Harry Potter and the End of an Era

Well, here you have it, folks.  The end of an era.  The last Harry Potter installment.  The books are done.  The movies are done.  Is there anything left to live for?

Of course there isn’t.

Warning!!!  May contain spoilers!!!  But I will try REALLY hard not to.

So if you’re noticing what time I’m blogging this (3 AM, EST on July 15), I went to the midnight showing.  I’ve never been to a midnight showing of anything, let alone the ultimate chapter of an international phenomenon.  It was an experience, I’ll tell you.  I didn’t dress up, in case you were wondering.  But plenty of others did.  And also, I was probably one of the older ones in the theater (and I’m not that old).  I would say about 65% of the audience probably didn’t have their driver’s licenses yet.

That could have been annoying, but it’s also really cool in a way.  These kids are READING 500 page books and falling in love with the world that’s been created.  That’s an incredible feat.  J. K. Rowling, you’ve done an amazing thing with your franchise.

Shall we get on with the review?  Check out what I thought of Part 1, too.

Things I Loved:
- Helena Bonham Carter.  While her role is smallish, her versatility is amazing.
- The first kiss between Ron and Hermione.  It’s about time!
- Minerva McGonagall.  Need I say more?
- Excellent treatment of Snape’s memories!  Well-storied and detailed.  All good, except for the fact that he keeps them in his tears?
- Freaking Neville Longbottom.
- Baby Potters and Weasleys!  While I think the epilogue is one of the cheesiest pieces of literature ever written, the kids were very well cast.

Things I Wish They Had Done Differently:
- Oliver Wood was supposed to be at the Battle of Hogwarts.  Grr.
- Percy Weasley just shows up… and his recant is not recorded.
- That was not what Harry did with the Elderwand when he got it!
- Cast a different Dumbledore.  It’s kind of late for this, but Michael Gambon has turned him into such a detestable character, I wanted to punch him in the face every time he spoke.
- Severus Snape’s hair and makeup.  He looked like a woman.

Ah, Potter fans, this truly is the end of an age.  But fear not!  It will be years before we run out of enough material to keep making fanfic and YouTube videos about Potter. Here are some of my recent favorites:

7 Harry Potter Movies in 7 Minutes
Potter Puppet Pals – The Mysterious Ticking Noise
Potter Puppet Pals – Wizard Swears (self-rated PG-13)

And then there’s Pottermore… because Rowling couldn’t possibly be done yet!

Post your thoughts, Potter fans!  I’m sure there’s more I could talk about, but I’ve got work in the morning!

Image taken from http://gadgetmedia.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Harry-Potter-and-the-Deathly-Hallows-Part-2-Poster.jpg

I Am Number Four (the movie)

I Am Number Four (the movie)

If I hadn’t read the book before seeing the movie, I probably would have had a lot of questions about what was going on.  There are things that the movie doesn’t really explain, like why the kids need to be killed in order.  And they don’t really go into any detail about the home planet of Lorien or how Number Four starts developing his powers.  For me, those were the most interesting parts about the book.  There’s also a lot in this movie that isn’t in the book, but seems like it will come up in the sequel.  Either that, or they’re just making stuff up now.  If I get around to reading the sequel, I’m sure I will also watch it.  But I can’t rave about either of them.

As for the film and the acting, the main characters were my least favorite.  A slow and boring stock love story with really corny acting (at least they leave Sarah behind at the end) is pretty much only redeeming for teens in the eye candy aspect.  I’m a little too old for them.  I did, however, thoroughly enjoy and approve of the performances of Teresa Palmer (Number 6) and Callan McAuliffe (nerdy best friend Sam).  First of all, Number 6 is totally BA, and I’m glad they introduced her early on in the film (as opposed to in the book).  The complete opposite of Sarah, she is so much more fun to watch.  Secondly, with McAuliffe, what a novel concept actually casting a teen actor as a teenage character!  He actually looks like the guys I went to high school with and is absolutely believable in the role.  I’m sorry, but I don’t recall anyone I ever went to school with looking like Alex Pettyfer.  I found myself much more interested in the movie when Six or Sam was on screen.

If you’re looking for something brainless to watch and you’re not into physical comedy, this might interest you.  While it’s really slow in the middle, the end is filled with explosions and fighting and stuff like that.  Just keep a gag bag nearby for the lame love story.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

How to Train Your Dragon (The One You’ve Probably Heard Of)

How to Train Your Dragon (the movie)

So as I mentioned in my previous post, I checked this movie out before I realized it was a book first.  You’ve got my thoughts on the book.  Here are my thoughts on the movie.

I could tell from the cover that the movie was not going to follow the book.  Toothless is supposed to be the size of a terrier; instead they made him the size of a horse.  But since I didn’t feel one way or the other about the book, I was more open to the changes they made for this movie than for something like Harry Potter.  Truthfully, I didn’t think the book would make a good movie as it was.  I liked some of the changes that they made very much.

I liked the movie Toothless a whole lot more.  He was adorable, and the kind of creature you’d expect from something entitled How to Train Your Dragon.  The development of the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless was likewise more what I expected.  I was a little surprised with the changes that was made to the Viking village–this movie seemed to tell the story that would lead up to the Cowell’s book, not something that was adapted from it.  But Cowell was working with the screenwriters, and I agree that it still kept the spirit of the book.  In fact, it may have improved it.  The biggest detriment to this movie was listening to Jay Baruchel’s voice for 98 minutes.  It’s really one of those voice that just grates against the eardrums.  Toothless’ expressions are a wonderful distraction.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

James Cameron Beat Him to the Punch

Was anyone else confused when the movie Avatar was announced, and then when it came out and it WASN’T the Nickelodeon anime version?  I certainly was.  I guess James Cameron has better people working for him then M. Night Shyamalan.

← A couple of weeks ago, a patron recommended that I watch this movie.  I finally did last week.  If you look on any movie rating site, you’ll see that it got HORRIBLE reviews.  Well, I didn’t read any reviews before I watched it.  And before I give my two cents, I’d like to give you some background as to why I decided to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last fall, I read these books,
The Lost Scrolls →

They’re supplementary to the TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender.  I had never watched an episode of the series when I picked these books up, but I still enjoyed them.  Each book is an overview of one of the four nations of the earth – Water, Earth, Fire, and Air and they also have some short episodic stories in them.  As an anthropology minor, I found it really interesting how these books were written like ethnographies.  So having enjoyed these books, I decided to give the movie a try when it came with a recommendation.

Basic breakdown of the plot: the TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender is broken up into 3 books and lasted 3 seasons.  The movie The Last Airbender encompasses Book 1: Water.  The avatar is supposed to be a powerful element bender who keeps all of the nations in balance.  But the last one disappeared for 100 years and the Fire Nation is trying to conquer the world.  Two Water Nation siblings, Katara and Sokka discover the avatar, Aang frozen in an iceberg near their home.  But he’s not all-powerful yet.  He’s only 12 (well, technically 112), and he needs to master all of the elements before defeating the Fire Nation.

The movie was terribly written. The horribly unnatural dialog made Orlando Bloom’s performance in Pirates of the Caribbean look Oscar-worthy.  But just like the Pirates phenomenon, I found this movie highly entertaining.  It’s never going to win any awards, but it’s visually stimulating and I got caught up in the story.  It’s a strong tale that shines even through bad story-telling.  And Noah Ringer’s performance as the lead character was enthralling. Apparently he got the part because he filmed himself doing some moves, and had shaved his head and inked some of the tattoos on his head (IMDb) and sent that to Shyamalan.

Once I read that, unfortunately all I could think of was George Michael Bluth from Arrested Development.  But unlike Michael Cera, this kid has got some serious skills when it comes to combat.

A lot of the fan criticisms about this movie deal with divergences from the TV show.  I totally understand where they are coming from.  As a Narnia-phile, I refuse to see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader because of how much they’ve changed and manipulated the story.  BUT knowing that the original is almost always better than the remake, I’ve started watching the series to see what couldn’t be put into a 2 hour movie.  I began watching them on Sunday… and now on Tuesday, I’m halfway through book/season 2.  Yeah, it’s a great story.

Images gleaned with the help of Google.

Two Snaps and a Lightning-Shaped Scar

Tonight, I finally saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1.

And the post title pretty much sums up how I feel about it.  If you remember anything about the early 90′s show In Living Color, you know that this is a good thing.

I am highly pleased that they have decided to take the time to unfold this book over two movies.  There was no way everything could have fit into that 2.5 hour time space.  And what they did include and what they cut still pieced together a highly respectable film.  Best one yet.  It seems as though every other Potter film they put out seems to be a good adaption.  I’m fond of 1, 3, 5, and now 7.1.  Hopefully 7.2 still counts as an odd number.

Things I loved:
- The romantic tension between Ron and Hermione.
- Dialog pulled directly from the book (e.g. Fred and George’s exchange after George is cursed).
- Draco’s clear discomfort with Lord Voldemort in power.  Very well executed, Mr. Felton.
- Harry trying out the wand that Ron won.  That’s probably my favorite scene.

Things I wished they had done differently:
- Included Dudley’s acknowledgment of respect for Harry as he leaves.
- Made patronuses look more like animals.  Could anyone tell that Kingsley’s was a lynx?
- Shown Kreacher become happier with Harry Potter and co.
- Shown Luna’s paintings of her friends.  This was one of the most heartwarming parts of the book, and I was sad to not see it.
- Not put Ron in so many mismatched patterns.  Plaid, argyle, AND checkered flannel all at once?  The poor kid.

Truthfully, those are the only things that jump out in my mind.  I was totally caught up in the world, and I bought into almost every moment.  I really don’t want to wait until July to see the last part.  It’s going to be epic.

Things I hope they include in the final film:
- A really good retelling of Snape’s memories, and not mere flashes like in The Order of the Phoenix.  They were worth an entire chapter in the book; give them the decency of a few minutes.
- The redemption of Percy Weasley and his exchanges with Fred: word for word, please!
- Oliver Wood returning for the battle, mostly because he has a really pretty face.

Image taken from http://www.stampers-den.ca/blog/?p=1066.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (the movie)

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (the movie)

So I read the book and watched this movie months ago.  July it looks like.  Here’s that review if you don’t remember it.  I drafted a review for the movie, but I guess I never got around to doing it.

Try as I might, I didn’t like the movie.  I didn’t really like the book either, so I guess that didn’t give it much to go off of.  Some substantial parts about the book were changed, mostly the quest for Where’s Fluffy?  In the book, they find the band relatively early on.  In the film, the characters are driven by a quest to simultaneously find Fluffy and Norah’s friend, who has wandered off in a drunken stupor.  I am bummed that we never get to hear what Where’s Fluffy? sound like.  I also have a tough time with Michael Cera as the leading man.  After having read the book, I just don’t think Cera can pull off the kind of guy that Nick was supposed to be.  On the contrary, Kat Dennings’ Norah was superb.  And I’d like to be her friend.

The best part about this movie is that it can be summed up in 5 minutes.  Lead actress Kat Dennings made a puppet version of the film.  This is why I want to be her friend.  This version is available in the DVD extras, as well as on YouTube.  I’m so glad I took the time to peruse the extras.

So here’s the link to the YouTube version.  Save yourself the time.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

The Little Prince

The Little Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, adapted by Joann Sfar

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s classic instructional children’s tale is retold in graphic novel format by French comic book artist Joann Sfar.  A man who has crash landed his plane in the desert surprisingly comes upon a small tow-headed boy.  This boy is a prince of a small planet where he cares for a flower and a few volcanoes.  He leaves his planet and travels around to various other stars.  Eventually he lands on Earth.  While he likes parts about Earth, he misses his flower and his planet.  There’s only one way to get back.

I saw this in School Library Journal’s best books list of 2010.  While I’ve never read French literature, I thought I’d give The Little Prince another chance.  I read it when I was 10 or so and didn’t understand it at all.  In college, I watched a film version with two of my roommates who took French.  It was very, very strange.  The young actor playing the Prince was very creepy looking.  The animals and objects are spliced between the real thing and actors portraying them.  Bob Fosse was the snake, so of course there was a 10 minute dance interlude.  Very strange all around.  The only part I understood and loved was when the Prince and the fox tamed one another.  The fox was played by Gene Wilder, and I loved him.  It’s worth watching that just those 15 minutes or so.

But I digress.  About the graphic novel, I was unimpressed at first.  It looked like there were a few cheap laughs thrown in there that I doubt were in the original French, but maybe that’s just to get the younger reader hooked.  They go away after awhile.  I don’t know if this version gives me an accurate understanding of the original, but at least it’s given me an understanding, which is more than the other two versions I’ve been exposed to have done.  I’m not left utterly confused by the fate of the Prince at least.  Sfar’s illustrations are interesting and difficult to describe.  Sketchy, sharp, exaggerated are all words that come to mind, if it’s possible for them to coincide in one drawing.  Not to my taste.  Anyway, overall, not a bad read, especially if you’re required to read the original and you just aren’t getting it.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

Barely Remarkable

Unfortunately, these sentiments sum up how I felt about the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

I will keep this post brief, as the best part about finishing up this leg is that I can move on to The Deathly Hallows, which I intend to do for an hour or so before turning in tonight.

This film reminded me of how I felt after watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; I question what they changed and removed and added.  Why did they leave out the battle at the end of the book?  Why did they burn down the Weasley’s house?  If I remember correctly (which is entirely possible that I don’t), the Minister came to call at Christmas, not Death Eaters.  And why, for goodness sake, was the light emitted by Snape’s avada kadavra BLUE?!  Everyone knows it’s green.  That’s just a gross, gross oversight that should have been caught in editing.

However, I say “barely remarkable” because there are some aspects upon which I must remark.  The chapter about Aragog’s funeral was excellently executed by all and I’m glad they kept most of it in.  It must have been a lot of fun to act out as well.  And throughout the film, Tom Felton’s performance was great – more believable and true to character than Harry and Hermione for the most part.  It’s hard to believe he was that same little boy from Anna and the King.  And Ron was an utter dolt in this film.  Some say that’s a detriment and a mischaracterization, but I think it was perfectly true to form.  He’s a dolt in the book, and Grint was able to portray that rather effectively.

Alright.  On to the finish!

Images found with the help of Google.

Harry Potter and the Second Chance

Tonight I finished giving Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix a second chance.  I finished listening to it Sunday evening, and I’ve just watched the film.  Truth be told, I’ve been looking forward to watching this movie again.  Last time I saw it, it was in theaters, and I hadn’t read the book recently so I didn’t remember much of what was going on.

Verdict: I approve.

Not that anyone really cares what I think, least of all Rowling and the cast, but in general, I approve.  Given the length of this particular book, I think that both the book and the film coincided well with one another.  I mean, there’s so much in that book, I can’t even remember everything that happened (this was less than a week ago I finished it).  But as I finished the movie, I thought that the main points were more than adequately covered.  And the movie offered me a much better explanation as to Harry’s anger.  Just blame it on Voldemort possessing him.

Even as I was watching  this, I still think Harry’s a whiny git, and 15 is a terrible age to write about/film.  But this film was expertly cast.  As usual, Dame Maggie Smith turned out an excellent performance, although her part was small.  The addition of Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood was perfect.  She’s so serene, and I can’t wait to see her in The Deathly Hallows.  Imelda Staunton’s Dolores Umbridge was also spot on.  I hated every scene she was in, just I as I hated her in every chapter, just like you’re supposed to.  Rupert Grint is quickly pulling ahead as my favorite of the Gryffindor trio in terms of acting and characterization.  And a nice tribute to Citizen Kane to top it all off.  Perhaps Fudge’s last word should have been “Rosebud” instead of “He’s back.”  Book 6, here I come.

Well, sort of.  This is a terrible time for me to have finals.  This project, and therefore my actual seeing of The Deathly Hallows may be drawn out longer than I had hoped because school must come first.  Alas.

Image taken from here.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Bubotuber Pus

So yesterday, I finished listening to The Goblet of Fire and I also watched the movie.  The Goblet of Fire had always been my favorite book.  Watching the movie last night made me cringe in almost every scene.  Part of it was the terrible hair cuts on all of the boys (Emma Watson looked adorable).  The rest of it was mostly how the complex wizarding world that Rowling spent years creating seems to have been ignored for a reason I can’t quite understand yet.  I do understand that not everything that is in the books can be encompassed into a 2 hour movie.  But if you can’t do it well, then maybe it shouldn’t be undertaken at all.  There are little things that could have been easily fixed that would have at least shown some attention to detail.  Hermione’s dress robes were periwinkle blue, not pink.  The reason Harry couldn’t get past his dragon was because it wouldn’t leave its nest and take off, not because it chased him around the grounds.  There wasn’t even anything in the maze at the end except moving shrubberies.  And Michael Gambon didn’t even try to pronounce “Beauxbatons” correctly.  He slurred most of his speeches, too.  That’s no Dumbledore in my book or Rowling’s.

And then there are larger things that were omitted, like entire characters.  No Winky.  No Ludo Bagman.  Sirius is not revealed at the end to be a good guy (which is pretty essential to the next book), nor is there ANYTHING about Fudge’s outright refusal to believe Voldemort has returned.  That last one really bothered me, because it sets up all the political tension that happens in the rest of the series.

Book = superb.  Film = fail.

For the record, Dame Maggie Smith = perfect Professor McGonagall.

Images taken from http://www.amazon.com