The Harry Potter Post, Part I

I've read at least two blog posts all about Harry Potter, and I wanted to add my two cents to it all, too. Because like so many other people, I have truly loved those books.

Craig and I FINALLY got to see Part II of the Deathly Hallows last night at IMAX, thanks to my sister Natalie who sent me birthday money just for that! What a thoughtful gift, huh?

And I have to say: Craig and I were blown away by it. It was SO well done. It made at least one of us tear up (and possibly two of us...). And-- don't hate me for this-- I'm not someone who has always loved the Harry Potter movies. I saw each one and I enjoyed them, but it was hard for them to ever do the books justice, I thought. No, I'm actually not one of those people who always insists that the book is better than the movie. I actually took a Film & Literature course where the professor really emphasized that often the changes movies make to books are because it's impossible to directly translate books to film because they are such different mediums. So this isn't just me being a book snob.

But in this case, the movie was just about perfect. The only things that I didn't love-- and they were so minor I'm being pretty bratty to even mention them-- were that they seem to have lost Goyle, because standing next to Crabbe in the Room of Requirements was some other kid??? And then at the end (***Tons of Spoilers!!!***) when Harry destroys the elder wand, he was supposed to use it to repair his old wand first. Then he destroys it. But those are truly silly things to complain about.

I thought everything else was spot-on. I loved Helena Bonham Carter's performance as she "plays" Hermione playing herself. I thought the dragon inside of Gringotts was exactly the right combination of pasty and scared, but also outraged and scary. I loved the image of it climbing the rocks, struggling to get to fresh air. Voldemort was perfect in his evil scariness, his rage as each horcrux was destroyed, and-- perhaps most important and most difficult to pull off-- his fear that perhaps he can actually die. Ron actually proved he could act, when he cried over Fred's body. Even Harry's acting seemed much improved, and Hermione continued to be wonderful (as were Snape, McGonagal, and a host of others). Harry discovering in the pensieve that he, too, is a horcrux, Mrs. Weasley defeating Bellatrix LeStrange, Harry's time in King's Cross Station with Dumbledore.... All of it was exactly as I pictured it.

Well, done, cast and crew of Harry Potter 7.2! Well done.

I think we're going to have to go see this one again!



Back to the Harry Potter movies in general. I actually think they've gotten better with each one. The first two did a great job of capturing the magic and awe of Hogwarts, but I thought they didn't add much to the books. It was as if they followed the books so closely that I got a little bored by them. The third movie had a couple interesting details it added, but it seemed to do so at the expense of telling the story and getting a good performance out of the actors. (I remember one scene where Harry was supposed to be crying and the acting was so bad it was painful to watch. Ooch.) The fourth one seemed to dispense with the acting all together and was just plot, plot, plot, but even so I spent the entire movie worrying that anyone who hadn't read the book would have no idea what was going on. (Where these movies are concerned, I kind of think no one should be allowed in the theaters who hasn't read the book first.) The fifth movie was much better, and I felt it had a good balance of story telling and just being an enjoyable movie. But the 6th movie was where I really felt they got it perfectly: it had a much slower feel to it, like it was taking its time telling the story. But never in a way that felt boring or anything. I loved seeing Harry and Dumbledore's relationship really growing finally, even if the ending was so heart wrenching. 7.1 followed in the same vein-- a bit slower, taking its time to set everything up just right for the sequel. And this allowed the sequel to be just PERFECT.

So if I had to rank them, I think it would be like this:

1. 7.2
2. 6
3. 7.1
4. 5
5. 4
6. 2
7. 1
8. 3

But they're all worth seeing! I sort of want to see them ALL again now. Just like how I love reading the entire series straight through every couple of years. I don't think they'll ever get old for me (or any other fan, for that matter).

As I'm typing all this, I realize I still have a lot to say about all the books. I think it will have to be in a different blog post, though. So stay tuned!