HARRY POTTER and the MOVIE OF THE DAY (July 11th - 17th) - Page 2

PHOENIX remains my favorite. Yes, I even prefer it to AZKABAN. The scene where the kids sign up for Dumbledore's Army gives me goosebumps. As does Fred and George leaving Hogwarts with a mighty bang. Plus, all the stuff at Grimmauld Place is fantastic. This is the one POTTER film that, when it shows up on TV, I have no choice but to sit and watch it.

My problem with Phoenix has always been Sirius' death scene.  The execution of it just feels very off.

wd40, I could never get through the fifth book, so 5-7 have always been a bit of a mystery to me, besides what I hear in random Internet chatter.

The plot is very easy to follow, though I always felt the last few films were a random collection of scenes. Having done AMC's week-long marathon, I no longer hold that view and quite like all the films. I still have a bit of a problem with Half-Blood Prince; the significance of the textbook and the title itself are rushed for someone who hasn't read hundreds of pages devoted to it all.

And I forget which one, but in one of the movies all the students wear normal clothes at school as opposed to their uniforms, which really stood out to me and I never understood why.

Actually going through the Deathly Hallows 2 thread, I realized I didn't fully understand why Voldemort went after the Potters in the first place, which seems like a pretty major part of the puzzle. And I don't remember how Harry got that broken piece of mirror. That just seemed to pop out of nowhere. But overall I love the series. The characters all had wonderful arcs, even if I don't understand small plot points.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Lavers 

Actually going through the Deathly Hallows 2 thread, I realized I didn't fully understand why Voldemort went after the Potters in the first place, which seems like a pretty major part of the puzzle. And I don't remember how Harry got that broken piece of mirror. That just seemed to pop out of nowhere. But overall I love the series. The characters all had wonderful arcs, even if I don't understand small plot points.

They never elaborate on it enough on film, but when Voldemort finds out about the prophecy, he only hears a small part. Only thing he knows is that he will be a half-blood, and born at the end of July. It could only be two children: Neville, or Harry. Voldemort, basically, flips a coin, and goes after Harry. Snape finds out and flips his shit.

To be honest, even I have completely forgotten how he got the mirror too.

The Neville thing is irrelevant, really.  It's something book readers get hung up on.  Voldemort heard a prophecy about a specific child killing him, thought it was Harry Potter, and so tried to murder him when he was a baby.

The mirror is never explained in the films (and is a pretty big hiccup).  In Order of the Phoenix -- the book -- Sirius gives Harry a gift should he ever need to contact him.  Harry's a hormonal prat at this point, gets angry at Sirius over something, and just locks the thing away.  After the big battle at the Ministry, Harry finds the package.  It's the mirror, with a note saying Sirius and James used the mirrors to talk to each other during detention.  Harry has one, Sirius the other; if Harry ever needs Sirius, he just has to use the mirror.  The point being, if Harry wasn't such a little shit at age 15, he could have just contacted Sirius through the mirror and found that Voldemort didn't actually have him in the Department of Mysteries.

Harry's an even bigger shit than you think, Dark Shape.  In my memory, Sirius explicitly tells him what the mirror does before he sees Harry off on the train after break.  That means if he wasn't such punk and calmed down to think, he already knew of a way to make sure Kreacher's story was on the up and up.  Hahahahaha.

Thanks, guys. It seems like they could have just left the entire mirror thing out, having already bungled it once. Doesn't seem to affect much in the long run.

They kind of had to have the mirror in Deathly Hallows, in order to have Aberforth watching them. Other than that, I agree, it would've been better to just drop it altogether.

The biggest two hiccups for me in the whole series was not explaining the Marauder's Map in PoA (thus giving Harry some really fuzzy logic about how he was able to summon the patronus), and cutting Snape's "DON'T call me a coward!" in Half Blood Prince, which was a huge setup for what was to come. I'm more hung up about the Marauder's Map, though, since without it he has no reason to think the figure he sees across the lake is his father, and as such, doesn't have the moment where he realizes that his father's potential lives on in him. 

What bugs me is that there's a very easy way to include the mirror, even with the OOTP snip.  Just have Harry find it at Grimmauld Place before they talk to Kreacher.

Anybody else disappointed Terry Gilliam never got a chance to direct an entry in the series? I guess Guillermo del Toro is the other big name rumored at one point. I'd have loved seeing someone of Alfonso Cuarón's artistic calibur given a shot at directing.

Haven't seen the new one yet, but here's my current ranking of the films.....

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Keep in mind that I flatout love all of the films in the series except for the first one.  I like Sorcerer's Stone, but it is nowhere near as good as the rest of them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Clark 

They kind of had to have the mirror in Deathly Hallows, in order to have Aberforth watching them. Other than that, I agree, it would've been better to just drop it altogether.

 

The biggest two hiccups for me in the whole series was not explaining the Marauder's Map in PoA (thus giving Harry some really fuzzy logic about how he was able to summon the patronus), and cutting Snape's "DON'T call me a coward!" in Half Blood Prince, which was a huge setup for what was to come. I'm more hung up about the Marauder's Map, though, since without it he has no reason to think the figure he sees across the lake is his father, and as such, doesn't have the moment where he realizes that his father's potential lives on in him. 

 For me the two most egregious missteps were: 1) The complete removal of "The Second War Begins" chapter from Goblet. I just cannot fathom how such a dramatic and exciting moment in the series didn't make it in. 2) Perhaps even more bafflingly was the incredibly truncated Snape's Worst Memory in Phoenix. It was blink and you miss it. A. Harry get's over it in SECONDS an B. It is a pivotal moment in Snape and Lilly's relationship, that is the moment she breaks all ties with him. It isn't his worst memory because he is being bullied, it's his worst memory because he calls her mudblood. The flashback to it in Deathly Hallows is incredible and it's missing in the film. It boggles the mind!

How how how how is Goblet of Fire ever at the top of anyone's list? That movie spectacularly fails on several levels- important levels. I thought I'd built up too much disdain for it over the years, but a rewatch only confirmed for me that it's crap.

Is it a non-book reader thing? I'm stunned by the rare, but noticeable times when people with taste list it at the top.

1) Order of the Phoenix

2) Goblet of Fire

3) Prisoner of Azkaban

4) Half Blood Prince

5) Deathly Hallows pt.1

6) Chamber of Secrets

7) Sorcerer's Stone

Goblet of Fire gets so much right and it's a brilliant transition between the whimsy of the first three films and the more grounded tone of the last three films. It's also probably the most outright entertaining of the films, it's got a big look and scope and it's full of great little moments and setpieces. Even the arrival of the two schools has this great sense of energy and rhythm. In fact the only thing I'd really hold against Goblet is that Gambon plays Dumbledore a little too wild.

In regards to Fat Elvis's earlier question. Gilliam and Potter would not be a good mixture, partially because I get the feeling that Gilliam would view Potter as being beneath him, creatively.

Goblet's not on the level of crap, but it's also the most simpleminded and mainstream of the films. it's an action movie and a teen romance, first and foremost, at least until the graveyard. Considering how much more is going on in the book, it's disappointing, but it's still quite competently made and executed, and it's the first time we really start seeing the comraderie among the students become naturally integrated into how these films operate.

The final scene is bullshit, though.

And since, apparently, it is time:

1. Order of the Phoenix

2. Deathly Hallows 2

3. Half Blood Prince

4. Deathly Hallows 1

5. Azkaban

6. Goblet

7. Chamber of Secrets

8. Sorcerer's Stone

I wouldn't change a thing of what happens in the graveyard, but then it fundamentally fails to make the transition you mention because it deflates every bit of tension, danger, and urgency that should be present at the end for the same old "Harry stands over his trunk, alone in the common room" denouement. That caps off a movie filled with some really poorly handled relationship material. It's the most frustrating film to watch play out, and the core filmmaking is a huge step back from Azkaban.

1, ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

2. PRISONER OF AZKABAN

3. DEATHLY HALLOWS 2

4. GOBLET OF FIRE

5. HALF BLOOD PRINCE

6. DEATHLY HALLOWS 1

7. CHAMBER OF SECRETS

8. SORCERER'S STONE

Glad to see ORDER at the top of other people's lists. It really is the defining film of the franchise for me.

Haven't seen Deathly Hallows: Part 2 yet but my list so far

1. Prisoner of Azkaban

2. Deathly Hallows: Part 1

3. Goblet of Fire

4. Half-Blood Prince

5. Order of the Phoenix 

6. Sorcerer's Stone

7. Chamber of Secrets

Goblet isn't so much a movie as a series of book scenes thrown together.  It's saved by the fact the book is fantastic, but Renn is right; as filmmaking goes, it's a pretty big step back from Azkaban.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renn Brown 
Is it a non-book reader thing? I'm stunned by the rare, but noticeable times when people with taste list it at the top.

I have yet to read the books, so that might be it for me.  I plan on sitting down with them later in the year, so that could definitely change my opinion.  I don't know why, but Goblet of Fire just clicked with me better than any of the others so far.

HA!

Nice!