Harry Potter Pt II Review

I went to see the final Harry Potter film a month after it came out in theatres. I was just not up for going immediately or seeing all the films in order -- motherhood has taken its toll on my energy. Plus, it was nice to wait and go with friends to the film. So I wanted to list the pros and cons of the last film.

CONS:

I don't know if I can limit myself to SEVEN...I will try.

7. Too much soul baby: The Voldy soul baby thing under the seat was gross. Way gross. Didn't need that much screen time. Three seconds would be enough.

6. The Malfoys WALK AWAY: I can't even believe Steve Kloves wrote that $#*%. Seriously. The Malfoys would not walk away. Especially after the AWKWARD HUG of the century. And Voldy would NEVER HUG anybody. Fist bump? Maybe. Wand slap? Certainly. Hug? NEVER. WTF. (Though it certainly made sense with Harry-hugging-flying duel. Oh wait, no, that made NO SENSE AT ALL. Maybe Ralph Finnes was in a hugging mood that day. If so, then I should have been on set.)

5. Giant wave: Um, Steve Kloves, I know you are not a Ron/Hermione fan, but the giant wave of water right before they kiss? You don't have to OVER emphasize the sexual element -- subtle is good. Too Freudian for my taste. Just have them kiss and then give more time to Ariadne's story.

4. Students EVERYWHERE during the last battle: So, all students march around in neat little rows (a la Madeline books) and yet there are hundreds of them during the last battle all running around and screaming. What happened to the mass evacuation of students by McGonagoll? And WTF her sending out the Slytherins? Made NO sense. Also: why destroy the Quidditch pitch?

3. After fighting their way through Gringotts, riding on the back of a dragon, and then jumping in a frigid lake, Hermione pulls out...the hand-sanitizer? I know they had to cram a lot into the film, but with no explanation, I had to make up my own. That dragon wasn't in the cleanest of underground banks.

2. Where was Crabbe? And why was he replaced with Blaise Zambini? And WHY was Goyle the one who set the fiendfyre? WHY? WHY? WHY?!?!? Oh, drug issues (see here).

1. WTF: HARRY FIX YOUR @^#$^@& WAND!?!?!?!?! I did NOT like that part. Could you tell? Harry was supposed to use the elder wand to repair his broken wand with Fawkes feather in it. Now what is he going to use? Draco's wand? That is just SICK.

PROS:

7. They showed people dying/dead: I know that sounds harsh and I was really surprised Heyman gave this the OK, but I am glad they showed just how EVIL Voldy was and how high the stakes were. He was like Hitler but with a snake-like face and a wand. And Goyle falling into the fire. WOW. Oh and goblin death by fire equally shocking. Lavender Brown munched on by Fenrir. All very real and captured the sense that no one was safe.

6. Ron & Hermione's kiss: believable. Good job guys. Neville's little bit about finding Luna was sweet. Glad Ginny said "I know".

5. Neville was a BA: I wish he had been the BAMF he was in the novel, but making him a BA was just as good. I liked his speech to Voldy, and the mockery with it -- it was good. A little weak, but better than nothing.

4. "Harry, if we die because of them, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" "NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH!" Hurray for greatest Weasley lines EVER! And I started crying when Ron was sobbing over Fred. And Tonks and Lupin. I also liked how Molly had a bit of hesitation with the wand duel, as if she can't believe what she stepped into and hopes she doesn't die in the process, and then overcomes her fear to off Bellatrix.

3. Little Snape was PERFECT: He was darling. I liked him. Botoxed-slightly older Snape was not so good. Snape's death scene was good. Not as I imagined it entirely, but completely brutal and in keeping with Volemort's character. Glad Voldy didn't hug him.

2. Oh yeah, Michael Gambon can act: Forgot about that. He was quite good when he isn't screaming intensely at Harry. Oh yeah, and WARWICK DAVIS is a AMAZING. MAN CAN ACT. And, John Hurt, Helena Bonham Carter, Emma Thompson...the list goes on and on. Glad all the actors found time to come in for a day to make an appearance. AND HURRAY FOR CIARAN HINDS!!! I call him Inspector Lindley because he looks like Inspector Lindley, but he isn't, but either way he is AWESOME and I am so glad he was in the movie (he was Aberforth). And hurray for high-happy imperius cursed goblins. Love those guys. (Oh, and the Grey Lady was in Nanny McPhee. It was bugging me during the last quarter of it and then right before I went to bed I remembered where I had seen her.)

And before the top pro, I want to mention how NOT FAIR it is to moms & dads who watch this film. The whole time I thought baby Harry looked like Nina. Then I got sad about how I might die and leave Nina behind and she is just this little baby. And would I be brave like Lily? Or would I hug Voldy? And then all those kids lying dead? Not cool. I kept thinking about all their parents. Makes me teary eyed just thinking about it.

1. YAY DRAGON! Best part of the movie, hands down. Love that dragon. Would want one if it would promise not to eat me. I thought Griphooks treatment of it was believable and Hermione's aversion excellent. LOVE THAT SCENE. The whole movie could have been that scene (extended) and I would have been happy.

Even better than the dragon was this:

No, not that kid from Twilight. YAY MIKAEL BLOMKVIST!!!! He is AMAZING!!!

And a MUPPET MOVIE!!! YAY!!!!

I AM SO THERE!!!

And I had most of the theatre scared because I LAUGHED SO HARD AT THE PREVIEW FOR THIS:

I might just have to see it at the Crest for the heck of it. I am sure it will be terrible. I will pay $11 to see the final Harry Potter film, but not for dancing penguins. Got my standards, you know.

MEEPERS!!!

Lately my post titles have been onomatopoetic.  

Today has been a GOOD DAY!!! 

Yesterday, not so much.  As my husband can testify, the PMS has arrived.  

Here is why today, JULY 31st, 2008 is a VERY GOOD DAY:

1) It is Harry Potter's and JK Rowling's Birthdays!  

2) JK Rowling announced that she and Amazon.com will release the rights to "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" and Scholastic will release the book December 4th. 

And it will include more information about wandlore, wizarding world stuff, etc.

  

And it is available in both standard and collector's editions. 

If you would like to pre-order a copy for me for my birthday, Christmas, Name's Day, or Pascha

(*ahem* parents -- yes mom, you are still off the hook for my birthday because you got me the collector's edition of The Order of the Phoenix, but I am throwing more ideas out there) 

you can here -- I will be happy with a standard edition, but would LOVE the collector's edition (it is $100!!!  Perhaps a birthday/Christmas/Name's Day/Pascha present combo?).

And it is for CHARITY!  JK Rowling is my hero -- she gains no profit, just the awesome feeling that comes with being generous to those who are less fortunate and ensuring dignity for all mankind.

3) I had an eight o'clock dentist appointment and have NO REASON for a second appointment!  Woot!  The dentist was worried about my inflamed front gums but I have breathing through my mouth due to sinus drainage (sorry -- it's true), he said it was nothing to worry about but I should watch it.  So, I have my mouth closed right now.

BUT NO RETURN VISIT!!!

4) I am so HAPPY to announce that one of my stories was accepted on a Harry Potter Fan Fiction Site!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No it is not about Lily and Sev, but whatever, MY STORY IS ON A FANFICTION SITE!!!

My beta, Gabe, gave me the thumbs up on Monday, which caused me to do a little snoopy dance inside, but I kept my cool.  There is always a chance that the moderators will not think one's story is well done.

So, I submitted the stories to Mugglenet FanFiction, Fictionalley, and The Quidditch Pitch (I had not heard of The Quidditch Pitch till Gabe recommended it.  It is a really cool site and I like how it is organized.  Bit...er...racey.  But that's ok :).   If I submitted to three sites, I would have pretty good odds.

AND...this morning I received an email from Fictionalley and MY STORY HAS BEEN UPLOADED!!!

I literally said "OH MEEPERS!" when I read the email.  I have no idea what "meepers!" means or where it came from, but I said it and I decided to use it for my title.

Only two things to dampen the experience: 1. I have a typo :C  It is my own darn fault; 2. My author's note did not make it: the one where I offer a HUGE THANK YOU to my beta Gabe for putting up with my neuroses as well as misuse of quotes, dashes, and ellipses and for guiding my writing from a jumble to a story AND how I quote the Godfather  Part I.

Oh well, you can't have it all.  But I did email the folks and hopefully these two errors can be corrected. 

And now I can add a new link bubble where you can check out where my stories are.  :D

But here's the thing -- Fictionalley is a really large community.  So is Mugglenet Fanfiction.  In the future I might just stick with The Quidditch Pitch, if they'll have me.  I really like small communities where you can foster relationships instead of being faceless in a mass of people.  

So, I'll see what happens.

BUT FOR NOW I AM GLORIOUSLY HAPPY AND WILL BE SNOOPY-DANCING TILL THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING!!! 

(except there is Vespers for Procession of the Cross, so I will have to stop then, light a candle in thanksgiving, but after that I am proceeding)

The Carrot

Here is your carrot Katy - she asked about where the fan fic was...

Part I - Chapter 1 where Lily's restless thoughts finally get her to sleep.

Lily could not sleep. She was quite sure of what was keeping her awake – the next day, the “date” with James Potter.

James Potter – she and James Potter were going on a date. Though Hogsmeade was officially off limits this year due to Death Eater recruitment (and Lily had a sneaking suspicion of which students were being recruited), James Potter had planned a date for the two of them tomorrow. He told her she should wear comfortable shoes. He lacked that certain James-Potter-self-satisfied smirk – he actually looked nervous.

He had also sounded nervous when he asked her for a date earlier in the year. Perhaps it was his tone that caught Lily off guard at dinner one evening. They were having polite conversation about Head Boy and Girl duties when it happened.

“Evans,” James had asked.

“Yes,” she had replied, not even looking up from the schedule for indoor break she was tapping with her wand.

“Do you think we could get together – j-just you and I, alone?”

“Right, that would be alright” she had replied, not even thinking, not even seeing it as an invitation for something else – she had been busy stuffing her bag with the altered schedules and rising to leave. She had only figured out what his words meant when Cassie interrogated her about agreeing to a date with Potter.

“Lily, if you don’t like him, don’t get his hopes up! It would be cruel!”

In the present, Lily gave a sigh. She heard Cassie stir in her sleep. It was no use – Lily was wide-awake. Climbing out of bed, lighted wand aloft, she went to the pitcher by the window to get some water. She wasn’t sure about James.

She filled the glass with water and sipped. She was never sure about James Potter – he could be kind in one instant and a total jerk on the other. He was just downright awful for the first five years of school, especially to Sev.

Severus Snape – the very thought of him made Lily plunk the glass down and dash for the warmth of her bed. He no doubt heard about the date tomorrow. Was it third year – yes it was third year because it was right after Potter saved him. Severus – Sev at the time – had blurted out that James Potter fancied her. Oh, how she hated James then, but just that morning she had thanked Potter profusely for saving her best friend from whatever beast was in that tunnel under the whomping willow. Still, that did not eliminate James Potter as her last choice on earth for a date.

Now Sev was always around Rosier and some other random, evil Slytherins – little death eaters in the making.

What would Sev say now? He most likely would be incredibly upset for he had always despised Potter. But, if he had stayed the Sev she knew from the village – her best friend. If had remained the Sev who knew everything, who would laugh more than scowl, who wouldn’t dream of insulting her…

Lily huffed and rolled over – Snape was a total jerk.

If all he could muster that night was lame apologies and excuses, then he had made his choice. Those little dark arts pals were more important to him than she was.

If Sev had stayed Sev, would she even be on a date with James Potter tomorrow?

Lily rolled over in her bed some more – slightly disgusted with herself. Her thoughts always seemed to come back to Severus Snape. At first, he had fought her silence and constantly tried to contact her, but now he was silent and ignored her as much as she ignored him.

She really did not know him anymore. If he did speak to her, she was less than kind, quite often rude, but he said nothing scathing in return.

Did he care? Did she care if he cared?

Lily burrowed deeper under the bed sheets. It would be incredibly unwise to let her mind wander down these paths. What she needed to worry about was tomorrow – did she even like James Potter?

When she had cried on Snape’s shoulder over Tristan, wasn’t it he who said that you had to love someone who loves you. Otherwise, you would go completely mad. Tristan, Tristan Sharp – there was a story there, but her mind was too weary from reminiscing and began to calm itself.

Snuggled under blankets, Lily finally thought herself to sleep.

First Post for Lia Mey!

Currently Playing: Feist (I didn't know she was so popular...)

Howdy all! I decided to start this blog because I have a lot whirling about in my mind with regard to the end of the Harry Potter series.

Oddly enough, I was never a fan till this year (2007). I just started reading the series on a whim. I love the Inspector Morse series and was checking out the DVDs with my husband every week. The extras on the DVDs have trivia bits and I noticed that many amazing and well-known British actors were also in Harry Potter. So, I decided to check out the movies, which were amusing, but our school librarian convinced me to read the books. Then I feel deep into the fascinating world J.K Rowling created.

Where to begin...By far the fifth novel, Order of the Phoenix, is my FAVORITE of the series. One of the reasons I enjoyed it so much was the insight into Harry's parents. As readers, we do not see much of them pre-Harry, when they were alive, and vibrant people. I was especially intrigued by Lily since her eyes come up so often and most likely gender identification (that old notation that girls like reading about girl stuff). The "Snape's Worst Memory" chapter became a bit of an obsession for these reasons - so many questions sprang from it! Most of my questions were the same as Harry's - the first of which was "Why did she marry James?", quickly followed by "What did Sirius mean when he said 'no she didn't (hate James)?"

The central question for me was "Why did Lily blink?". Blinks like Lily's are usually reserved for shock, for that moment to process something unusual, something different, a pause that suggests more than, pardon the pun, meets the eye. I KNEW something had to be there, and I began scouring the series for little clues, little indications, little nods JKR might give readers as to the relationship between Lily Evans, James Potter, and Severus Snape. I marked little passages with book darts, noticing several things and beginning to formulate a story.

My first story I began to jot down on paper, outlining, checking facts on the HP Lexicon, creating playlists in iTunes of songs that struck me as inspirational to this story that began to gain strength. I had originally started with Lily's first year and gotten through most of third and fourth year, but left my story off for Lent (I feel that Lent is the time of year to focus on God, to turn away from those things that distract one...like fanfic:). I resumed again after Lent, but I did so cautiously. Lent actually caused me to reflect that there could be something significant in the seventh book that would shed more light on these three characters. I left off my story writing and busied myself in anticipation of Deathly Hallows.

Then the midnight party came and I got by book around 12:30 a.m. I raced home and arrived about 12:45 and made a little nest of blankets for myself in a corner of our newly purchased condo (a la Kreacher). I read straight through the morning, pausing for bathroom breaks, to howl over the deaths of Hedwig, Mad-Eye, and Dobby (I had to stop for a full seven minutes as I let out a full wail for the little elf - I am sure our new neighbors had no IDEA what was going on...). I think I reached "The Prince's Tale" chapter around eight in the morning. When I saw the picture, I let out a little whoop. As I read on, I pumped my fist in the air! So many people had shot down my ideas and theories about Lily and Snape, it was a joy. It was difficult to move on the next chapter, for many reasons (Harry's impending death, fatigue, a stomach full of cashews, Trader Jo-jos, and water), but one of them was not wanting to leave Snape and Lily.

However, I was in NO way totally onto what JKR had written. She totally broke my story into pieces, but many large fragments were still in tact. Upon a second read and looking back at my bookdarted passages (I DID mark the passage in Order of the Phoenix where Petunia talks about "that awful boy" - hee!), a new story began to form in my head. I began thinking, finding new songs, outlining a bit, but mostly just thinking. I was inspired to sit and think by JKR who says that sitting on the train just thinking about how the story would work was the best thing she did. I agree.

I have begun to develop a new fanfiction that does not disregard the last novel in the series. Granted, I have no idea what I am going to do with four notebooks full of work, but it was helpful to write that all out and get some ideas for my new fanfic which I will publish on this blog. In my next post, I will list labels, etc. about my fan fic.

Thank you!

Lia Mey