Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

This film held a perfect balance of action, humor, romance, and suspense. Err... Why am I writing this like a review? Here's some stuff that stood out to me:

Before the titles appeared
When Harry looked back into the cupboard under the stairs for a few moments, it felt so nostalgic and bittersweet. Maybe it was just me, but I had this creepily realistic sense of how he felt when he saw those toy knights inside the cupboard. Part of me thinks I only notice these things because I've read the books, while part of me hopes it's just outstanding film-making.

For the first time ever, we're shown Hermione's muggle household and bedroom. We see her parents in the living room, talking about Australia. She takes out her wand to erase herself from their memory, knowing that she is about to embark on what is probably the most dangerous quest of her life. This is where we realize that these kids really know what they're up against and are taking the proper precautions as to not hurt anybody else. It's also a great example of how good Hermione is at magic. I'm sure erasing oneself from somebody's memory isn't something you can just learn in charms class.

Every scene with Fred and George in it
I was so glad they kept the "holey" joke in there. Besides being hilariously cute, it served to remind us that the twins are firm believers that happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light. I was also glad to see they treated the twins as individuals. There was no more of this finishing-each-other's-sentences nonsense.

Ron Weasley's character
If there was anyone that stood out to me particularly, it was Rupert Grint. He stepped up his game by a lot. In the first six films Ron was always funny, silly and made dumb comments. In this one, he grew into someone who knew he had priorities in life and that didn't want to be wasting his time with friends while he had family in danger. He finally started to think about the consequences of what he was doing. However cowardly he was in having left Harry and Hermione, he naturally made up for it by... well, killing a freakin' Horcrux and saving Harry's life.

And because I'm biased, I loved watching scenes where Ron and Hermione show their true feelings for each other. Including, but not limited to: the Horcrux revealing he had worries about Harry and Hermione having feelings for each other, watching Ron be jealous of Harry and Hermione when they were together, Ron being worried when Hermione was tortured, Ron admitting that they wouldn't last two days without her . . . The list can go on.

Dobby!
I love Dobby so much. So so so much. So cute and cheesy and funny. I remember even squealing when the first trailer was released and he made an appearance. Of course, I knew what was coming and I emotionally prepared myself for it. "Such a beautiful place to be with friends." Tear.

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If you want to hear me discuss this more from a person-who-can't-separate-the-book-from-the-movie point of view, be on the lookout for my vlog later today. In it, I discuss what I saw, what I liked, and what I would've like to have seen. (I'll add it to the end of this post once it's uploaded. Beware: It's almost ten minutes long.)

Update: The video is up!


If there's any particular scene you'd like to discuss, feel free to leave a comment and we can talk on there.