Fri: Jul 20 2007

"My two cents"
4 comments, it seems

Surprise Me

So. Harry Potter. Book 7. Tomorrow! I have just begun a rereading of HBP to get up to speed with things to look out for and that sort of thing. To the non-Potterphiles, have you any idea much expectation lies on this last book? It is the ending, and it should, should contain (not all) the answers to many questions from all the other books in the series. Whose expectations do I speak of? Most of us I suspect are fans. Some others not so much, just readers who want to know what happens in the end. Should I even mention those who only watch the movies? Pah. Anyway.

With regards to what becomes of Harry and his peers, and where the last book takes us, I will again mention that I am fond of some theories I have read online, particularly those of Red Hen. I also read quite an interesting one that suggests HBP was mostly a dream of Harry’s, a distorted view of reality…

Not all theories have to hold, but I admit that the exposure to Red Hen has made me become jaded, cynical of Jo’s writing and storytelling capablities. Enchanted still, because she spins quite a story, quite a reading experience, but you become aware of her faults and the series’ inconsistences.

While we might not be able to help that we never found the two missing Gryffindor students in Harry’s year, my expectations of the series’ ending involve several twists and turns that I fear may not have been made room for. I fear that the ingenuity attributed to Jo will not reflect in the last book. I fear the theories I have read are just too clever for Harry Potter. Gasp! What blasphemy. I don’t mean to insult J K Rowling. I mean to say that I am sure she is a busy woman and that having to cope with writing the end to the Harry Potter series is difficult as it is, and her skillz just aren’t godly enough to fit in all my favourite theories into Book 7.

So this is what I am afraid of: that, after having read many wonderful plausible theories, some so convincing leaving me to believe in them as certain truths behind the canon of the series… I will pick up the Deathly Hallows and read an ending that does not match the genius of the said theories.

Well, “Rowling predicts that some of Harry’s fans will dislike Deathly Hallows,” says USA Today. So I’ll just have to deal. I don’t know. Maybe I just think too much.

King Weasley Doesn’t Make It

Okay, the movie. OotP. Heh. I was bound to make a remark about it, wasn’t I?

I have to say I actually liked it. =P In complete contrast to my attitude towards Book 7, I went to watch Movie 5 with no expectations, and for the better I think. The Harry Potter movies will never match up with the books, and thus have to be enjoyed separately.

Obviously a lot was cut out, and by ‘a lot’ I mean a lot! Weasley is our King, anyone? I think they kept only the scenes that were central to the plot… that said, if this were wholly true, Kreacher would not have made an appearance at all, since not a house-elf was seen in Movie 4 (despite Winky’s relative importance in the story).

Personally I suffered two disappointments in the movie, the first possibly a minor point, the second, one that I thought would be weighed in with planning for the sixth movie. Firstly, TONKS. Would a little more screen time hurt? She was a nice addition to the whole cast in the series and she’s going to be a miserable thing in Movie 6 to watch, so I wanted to enjoy her presence as much as possible in Movie 5. Meh. My second complaint is Ginny. She has quite a role in HBP, and I would have thought that her character in Movie 5 would be, you know, perked up a bit in preparation for the sixth movie. Yes, she did cast two powerful reductos, but where was the emergence of her personality, her sense of humour… heck, at the very least, where were her boyfriends?

The ‘WTF?!’ section: Voldemort in a suit. And the usage of ‘Levicorpus’ before encountering the Half-Blood Prince.

But yes, the good stuff. Umbridge was hatefully brilliant (nice kitties), and I rather liked Luna’s portrayal. She reminded me a little of Skins‘ Cass. Oh and the Room of Requirement (bigger than I’d expected, but still a delight), and the “I Love You” chocolates. Young Snape! (Poor soul.) Trelawney drama. Thestrals. Mr Weasley on the Underground! The fireplaces for the Floo Network in the Ministry of Magic. Neville towering over Harry.

Okay okay, too much? But I’m sure each fan had something to like in the movie. Let’s look on the positive side. We’ll look back on the movies in the years to come and muse, “They could have been a lot worse.”

For now, let’s agree that the books can entertain us far more, and hold our breaths in apprehension of whatever the Deathly Hallows are…

 
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categories(?): books_etc, tv_and_film, hp, that's all :)

Wed: May 23 2007

"don’t melt, Voldie!"
2 comments, it seems

And, for the record: I would LOVE to see Voldemort melt away because Harry threw a bucket of water over him. Absolutely love it.

Anyone want to read a very long text pondering on the title of the last Harry Potter book and the possible elements contained within its plot? It’s the very awesome Red Hen’s Potterverse again.

Yes I link to this at least once a year. But I love it, love Red Hen. She criticizes J.K. Rowling’s writing and techniques and choices, which few fans would dare to do, because they love her too much. She points out things you don’t think about - the Weasleys’ poverty caused by dangerous spending habits? Hermione an uncultured girl? - and thinks up theories and whole backstories - Sirius an alcoholic? Peter Pettigrew still due to step up and surprise us?

If you haven’t yet discovered this site, this is for HP fans who are not afraid to read something new.

Warning: Your favourite character may well be bashed, in a constructive manner. Again and again.

This applies even if the persona you love best is Rowling herself.

 
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Sat: Dec 23 2006

"i was a Darren fangirl"
0 comments, it seems

Auuuugggh. Where was I when the title for Harry Potter Book 7 was released?

This will be one of those posts where I spew out a bunch of things off the top of my head.

I died the other day, died, upon seeing a music video that positively hacked “Truly Madly Deeply”. Every emotion that Darren Hayes breathed, line by line, into the song, coupled with the music by the genius of a Daniel Jones, that can still make me shiver with a second’s breathlessness at its beauty and innocence, or conjure up sheer nostalgia, suddenly overwhelming you with memories in your adoloscent years… blown away by what appeared to be a dance number. Damn you, Cascada. Damn you.

And so my past as a Savage Garden groupie emerges.

If I remember the other thing I wanted to randomly slap onto the entry, you won’t be reading this sentence.

Actually, I remember. I think the new design for Warwick Insite looks pretty smooth. Begone ugly rectangles.

 
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categories(?): hp, music, angry_rants, fangirl, that's all :)