One’s first post aught to be something auspicious and memorable, right? But I’m flat out of brilliant ideas at the moment. I did see the fifth of the Harry Potter films over the past weekend with my nephews and niece. And, yes, I’ve also pre-ordered the final book from Amazon, though not without a good dose of Catholic guilt over not purchasing the book locally. Talking Leaves (the best Buffalo bookstore) will win the next round. I can’t say that I’ve reread any of the books, so my level of Potter expertise is minimal at best, but one of the most interesting aspects of Rowlings’ series for me is the way the characters have matured as the storyline develops. The fifth novel is no different, portraying a moodier but more sophisticated (teaching classes, weighing in on politics) Harry. The movie is quieter than the other four, but manages, as noted by A. O. Scott, writing for The New York Times, to smoothly compress the action of Rowling’s longest novel. The darker shade of Hogwarts fits both the characters’ developing personalities and our times. Like Scott, I also appreciated the sugary pink evil Dolores Umbridge played by Imelda Staunton and once again Alan Rickman does not fail to impress with his this time slightly more harried and benevolent Snape. Overall, worth the price of the ticket.
The picture above depicts Ron, Harry and Hermione in the film, Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. The photo was taken from the website: http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00004187.html
July 18, 2007 at 1:21 pm
I’ll admit that I’ve never read or seen anything Harry Potter. Each year, upon the release of a new movie or book, I feel this sense of guilt about the whole thing. I’ve never been one for magic, but I love the battle between good and evil. I think you might have lured another person to HP, Skotnicki.
September 25, 2007 at 11:39 am
I have always been a huge fan of Harry Potter. I am one of those people that line up at midnight to recieve the lastest book and I finish reading it within three days. However, like Fowler, I have never been one for magic, but I believe the J.K. Rowling has included enough mystery and romance in her books to keep me hooked. Upon the release of a new book, I tend to reread all the books just to make sure I remember all the details. I happen to like the books a lot more than I do the movies. I believe that the movies come out dry and leave out a lot of information that is included in the books.
October 29, 2007 at 11:00 pm
I used to like Harry Potter when I was younger, but then I kind of got tired reading the long books. So now I just wait for the movies to come out so I can watch them in like 2 hours instead of reading a book for 2 weeks. I have seen the movies previous to this one, but I have yet to see this one. I don’t know it looks pretty good, I’ll have to watch it sometime.