We got a babysitter and are going TONIGHT! I'll have to chat with you tomorrow. SO EXCITED. A real date with my husband, and a new HP movie to see. Does it get any better than that?

(the answer is yes, but not much.)
 

I loved it! Very sad, very dark, quite scary. But the Quidditch World Cup - fun! And I loved the tent :) Loved the dance - Hermoine was just perfect. The dragon was cool, the mermaids were scary, the scene in the cemetary was beyond awful, which is what it should be. I told my husband, who was the actor who played Voldy? I never, not for all the money in the world, would play a part like that. children everywhere will hate that guy.

Your thoughts?
 

I loved the pacing of the story. It was such a long book and there was so much extra stuff going on that didn't make it into the movie, but they kept the essential focus, which was great. I like how they dealt with Ron & Harry's fall out. I thought Hermione was adorable throughout the movie, and loved the yule ball. And the dragon and merpeople scenes were just so well done.

I have to say I DON'T like the new Dumbledore. I don't like his approach to the character - he seems so 'out of control' which the real Dumbledore, and which Richard Harris as Dumbledore, never did. I am so bummed that this is the Dumbledore we're left with.

And Rita Skeeter was just awesome! That actress nailed it right on the head. Mad Eye Moody was great too. A little too 'wacky' but cool nonetheless. And I really liked Madame Maxime. She was better in the movie than I pictured her in the book - and now I have a much better image for when I'm reading/listening.

I'm looking forward to the next movie. And I'm fearfully looking forward to the next book. I don't want it all to end, and I'm really scared of how it is going to end. :(
 

I agree completely about the Dumbledore thing - my husband said almost exactly the same thing, that he is too out of control, not as calm and cool and powerful as he should be. Also, I miss that little twinkle of merriment in his eye, as though he could see the bigger picture and find more amusement in the circumstances than everyone else. The first Dumbledore was just so perfect.

I'm so looking forward to the next book, and I'm getting to the point where I'm ready for it all to end. It's too exhausting, waiting for the next book, wondering how it will all end. I'm ready for it all to be done.

Sadly, it won't be done for my daughter for a long while, because she'll have to wait many years before I'll let her watch the 4th movie. It's just so dark - not for young kids.