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Movie Review: Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince

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For me, there is always something lost in the translation of a book to a movie. The early Harry Potter movies were lacking in many places for my tastes, which seems to have been fixed in the latest adaptation of the series. Still, though, I’m constantly amazed at how so much content is packed into good book-to-movie adaptations. Anyway..

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price is a good movie that progresses the storyline in the now epic battle between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. Before I talk about any of the other acting in the movie, much must be said about Alan Rickman’s portrayal of Severus Snape. The man is brilliant. Each word he speaks during the movie is embroiled with the hate that you know Snape has for Harry’s very existence and, at the same time, it is mixed with the hidden love that Potter fans know Snape had for Harry’s mother. For those of you who aren’t Harry Potter fans, Rickman is the same guy who played the bad guy in the first Die Hard, Hans Gruber. For this fan, it’s safe to say that without actors like Rickman, Smith, and Carter (more on them in a minute) this movie would be mediocre at best.

Two quick mentions for Maggie Smith and Helena Bonham Carter who play Minerva McGonagall and Bellatrix Lestrange, respectively. They’re fantastic. Smith brings the class and dignity that one would expect of her to a role in fantasy movie that could be very easy to screw up. However, the poise and calmness that Smith adds to her character is noticeable and a good touch. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, no one could be a better Bellatrix Lestrange than Carter – a woman who has that crazy person look about her at all times! Carter’s ability to play a crazy person is evident in this movie and I think she really steps up to the plate and hits a home run as a lunatic. Excellent work by both of these talented actresses.

Daniel Radcliffe continues to do a good job as Harry Potter, though Radcliffe is aging quicker than they can film these movies!

Fans of the books know the plot of this movie, but the big event that takes place is the death of Albus Dumbledore at the hand (wand?) of Snape. Again, if you want to see good acting, then watch these two extremely talented actors in this critical scene for both the movie and the series. The reservation that Snape shows before he carries out the most secret of missions is tangible on the screen. And the way that he completes the mission (killing Dumbledore) with such nonchalance is performed brilliantly.

That scene alone is worth the price of admission.

This is a movie that Harry Potter fans have probably already gone out to see. But for those of you who haven’t seen it, you may want to consider giving it shot just for the acting of Rickman, Smith, and Carter alone. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

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As I’ve said in previous Harry Potter movie reviews, I really like the books better than the movies. I’m not sure exactly what is lost in the translation of these books, but there is something about the movies that leaves me feeling empty. Honestly, it’s probably the fact that it takes so long to read the book and you get very involved in the storyline while reading, but who knows?

I thought that the movie version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was okay – nothing spectacular. Not too bad, not an award-winning film, but certainly not a bad movie by any means. There was so much more in the book in terms of details, yet the movies provide a great visuals for future readings (but of course, there is only one book left to read so it doesn’t really matter any more, huh?). The ending fight scene in this movie is very well done as is the part played by Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge.

For those of you that don’t know, Umbridge is a snobby, giggly bureaucrat who comes in and takes over the magical Hogwart’s Academy. This is a role that you’ve got to have real talent to play because the character needs to conform to a variety of descriptions, which Staunton does well.

Severus Snape is also played brilliantly again by Alan Rickman as is Albus Dumbledore by Michael Gambon. Of course, Daniel Radcliffe was great as Harry Potter (and thank God he was fully clothed throughout the entire movie). The rest of the teenagers in the cast also performed well. There is a certain manner of their performance that is very “regular.”

By that I mean that you can watch one Harry Potter movie and then watch the next and feel as though there is very little break in the character developments, which is great. This is something that the novels accomplish by simply repeating a ton of information (J. K. Rowling isn’t writing hundreds upon hundreds of pages with 100% brand new material, folks – maybe 80% new at best). Anyway, it’s nice to have a smooth character development with the characters in the movies.

That being said, the Potter movies are facing a big problem in the coming years – namely that these “kids” are all hitting and completing puberty! There’s something about having young children begin these movie roles and then having grown-ups in the final movies that doesn’t quite jive with the books. I mean Radcliffe (who turns 18 next week) has already performed NAKED on the stage in London! Seems sort of weird that he’s playing a teenage wizard of 15 or 16 years old and then he’s naked next to a horse in between movies. Blech!

So here’s hoping that the movies continue to come out quickly for obvious reasons. As for The Order of the Phoenix, I don’t think you need to go out and see this one in the theater unless you’ve got little buggers who won’t stop screaming until you take them to see it! This is probably a good movie for a movie night at the house or a bored afternoon DVD rental. Good performances by all, though.

DVD Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

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What a disaster this movie was! From the very beginning to the very end, there was more chopped out of this movie than I thought was possible! Really, Warner Brothers did a tremendous hack job with this film so much to the point where I recommend NOT seeing it.

The only thing that this film is good for is to put faces with names. Other than the obvious lack of including all, most, or even a majority of the storyline features from the book, there is no contiguous logic in the story. It’s like watching a bunch of scenes from what could have been a much, MUCH longer movie. It’s disjointed and there are not enough explanations in the two and a half hours that the thing tarries on for.

I will say that the special effects and wardrobe are done very well. So was the casting and make-up. Warner Brothers does do a good job of giving you a look at what Hogwarts and the characters would probably look like in real life.

But in terms of telling a story, this movie sucked. If you’re a non-Harry Potter fan, then I would suggest not using this film as a basis to judge whether or not you’d like the series.

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

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There’s so much to go over with this book that this post could go on forever. First of all, the problems that I had with the storyline and its progression (or lack of focus, as we’ll see).

Albus Dumbledore’s death was long overdue in terms of the storyline. Why, you ask? Because his presence made certain things too easy. Harry Potter knew that he could always run to Dumbledore and get his problems either solved or just-about solved. Makes for a boring story in the long run. Killing off this seemingly omniscient, omnipresent character really does make sense, though given the fact that Dumbledore was the only person that Lord Voldemort ever feared – it probably should have been Voldemort that killed him in the end.

Severus Snape killing Dumbledore wasn’t really a shock, but here is another problem that I have with Rowling’s story. She spends five books building up Snape as someone that Dumbledore trusts while she also builds up that Dumbledore is the wisest wizard of his age and that Snape is a real bastard to the kids in the school. From the get-go, some of this logic just didn’t work. For example, our muggle-equivalent to having Snape (a known Death Eater) teach at Hogwarts would be for a convicted sex offender to work in a Sesame Street amusement park! Yet, there was no parental uprising over his hiring?

My other issue with Snape being the one to kill Dumbledore is that it sends a really horrific message to the legions of children around the world who are reading this story. For literally thousands of pages they read how Dumbledore is a kind, loving man who sees the best in people – a truly great lesson for the kids out there. Then they learn that even though the world seems set against Snape because of his past and his present malicious ways, that Dumbledore still trusts him and expects others to trust him. And then – Snape kills the loving, old wizard. What do we learn here? That if you suspect someone is a sneak then you should NOT give them the benefit of the doubt and give them a chance? What exactly is the lesson that the kids out there learn from this killing other than that they shouldn’t trust people with bad histories? A very bad lesson indeed. Unless Snape was in on the death (see link below).

Then there is the practicality of it all when you think back to the memory that Harry saw in the pensieve where his father and Sirius tortured Snape. Why didn’t Harry apologize for his father and Sirius when he saw that memory? It was obvious that they were in the wrong and that Snape did nothing to provoke that attack. Shouldn’t the lesson here have been to be the better man and apologize for the sins of the past?

Oh, and I didn’t like how the book opened with the muggle Prime Minister waiting for a call from that “wretched” President. Sure, Rowling didn’t name who the President was or from what country he was from, but come on…what a completely unnecessary and awkward cheap shot.

The Horcruxes – eh, I don’t take too many issues with them. Honestly, I think that it’s a way to prolong the story and for Rowling to make a thicker seventh book. I also think that Harry Potter’s scar is a horcrux and thus Harry will need to die before the end of this story…

And Rowling is getting a bit loquacious in her writing style. A lot of what is in the book as “filler” was, at times, tedious to tread through. However, from what the internet tells me (and if it’s on the internet, it must be true), we aren’t going to have to suffer through any more Quidditch play-by-plays in the final book.

Now, I have to say that I enjoyed the Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley love affair much more than the Cho Chang one in the previous novel. It was well played out – good job there. I didn’t, however, like the way it “ended” with Harry saying that he couldn’t be with Ginny because Voldemort would go after her again. Seemed like too easy of a cop out to me. And, quite frankly, sixteen and fifteen year olds shouldn’t be concerned about whether they can “be” with someone for a prolonged period of time.

I also enjoyed the reintroduction of Fleur into the storyline as Bill Weasley’s fiance. It provided some entertaining moments in the beginning of the book and a touching scene at the end where she and Mrs. Weasley embrace over the werewolf-battered Bill Weasley. Sticking with the love stories, the Ron/Hermione love story is coming along nicely, too.

And I couldn’t write a review of this book without saying how much I absolutely love the Luna Lovegood character. She’s a riot! I could watch an entire movie that dealt solely with Luna and what she does in a day. Fantastic bit of writing by Rowling with this character. I found myself hoping that Luna would show up in some (if not all) of the chapters in the book. Her whole airy manner is thoroughly entertaining. I mean I even laughed out loud when she went on about the Auror scheme to take over the Ministry at Slughorn’s Christmas Party. Genius!

Professor Trelawney – brilliant! Another great character who is completely “out there!” I love it.

Finally (before I write a book myself), I have to say that one of the best parts of this book was all of the conspiracy theories that spawned from it! Take a gander at this page that supposes Snape and Dumbledore were quite aware of what was going on and that Snape would kill the Headmaster that night. The only other “clue” that I would add to what is presented here is that throughout the book, Harry tries to alert Dumbledore to the Malfoy/Snape connection and their apparent plot to do “something bad.” The most that Dumbledore responds to this is that he is not concerned about it, but he is aware of it. Of course, if Snape was killing Dumbledore by the Headmaster’s own request…then why would Dumbledore be concerned about it, right?

Interesting stuff to think about until the next Potter book comes out…

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

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For some reason I’m just blowing through these Harry Potter books. The latest book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, does a few things for the series. First (and unfortunately), it continues a storyline that was flawed from the end of book four. Even given Ms. Rowling’s explanations in the novels for why the Ministry would be at odds with Hogwart’s, the storyline still seems too preconceived. It’s almost as if the generic “man” is going after both the good and bad guys. You know, the plot of every movie and sit-com and pretty much all of professional wrestling for the last ten years. I expected more out of the main drama from the Harry Potter series.

This book, though, also brings more darkness into the series. As GGL would say, this is the darkest of the Harry Potter books (so far). From the twisted scene of the Longbottoms in St. Mungo’s to the fierce battle between the Order and the Death Eaters, this book at least has some gusto in terms of mixing it up a bit.

I can understand, for cinematic reasons, the need to include the Cho/Harry love spat. Yet, I sometimes think that these parts of the book get in the way of what could be a great story. Quite frankly, no one gives a hoot if Cho is mental because of Cedric dying and Harry is a real “git” when it comes to the ladies. But once again, I read this from a 25 year-old perspective when the general age group of Harry Potter readers is 10 years my younger, so this may be a moot point.

The length of the book is certainly something to consider when getting ready to read it. I came home for Thanksgiving with just a few things and this book was one of them. When I got home, I was less than halfway done with the book, yet last night (after dinner), I had so much free time that I actually finished the book. This is something to keep in mind – you need long, unused expanses of time to get a good reading session in with this book!

What else can I say about this book? It’s nice to get a view of Harry and Snape needing to work together, though I wonder how this will come across in the movie version of the story. Also, it was nice that we got the background on Sirius’ family and his relation to pretty much all of the “bad guys” since he comes from a family of dark wizards. Interesting stuff.

I thought the prophecy part at the end of the book left something to be desired. One has to die, right? Well, duh! Dumbledore’s speech was pretty good in terms of explaining a lot of the finer points of the previous 850+ pages!

For Harry Potter fans, I obviously have to recommend the book so you can continue reading the story. But in terms of storytelling, it seemed at times that Rowling wrote parts of the book so they would be good for a video game, parts that would be good for a movie, and parts that were too Da Vinci Code-esque. Yet, whenever I criticize her too much, I always remember two things. First, she’s writing for preteens and teenagers (though her original audience is now in their twenties). Second, the Harry Potter series is her first go-around with writing professionally in terms of mass publication. The exaggerations and over use of trickery are to be expected in what is essentially a novice’s writing.

All in all a decent book that advanced some storylines and moved the story forward.