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DIR Return to: Sorcerer's Stone (film)
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#Post#: 36990--------------------------------------------------
Just rewatched this.
By: MrLoveTear Date: October 23, 2012, 4:42 pm
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On the whole, I'd say I enjoyed it more this time around than I
did over a year ago. I admit that, although I try not let
nostalgia cloud my judgement, I did feel a few nostalgic 'tings'
at certain point, and it certainly adds an emotional level to
the movie that it probably doesn't earn on its own. Still, it's
hard not to see the castle for the very first time and not think
of it in ruins come Part II. As it stands, I actually think this
film is reasonably well paced, and does a solid job of balancing
the introductory necessities with the plot movements. There's
still a hell of a lot of inane scenes in there though, Qudditch
being the worst offender.
The technical aspects of the film aren't great: the effects
weren't anything exceptional back then, and they haven't held up
in any way. Even some of the exterior castle shots look
painfully bad. I will admit that I think Williams' score is
pretty excellent, it adds another layer of 'oomph' to areas that
might otherwise be missing it and it's also the main
contributor, I think, to the much acclaimed 'magical
atmosphere'. I'll admit I'm not overly fond of the designs of
some things, the castle grounds look too flat and 'groomed' –
especially to be located in the wild hills of rainy Scotland.
That's another thing: where's the pish weather?
As far as performances go, I don't think the kids are
particularly bad, all things considered, they're generally OK,
with a few dodgy parts here and there. None of the adults really
stand out here either. As far as Columbus goes, I think its
commendable that he managed to lay a solid foundation for such a
massive series and that he probably had a lot of work to get
adequate performances from an inexperienced cast. Still,
creatively his direction seems to be lacking. He has this weird
insistence on showing and telling. Seamus is trying to turn
water into wine? Fantastic...it's not like you've just shown us
him trying.
His approach is pretty pedestrian in any case. Columbus never
really uses visuals to communicate the story or tone or even to
show off little flourishes of creativity. . It's all pretty much
point-and-shoot stuff, even then his compositions aren't
brilliant. He doesn't exactly use the wide screen to great
effect, and there's this annoying habit of people bobbing in and
out of frame – especially during over the shoulder close ups.
I suppose the main problem here though is that the film is
basically all plot. Kloves/Columbus don't really develop any
kind of theme to tie it all together, it just moves itself from
one event to the other. That said, flaws considered, it is a
pretty pleasant experience, perhaps not great, but it does serve
its purpose to introduce the world and set up the series as a
whole.
#Post#: 36997--------------------------------------------------
Re: Just rewatched this.
By: Enterprising Young Man Date: October 23, 2012, 10:22 pm
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I think my biggest problem with the movie is what you said at
the end - moving from one event to another. Yeah there's that
stuff about Lord Voldemort having returned but almost the entire
movie seems unconnected, as if you're watching a TV show where
the first episode introduces you to a threat, then you forget
about it, then the final couple of episodes bring back the
threat. There's no real reason to continue watching the movie if
you're an outsider who's never seen HP before and are not really
that interested. Admittedly, part of the blame would fall on the
book as well, I suppose, but the film is just way too
luxuriously paced to make it seem like there are urgent matters
at hand that need to be dealt with, or to make it seem like
something interesting is going to happen in the next scene.
#Post#: 36999--------------------------------------------------
Re: Just rewatched this.
By: MrLoveTear Date: October 24, 2012, 4:54 am
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The book, as I recall, at least played around with ideas of
desire and tried to thematically connect Harry's arc with that.
Still, in the film that's just another part of the plot.
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