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Dementors like in Harry Potter?
So I saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix yesterday. I had refreshed my movie knowledge by rewatching the 3rd and 4th movies the last two days. First I have to say I am a book purist. In my opinion, everything in the movie should match the books *exactly* no matter how long it takes. That's why I wish they made a Harry Potter TV show that did that as I'm sure it'd be successful with its guaranteed viewers. Plus it would be awesome for vidding. Anyways, I know it's unrealistic so I'm okay with things being left out of the book if it's not important and little scenes or character dialogue to explain things that were left out/slightly changed is okay. But I hate, HATE when they add scenes that don't do anything special the book doesn't do (so a book scene would have easily sufficed). Usually the dialogue is crap and/or doesn't match the characters and most importantly it takes away time from scenes that ARE important. Big changes to plot, character and making action scenes way too long are more things that get me riled up.
I disliked the PoA movie the most of the movies which is saying something since the book is my favorite because they left out so many of the things I loved (Quidditch Cup, great lines, etc) and changed so many things. In the Goblet of Fire movie, I counted 16 big things that I HATED and wanted to strangle the screenwriter for doing (not literally /Dwight). But in this movie, there was only four. So, progress! And I liked it so much more. I will have to watch the first movie to see if it's my favorite but overall it was a good movie. This may be credited to the fact that a different screenwriter wrote it (Steve Kloves=bad in my book). The bad thing was two of the things I hated were big.
Number one and the one thing that I would have forgiven every other fault if it had just been good is Snape's Worst Memory. That is my VERY FAVORITE CHAPTER of Harry Potter EVER and I was severely disappointed (like Snape at the end of PoA) that it was incredibly short :( I did not expect that. I thought they'd gloss over it and make it so that James (and Sirius) wasn't that bad and had just been retaliating. At least they included some of the worst stuff they did but it was so fast that I barely had time to register it. And they left out so much! I wanted to see the Maraudars fool around on the test (rereading the book, the Lupin/werewolf question was still SO FUNNY) and hang out together, the soap part (*stabs them both*) and especially Lily. I think that was a HUGE character moment and I hate how it won't be apart of the movie canon now completely. And all my hopes of being able to vid them have pretty much died especially a little Remus/Severus one. All the shippers lost out on this one :( And Snape especially deserves better than that. This scene has permanently changed my outlook on the rest of the books and helps me understand Snape and especially his relationship with the Trio so much better so I think it really needed to be longer.
The other big thing wrong with the movie to me is the last scene with Dumbledore and Harry. The movie had set up so well the love between Sirius and Harry, making me love them even more than I had in the book along with making the distance between Dumbledore and Harry so clear and hurtful. Actually seeing it hurts my soul all the more as I LOVE the Dumbledore and Harry relationship. But the end scene between didn't have much emotion at all! I needed more emotion from Harry about Sirius's death from anger to crying because after everything that had happened he had a right to it. And Dumbledore barely seemed to care at all even when he said he did. The scene should have been longer like it was in the book. It was Harry's reaction to Sirius's death that made me cry in the books and I had almost no reaction besides general sadness to it in the movie. Very disappointing.
There were two other things that bothered me. One was that they messed with Cho's character. Now I don't care about Cho much at all but I think it's ridiculous to change her plotline so much. WTH?! Even if it wasn't her fault at the end, it made no sense to have it happen to her and not some other member. Would it really be too hard for her to have a friend and to do the SNEAK part? It was a stupid way to stop the romance. Also I really, really, really wanted them to include St. Mungo's hospital with Neville and his parents. That was one of my favorite parts of the 5th book and it's so *subtle* in emotion and yet it makes me tear up everytime. They glossed over Arthur's injury and what he was guarding a lot there. I have just always been looking forward to seeing that onscreen. Other WTH things: why did Dudley look like a fat gangsta rapper? I could barely keep myself from laughing whenever I saw him. Where was Lupin when they were flying? For that matter there was a very sad lack of Lupin throughout the movie :( Occlumency right after the snape attack really? I miss the Snape and Sirius argument. Why did they change the Grawp scene if they were going to include him twice? And it sucks they didn't show Hagrid escaping the stunners. I could go on and on about more changes I didn't like but I'll stop there.
Okay enough with the bad. Now the good! I really did enjoy the movie especially the beginning which I think was wonderful. The pacing was great, they kept in most of the best parts so it really moved and didn't feel too slow. I liked Tonks and Kingsley who I think got their characters right. I'm glad there wasn't too much capslock!Harry but I do think there should have been a little more. The Extendable Ears with Crookshanks was actually really cute and funny, yay for added good things! Arthur Weasley admiring the Muggle things was super cute *adores him* Dumbledore was awesome defending Harry and I loved the perfect tone of his voice when he says "Brian" in contrast with his long/weird last names. I was very impressed with the acting and writing of Luna as I never liked her in the books (not into crazy people, see River) but she brought the perfect spirit and likability that made me care about her more. Although the looks weren't exactly what I imagined for Umbridge, she did a great job conveying her sweet outside but EVIL inside that just makes you hate her all over again. They didn't show her bigoted side as much as I'd like but at least it was mentioned at the end. And she got the hems perfectly. It was awesome seeing her with the teachers, they reduced those scenes perfectly and Snape's replies to her were hilariously awesome. Dumbledore making a grand entrance to defend Trewlawny while a bit cheesy was still awesome and it broke me all the more when he wouldn't talk to Harry. Ouch.
I was glad they cut out the Quidditch in this book at least (I will NEVER forgive them for the 3rd book) as I didn't care much for it in this book and it would have taken way too much time. For me Quidditch becomes a lot less important when Voldemort's out on the loose. I enjoyed all the super cute Ron/Hermione moments especially her doing his introduction and the "emotional range of a teaspoon" scene. I absolutely loved the way they montaged Dumbledore's Army scenes with Umbridge making up new rules with the newspapers (great touch and unity throughout the movie with that effect) which moved the plot along but still showing time going past. The Harry and Cho parts were as awkward as usual especially leading up to the kiss but at least that was nicely filmed. I loved Harry's scenes with Neville as it was great to see him improve and share his family (loved seeing them!) history with him *hearts Neville* I loved all the visuals for Harry's dreams, very cool. Sirius and Harry's talk and hug broke me that much more knowing what lay ahead for them. It emotionally got to me even more than the book did so good job, movie. It was great to see the Occlumency as Alan Rickman uses his voice so perfectly and is just GUH with all his chemistry no matter how inappropiate (see Snarry shippers). Although Snape's worst memory was way too short, I will say that I loved how they showed Fred and George helping that kid after with Harry to show the difference between them and James and Sirius, the difference between pranksters and bullies. I wish they had shown more of Harry's reaction though even if they had to cut his scene with Sirius and Lupin that does help me forgive them. I was SO GLAD they kept Dumbledore's big exit in the movie with his famous come quietly lines and the "style" reply (not by Kingley though, stupid change). Fred and George's big exit was equally as impressive with the fireworks and broom flying. That made me happy to see along with Flitwick's happiness at it.
I am of two minds on the final scene. On the one hand some of the effects were really cool especially with Dumbledore and "Tom"(yay!)'s fight. And Lucius was more evil and hotter than I've ever see him and Bellatrix was a good crazy representation (although I think she overdid it at times). I think the book created a much better job at portraying the suspense and terror in the scene since in the book they say killing the others is acceptable but in the movie it feels like they're only trying to get the prophecy. Also while I kind of liked Harry seeing the love is what kept him from being Voldemort, it was kind of lame for him to actually say it and I prefer the way the book has Dumbledore forced to decide whether to kill Harry and Voldemort. I loved Sirius calling Harry "James" which was a great movie addition. I don't mind the Avada Kedavra spell because I figured it was that but the slow moing and Harry's looks and seeing it happen was more devastating and shocking for me than usual. I did wish Lupin showed more emotion though. And again same with Harry in Dumbledore's office as the movie didn't give any place to release that sadness. I did love his scene with Luna though. The end of the movie ended more positive than I like and of course was changed too much. I always wish they showed Harry's thoughts on going home to the Dursley's and I wish we could have seen the OotP send him off.
So while I want to say I loved it, I can only say I enjoyed it and it was a great improvement over the last movies. It has definitely gotten me even more into Pottermania mode so that helps. And I'm glad the acting is improving especially Daniel Radcliffe who has gotten, dare I say it, hot. And I'm SO GLAD he cut his hair. He looks infinity times better in this movie than the fourth. Not as homeless ;)
Now here's my top 10 list of Harry Potter characters:
1. Lupin - I love how inspiring a teacher he is, smart and understanding with his perfect diplomatic way of interacting with people.
2. Snape - I love how deliciously bad he can be but still be intelligent, his crappy past makes me love and forgive him all the more and I am incredibly intrigued by him and his motives.
3. Dumbledore - I love his wisdom, his belief in second changes and his delight in the fun, small things in life.
4. Hermione - It's hard for me not to love a perfectionist bookworm with a belief in equality and who tries to do the right thing.
5. Fred and George Weasley - I love how they make me laugh and provide humor into any situation. And they are awesome.
6. Arthur Weasley - I love his childlike wonder at all the Muggle creations as well as his protective side.
7. Mad Eye Moody - Fake or real, he's hilarious with his paranoia and great take downs of *evil* wizards.
8. Neville - I'm impressed with how much he's grown from lack of confidence to couragous in helping his friends and using his skills in Herbology. He reminds me of Pam in his growth.
9. Harry Potter - I truly admire Harry for trying so hard when he's had the worst of both worlds and taking the weight of the world onto his shoulders.
10. Oliver Wood - I adore his love of Quidditch at all costs. He's too funny.
Now to me it seems like everyone loves Sirius while I've never really understood why. The childhood idea of him at first seems cool but besides that I don't get it. So if you love Sirius, let me know why. I do like him and the same with Sirius/Remus but I've never understood why people go crazy over it. In terms of ships, I try to not get too attached to anything as Harry Potter is a smorgas board of amazing fic and other fannish stuff out there. The only thing that's definite it is I hate Harry/Hermione romantically (LOVE them platonically) but I'm pretty sure JK's not going there so I don't see it as much of a threat, just something that gets more fannish focus than I'd think. I actually kind of like Remus/Severus not just because they're my favorites but because I think it's interesting whether they could ever get past the bad of their pasts and find forgiveness in each other. Plus Lupin's the only one beside Dumbledore that could deal with Snape (heh). But hey, if you like Sirius/Remus, feel free to enlighten me on why you love the pairing so much as although I do like the deep friendship, I've never seen the romantic dynamic between them. But in Harry Potter fandom, anything goes :)
Oh and if you haven't seen![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wistful_fever's Harry Potter vid, The Boy Was a Puppet, go watch it! It's amazing with the effects, song choice and great clip choice showing Harry's struggles really well. It impresses me everytime I watch it. Oh, Harry. I'm always open to more HP vid recs as well.
I disliked the PoA movie the most of the movies which is saying something since the book is my favorite because they left out so many of the things I loved (Quidditch Cup, great lines, etc) and changed so many things. In the Goblet of Fire movie, I counted 16 big things that I HATED and wanted to strangle the screenwriter for doing (not literally /Dwight). But in this movie, there was only four. So, progress! And I liked it so much more. I will have to watch the first movie to see if it's my favorite but overall it was a good movie. This may be credited to the fact that a different screenwriter wrote it (Steve Kloves=bad in my book). The bad thing was two of the things I hated were big.
Number one and the one thing that I would have forgiven every other fault if it had just been good is Snape's Worst Memory. That is my VERY FAVORITE CHAPTER of Harry Potter EVER and I was severely disappointed (like Snape at the end of PoA) that it was incredibly short :( I did not expect that. I thought they'd gloss over it and make it so that James (and Sirius) wasn't that bad and had just been retaliating. At least they included some of the worst stuff they did but it was so fast that I barely had time to register it. And they left out so much! I wanted to see the Maraudars fool around on the test (rereading the book, the Lupin/werewolf question was still SO FUNNY) and hang out together, the soap part (*stabs them both*) and especially Lily. I think that was a HUGE character moment and I hate how it won't be apart of the movie canon now completely. And all my hopes of being able to vid them have pretty much died especially a little Remus/Severus one. All the shippers lost out on this one :( And Snape especially deserves better than that. This scene has permanently changed my outlook on the rest of the books and helps me understand Snape and especially his relationship with the Trio so much better so I think it really needed to be longer.
The other big thing wrong with the movie to me is the last scene with Dumbledore and Harry. The movie had set up so well the love between Sirius and Harry, making me love them even more than I had in the book along with making the distance between Dumbledore and Harry so clear and hurtful. Actually seeing it hurts my soul all the more as I LOVE the Dumbledore and Harry relationship. But the end scene between didn't have much emotion at all! I needed more emotion from Harry about Sirius's death from anger to crying because after everything that had happened he had a right to it. And Dumbledore barely seemed to care at all even when he said he did. The scene should have been longer like it was in the book. It was Harry's reaction to Sirius's death that made me cry in the books and I had almost no reaction besides general sadness to it in the movie. Very disappointing.
There were two other things that bothered me. One was that they messed with Cho's character. Now I don't care about Cho much at all but I think it's ridiculous to change her plotline so much. WTH?! Even if it wasn't her fault at the end, it made no sense to have it happen to her and not some other member. Would it really be too hard for her to have a friend and to do the SNEAK part? It was a stupid way to stop the romance. Also I really, really, really wanted them to include St. Mungo's hospital with Neville and his parents. That was one of my favorite parts of the 5th book and it's so *subtle* in emotion and yet it makes me tear up everytime. They glossed over Arthur's injury and what he was guarding a lot there. I have just always been looking forward to seeing that onscreen. Other WTH things: why did Dudley look like a fat gangsta rapper? I could barely keep myself from laughing whenever I saw him. Where was Lupin when they were flying? For that matter there was a very sad lack of Lupin throughout the movie :( Occlumency right after the snape attack really? I miss the Snape and Sirius argument. Why did they change the Grawp scene if they were going to include him twice? And it sucks they didn't show Hagrid escaping the stunners. I could go on and on about more changes I didn't like but I'll stop there.
Okay enough with the bad. Now the good! I really did enjoy the movie especially the beginning which I think was wonderful. The pacing was great, they kept in most of the best parts so it really moved and didn't feel too slow. I liked Tonks and Kingsley who I think got their characters right. I'm glad there wasn't too much capslock!Harry but I do think there should have been a little more. The Extendable Ears with Crookshanks was actually really cute and funny, yay for added good things! Arthur Weasley admiring the Muggle things was super cute *adores him* Dumbledore was awesome defending Harry and I loved the perfect tone of his voice when he says "Brian" in contrast with his long/weird last names. I was very impressed with the acting and writing of Luna as I never liked her in the books (not into crazy people, see River) but she brought the perfect spirit and likability that made me care about her more. Although the looks weren't exactly what I imagined for Umbridge, she did a great job conveying her sweet outside but EVIL inside that just makes you hate her all over again. They didn't show her bigoted side as much as I'd like but at least it was mentioned at the end. And she got the hems perfectly. It was awesome seeing her with the teachers, they reduced those scenes perfectly and Snape's replies to her were hilariously awesome. Dumbledore making a grand entrance to defend Trewlawny while a bit cheesy was still awesome and it broke me all the more when he wouldn't talk to Harry. Ouch.
I was glad they cut out the Quidditch in this book at least (I will NEVER forgive them for the 3rd book) as I didn't care much for it in this book and it would have taken way too much time. For me Quidditch becomes a lot less important when Voldemort's out on the loose. I enjoyed all the super cute Ron/Hermione moments especially her doing his introduction and the "emotional range of a teaspoon" scene. I absolutely loved the way they montaged Dumbledore's Army scenes with Umbridge making up new rules with the newspapers (great touch and unity throughout the movie with that effect) which moved the plot along but still showing time going past. The Harry and Cho parts were as awkward as usual especially leading up to the kiss but at least that was nicely filmed. I loved Harry's scenes with Neville as it was great to see him improve and share his family (loved seeing them!) history with him *hearts Neville* I loved all the visuals for Harry's dreams, very cool. Sirius and Harry's talk and hug broke me that much more knowing what lay ahead for them. It emotionally got to me even more than the book did so good job, movie. It was great to see the Occlumency as Alan Rickman uses his voice so perfectly and is just GUH with all his chemistry no matter how inappropiate (see Snarry shippers). Although Snape's worst memory was way too short, I will say that I loved how they showed Fred and George helping that kid after with Harry to show the difference between them and James and Sirius, the difference between pranksters and bullies. I wish they had shown more of Harry's reaction though even if they had to cut his scene with Sirius and Lupin that does help me forgive them. I was SO GLAD they kept Dumbledore's big exit in the movie with his famous come quietly lines and the "style" reply (not by Kingley though, stupid change). Fred and George's big exit was equally as impressive with the fireworks and broom flying. That made me happy to see along with Flitwick's happiness at it.
I am of two minds on the final scene. On the one hand some of the effects were really cool especially with Dumbledore and "Tom"(yay!)'s fight. And Lucius was more evil and hotter than I've ever see him and Bellatrix was a good crazy representation (although I think she overdid it at times). I think the book created a much better job at portraying the suspense and terror in the scene since in the book they say killing the others is acceptable but in the movie it feels like they're only trying to get the prophecy. Also while I kind of liked Harry seeing the love is what kept him from being Voldemort, it was kind of lame for him to actually say it and I prefer the way the book has Dumbledore forced to decide whether to kill Harry and Voldemort. I loved Sirius calling Harry "James" which was a great movie addition. I don't mind the Avada Kedavra spell because I figured it was that but the slow moing and Harry's looks and seeing it happen was more devastating and shocking for me than usual. I did wish Lupin showed more emotion though. And again same with Harry in Dumbledore's office as the movie didn't give any place to release that sadness. I did love his scene with Luna though. The end of the movie ended more positive than I like and of course was changed too much. I always wish they showed Harry's thoughts on going home to the Dursley's and I wish we could have seen the OotP send him off.
So while I want to say I loved it, I can only say I enjoyed it and it was a great improvement over the last movies. It has definitely gotten me even more into Pottermania mode so that helps. And I'm glad the acting is improving especially Daniel Radcliffe who has gotten, dare I say it, hot. And I'm SO GLAD he cut his hair. He looks infinity times better in this movie than the fourth. Not as homeless ;)
Now here's my top 10 list of Harry Potter characters:
1. Lupin - I love how inspiring a teacher he is, smart and understanding with his perfect diplomatic way of interacting with people.
2. Snape - I love how deliciously bad he can be but still be intelligent, his crappy past makes me love and forgive him all the more and I am incredibly intrigued by him and his motives.
3. Dumbledore - I love his wisdom, his belief in second changes and his delight in the fun, small things in life.
4. Hermione - It's hard for me not to love a perfectionist bookworm with a belief in equality and who tries to do the right thing.
5. Fred and George Weasley - I love how they make me laugh and provide humor into any situation. And they are awesome.
6. Arthur Weasley - I love his childlike wonder at all the Muggle creations as well as his protective side.
7. Mad Eye Moody - Fake or real, he's hilarious with his paranoia and great take downs of *evil* wizards.
8. Neville - I'm impressed with how much he's grown from lack of confidence to couragous in helping his friends and using his skills in Herbology. He reminds me of Pam in his growth.
9. Harry Potter - I truly admire Harry for trying so hard when he's had the worst of both worlds and taking the weight of the world onto his shoulders.
10. Oliver Wood - I adore his love of Quidditch at all costs. He's too funny.
Now to me it seems like everyone loves Sirius while I've never really understood why. The childhood idea of him at first seems cool but besides that I don't get it. So if you love Sirius, let me know why. I do like him and the same with Sirius/Remus but I've never understood why people go crazy over it. In terms of ships, I try to not get too attached to anything as Harry Potter is a smorgas board of amazing fic and other fannish stuff out there. The only thing that's definite it is I hate Harry/Hermione romantically (LOVE them platonically) but I'm pretty sure JK's not going there so I don't see it as much of a threat, just something that gets more fannish focus than I'd think. I actually kind of like Remus/Severus not just because they're my favorites but because I think it's interesting whether they could ever get past the bad of their pasts and find forgiveness in each other. Plus Lupin's the only one beside Dumbledore that could deal with Snape (heh). But hey, if you like Sirius/Remus, feel free to enlighten me on why you love the pairing so much as although I do like the deep friendship, I've never seen the romantic dynamic between them. But in Harry Potter fandom, anything goes :)
Oh and if you haven't seen
wistful_fever's Harry Potter vid, The Boy Was a Puppet, go watch it! It's amazing with the effects, song choice and great clip choice showing Harry's struggles really well. It impresses me everytime I watch it. Oh, Harry. I'm always open to more HP vid recs as well.
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It's amazing how closely your list of favorite characters matches to mine - the top three are exactly the same! (except Snape and Lupin are changed around).
And weird you brought up Remus/Sirius because I just changed my icon earlier today hee.
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(Anonymous) 2007-07-13 04:40 am (UTC)(link)And also, the writing just sucked.
Whaddya think?
Have a good weekend in Boston!
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1. he is my aragorn anti-hero. he is rebelious and stand offish, but at the end of the day he is a good man. plus, he is really hot (aka aragorn) in my brain.
2. i care for him because he cares for harry. i am always attracted to familial ties. like, the sibling (protective) bond between simon and river has stuck out to me more than any ship ever has. likewise, sirius fills a father role for harry. while a traditional family unit (like the weasleys) doesnt seem as powerful to me, something about their untraditional relationship and the amount of love and protection they have for eachother makes me feel the same way.
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Steve Kloves = horrible, Michael Goldenberg = big Harry Potter fan = so much better!
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Yes, I definitely agree!
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Lucius really was the hottest thing in this movie. They made him such a bad bitch. Rawr.
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Yeah I always thought Lucious was hot in the movies but he took it to the next level in this one.
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Yeah, I hate it when stuff gets cut, but I'd been expecting it, so it wasn't as much of a let down as I'd thought. After all, they always could have cut Snape's Worst Memory. They would have had a hoard of rabid fangirls after them, but they could have done it. ^_^
And I like Sirius. I like him for the same reasons messyjessie58 said. He's a big kid. He's an anti-hero, but he's noble, and he truly loves Harry despite just having met him. He's a good man.
But I've never been into Sirius/Lupin. In my opinion, they're get stuck toget solely because they were the only two left alive. I'm a huge Sirius/James fan, though, because I swear Sirius sounds like he's got the hugest man crush on James every single time he talks about it. Especially his lines in this movie and the mistaking Harry for James, which I'd forgotten about.
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Yeah true about Sirus/Remus. I actually do like James/Sirius because it does seem that way and then there's James who would only stop doing anything for Sirius. Plus I read a book with characters who reminded me of them and so then I was always endeared toward them.
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