Barb and the Penultimate Harry Potter

Naturally, I saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince pretty much as soon as I could (Thursday night). And I liked it. A lot. I did find myself slightly incapacitated by the fact that I haven't read the book since the day it came out, to the point where I had to look up whether they had created a character for the movie. (No.)

Overall, it was enjoyable. I thought that Tom Felton, who plays Draco, did a great job. I found the costumes of Lavendar Brown confusing. (Is she in some weird 1980s alternate universe?) I'm not sure how I feel about some changes at the movie's climax, and am a bit sad about the excising of a big battle--though I can understand why they cut it, seeing how it's a lot of action after the big emotional moment. Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe both did wonderfully in their scenes where their characters are under the influence of potions--totally hilarious.

One thing that bothered me is the lack of flashbacks. Now, it has been a while since I've read the book, but my big memory of it is the flashbacks. I remember it as a nice interlude between the emotional fifth and seventh books. The movie is too, but I miss that backstory. I enjoyed the third movie (Prisoner of Azkaban), but for me, it failed on a certain level by the almost complete lack of backstory of Harry's parents and their friends. That story is what made that book resonate for me...and it was gone. No matter how great Cuaron did and how cool Gary Oldman did (and David Thewlis--Lupin is one of my favorite characters in the Potterverse), the movie failed for me because of that depth.

Obviously the movies have to focus more on the action, but I really, really miss those backstories, for all of them--Harry's parents, Tom Riddle, Dumbledore. I like the movies, but they really only scratch the surface of the world.

However, I now desperately want to reread all of the books. And probably rewatch the movies. I just need to finish the books I have out of the library first! /frustration