music reviews, with the occasional book and film reviews

It all ends.

The tagline on the posters of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 probably said it all. It didn’t need to introduce the actors again. There’s no need to even write the title of the movie any more. A picture of Voldemort, a photo of the Golden Trio and everything speaks for itself.

I was so excited, yet at the same time, I didn’t want to watch it. Quote loads of people, “It’s like the end of my childhood.”

Like all good things that come to an end, this must too.

Because of work commitments, I wasn’t able to watch it the first instant it hit theatres, so I settled for a Sunday morning. The theatre was half-full, probably because it was in 3D and you’d get a headache from sitting too close to the screen.

Was it worth watching it in 3D? Well, I suppose this is subjective.

I enjoyed the show. It’s like reading the final chapter, closing the book and settling it down on the table.

There are some scenes which I absolutely loved, such as the one where Ron speaks Parseltongue to open the Chamber of Secrets again. This scene wasn’t depicted in the book, but it’s what made a movie movie.

My favourite scene out of the entire movie is actually one that was never in the book — the part where Narcissa Malfoy took Draco’s hand and walked away from the war.

I’ve always thought Draco a misunderstood character, so the scene was particularly strong to me. Just think of the amount of grit Narcissa must have to turn away from the something which her family used to believe strongly in.

In my reviews for Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows Part 1, I named Rupert Grint as the MVP, with Helena Bonham Carter coming in a close second.

Matthew Lewis — who plays Neville Longbottom — takes the third spot this time.

It’s funny when you watch the films and these actors grow up right in front of your eyes. My mum still refers him to “that chubby kid”. It’s quite difficult to erase the scene where Hermione performed the Petrificus Totalus charm on him.

The later part of the Deathly Hallows had always been the part for Neville to shine — he slays Nagini in the end after all. Matthew, with his on-the-spot comedic timing, provided relief in an otherwise very dark movie.

The cheeky part where he taunted the Death Eaters for not being able to cross the Hogwarts boundaries? What about the part where he declared “I’m crazily in love with” Luna? Those were parts which elicited giggles from the audience.

My second spot still belonged to Helena Bonham Carter.

She’s an excellent actress and she proves it in this final installment. As Bellatrix Lestrange, she’s crazily sexy. As Hermione-turned-Bellatrix, she’s strangely … Hermione.

The kind of Hermione awkwardness she showed when she tugged at her dress, as she “pretended” to be Bellatrix. The fear she showed when she entered Gringotts and ready to steal. Not a trace of Bellatrix, but every bit of Hermione.

Maybe you’d widen your eyes at the character who takes top spot this time. However, she left a deep impression on me and I figured, well. If I needed a reason to watch Deathly Hallows Part 2 all over again, it’d be because of her.

On my top spot goes to Helen McCrory, who portrays Narcissa Malfoy.

I know, she’s only got a couple of scenes — two? Or maybe three at the very most, in this movie. A couple of years back, I lamented it was a pity Narcissa had her hair up in a bun, because that was not how I imagined she’d look.

Narcissa had her hair down this time, and she looked every bit aristocratic. I thought even more so than when she first appeared in Half-Blood Prince.

Helen didn’t have many lines, but that one line she had, it was an important one — “Dead.”

That impassive look on her pale face gave nothing of the worry/joy (since she now knew Draco’s alive) away. The Death Eaters trooped towards Hogwarts in triumph. Then she called out to Draco and placed her arm around his shoulders protectively.

When hell broke loose again, Narcissa turned away defiantly, with Draco in tow.

I quite like this scene instead of the one described in the book, where they seemed out of place, hugging in the Great Hall. Maybe because I’ve always thought of Draco as a misunderstood child, that if he wasn’t born where he was, he probably wouldn’t become that way.

That turn said quite a lot of Narcissa and I liked that.

I’ve watched the Deathly Hallows Part 2 twice, but I only cried the first time I watched the film. Unlike the previous one, I cried each time I watched, despite knowing Hedwig and Dobby were going to die.

Still, it is a great movie. It had been a great journey us all who read the books. Movies may end, but tales live on forever.