape's Worst Memory was so short! We didn't even get to see Harry's mother at all! There's so much from the previews and everything else that didn't make it into the final product. And I really, really wish they had. Here's my bottom line on the movie: what they did, they did damn near to perfection. But I could have used more. It really, really could have used more. I don't mean this as a fan. Although, that too. I want Ron to be Head Boy and Quidditch captain. I wanted to see Umbridge inspect McGonagall. But I can do without that. What I mean is, I really think they would have been benefited to expand what they had.

Everything went by so quickly! There was no time to savor any of the scenes. Savor, there you go. The metaphor I came up with on the drive home was, it's like ordering the world's most outrageous, most delicious food, and then wolfing it down. And this is why I loved the book, even though, apparently, nothing goes on in it. I've said all along that JK Rowling is a superb storyteller. Storytelling is a craft. Sort of like glass-blowing. Beautiful in the finished project, but a solid, hands-on craft. The story that JK Rowling is telling, pared-down, bare-bones, is not very interesting. It's good versus evil. Earnest orphan fights the powers of darkness and is saved by love and friendship. Obviously! Boring.

It's how she does it. It's in all the details. It's in the way that things unfold, and how they're revealed. I'm not saying that OotP wouldn't have benefited from some sterner editing (one word: "coolly"), but the details are what makes it Harry Potter. This is where the movie fails. It needs those details. It has a lot. I will credit the new screenwriter by saying that he certainly seems to cherish the world more than the other guy ever did. I love when that happens in adaptations - the things in the background. The things that have whole paragraphs devoted to them, and only you know, because you're in on it, and your neighbor isn't. But they only had them where they could throw them in as the story was barreling forward. We need to settle into the world, because that's when we love it. If they could have added 10 seconds to every scene, I don't think it would have been badly used.

Having said that. Holy shit did you see the Occlumency scenes? DID YOU SEE DUMBLEDORE TOTALLY OWN EVERYTHING? "It was foolish of you to come here tonight, Tom." Fucking A, Dumbledore!! Did I mention how great Gary Oldman was? Alan Rickman? How about Imelda Staunton? Evanna Lynch? Helena Bonham Carter? Hell, Warwick Davis? The twins?

I want to go see it again.

[End Spoiler]



Ten more days. Must not freak out.



*Okay, so, we got into the theater almost 40 minutes early. It was necessary, else we probably would not have gotten a seat. Or, okay, we would have, but not one we could comfortably see the screen from. So, I was there to see the filler that they run before the commercials that come before the previews that they show before the trailers. (Trailers for 5 different Potter ripoffs and The Bourne Ultimatum. Oh, and Get Smart! Which I haven't decided how I feel about yet.) The upshot is, I got to learn ten times that before Jeremy Irons was a star, he used to work as a social worker in London. On one of these go-rounds, one of the trio of vapid girls in front of me remarked, "Who's Jeremy Irons?" in a slightly offended voice. Don't worry. She knows who Robert De Niro is, though. I probably would have been more angry if I hadn't been too busy thinking "Jeremy's Iron" to myself and giggling more than is seemly about it. I was really excited to be there.