My late night musings of the movie
Aberforth had a GOAT! That part made me so happy. And I loved the fact that Umbridge had pink stone walls. Overall, very well done. I was disappointed that they took out a lot of the students' (and Peeves) mischief (like the swamp), but I think they were trying to set up the dismal and defeated atmosphere in which the pranks might have downplayed the emotional impact. I did wonder why they didn't make the fireworks more magical (like in the books), since I'm sure it was all cgi anyway, and they didn't make it very clear that Fred and George were leaving the school, but it made a nice segue into Harry's vision. I really liked how they added all the images of Voldemort to make it really feel like Voldemort was seeping into Harry. It went beyond the connection Harry felt in the book, but was quite effective for the feel of the movie. I really wanted to see Firenze, but at least they showed the centaurs in the forest with Umbridge. I didn't care for how Neville found the Room of Requirement and Hermione, of course, knew all about it (although I was amused that they gave Ron the toilet bit). The fact that they showed Kreacher makes me wonder if he is perhaps important in the final book and thus needed to be introduced in this movie. I kind of liked the MoM fighting scenes with the Death Eaters (and later the Order) becoming foglike. It really impressed how much more advanced their magical training was vs Harry and the DA. I loved Bellatrix and wished there was more of her. I would have liked to see the time room and flying brains, but I guess we can't have it all. I also would have liked another minute or so of Snape's worst memory. I figured they would show it like they did instead of bringing in the pensieve, but it would have been nice to see just a bit more. I'm also not quite sure why they used Cho for the sneak, but the touch of veritaserum was an interesting way to do it. I would have liked to see Harry and Choe at Madam Puddifoot's, but they did get in quite a good snog under the mistletoe. And speaking of nargles, I loved Luna. She was perfect. I couldn't get enough of her. But no Quidditch meant no lion hat (and no Weasley is out King--oh, so many good things hacked away to fit into a two and a half hour movie). Emma still overacted a bit but Dan and Rupert keep getting better. Can't wait till Saturday when we see it at the IMAX (and the ending in 3D, squee!).