Watching the Half Blood Prince for the 3rd Time, and siiiiigh, Severus Snape <3

Oh noes, someone noticed I missed the July 27th post. I didn’t realize anyone would actually notice. Thanks Sharra, for (uhm) noticing. I fell asleep typing this post last night, that’s why. So, err, here it goes. :)

DAY FIVE. No, not 3rd time. 2.75th time, if I’d be more specific, because 3-quarters of the way through the second one, I suddenly remembered a deadline I had to catch, so we left somewhere in the middle of Harry and Dumbledore’s cave scene, which was okay, since I saw the movie already anyway.

But my brother and I had to watch it again last night because we’re fanatics like that. First 2 times (err, 1.75 times) with Rico, and this last one with Kuya Niks.

5/30. Watching HP and the Half Blood Prince for the 3rd Time

At this point, I’d say, it gets better the second time around, and gets even better the third time. I’m not sure though, if I’d still say the same thing if I saw it 10 times. Not that I would do anything like that, I think three times is enough.

I thought the first time I saw it was rather frustrating because the expectations were so high. I couldn’t stop comparing the movie to the book, and listing down in my head the scenes in the book that were taken off or replaced in the film version —

• Dumbledore picking up Harry from the Dursleys;
• Bill and Fleur’s wedding; Fleur hanging around the Burrow (I stand corrected, the wedding’s on the 7th book, thanks Mara!);
  
• Tonks secretly falling in love with Lupin, Lupin pushing her away;
• Harry inheriting the Blacks’ house and Kreacher;
• Voldemort’s roots, Tom Riddle stealing the ring from Morvolo, killing his father, working at Borgin and Burke, coming back to Hogwarts to apply for a job;
• the battle between the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix at Hogwarts!! (I really thought this one should be there);

I could go on and on. I hoped to see more of Fred and George too, their magical store was just soo fun to watch I wish there were more clips of that. And I thought it was totally unnecessary to set the Burrow on fire, that part was really sad (and totally not in the book!). And where is the Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry of Magic in all of this? I missed Neville Longbottom, too, although I believe that his role will be more prominent in the Deathly Hallows.

At one point I thought the movie was an over-the-top marketing strategy for people to buy the book (or read the book again). It’s funny how those who’ve read the book would keep comparing it with the movie version that they end up frustrated, while those who didn’t read the book would have so many questions bugging them the entire film that they end up too focused on connecting the dots, and/or bugging the person next to them (who happened to have read the book) with questions throughout the film. You’ve read the book, you compare. You didn’t read it, you get lost.

On the other hand, I found myself enjoying more on my second serving of HBP, and even more the third time. I think it’s mostly because the expectations were already set, so my focus shifted from pointing out details in the book to simply enjoying everything I loved about Harry Potter — the continuous battle between the good and the evil, the magic, the friendship, the comic relief, the love. I think this latest installment is the most comedic of all, and all the actors contributed to that. I also think that the actors improved a lot in terms of playing their role and owning up to their characters, except maybe for Ginny. LOL.

Hermione and Ron are just soo cute together, I’m excited to see their love story bloom further in the next installment. And well, okay, Hermione and Harry are cute too. Seriously, I thought that part where Hermione was crying on Harry’s shoulders and how Harry held her hand protectively, and that scene in the library where Hermione was ranting to Harry while returning the books on the shelves, were way more romantic than any of Harry and Ginny’s scenes put together. And what’s with Ginny tying his shoelaces anyway?

Ohh, and Horace Slughorn! I think he’s really funny — the purple couch, how he said “Merlin’s beard!” about a dozen times the whole film, his eulogy to Aragog (“Farewell, Aragog, farewell” — this one’s really funny!).

And siiigh. Snape. Severus Snape. <3

No matter how much I like Slughorn, I can’t help but wish that Snape had more screen time than Horace. I have to agree with her. The book was supposed to be about the Half Blood Prince, and yet, Snape was, to use her own words, “just all, SUP IT WAS ME. LOL.”

Of all the characters in all of Harry Potter’s 7 books, it was really Snape who was able to evoke extreme emotions — you love him, you hate him, you’re annoyed by him, you laugh at how he’s able to keep a stern, expressionless face at all times, you love him, you hate him, repeat. He’s the most mysterious of all characters, I remember hating him for months after reading the HP6 book for killing Dumbledore, and how stupid I thought Dumbledore was for trusting him even. Up to the last minute, we never really knew if Snape was a good person or not. But now, having read the Deathly Hallows, and knowing how, inspite Snape was too evil in the movie, you know that deep down his sinister facade was someone who’s capable of loving.

Over the weekend, I kinda breezed through my copy of the Deathly Hallows, reading those chapters about Severus Snape and how his true loyalty was revealed in the end, and how his seemingly-evil role in the story was all driven by love. Snape is awesome.

Anyone up for a Severus Snape spinoff? :)

Arrg, I haven’t even began on Dumbledore and Draco Malfoy. And Lavender and Luna. But this post has to be published already and I have to start working. :)) So I’m pointing you guys to some of the Harry Potter reviews that I more-or-less agree with or can relate with, go go go.

• I open at the close | Nothing Spaces (Beautifully written, I feel you Carina.)
• Harry Potter | Meemae (I know I’ve been linking her a lot, can I help it if she keeps on saying things I wish I thought of saying first?)
• Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince | Sillygirlwaves (Hi Mara!)

30 Days of Awesome, 5/30.