HP: Deathly Hallows Pt. 1
 

I'm sorta . . . reluctant to go see it, because I know very well it's going to be depressing. Dark, and cliff-hangery.

Then there's the whole "40 days in the wilderness" thing which, while essential to Harry's Hero's Journey, kind of bogs that part of the book down.

I'm sure I WILL go see it, I just --- am not looking forward to it!

The camping parts did not drag too much. It wasn't as depressing as you would think.

good to hear!

Saw it in IMAX... very good effects pretty weak movie. Maybe if you read the books, it'd be okay. The girls liked it.

I saw it this morning. It was --brilliant! (as Harry would say). Really affecting, and no wonder, the raw material is superb. And the characterization--so amazing! The acting and the characters really carried it through the wildernessy parts and the dark parts. Daniel Radcliff, especially, is just awesome to watch. No, not really a cliffhanger, just a bang of an ending. (wink)

It was very LONG.
Film is not my favourite medium anyway, so I do tend to label them good and bad according to length :) It scored well on the seeing and hearing front - I can't bear films set in the dark, where I can't work out what's happening, or can't hear the dialogue. And finally it scored well on being able to work out who was who - of course it helps that this is the 7th film, so I've seen all the protagonists many times. Films with people who look like eachother are a nightmare for me (Heat was really tricky).

I didn't cry when one of the characters died though (trying to be non-spoilerish). And I had to put the book down to cry when I read that part. But then again, I didn't like the looks or sounds of them in the film - they were nothing like I expected.

One of my favourite characters in the books AND perfectly portrayed in the films is Loony (sorry, Luna) Lovegood. Although how she grew up with West Irish accent when she lived within spitting distance of Ron Weasley I'm not sure. I always hoped they would get together actually...

Yes. Necessarily the least splashy of the films so far. What I particularly liked about the 40 days in the wilderness part was they managed to convey a turning point in Ron's and Hermione's relationship, and earlier in Ginny and Harry's. Quiet but effective.

They continue with the thick and eldritch decor in the wizarding world's backgrounds, which gets a thumbs up from me.

Good, much better than the 6th film representation. I wouldn't be surprised (or mind) if the second part of the last book is like the Return of the King, almost 4 hours. I mean, I think we owe Harry Potter decent time to dazzle and fascinate us for the last time on the big screen.

That would be a fantastic change. I think comparing HP to TLOTR is an insult to Tolkien.

Ah, is the above post the reason Classic has withdrawn himself...?

OK, I chuckled.

It's a matter of perspective, C. Those not very familiar with the Fantasy literature landscape see if from the 10,000 foot view where the LOTR and Hogwarts universes might look like they are close together.

If you are more familiar with the genre, then your point of view is that LOTR is on one side of the domain and Hogwarts is way over on the other side of things.

Actually, it'd be interesting to try to map out the various fantasy universes. It's something a hippy poster company from the 60s would have loved to do.

There's actually a pretty good parallel between HP and LOTR. The first Harry Potter is fairly lighthearted and goofy, with slapstick and sillyness, like the Hobbit. As it goes on, it gets more serious and adult, as does LOTR. As a large work, the elves sitting in trees singing insulting songs from the Hobbit doesn't completely mesh with the LOTR elves, and maybe the silly and/or punny names initiated in the first Harry Potter clash a bit with the darker directions the story goes in later volumes. But that's something that can easily happen with any work written over the course of years.

I loved the Deathly Hallows Pt.1 movie, and I feel it was a good adaption of the book. It was dark and gritty just what I would have wanted.

Furthermore, Rolings last HP book was Toklinest in both style and substance.

Are they equals?
No.

Are they in the same ballpark?
Yes.