Good point, actually. I liked Harris's voice. In PS, that is. Not so much the synchronisations done from his death bed. O_o

Sorry for double-posting. Let's have a new character/new actor. So shortly before the fifth movie comes out, I'd love to hear everyone's opinion on
.

I seem to remember Jab wasn't happy at all with the eye patch. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) But did Gleeson's acting make up for it?

I never imagined Moody to have an eye-patch at all. It was his real eye, at least in my mind. So it felt wildly fake to see him sporting that weird contraption.

I must concur with Fen on that. I couldn't get around that at all while watching the movie.

Me too. (Or three or four.) The patch reminds me of the head Smoker in Water World. I knew Moody could take the eye out, so didn't expect it to look natural; but it's looking like a billiard ball in a slingshot was just too hard to accept. If they can make a whole dragon look believable, now come on...
But I seem to remember that Gleeson's acting did please me. At least at first. That last scene with Harry where they took such liberties with the script and wound up with a hooting double entendre made no sense. I don't think anyone could have played that well. Will be interesting to see how the same actor in the same costume plays his eccentric self as opposed to playing a crazy impersonator. I hope they allow him some creative room to make the difference.

Bet that's what Barty's sentinent tongue was for. I'll miss that one. Brilliantly done, I thought, to have both Barty actors do it. Mad-Eye is actually one of the people I am looking forward to in OotP.

Personally, I didn't like the eye patch, but there were much worse things they did to that movie, so I didn't worry about it too much and, in the end, got used to it. Gleeson's acting I thought was fabulous. I also looked up which other movies he was in and was astounded how many of them I'd actually seen. Never noticed him, though. Except for maybe in Troy. Menelaos, I think he was...? Can't remember right now.

Another switch of character because we haven't had one in a while. Let's talk about Alan Rickman/Severus Snape for a while, purely because I liked a lot of what he did in OotP.

Initially, I must say, although I have always admired Alan's acting skills, I wasn't entirely pleased with the casting. To me, Snape always seemed like someone who would move quietly, speak almost in a whisper, albeit a dangerous one, be sneaky and suspicious. Alan, on the other hand, gave us a rather straightforward, aggressive Snape, who enters the Potions classroom (and others) with a bang. Just another take on the character, I suppose, just not what I expected.
Not Alan's fault either, I am sure, that all Snape's best lines were cut. All of them. Without exception. And that he was reduced to comic relief rather than the menace he really is and is going to be. This is, and has always been, a question of screen writing.
The sneer, I always loved. It makes me laugh every time I see Alan's Snape, which is exactly the effect JK conjurs every time she writes him... with the possible exception of the end of HBP. In fact, JK seems to have changed her course with Snape somewhat and I cannot shrug off the feeling that the actor's performance plays a part in this. This goes for other characters as well.
But yeah... that's my initial reaction. Hasn't changed much, although, as I said, I liked a lot of what happened in OotP. Once I accepted that movie Snape is quite rough and violent towards Harry I got to enjoy especially the interaction of the two. And I still squee inwardly every time I see Maggie and Alan sitting side-by-side at the staff table during the start-of-term feast. That's a good sign, I suppose.

Yeah, me too. I also agree about the sneer, though. Am also rather fond of his vocal inflections -- smooth enough to sort of support the sneaky element even when his motions don't. I suppose the script he's given has something to do with his somewhat clunky interp; though in movie SS there was enough canon in it to support a "sneakier" Snape, I would think. It occurs to me that sneakiness requires a certain sort of timing to pull off. Perhaps not possible in the last two ramrodded pics?
What caught my eye in OotP, oddly enough, was his weight. I've always thought of Snape as rather a starved looking fellow -- hungry predator like. In that rather confusing Occlumency scene, which seemed to be chopped in half on the timeline with no explanation, I found myself thinking that Rickman was getting a little full in the collar. Has he always been that way, or did he pick up a few pounds since Goblet?

I noticed his weight, too. Alan Rickman used to be pretty skinny, and now he's not so much. Hmmm.

I actually don't remember how I really imagined Snape before the movies. It's kind of sad.

It's funny, because when I read the books, the characters in my mind don't look at all like the actors in the movies, except for Professor Snape (and probably Lucius Malfoy as well).

Alan Rickman has become my Snape, though in my mind he's a bit younger with greasier hair.

He's definitely always been chubbier than Snape is described. I mean, I'll be the last to complain about this in general, seeing as I'm not particularly fit myself, but the matter of casting a 60+ man who is anything but "gaunt" seems somewhat... ah well.

Beside the optics, though, I remembered another thing. Book Snape rarely has any physical contact with students (or teachers), let alone with Harry. In the movies, he is almost prone to hitting him and Ron over the head whenever he gets the chance. Weird.

How come I had never seen this thread before? I love it! Should we discuss "the boy who lived" himself, also knows as Daniel Radcliffe?

I loved Daniel on the first and second movies. He looked so innocent, so pure, so "Harry" to me!! It was obvious from the beginning that he wasn't a good actor, but it didn't matter to me. He was forever Harry Potter in my mind.

Then came PoA, of course, and my love only grew. I loved the way he interacted with Emma Watson and Ruppert Grint, the easy cammaderie, the way they felt confortable and happy around each other, the way they touched a lot (sorry, I liked that there was a little "E tu mamá tambiém" about it.). He seemed like the perfect teenager to me on that movie. Bad actor, yes, and should never be allowed to cry on a scene. Ever. Again. But adorable, nonetheless.

And then came the last two movies, and everything changed. I dislike them intensely. And Daniel plays a part in my dislike, I guess. I think he aged very badly in the role. I just don't see him as my Harry Potter anymore. I'm not sure if it's the (horrible) hair, the (dreadful) clothes, the way he moves around, of just the fact that I'm tired of seeing him acting so poorly. Anyway, it doesn't work anymore for me. Too bad. Hope some of that old magic can come back for the last movie...

I agree Maddie. I feel Daniel was a more convincing Harry in the earlier films (through PoA) and I think his age and innocence had a lot to do with that . But as he gets older his portrayal of Harry and my 'internal' Harry have grown apart. For me, it's not so much his acting ability, which imo has improved with each film (I can watch his 'emotional scenes' in OotP without wincing). (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_mrgreen.gif)

For me, his portrayal of Harry is too controlled and his body language too stiff. 'My Harry' is a bit more loose around the edges and has a bit more chaotic energy. I think the director who best brought that quality out in Radcliffe so far has been Cuaron, so I know it's there. Yates is talking like things will loosen/lighten up a bit in HBP, so maybe we might see more of these qualities surface in Radcliffe's acting again.