I saw the HBO preview, and there are thestrals. Whether they figure into the plot the same way remains to be seen - all we saw of them were WETA-esque sketches. (And heard a Luna voiceover - Evanna Lynch IS perfect.) In fact, the techies have a WETA complex straight through, which is very refreshing after the cracked-out PoA crap (bridge excluded). Actually, the sketch of Grawp looks disturbingly like the cave troll with bigger ears, but nothing can make me like Grawp, so I don't care.
And the HBO preview has plenty of shots of the Veil Room, including Bella mid-duel and Lucius holding the orb - it's pre-edit, though, and they're going to need to computer-generate bits, but it's stuff they could do without looking fakey back in the '80s. And it's only spoileriffic to people who have already read the book, but MAN does it brush up.
Anyway, acting. Bella is perfect, doubly so given that her nose is much wider, her skin is much paler, and her hair is much frizzier than mine - Bonham-Carter is the most versatile actor I have ever witnessed, as she also played Ophelia and the Corpse Bride to a tee. Imelda Staunton isn't as syrupy as I would like, but she's still very Umbridge-like, down to her height - I just wonder what's with that shot where she's fleeing in panic through the O.W.L. testing center (I assume that's what it is by the desk arrangement). Gary Oldman is directed with the right sort of authoritative melancholy - so he's not limited to sociopath and raving loon, which Cuaron failed to pick up, and actually resembles Sirius. Michael Gambon is still overly aggressive for Dumbledore, but his canonical subtlety in the courtroom scene probably wouldn't transfer well to the screen, at least as far as most teenage casual fans are concerned. Anyway, I sort of enjoy him righteously snarling at the Wizengamot.
Also, the score isn't John Williams, but it doesn't sound as bland as Doyle's, either, quite dramatic, in fact, and may even be improved without the big-name watermark.
Why the heck isn't this director staying on for HBP? He's a genius! Was he exposed as a werewolf or what?
People, this will be a good Harry Potter movie.
Do what you will; but I will hinder it if I may.
-- Eowyn of the Mark
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