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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Submitted by jaz on July 25, 2007 - 7:29pm.
These movies keep getting better and better.  I thought this one was actually better than the book.  Interesting that it came out the same summer as Spiderman 3 as both films were about the main characters dealing with the fact that there wasn't much separating them from the people the fight.  There was an excellent line (which I can't remember but will try to give the jist of) when Harry is worried that he might in fact be evil, and his guardian (Sirius Black) says that the world doesn't divide into good guys and bad guys (this is a paraphrase--the bad guys were death eaters, can't remember who  the good guys were represented by)--everyone is a bit of both and it all comes down to the choices we make.  The other strength of the film was that it relied not so much on the lone hero, but on a group of kids all supporting and empowering each other.  The final message of the film seemed to be that the true source of power (magic) was love and forgiveness.  I do recommend the books as well, but the movies--especially from #3 on are well worth seeing.
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Harry Potter

Submitted by Stip on September 21, 2007 - 10:45pm.

I am thankful that the movies have remained so faithful to the book. I'm surprised that the first two movies did not receive more...zeal. Personally, I thought the 2nd book and movie were the best of the lot.

While Half Blood Prince was a total set up effort for book 7 and the worst (relatively, I did after all read it twice) of the lot, I think it will make a great movie.  JK is a genius at introducing new and fresh material, characters and plotlines. 

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Harry Potter

Submitted by jaz on September 22, 2007 - 6:59pm.

Hey Stip,

What made the 2nd book and movie stand out for you? I think the 3rd book and movie were my favourites for a while, but this last movie might have replaced the 3rd movie as my favourite. My liking of the 3rd book probably has to do with the character of Lupin--I really like his inner struggle. And I love the way the same struggle is what he teaches the kids to deal with--to fight their fears by conjuring up their own protectors from within. Fighting fear with mockery and chocolates! Also the dementors are the scariest things in HP--much more scary to me than Voldemort. They really look like things I've had nightmares about.

What I didn't like as much about the first and second movies is that, aside from special effects, they didn't utilize what film can do so much to tell the story. I remember in the third movie some moment when there's almost a still life of Harry, Ron, and Hermione which conveyed so much about what was going on in their heads, what their relationships to each other are, etc. And the symbols of time, the way Lupin's conversation with Harry about his parents is filmed on the covered bridge over an abyss...

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Dementors

Submitted by DominaLuna on October 1, 2007 - 4:22pm.

I have to say I liked dementors more after hearing J. K. Rowling in an interview.

She likened the effect of a Dementor to depression, based on her own experiences. She describes it as "that absence of being able to envisage that you will ever be cheerful again. The absence of hope. That very deadened feeling, which is so very different from feeling sad."

...and what do you do when you're depressed to fight it, but eat chocolate and try to find something to laugh about.  It's true too about the "protectors" coming from within.

I actually thought that was a pretty cool and sneaky way to get people to think about how to fight their fears/depression.

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Dementors

Submitted by jaz on October 1, 2007 - 6:17pm.
That is very cool and very accurate I would say. Funny that she uses the word "visage" because it's just the lack of a visage which gives them the look she describes--the absence of hope, the deadened feeling. Actually the nightmares I was talking about were ones I had as a kid going through a bout of depression--luckily I did (with some help from someone else) find something to laugh about. Wish my parents had thought to feed me chocolates. Smile
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Harry Potter

Submitted by Katrina on July 26, 2007 - 9:49am.

Aw, man... just when I thought Harry Potter would never be relevant in my life...

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Re: Harry Potter...

Submitted by The GC on July 26, 2007 - 8:53am.

I couldn't agree more, jaz, although I admit that the latest film left me "lost" more often than the film previous to it did... feeling as though there were elements of the story one would only understand if she or he had read the book (which I hadn't).  Still, the last two films have surpassed the storytelling of the first three, in my opinion.

And, I agree, this does seem to be the summer of focusing on mercy rather than revenge.
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