Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Pt 2), a Review

I'm shrugging off routine here and throwing caution to the wind.  SPOILERS imminent.  

Call me old and crotchety, but there seemed to be a lot of rambunctious tweens at the cinema last night, eager to watch the Boy Who Lived face down He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and let victory triumph over evil.  Costumed characters ran amok and I couldn't help but question why it is I find these midnight shows appealing.  Nevertheless, apart from the expected sudden applause and the preternatural (and completely uncalled for) sobbing*, I had a good enough time watching the final Potter film.

The words that immediately come to mind are ruthless and expeditious.  Where Part 1 served as exposition, Part 2 gives the viewer mere minutes of set-up before one is thrown into the action.  We're reminded of Voldy baby stealing dead ole' Dumbledore's wand (a grave robber!  my word, someone ought to teach that Riddle boy some manners) and Harry & the Gang are trying to seek and destroy those cursed horcruxes.  The filmmakers give the audience little breathing room, and I daresay 90% of the film was action-filled and intense.  

Acting is genuinely sublime all around, though I particularly enjoyed Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort), Alan Rickman (Snape), and Daniel Radcliffe (Harry).  Truly I'm struggling to think of a bad performance.  Throughout all eight of the movies these actors have grown with each other, and their synergy is a large part of why these films are so successful.

I can also attest that this was definitely the most visually stunning of the films.  It is the only one with a 3-d counterpart, and although I chose not to watch it this way, it was nevertheless quite beautiful.  Spells and enchantments of all colors.  Gringotts' vaults and the dragon within.  I didn't realize just how dark and bleak everything was until Harry used the pensieve, and then again when he went to King's Cross.  Other than these two scenes, everything has a grim feel to it, and rightly it should.

As I mentioned earlier, there was entirely too much crying for my liking.  I'm not joking when I say that the girl behind me started sobbing and sniffling when the WB logo came up at the very beginning of the movie, and she pretty much continued the rest of the way.  Sure, when Sev died, that was sad, yes, but would I call it Sad-Enough-To-Cry-In-Public sad?  No.  And then seeing Fred & George for the first time, when they're both still alive, she cried again....  Grumble.  Anyway, death, evil, and violence rule the screen here, and because of this there is a lot of sad & terrible things that happen.  I admit, Severus's death was one of the more horrible death scenes I can remember, but I watched it wincing and stoic.

The final showdown between Harry & Voldemort was breathtaking.  I rather enjoyed their in-flight fight.  Heck, the battle for Hogwarts was pretty awesome all around.  The school's grounds make for an excellent battlefield, and its spaces were utilized brilliantly.

If there's any wrong in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2) it's that it doesn't capture all of the subtlety and character development Rowling does in her books, but this is a flaw any book-turned-movie will have.  There's only so much one can transpose.  

There is so much that I could talk about when it comes to Harry Potter, and particularly when it comes to The Deathly Hallows.  How each character is so rich and detailed.  How Rowling deals with life lessons and serious themes.  How I always stood by Severus and puzzled out the events 'ere they were told.  How heartbreaking it is that Hedwig died so innocently and randomly (the same as many victims of the Battle).  How truly loathsome Voldemort is, and yet pitiable, too.  So much that I must cut myself off now or I may wax gibbous and never shut up.

On the whole, I wholeheartedly enjoyed this movie.  It was the perfect conclusion to the epic series, and I think it captured the heart and spirit of what makes the books so darned good, and that's that friendship and love are far superior to immortality and prejudice.  If you've somehow made it through your life without reading these books, then I'm sure my pleading won't get you over the hump, but you are robbing yourself of a wonderful journey.  And, if you've not watched any of the film adaptations**, again, you cheat yourself, but especially more so now that Part 2 is out.  It was a legendary film series capped with a satisfying and beautiful ending.  I will miss these movies, but I don't see them going away for a long, long time.

Mini-Reviews: Edition, the First

Crazy Heart:  Highly acclaimed and brilliantly cast, the story of an old and nigh-forgotten country music star.  Bad Blake once spent his days performing for thousands, and now he's lucky to get fifty at a bowling alley show.  Jeff Bridges does amazing work in this film, singing many of the songs himself (and I suspect playing the guitar, too, though this is unverified).  Bad is an alcoholic, and much of Crazy Heart deals with his problem.  This was a stirring movie that I rather enjoyed.

Lord of the Rings Extended Trilogy Blu-Ray:  With only a few extra features compared to the DVD trilogy, the blu-rays nevertheless look stunning in their high definition.  Probably not worth it to the casual viewer, but definitely for the fans.  Oh, and the box is shiny...

Alpocalypse:  I've been a Weird Al fan since I was a wee lad.  His were the first albums I e'er bought, if I remember correctly.  His creativity always is great, and the fun, crisp music he produces is more often a hit than a miss.  He's got some flops, but he's also got some gems, too, in his latest record.  His take on Gaga is funny.  His tribute to Charles Nelson Riley is sheer genius.  And his soulful "Stop Forwarding that Crap to Me" had me giggling.  So yeah, if you like Weird Al, you'll enjoy this, provided you can tolerate contemporary pop music.

Wise Man's Fear (Spoiler Free):  I've been reading this aloud to Keisha for a while now, but I recently picked up the audio at the library and have been listening to it at work, too.  I've been following along Jo Watson's Rothfuss Re-Read on Tor.com and I admit, I missed a lot the first time through.  I've read NOTW twice, and keeping that in mind with things from WMF, it's like, wowzers.  How did I miss this?  It's so... obvious.  I suppose I missed it cause Pat's just too darned clever. 

Harry Potter:  With the much anticipated conclusion to the epic HP film franchise on the outside edge of a span away, I've decided to re-watch the films.  Keisha and I spent much of the long weekend nestled together on the couch watching the first six films (okay, we skipped PoA and GoF, but it's only cause we've seen them a bajillion times) and gearing up for TDH:Pt2.  I confess, I cannot fathom why or how there are people that dislike the Boy Who Lived.  These books have done so much for the reading world.  So many people have been turned on to reading because of the books, and in my opinion, the films are beautiful to behold and fun to experience.  Aye, they have their faults, but overall, each movie is wonderful.

ESV Study Bible:  I got this bible when I thought I was going to become a deacon.  I'd been putting it off until something else happened, cause frankly, I've got plenty of bibles.  Even so, the ESV Study Bible is an excellent reference bible that has easily become my daily reading bible.  It's thick and teeming with so much stuff that I don't often know where to look.  In addition to the holy Word of God, there's a ton of footnotes, helpful maps, charts, and many other tools for deeper learning.  There's also a couple hundred pages of essays and reference text spread throughout the bible and after Revelation.  I'm really liking it.

Avonlea Brynn:  My babe is growing growing growing quite well.  She spends most of her days eating and pooping and sleeping and, lately, crying.  I'm still amazed at her, honestly, and I'm sure I always will be.

Google+:  Hmmm.  Can't decide, really.  It seems quite cool, actually.  It's nowhere near as cluttered as Facebook, plus it's Google.  It's basically like Facebook, but has no ads (yet) and only people that I care about (so far).  Only thing I dislike is that I can't use "logankstewart" as my name, but I must use "Logan Stewart."  Perchance that'll change.  I can't make up my mind about this type of social media anyway.

Lunch:  Ah yes, what a delicious meal.  I had leftover bbq hamburgers and hotdogs and corn-on-the-cob from last night's 3rd Annual Stewartland Extravaganza.  Oh, and sour cream & onion chips, too, with a mug o' Mello Yello to quench my thirst.  Good stuff.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1, a Review

In case you didn't know, a tiny budget movie came out last night at midnight o'clock.  It quietly sneaked its way into theatres all across the globe, daring to hope a return on investment and a pleased audience.  Very little fanfare was made for this film, as countless people have joined the ranks of logic and science, shunning the very mention of magic.  Only die-hard, B-movie folks were excited, but their excitement reverberated throughout the realms of Hollywood.  (What the heck am I talking about?)

Actually, there was much ado about The Deathly Hallows, Part 1, and I imagine cinemas across the world filled with sights similar to what I beheld last night.  I did not dress up, as many were wont to, unless you say I went as a modern American muggle, which I suggest you don't, but I did see plenty of creative outfits.  It appeared that the magic of Harry Potter was turned on a bit early.  The nerdfest was endearing, the packed out crowd in the IMAX theatre a regular mixing pot.  People of all ages, races, creeds, and intelligences (high school kids that scream stupid profanities are low on this list) made gentle chit-chat as the 3-hr wait ensued.  And when the lights dimmed, the crowd erupted, and for the next 146 minutes I was spellbound.

I won't spoil the movie and say what's in the film and what's not, but I will say that the movie was mostly true to book.  I understand some things have to be converted and translated to make a movie appealing.  That's well and good.  Plus, I understand that Mrs. Rowling herself gave an okay to the changes, so if she's happy, I'm satisfied.  There were several things, mostly regarding the use and misuse of polyjuice potions and Harry's invisibility cloak, that were off, so to speak, but it worked well with the events of the movie.

(Possible Spoilers)  Okay, I lied.  I'll speak a bit on what I liked and didn't like.  If you don't want to read this part, skip down a bit to the end o' spoilers bit.  I liked the battle in the sky between the Harrys and the Death Eaters, but I didn't like how nonchalant Hedwig was played off there.  Her death in the book is tragic.  I like how evil Voldermort is portrayed in this film, and his scenes are all great at establishing how horrible of a villain he is.  I liked Godric's Hollow, and Bagshot was crazy-wild.  I felt like the Malfoy's Manor scenes towards the end should have been expanded, but the opening with Burbage was awesome.  I really liked the interlude cartoon of "The Tale of the Three Brothers."  The artistic view on that was brilliant.  I wish there had been more back-story revealed on Tom Riddle and Albus Dumbledore.  The Ministry scene was funny and cool.  How I loathe Umbridge.  (End o' Spoilers)

The Deathly Hallows, Part 1 starts off on a sad note, laying the groundwork for what's to come.  In fact, this movie is much darker and grittier than any of the other films of the series, so much so that it almost seems like its in a class of its own.  All of the actors performed admirably, of course, and the directing by David Yates was beautiful.  I really liked the tone that this movie carried, and the weight of the film was felt by the audience.  Set design was also spectacular, as were the costumes and special effects.

As a Harry Potter fan, was I happy?  Satisfied?  Absolutely.  Apart from the expected crowd reactions -- spontaneous applause at certain points, laughter, commentary -- and the stifling heat, The Deathly Hallows, Part 1, was everything I'd hoped it'd be.  It cut off right where I expected it to, with emotions put through the gamut and a seemingly cliffhanger end.  If Part 2 is as good as this opener, which it will be, then color me excited.  Heck, color me excited anyway.

(Harry Potter) So Much to Say, (Harry Potter) So Much to Say, (Harry Potter) So Much to Say...

I don't know what to write about.  I've got so many different tangents I could go on, each deserving a post.  There's a book review of Wizard of Earthsea I could post.  There's some various musing.  But I'd be lying if I said Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows isn't top of my brain right now.

I have that giddy, excited feeling bubbling away inside, knowing that tonight I shall get to feast mine eyes on a glorious sight.  I mean, how can someone watch those trailers and not feel like a little kid again?  How does that poster not make your lips salivate?

For that matter, how the heck can people not like the Boy Who Lived?  As far as I'm concerned, Harry Potter is one of my top favorite series out there.  Ever.  Sure, it might be because I was eleven when The Sorcerer's Stone came out and that I grew with the gang as they grew.  So what if my imagination was wrapped in their world for the next decade?  Yeah, I went to the midnight release of Hallows when the last book came out.  Yeah, I bought two copies so my wife and I could each read it.  Yeah, I broke down and lay in a fetal position crying for two days straight after finishing the last page, upset that there were no other books left for me to read, and I only came to myself after a tiny elfin fellow walked out of the closet and took a pee on my head.  Nobody gets to pee on me!

See, the point is, I grew up with Harry.  Ron.  Hermione.  Rowling may not be the world's best writer, but the lady is great in her craft.  Many times she had me laughing out loud at something someone said or did.  Her imagination was boundless.  Her stories captivating.  Her mysteries grandiose.  I could sing praises to Rowling and her boy wizard, but I feel they would be echoes in a global canyon.

If this film is halfway as good as the last few have been, and as I've been led to believe from the sweet trailers, then I'll be pleased.  And I've no doubt that it'll be good.

I'll leave it at this.  I'm going to watch The Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 tonight at midnight.  In Imax.  I should hopefully be in bed 'ere 3:30.  I'll be getting up at 5:40 to go and meet Will & Alex at Starbucks at 6:00 for some theological talk and world-viewing.  And tomorrow is Clint's birthday, so we'll be Chuck-E-Cheesin' it up tomorrow night after work.  It's very likely that I'll have a film review tomorrow.  Very Likely.

Anyone else watching the midnight show?

Three Quick Things, or Links Links Links!

One.  Brandon Sanderson and Tor are hosting a giveaway contest for his next book, the highly anticipated The Way of Kings, on GoodReads.  There are 40 ARCs up for grabs.  You can read all about it from Sanderson here, or go straight to the entry form here.  Tor also announced the book tour for this one, which you can find here.  If any of these cities were close, I'd definitely go.  I'm very excited about this book.  Oh, and in case you didn't know, Tor has up the prelude, prologue, and first three chapters of The Way of Kings on their website (here).  It's worth the read.  (You'll need to join Tor.com, but that's free, and it entitles you to the awesome stuff generally found there.)

Two.  It's no secret that I'm a Harry Potter fan.  Watching the previews to the final movie gave me chill bumps the first time.  It's so much darker than the previous ones.  I can't wait until November.  The 3-D thing kind of saddens me, but I suppose I'll watch this one in 3-D.  You can watch the video below, if you've not seen the preview yet.  I kind of want to re-read The Deathly Hallows before then.  Hopefully I'll find the time.



Three.  My all-time favorite singer-songwriter, acoustic mellow, bluegrassy folk artist has released his eleventh studio album, 4th of July.  I'm talking about Joe Purdy.  I've mentioned him plenty here on the blog.  Anyway, like all his other albums, the new one is up on his website, available now for purchase or free streaming.  Definitely check it out.  The guy never disappoints.  I've got all of his albums, and I'll be getting this one as soon as I get home from work today.

Friday Things

It's Friday.  That must mean that it's time for a list or something.

• If you've not ordered Pat Rothfuss' The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle, then you've still got two days left to get in the preorder and get free shipping.  The book will be shipping out soon, and I for one cannot wait.  Click here for more info, or here to order.
• The new preview trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows looks promising.  Should be another fun movie.
• I can't get "D'yer Mak'er" out of my head.  It's been a Zeppelin kind of week.
• I've only got the finale left of Avatar: the Last Airbender.  I'm sad to see it ending.
• Bachelor party tonight at my house for Spenser.  I think we're going disc golfing as soon as I get home from work, then we'll probably go out for steaks or something.  When that's finished we'll head back to Stewartland for poker or board games or PS3.  Then tomorrow morning Spense and I have a tennis match at 8:30.  Should be fun.
• I'll be picking Keisha up from the airport tomorrow afternoon sometime.  She's nervous about flying.  Since I haven't seen her in a week, I'm going to take her out on a date tomorrow.  We may even go watch Toy Story.  And I think I'll swing by Gamestop and put my pre-order down on Fallout.
• Thanks to James at Speculative Horizons for pointing out this great write-up for Neil Gaiman's The Sandman.  Just reading that makes me want to read the series again.  If only I had money to buy the beautiful Absolute editions.  And if you've ne'er read The Sandman, DO IT NOW.
• Driving out to My Old Kentucky Home on Sunday for an afternoon wedding.  Yes, it's Fathers Day and yes MOKH is three hours away, but still, a wedding is in order.  Plus, I don't really celebrate Fathers Day...
• Oh oh oh oh oh oh... you don't have to go oh oh oh oh oh...
• Hahahahahahahaha
Well, I guess that about does it.  Happy pleasant weekend, friends.  Steer clear of the alpaca cages.

Harry Potter: The End of a Favorite Story

Verily, I just watched The Deathly Hallows sneak peak.  It brought up all those warm, wonderful fuzzy feelings that only Harry Potter can do.  I grew up with Harry, fell in love with his story, and reveled in every novel.  The magic was too captivating to not enjoy.  The story was too charming, too alluring, too mesmerizing.  I went to the midnight release party of Deathly Hallows.  Heck, we wound up buying two books, one for me and one for Keisha, just so we wouldn’t have to wait while the other one read.  I finished the last book either the day I got it or the next day.  I literally could not stop reading.

The truth is, the Harry Potter stories are some of the best stories I’ve ever read.  I often omit them from my “favorites” category, but I’m not sure why.  Human error, perhaps?  Rowling’s humor was fantastic, her mystery intriguing, and her characters absolutely loveable.  The books had everything you could ask for in a story: a villain you couldn’t help but hate and pity, a hero with a terrible burden of destiny, friends thicker and closer than brothers, and a world filled with magic.  Just thinking about them puts me in a nostalgic mood of the magic of the story and makes me want to reread them immediately.

I wonder if Rowling will be able to stay away from the Harry Potter world.  Will she write other novels with the familiar and beloved characters, or is she truly done?  When things end, especially things that have held me captivated from the get-go, things like Lost and Harry Potter, I feel mixed emotions.  I want the story to end, to have a resolution.  The dénouement is, after all, a very important part of the overall story, and without a conclusion then the story is pointless.  While the story ends, the bittersweet reality of “no more” sets in, which sometimes leads to despair, and other times to a “hallelujahamenandthankyouJesus.”

It’s just too complex.  Using the anthropomorphic metaphor of a story being likened to a human life, in the end it must ultimately die.  It’s a pitiful story when the end putters out and ends with a whimper.  When a writer grabs a deus ex machina and throws words out, the story suffers.  Or when a story goes on long enough that it grows stagnant, it ruins the beauty that once existed.  Harry Potter did not do this, and the ending was perfect, albeit tragic.

Overall, I really love the Harry Potter books.  I can see me and Keisha reading them to our kids, or bequeathing them to them to read.  The story will never get old, methinks.  I’m excited to watch the final installments of the Harry Potter films over the next two years, and I look forward to cherishing the story for years to come.

In an unrelated not, if you haven’t read the interview between Pat Rothfuss and Joe Abercrombie (available here), you really need to do it now.  I died laughing a few times.  In fact, using the Many Worlds Theory, I’m still dying and laughing, if you buy that stuff.  Of course, also using the Many Worlds Theory I never even read the interview…  Anyway, the general conversation was interesting, seeing how these two dudes think.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I did not get to watch HBP at midnight the other night, but I did go to a sold-out showing of it last night. We settled down, watching the boring slides of random trivial information about different actors and some rather appealing up-and-coming feature films (Sherlock Holmes, Where the Wild Things Are). And then the movie began.

[[Spoilers Below, for anyone that doesn't know what's going to happen]]
Overall, I am very satisfied and pleased with the filmed adaptation of HBP. I'm not sure yet if it's my favorite movie from the series or not. I've heard a lot of people complaining that the movie left out too much stuff. That the movie would've been better if the ending hadn't been altered. But, frankly, I'm not so sure.

First off, all previous movies have left out quite a bit of stuff, too, so I was fully expecting the absence of things. Honestly, the story of the book takes hours and hours to get through, and by reading and digesting the words you feel a connection with the characters. On screen, you have a time limit in which your story must be told, else you lose the audience. And, unless you're writing in your journal, the audience is the whole purpose of writing anything, be it a novel, a play, a poem, a short story, a speech, or a movie script. I think HBP succeeded in taking the important elements from the book and portraying them on screen amazingly.

I really enjoyed the lighter tone this movie had. Goblet of Fire and the Order of the Phoenix were both terribly darker movies, with the rise of Voldermort and the chaos of the Death Eaters. To me, HBP still contained the dark and dangerous, as was evident in the security around Hogwarts, but at the same time it managed to find a light in the darkness. The teen hormones were played out, offering humor and relief to the audience. This inclusion makes this movie a great date movie, too.

Another exceptional piece I enjoyed was the actor's abilities to show their emotions. You could see the twisted hate/fear/deep-sadness/regret in Malfoy's face as he did as he was commanded. You could see the covert-but-obvious sideways looks of love from Hermione to Ron and from Harry to Ginny. You could see the determination in Dumbledore's face, and as he drank from the potion in the cave his acting was wonderful. And Snape has always been brilliant in commanding his emotions. Yes, the actor's performed well.

The only real disappointment I had from the movie was the ending. It doesn't bother me that the little skirmish didn't play out like it did in the book. What bothered me was that the movie failed to convey the deep sense of loss from losing one of the greatest wizards of all time. Dumbledore's death sent shockwaves through the literary world of Harry Potter, people unable to believe the beloved Headmaster was truly dead. Again, the book had pages devoted to this, while the movie did not include it.

I suppose it is like Peter Jackson did with the Lord of the Rings. Leaving Shelob out of the Two Towers because he knew he'd put it in the Return of the King. I imagine the funeral of Dumbledore will still be held, but not until Deathly Hallows, Part 1. If you look at the series as one long time-line, then the director is still holding true (with some minor omits) to the story, though just choosing to save the funeral for the next film.

In conclusion, I was very impressed with the movie. For the past decade or so I've been a Harry Potter fan. I've loved the books. I've loved the movies. To me, the film version is never as good as the book, but that's to be expected. However, to really enjoy the movie (you hardcore HP fans) you have to be able to suspend your expectations, or lower them. Are you honestly expecting the movie to be better, or even as good, as the books? No. Be fair to yourself, to the actors, to the directors, to everyone involved: the movie was great.

HP6: T-10...9...8...7...

I'm getting excited again. Just like when the last one came out. I went and watched it at midnight, even though I had to be at work at 6:30 and the movie didn't end until 3-ish. Next week, July 15, is the release of the sixth installment of the Harry Potter films, The Half-Blood Prince. The trailers look promising, and I'm sure it will be. I have not been dissatisfied with any of the movie adaptations so far. I understand that the directors cannot incorporate every mundane detail from the books and into the movies. That's fine. Just give me the movie, though. Fill it with action, humor, love, mystery, adventure. Bring the amazing story to life.

I've liked the Harry Potter series since it came out, after a friend of mine read and liked the first book and passed it to me. Thanks, Jordan. The story is so simple, but equally complex. The mystery involved in each novel is often edge-of-your-seat. The prose reads wonderfully. The characters are full and flushed out. The epic sense of disaster lurking, of knowing the ultimate showdown between Voldermort and Harry, was agonizing to wait for.

These character shots are pretty cool, too. Harry looks ready to duel. Dumbledore doesn't look the crazy, loony headmaster; he looks full of power and ready to take down some Death Eaters. Hermione stands unafraid and ready to take you on. Ron just wants to play quidditch. Draco looks pure evil, like a rich little spoiled boy that's suddenly turned his wrath on you. And Snape, Snape, Severus Snape (Dumbledore!) looks mysterious, like he's hiding something, but at the same time he looks agitated and unimpressed, like Ron or Harry were just called down for talking in class.

I loved these books. I have them all on my bookshelf, and I fully intend on reading them again someday. Possibly to my kids way on down the line. Whatever. I love these movies, and have them all on my shelves as well. The point is that I'm excited and can't wait for THBP to hit movie theaters. I'll most likely be watching it at midnight again, and this time I don't have to be at work until 8:00.

[By the way, if you're not one of the 63,990,950 YouTube views of the Potter Puppet Pals video, you really should follow the Snape link above, or just click here. You'll laugh, and it'll be stuck in your head, too!]