In continuing my journey through the Harry Potter Universe, I watched the last four films over recent weeks. It continues to be a great experience and I really fell in love with the world all over again.
The Order of the Phoenix - this was always my least favorite of the books and the movie is also one of the most frustrating to watch, because the story is an awkward placement between the fun and simple escapades of adolescent wizards trying to learn their craft, and the dark and tragic struggle against overwhelmingly odds and horrible evil. The story is starting to take a turn toward that tragedy, yet we have the teen romance of Harry’s first crush with Cho and similar light hearted moments scattered through it. In the story, it seems like Rowling does lose her way a little bit with Harry’s character. Yes, a lot of the inconsistency of his actions and relationships is clearly because of what’s going on in his head with Voldemort, but it’s somewhat jarring and doesn’t quite gel.
However as a movie, this is where the budget really seems to take off and we see some impressive special effects and the fireworks really go on display during battle scenes. Seeing Voldemort and his death eaters in action is a treat for the eyes, but the real highlight is Dumbledore’s on screen display of magical prowess.
The Half-Blood Prince - Probably my second favorite of the books, the story turns from dark to bleak here and packs an emotional wallop. The film can’t quite capture the magic of the book, although it is well done and most of the time is spent setting the stage for the final stretch through the last chapter of the series. When Dumbledore dies, the sadness is real, and although the story starts to focus on the real conflict at hand — destroying Voldemort once and for all — the coming-of-age youthful charm from the earlier movies is gone. The levity becomes scarce and the trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione have quickly matured beyond their years to handle the tragic world that is overcome by the Dark Lord. Luna Lovegood is a wonderful bit of comic relief, yet full of her own version of wisdom and savvy. She’s probably my favorite character. The romantic tension of Ron and Hermione reach a fever pitch also, which helps to sprinkle some of the lightheartedness back into the story. But yeah.... that ending.
Deathly Hallows part 1 -
I thought this movie dragged a little bit. I guess it’s partly because of the knowledge that a conclusive ending wouldn’t happen until the next movie, but the search for horcruxes and the cat and mouse chase of Voldemort and Harry is still intriguing. It’s here where the enormity of 7 huge books’ worth of clues, riddles, and characters really start to crystallize and the fun of figuring out where this story is going and how it will end pushes you on to the final act.
Deathly Hollows part 2 -
No holds barred here. This film I think is one of the strongest. The storytelling speeds up, the visuals and special effects are great, and the curveballs keep coming. It must have been very difficult to have all the tiny plot points and hints come together without having to pause the action to openly explain everything. Yes, as with most of these films, you get an extra appreciation of the happenings on screen if you read the book and know a few of the little details that are omitted. But overall, the movie captures what it needs to and there is enough exposition at the end to tie up the roaming questions in your mind if you missed it. It is in this epic conclusion that we get the final rules to Rowling’s universe to make the last of the dominoes fall so that the “Aha!” moment can occur and it all clicks in your mind. An episode full of tragedy and remorse — so many characters are lost and story arcs are completed.
But the greatest tragedy is that it’s over.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
I apologize for the separate post, but more closing thoughts on my Harry Potter marathon:
I should comment that a few things struck me when I watched this series that hadn’t been as obvious when I watched them many years ago. First, being an adult now going back to rewatch, certain elements of the story come across in a different way. The story mixes in socially conscious themes in a welcoming and appropriate way. Racial and cultural prejudice, government corruption, corporal punishment, slavery and freedom — and of course standard movie themes like true love, sacrifice, justice, and courage.
The masterful plot twisting and world building also come out as strengths. Are there a few plot holes and narrative inconsistencies? Well, yes, of course. But there are amazingly few of them when you consider the complexity of plot, number of character arcs, and uniqueness of the world. Not to mention Rowling built this entire universe from scratch. Sure she borrowed a few tropes (witches ride broomsticks, for example) but the magic, the rules of the universe, the creatures and subtypes of humans, ... it is so enormous and to keep consistency in the narrative to the extent she does is just plain dumbfounding to me.
Let’s compare the Harry Potter Universe with the Star Wars Universe. I love both immensely, but as a unique fictional setting, Star Wars seems to conjure up a multitude of discrepancies and criticisms about the inconsistency of narrative. Mitichlorians and the origin of the Force, for example. Revisionist history like ‘Han shot first.’ Anakin’s history as reported by Obi-Wan. Leia’s story. Force ghosts. ...Etc, etc. The fact that expanded universe tales have been made to try to bridge the gap and explain away or modify things has sometimes helped but sometimes made things worse and more convoluted.
Yet here in the HP series, almost every plot point is explainable within the established rules of the world. Not all plot points, but most. Many fantasy storylines require a healthy amount of suspension of disbelief, and certainly Harry Potter is no exception. But for every “That’s just the way it works in this world. Don’t question it” moments, there is many more logical “these things happened this way because the laws of magic are thus...” moments.
Another wonderful thing I noticed with watching the 8 films in rapid succession is the wonderful consistency of characters and the great chemistry between the actors. Also, the art design and attention to detail of the visuals is a great part of the films. Rarely does a movie adaptation live up to the mind’s eye from reading it first, but most of the Harry Potter series does just that.
Now, I suppose now I’ll endure watching The Fantastic Beast movies again just for completeness. Now, I like Redmayne and Depp, but the prequel movies have underperformed so far. There is a great opportunity to tell the early tales of Dumbledore and company, so I hope Rowling doesn’t ruin it.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@RogerRoger No problem. It was fun to do. I’m pretty sure reading my rants and pontifications is boring to everyone else, but it’s cathartic to me. I’m weird that way.
If you do return to Harry Potter, the disadvantage is that the plot ties and cool revelations mixed throughout are kind of complex to the point that it will probably require rewatching (or re-reading) the early entries to hope for any kind of true enjoyment.
And yes, there is plenty of mysterious aspects left open to interpretation, so no worries there. Speaking of, you probably know of my great love for the Star Wars universe; And probably taken as a whole it’s even my favorite over HP, MCU, DCU, LotR, and all others. Much of that is just the setting, the heroes, the cultural impact, nostalgia, and that little thing called plain ol’ personal preference. But in thinking about my earlier post about the occasional inconsistencies and narrative debates that have occurred with Star Wars lore and storyline - I think part of the issue is George Lucas relinquished some of the creative control. I think the films, shows, and books have become muddled because of too many cooks in the kitchen, so to speak. Sometimes that spoils the broth.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@RogerRoger Thanks for the confidence that my random thoughts don’t disappear into the ether. 😅 But even if they do it’s okay.
I’m with you - I tried reading some extended universe Star Wars stuff, but just couldn’t really get into it. It did seem incongruent at times with the Lucas vision. Even playing the video games I feel weird that, for example, Starkiller is never mentioned in the films.
But yeah, apparently rumor is that Rowling is obsessive with protecting her IP. I think that everything HP related runs thorough her for approval. From the Universal Studios rides and attractions to the toys and video games. I could be wrong about that but that’s what I heard.
And speaking of, I watched the first Fantastic Beasts prequel last night again. I’ll hold off on posting overall impressions until after I watch the second one. Preview- it’s actually better than I remember.
Another random movie thought — The previews for the Dora the Explorer movie 😂. It actually looks halfway decent. They turned Dora into Lara Croft!
@RogerRoger Lol, yeah, not sure if Dora the Explorer is a thing in the UK, but its like a kids show here with a focus on learning Spanish words. I never thought of her as an action hero raiding tombs like Lara or Nathan Drake 😆
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution always remember though, Voldermort was defeated by school children. The very children he was trying to destroy.
The one thing that I take from the stories is how does Harry deal with life after the events? For example, if this happened to us in high school and now you are sitting behind a desk at a dead end job, how would you feel day in, day out? Always telling people "I saved the world, you know". It must be depressing at some point as he technically peaked at high school. I look back at my time in high school and it feels a life time ago, so much has happened since etc.
Just a funny thought I always have.
@ZeD To be fair, they were schoolchildren with the aid and assistance of the most powerful wizards of their time. But yeah, hard to top that after high school.
But to your point, I think that’s an interesting thought about life after a tragic and epic save-the-world series of events. It’s part of what I like about the Lord of the Rings — it has the epilogue showing how Frodo and company has a really hard time mentally adjusting after returning to the Shire following the events of the quest to destroy the ring. Bilbo also struggled with living a normal life after his adventure and longed for something more to his life after the quest with the dwarves. He mentions to Gandalf about how empty he feels and “thin, like butter spread over too much bread.” Granted that was some of the effect of the ring, but Frodo appears to experience the same post-adventure crisis of identity.
@KALofKRYPTON Lol, as a high school drop-out that may be his best option 😉. He’d probably make more money that way than any of those Hogwarts educators. 😅
So, I went to an early screening (the film doesn't officially release until tomorrow) of Annabelle Comes Home, the latest entry in the increasingly expansive Conjuring Cinematic Universe. This collection of films is noteworthy not only for establishing an almost Stephen King-esque shared universe full of stories, monsters, and sometimes vaguely interrelated stories, but also for the... sometimes wildly varying extremes of quality with which they're composed. For example, the first Annabelle film was, in no uncertain terms, pure mediocrity, which isn't unexpected for a spinoff horror film. What IS surprising is how the second Annabelle film, Annabelle: Creation, was actually a surprisingly excellent and scary film. Although I didn't like them, the mainline The Conjuring films have both been VERY well-received by critics, with the first commonly being hailed as one of the best horror movies since the turn of the century. Other spinoffs haven't fared well. One was a mildly interesting failure (The Curse of La Llorona had a winning premise and should have been good, but it was let down by failing to be scary AND borderline offensive cultural appropriation: considering the people behind this movie are almost certainly white liberals who whine about the "lack of diversity" in film, why did they think it'd be a good idea to take a ghost ostensibly rooted in Mexican mythology and then proceed to make the film about a bunch of white people being terrorized by the Mexican ghost; there are hispanic people in this film, but they're used as a mere plot device to introduce their cultural terror to a white American family. You want more non-white representation in Hollywood films? THIS was the perfect opportunity to introduce a completely non-white cast without it seeming politically motivated, and somehow the filmmakers blew it. Don't use other cultures as props for horror stories about white Americans, please). One was just sort of bad (The Nun, which had atmosphere for days, but failed miserably when it came to the monster and actual scares).
Annabelle Comes Home is, thankfully, one of the more successful entries in this franchise, although it may be more or less appealing depending on what you end up looking for. While it does a very effective job of gradually ratcheting up tension over the course of the film and leaning away from a reliance on boring jump scares, it's... not a terribly creepy film at its core. Part of this is probably the heavily character-oriented focus. Part of this is also the lack of any real sense of danger for most of the characters. Unlike most horror movies, where it quickly becomes apparent that the lives of the main characters are at stake, this film, about a group of teens who happen to loose the cursed doll Annabelle and attract the attention of several spirits who had previously been dormant in the home of the Warrens (the paranormal investigators who so many of these films tend to fall back on), feels less dire in terms of its threats. Although Annabelle's name is in the title, the doll is recontextualized as a sort of conduit for the supernatural, so the star of the show, aside from surprisingly charming cast of characters, are the various ghosts that harass them. I mentioned a lack of danger because, while things do get dangerous for some of the cast, you distinctly get the sense that most of the ghosts are just terrorizing these kids for the fun of it. While the ghosts themselves aren't particularly scary, they're often surprisingly creative: there is a sort of ethereal werewolf that prowls around outside of the house; a fellow known as the Ferryman who's gimmick revolves around coins: he likes to materialize corpses with coins over their eyes, himself has coins covering his eyes, and, best of all, likes to flaunt his bling by tossing coins out of the shadows at one of the increasingly alarmed teenagers; there's some sort of samurai ghost that apparently butchered a bunch of people in Japan hundreds of years ago, although we don't end up seeing as much of him as I would have liked; there's also some sort of cursed TV that seems to show the victim what happens to them several seconds in the future. Other entities show up, but they're less interesting, like the boring wedding dress ghost that possesses women and makes them kill people.
The supernatural shenanigans are often used to highlight conflicts and concerns related to the characters, which ends up working pretty well. Despite the lack of an actual sense of danger in this movie, the direction is tight, and it avoids some obvious stereotypes of horror movies to deliver an experience that is more heart-warming and fun than I was expecting.
Although nobody dies in this film, it shouldn't be said that the story is completely without casualties. The chicken that gets eaten by the werewolf off-screen deserves recognition, as he didn't ask for any trouble. Sayonara, chicken-kun.
@Ralizah Thanks for the write up. I always wondered why all these movies were appearing with evils from The Conjuring, but never knew there was a cinematic universe!
I enjoyed the first film which I had with my ps4 bundle, but I don't think I've seen any of the sequels or spin offs. I'm a bit sceptical when it comes to horror sequels, probably to do with franchises like Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween and Friday the 13th being flogged until there is nothing left of them. But I may give some the other films a go.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
Just saw Far From Home. It was decent I guess would be the word. Not great, not bad just entertaining. Was a very very safe follow up to Endgame. Some cool fight scenes but the story was pretty predictable from the jump. Definitely didn't start off phase 4 with a bang
@Th3solution yeah it wasn't bad at all. Just kinda average tbh. Had some good setups for next films I think but I personally wasn't blown away by it. Still go see it, I'm glad I did! Pushed me over the ledge to finally get the dlc for Spiderman ps4 so I guess that's a plus lol
So I got in to see Spider-Man: Far From Home. I would echo that the movie was a solid effort, well worth the time, but not necessarily top-tier. Good, not great.
It’s a little bit slow to develop and for the first 20 minutes or so I was concerned it was going to be a dud, as it felt like the film was trying too hard and the humor fell flat and the characters seemed thin. But it warms up and eventually it hits its stride with some of that representative Marvel levity. It never reaches the emotional highs and lows of the MCU’s best stuff, but the jaunt through Europe is sure to please a lot of the fans who live in the Old World. I didn’t feel the story was as predictable as @redd214 did, but I do think the plot is kind of weak. The supporting cast is great though, as is Holland. I really like this version of M.J. a lot and I love their chemistry on screen.
If you see it, be sure to stay for both post credit scenes. The last one is actually important, unlike some of the the Marvel movie end credit scenes that are 5 seconds of pointless fluff — This one seems to contain some actual influential plot.
I liked Homecoming better but I still thought the movie was good and I liked both the second and third acts. The jokes were a hit and a miss, though. I do have to say that Mysterio was another really good villain. I also liked the Vulture. So essentially the MCU Spider-man is two for two when it comes to good villains.
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