This morning we biked to Reston to go see a movie. We started from Hunter Mill, but we seriously overestimated the distance. It turns out to be only 4 miles or so, which is pretty trivial for us. Next time we'll start from Vienna, which will add three or four miles to the trip; still not a distance that stretches us, but at least it'll be a bit more effort.
So, Harry Potter... this is my favorite of the three movies so far. I really like the grim and dark tone of the film, feeling that the first two films spent too much time showing how magical Hogwarts is without advancing the plot; sort of "welcome to our whimsical and wondrous world of whimsy and wonder", y'know, which got tiresome. This movie is all plot, with even the obligatory quidditch match being shortened and more relevant. Hogwarts is gloomier and wetter, and the recurring seasonal imagery is at times quite lovely.
Stray thoughts:
- Liked the werewolf; its lean bipedal rendition resembles the one in the British horror film Dog Soldiers, where it was very creepy and effective. Nicely done hippogriff, too.
- Liked Michael Gambon as Dumbledore and David Thewlis's guest turn. Emma Thompson's cameo as a daffy divination teacher is amusing, too, reminiscent of her role in Peter's Friends; she plays granola very well.
- More multicultural student body; this time there were black and Indian students. Good change from the previous movies, and it made it feel more realistic.
- The world of magic is pretty grim: prisoners are guarded by soul-sucking Nazgul; the ministry has a lot of power over the wizard population, able to make arbitrary rulings about putting animals to death and setting guards at the school; and werewolves are discriminated against. For some reason I'm reminded of how the Time Lords are depicted on Doctor Who: very powerful, yet fundamentally corrupt.
- I wish they'd drop Draco until the character becomes relevant to the drama; right now he just shows up, makes nasty comments, and gets his comeuppances. Might as well leave him out; he's just vaguely bullying wallpaper at this point.
Looking forward to the next one!