Harry Potter!!!

[DiGoRyKiRkE]

I can understand that, PA. . . but certainly you can understand our neglecting of using spoilers? The Goblet of Fire film has been out for 7 years; the book has been out for 12 years, and the entire series has been out for 5 years.

The last 4 books deal with so many intriguing issues - issues that the first three books don't even touch. They hold the issues about which everybody wants to talk about, and the issues which will undoubtedly continued to be discussed in this thread.

The only way to avoid completely avoid spoilers would be to A: finish the series or B: Avoid conversations that you know will have spoilers.

At any rate, we'll do our best.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Yes, this is the Harry Potter thread. Naturally, spoilers will be present. And just so this post isn't pointless, I will add that I've read that once an author becomes quite popular, editors are less likely to ruthlessly edit their work, preferring instead to be yes men/women. It happened with Stephen King and it happened with J.K. Rowling, and George R.R. Martin. I wish someone had the guts to tell them, "King/Rowling/Martin, you may have sold millions of books but you're not God. Your books need a lot of work. You need to let me cut this down to size." I mean I love Rowling's work (and King's to an extent) but there's quite a bit of flab in HP books 4, 5, and 6.

[DiGoRyKiRkE]

but there's quite a bit of flab in HP books 4, 5, and 6.

How-so? I just finished rereads of Books six and seven, and found them to be incredibly "trim." What would you have cut?

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Okay, maybe not Book 4 but Book 5 has about 200 extraneous pages towards the beginning (they're a real chore to slog through and add little/nothing to the story). I love Book 6 but there's quite a bit of snogging, when the focus should be on Voldemort's past and Harry's increasingly dangerous quest. I found few problems with Book 7. It's one of my favourites and incredibly trim. Book 5 is the only seriously flabby book, the padding in the others isn't really a problem.

[Melian_Maia]

I honestly was not pleased with book 5 and it remains my least favourite book in the series. There was so much in it that I disliked. Sirius' death and the blood quill thing with Umbridge are two of the things I didn't care for. Although, my dislike of it could be due to the fact that a friend of mine told me everything that happened in it before I had the chance to read it for myself. I much prefer either HBP (although I do agree with Warrior 4 Jesus about the snogging, also Dumbledore dies, which I was not thrilled with, despite knowing beforehand that it was going to happen.) or Deathly Hallows (which is my favourite of all of them) over the Order of the Phoenix.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

You didn't like the revelations, so you disliked the story? Interesting. I would think that those powerful moments (while terribly sad) would've made it all the more special because they served the story.

[Shadowlander]

This page is rich in spoilers, but I'll post it here simply because there's an HP thread and it belongs here .

Wifester has been bringing home the HP movies...I've never seen any of them and only ever read the first book many years back (and thought it was generally mediocre), so I wasn't expecting much. But I've been pleasantly surprised thus far at how entertaining it's been. I actually liked the Sorcerer's Stone (book 1) movie rendition better than the book. The rest of the films have gotten steadily better, although I thought #3 (Prisoner of Azkaban...er..Akabazan...um...Azerbaijan...oh nevermind) was a bump in the road story and quality wise (they had clearly changed Hagrid's house location...unless someone chopped down the forest right behind his little hut). My favorite character is Ron and surprisingly Severus Snape, who's becoming a fun character to watch develop. I even was surprised that I liked that guy from Twilight's character as much as I did and felt a bit bad when he kicked the bucket at the end. Weird how the little Dobby elf thing/creature is involved so heavily in movie #2 and then inexplicably disappears as though he never happened for the rest (that I've seen). My guess is there's lots of differences between the books and movies.

Wifester will be bringing back the next one when it becomes available in a week or so.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Prisoner of Azkaban, yes, you got it right the first time, is a quality movie, just very different to the others in tone, art direction and continuity. It's quite different to the book too but I really enjoyed it. Glad to hear you're enjoying them so far.

[DiGoRyKiRkE]

Book 5 has about 200 extraneous pages towards the beginning (they're a real chore to slog through and add little/nothing to the story). I love Book 6 but there's quite a bit of snogging, when the focus should be on Voldemort's past and Harry's increasingly dangerous quest.

I disagree about the 200 extraneous pages at the start of book five (which remains my favourite in the series). I think it's rather vital to go through Harry's use of underage magic, the expulsion, the trial, etc... because it really sets the tone for the themes of denial that run throughout the book. The book starts out with some pretty dark themes (see spoiler above), which really helps to drive the storyline onward, particularly once Umbridge comes onto the scene. OOTP has always given me this feeling of hopelessness (both the book and the film do this). I think that it's a great theme, and its rather inspiring that, despite the events of that book, at the end of it all, Harry is still able to press on.

The snogging elements in book 6. . . I mean come on. A. We're adults here. B. It never gets out of hand. C. You can hardly argue that it draws away from the plot, when it's mentioned in a few sentences per chapter. D. I think it's really neat to see the characters dealing with a few more adult problems rather than the more childish arguments of the earlier books.

Shadowlander, PLEASE read the books! The movie adaptations for Books 1 and 2 are pretty much spot on (in tone, plot, adaptation, etc...). I would never go so far as to say that any of the movies are "bad" but, as is the norm when adapting massive books, stuff gets left out (sometimes vitally important stuff!). OOTP is 1200 pages (I think). . . if all of that had been in the movie, it would have been like 7 hours long (if not more). I can definitely see why the Sorcerer's Stone book puts you off a bit; it did me too. I mean, you hear all of this hype about a boy wizard, and he doesn't even get to Hogwarts until a third of the way through the book. I actually watched the first four movies before I read the books, but read books 5, 6 and 7 before the movies. I thought that this was a rather good plan as the last books are much deeper, darker, and better (literately speaking) than the first four.

Prisoner of Azkaban is definitely a diversion from the main thrust of the plot. I find it interesting that it is the only book which does not feature Voldemort in any way shape or form. He does not try to come back as he does in books 1 & 2, nor is he present as he is in books 4 - 7. I found the plot to be fairly good (a bit anticlimactic when one finds out that the bad guy isn't really the bad guy), but original, interesting, and fun just the same. Up until the release of DH1 (which is my favourite movie in the series), the PoA movie was definitely my favourite.

*So glad to see that this thread is coming back to life*

[Melian_Maia]

You didn't like the revelations, so you disliked the story? Interesting. I would think that those powerful moments (while terribly sad) would've made it all the more special because they served the story.

No, no, I still like the story, just not that particular book. I do agree that the deaths of the characters served to further the story, but that doesn't make me like them any more. I understand how important OOTP is to continuing the story and making it all flow, but I just can't get as into it as I can some of the other books. I find HBP, while sad with such a major character's death, much easier for me to enjoy.

...OOTP has always given me this feeling of hopelessness (both the book and the film do this)...

That's why I don't care much for OOTP. There's such a hopelessness to it that makes it hard for me to slog through. I'm generally a happy person, so the depressing factors of the book make it a tough one for me. But then again, each to his own.

I disagree about the 200 extraneous pages at the start of book five (which remains my favourite in the series). I think it's rather vital to go through Harry's use of underage magic, the expulsion, the trial, etc... because it really sets the tone for the themes of denial that run throughout the book.

I actually do agree with you here, Digs. While I don't like OOTP, I think the whole thing with Harry saving Dudley from the Dementor is where the beginnings of that mutual understanding (I can't really call it a friendship. ) starts. Also, I found it rather amusing that Aunt Petunia got a Howler.

RE: The movies
I haven't seen all of the first or third, and have only seen 4-7.1 once each. Of the ones I have seen to completion, I think Chamber of Secrets was most spot on and, before I had seen the others, it was my favorite. I watched 4-7.1 early last fall and then 7.2 on Halloween. 7.2 is now my favorite of the movies, followed closely by Chamber of Secrets. There's just something about 7.2 that makes me feels warm and fuzzy, while still rather sad at the same time (my sister just gave me a weird look as I wrote that). I suppose that it comes from knowing that, while Snape and so many other died, Voldemort was still defeated.

Random question: on first reading DH, did the scene with Dumbledore and Harry in 'Kings Cross' after Harry goes to the woods confuse you? I was rather puzzled by it and had to read that particular chapter several times before I 'got' it, but perhaps that was because it was 2 in the morning.

[DiGoRyKiRkE]

Random question: on first reading DH, did the scene with Dumbledore and Harry in 'Kings Cross' after Harry goes to the woods confuse you? I was rather puzzled by it and had to read that particular chapter several times before I 'got' it, but perhaps that was because it was 2 in the morning.

It didn't confuse me. . . because I was expecting it the entire time. So when I came to it, I was prepared for a lot to be explained, and a lot of heavy material.

Reading anything at 2AM is hazardous to health

[Lilygloves]

I recently got into Harry Potter last month. I loved the books so much and I was constantly reading them. I'm borrowing the movies from a friend, but he accidentally left out Goblet of Fire and doesn't have Deathly Hallows. I've seen the clip of Snape's memories and it makes me cry every time! The many Snape/Lily pins on pinterest don't help either. I loved Rowling writing, especially because the reader is so emotionally connected to each character. This is important because there is so much that is so important to them that would not seem important to us if we weren't so attached to them, like a simple Quidditch match. Snape is brilliantly written because the whole time you are completely convinced he is evil, but Rowling completely changes your point of view in a matter of a few pages without seeming cheesy or full of plot holes.

[DiGoRyKiRkE]

Lilygloves, I'm so glad that you have gotten onto the Harry Potter bandwagon, and that you have enjoyed them. They truly are classics, which I can see standing the test of time, and being loved as masterpieces hundreds of years from now.

Which book has been your favourite, and which film adaptation has been your favourite?

You might be able to get the GoF movie from your local library or video store.

[Lilygloves]

I think I'd have to pick Half-Blood Prince as my favorite book because it's very emotional and funny at the same time. There are some really great moments and it takes you on an emotional ride. I think I really love the last 3 books in general. My absolute favorite scene is in Order of the Phoenix when Fred and George set off the rockets. (It looked a lot better in my head than in the movie, but then again that's what usually happens.) And of course, Snape's last memories had me absolutely bawling.

My best friend is also a Harry Potter fan, so we are planning on having a movie marathon, so I decided to wait until then to watch Deathly Hallows part 1 and 2.

[DiGoRyKiRkE]

My best friend is also a Harry Potter fan, so we are planning on having a movie marathon, so I decided to wait until then to watch Deathly Hallows part 1 and 2.

I've always wanted to do a movie marathon, watching all eight films in one day, but this would take extreme dedication, sleep deprivation, and all around ickleness

I think the closest we've come is watching all 8 films in 8 days .

[DiGoRyKiRkE]

It's been more than 48 hours since the last post in this thread, so I feel no shame in double posting .

Dad and I were talking today, and he asked the following question, to which I couldn't give a decent answer.

In the scene in Deathly Hallows, where Harry sees all of those who had sacrificed so much for him, we see Harry's Mom and Dad, Lupin and Sirius, all of which were brought back by the Resurrection Stone.

The question is. . . why do you think that Snape was absent from this meeting. Was it merely because he couldn't stand the three marauders who were present, or was it because he still blamed Harry for Lily's death, or was it some other reason?