So, I went to see the latest Harry Potter flick at the Marquee Cinema in downtown Huntington recently. My "Harry Potter" fan status is such that I have never read any of the books, but have seen all the movies with a mild interest in the young wizard's exploits. This movie failed to stand out from the series. It was a fairly long "filler" tale in that you knew the enemy would not be overcome and instead this was more of a bridge to set things up for the next movie. A little like the second pirates of the Caribbean movie. A very long trailer or advertisement so that the next Harry Potter book/movie would sell way faster than it should. I felt like the other characters in the movie have been completely ignored. We know little more about Ron or Hermoine and even the relationship between them has only slightly hinted at. In fact I even found myself caring less and less about Harry as he complained and shouted his way through the movie. Maybe everything that was missing is in the book.
Regardless, the real magic was in the quality of the picture. They have installed a new digital HD projector (I'm guessing) as the movie was crystal clear. I was very impressed with the lack of grainy snow on the screen, but I also felt a pang of sadness. No more will we see those shaky lines and less-than-perfect images that remind us that we are watching fiction and not reality. No more cigarette burn in the top right, cuing us to know that there is about to be a scene change. Kids today may never get to experience such a thing and they are already missing out on the event that was "playing a VHS cassette". Forwarding through trailers, an incredibly dodgy picture at times where the tape had worn thin, pressing the "tracking" button on the remote like it was a precise military science experiment..oh and rewinding the thing afterwards WHURRRRR. One cannot appreciate a DVD till one has suffered VHS. So go witness the new HD technology at your local cinema and try to remember that moment in the future.
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