Since I last posted, I've read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows twice, led two small group discussions on the book, corresponded with other fans, and watched televised interviews with J. K. Rowling, but I'm still not sure how to write about the seventh book without giving away any of the secrets. However, today (July 31) is Harry's birthday, so it seems a good time to break my long silence and give the review my best shot.
We've known since Book 5 that Harry must duel Voldemort to the death, so the first thing anyone wants to know about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is, of course, "Who dies?" This deceptively simple question is actually quite tricky (not that I'm going to answer it here), but readers should be prepared for the "bloodbath" Rowling promised just before the book was released. There are many more than the two deaths we were led to expect, but there are also surprising compensations, as befits a novel whose twin themes are loss and redemption.
The final book finds Harry preparing to leave Privet Drive, his Muggle home for sixteen years, on his quest to defeat the evil Lord Voldemort, whose Death Eaters have infiltrated the Ministry of Magic and begun a new reign of terror. Although the Order of the Phoenix have rallied around the "Chosen One," Harry is increasingly isolated as the supports he has depended upon are kicked out from under him, one by one. Friends are lost, weapons are broken, and even memories become suspect when a new biography of Dumbledore (penned by the vitriolic Rita Skeeter) shakes Harry's faith in his mentor's wisdom and benevolence. Ron and Hermione urge him to focus on finding and destroying the Horcruxes (while these cursed objects exist, Voldemort cannot be killed), but Harry is distracted by his search for the truth about Dumbledore ... and about himself. How can Harry kill Voldemort without becoming the thing he's fighting against? Can he defend his life without losing his soul?
Despite the ominous prophecy that shadows the hero's every move, Rowling uses her characteristic wit, energy, and lively imagination to make Deathly Hallows as enjoyable as it is dark. She masterfully interweaves a new and compelling plotline with outstanding mysteries from the previous books and deftly reconvenes her dizzying cast of characters. It is particularly gratifying to see the young wizards and witches (not to mention their professors, who are positively awe-inspiring) use every spell and scrap of magical knowledge they've learned at Hogwarts in a gloriously chaotic final examination.
All in all, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an exciting and satisfying ending to a groundbreaking series, and it's hard to imagine a more fitting graduation ceremony.
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Serendipity
Sorry it's been several days between posts, but I had an opportunity to make some very sweet lemonade out of some lemons I was handed last Thursday.
I was really looking forward to talking with the Gryffindor Book Group about Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, but nobody showed up. Not one person! It's possible that Verne was just too intimidating, even for folks who said they wanted to read him. There is quite a lot of science in his science fiction--he's obviously fascinated with the potential uses of electricity, for example, and he explains exactly how to calculate the amount of pressure exerted on a submarine as it descends underwater. (Interesting stuff, but a little of this goes a long way.)
I also wonder if Thursday night is just not a good time for our teen and tween readers. We'll still plan to meet at 7 p.m. on August 9 to talk about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (5 days to book release--hurray!), but we'll consider changing the day and time for future meetings. If you're in the Denton area and you'd like to join us, please leave a comment about what days and times you'd prefer to meet!
Anyway, I was talking about these issues with Thom Anderson, the friendly Community Relations Manager at the Barnes & Noble store where our group meets, when a man came over and asked if he could sit with us. There was no point in saving chairs for people who weren't coming, so I said sure. It turns out that this gentleman is the managing editor of the Gainesville Daily Register and after we'd talked for a while, he invited me to submit a review of the newest Harry Potter movie. Of course, I said yes! I spent Friday beefing up the preliminary review I'd written for this blog (July 11, 2007), and this morning I drove 30 miles to Gainesville to pick up several copies of the Daily Register. Hurray! (If my review becomes available online, I'll be sure to add a link to it.)
So that's my serendipity for this week. Although I'm still disappointed that the Gryffindors didn't get to discuss Jules Verne, if even one person had shown up for the meeting, I wouldn't have talked with Mr. Osborne or gotten to publish a movie review in his paper.
Have you had a serendipity this week? If so, leave a comment and tell us about it. Be sure to look for serendipity in your own life in the coming week. I bet you'll find it!
I was really looking forward to talking with the Gryffindor Book Group about Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, but nobody showed up. Not one person! It's possible that Verne was just too intimidating, even for folks who said they wanted to read him. There is quite a lot of science in his science fiction--he's obviously fascinated with the potential uses of electricity, for example, and he explains exactly how to calculate the amount of pressure exerted on a submarine as it descends underwater. (Interesting stuff, but a little of this goes a long way.)
I also wonder if Thursday night is just not a good time for our teen and tween readers. We'll still plan to meet at 7 p.m. on August 9 to talk about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (5 days to book release--hurray!), but we'll consider changing the day and time for future meetings. If you're in the Denton area and you'd like to join us, please leave a comment about what days and times you'd prefer to meet!
Anyway, I was talking about these issues with Thom Anderson, the friendly Community Relations Manager at the Barnes & Noble store where our group meets, when a man came over and asked if he could sit with us. There was no point in saving chairs for people who weren't coming, so I said sure. It turns out that this gentleman is the managing editor of the Gainesville Daily Register and after we'd talked for a while, he invited me to submit a review of the newest Harry Potter movie. Of course, I said yes! I spent Friday beefing up the preliminary review I'd written for this blog (July 11, 2007), and this morning I drove 30 miles to Gainesville to pick up several copies of the Daily Register. Hurray! (If my review becomes available online, I'll be sure to add a link to it.)
So that's my serendipity for this week. Although I'm still disappointed that the Gryffindors didn't get to discuss Jules Verne, if even one person had shown up for the meeting, I wouldn't have talked with Mr. Osborne or gotten to publish a movie review in his paper.
Have you had a serendipity this week? If so, leave a comment and tell us about it. Be sure to look for serendipity in your own life in the coming week. I bet you'll find it!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
It's probably too early for me to write this review, since I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix just this morning. We HP fans are a difficult bunch to please because we tend to view every act of artistic license as a betrayal of the books we love so much. During my first viewing of the fourth movie (HP and the Goblet of Fire), I kept a running count of all the characters and plot elements missing in action; however, when I saw the movie a second time, I was able to relax and appreciate the film's many strengths. I have no doubt that the same will hold true for this movie as well, but for now, here is a quick rundown of cheers and jeers.
Cheers
... to the wonderful Imelda Staunton for her absolutely dead-on, pitch-perfect performance as Professor Dolores Umbridge. She gets it all exactly right, from the fussy pink sweater to the annoying little laugh, and the scenes and montages narrating Umbridge's rise to power are uniformly terrific.
... to Alan Rickman, who was once again underutilized. We really should have seen more of him, but Rickman's Professor Snape is so deliciously oily that he steals every scene he's in.
... to Daniel Radcliffe, whose strong performance allows him to hold onto our sympathy even during Harry's tantrums.
... to the art direction and really superb visuals. I particularly liked the use of newspapers and the large poster of Cornelius Fudge, which simultaneously recalled 1984's Big Brother and Orson Welles' Citizen Kane.
... for the much-publicized first kiss between Harry and Cho. Even after all the hype, it didn't disappoint.
... for the spectacular fight scene in the Department of Mysteries. I was a little disappointed that some of my favorite exchanges between Dumbledore and Voldemort were lost, but the filmmakers have made a valid choice to keep the focus on Harry's inner struggle as much as possible.
... for the superb psychological realism of the entire film.
Jeers
... for violating the laws by which at least two, and possibly more, magical objects/processes work. One of J. K. Rowling's greatest talents lies in the creation of an internally consistent fantasy world. She always respects her own rules; the director and screenwriter should have followed suit.
... for prominently featuring a spell Harry doesn't learn until the sixth book.
... for dumping the Quidditch plotline, which leaves Ron almost nothing to do but follow Harry around and be quietly supportive. Joining the Gryffindor Quidditch team gives both Ron and Ginny a chance to emerge from the shadow of their older brothers and develop on their own, but the film denies them this opportunity. The HP movies have consistently shortchanged Ron, portraying him as a rather fearful sidekick rather than a valuable ally, and Ginny does not fare much better. Although she does some impressive wandwork, she asserts little individuality.
... for also dumping the plotline in which Hermione and Ron (not Harry) become prefects. The Inquisitorial Squad, which makes only a brief appearance in the film, is meant to be a corrupt foil to the traditional, legitimate form of student authority; the Squad has little meaning by itself. In Book 5, we see students like Hermione and Ron (and, in flashback, Remus Lupin) struggling with their new power as prefects. Without this plotline, an important theme about the responsibilities of authority is compromised; viewers are more likely to come away with an image of smart kids rebelling against cruel and stupid adults than with an understanding of the obligations and abuses of power.
To give one example: Rowling's Hermione knows she is subverting the system when she talks Harry into teaching the kids Defense Against the Dark Arts, but she is careful to stay within the letter, if not the spirit, of the law: "[E]ven if Umbridge does come in here there's nothing she can do to stop us, Harry, because I've double- and triple-checked the school rules. We're not out-of-bounds . . . . And I've looked up everything I can think of about study groups and homework groups and they're definitely allowed" (Order of the Phoenix 336). In the book, Hermione is prepared to use Hogwarts law as a defense; in the film, however, she merely giggles and says, "Sometimes it's fun to break the rules." Ron's response is both ironic and appropriate: "Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?"
... to the screenwriter and director for ignoring the lessons of their own movie. Over and over, the film insists that Harry is the stronger for being part of a group while pushing Ron, Hermione, and the others further into Harry's shadow.
Cheers
... to the wonderful Imelda Staunton for her absolutely dead-on, pitch-perfect performance as Professor Dolores Umbridge. She gets it all exactly right, from the fussy pink sweater to the annoying little laugh, and the scenes and montages narrating Umbridge's rise to power are uniformly terrific.
... to Alan Rickman, who was once again underutilized. We really should have seen more of him, but Rickman's Professor Snape is so deliciously oily that he steals every scene he's in.
... to Daniel Radcliffe, whose strong performance allows him to hold onto our sympathy even during Harry's tantrums.
... to the art direction and really superb visuals. I particularly liked the use of newspapers and the large poster of Cornelius Fudge, which simultaneously recalled 1984's Big Brother and Orson Welles' Citizen Kane.
... for the much-publicized first kiss between Harry and Cho. Even after all the hype, it didn't disappoint.
... for the spectacular fight scene in the Department of Mysteries. I was a little disappointed that some of my favorite exchanges between Dumbledore and Voldemort were lost, but the filmmakers have made a valid choice to keep the focus on Harry's inner struggle as much as possible.
... for the superb psychological realism of the entire film.
Jeers
... for violating the laws by which at least two, and possibly more, magical objects/processes work. One of J. K. Rowling's greatest talents lies in the creation of an internally consistent fantasy world. She always respects her own rules; the director and screenwriter should have followed suit.
... for prominently featuring a spell Harry doesn't learn until the sixth book.
... for dumping the Quidditch plotline, which leaves Ron almost nothing to do but follow Harry around and be quietly supportive. Joining the Gryffindor Quidditch team gives both Ron and Ginny a chance to emerge from the shadow of their older brothers and develop on their own, but the film denies them this opportunity. The HP movies have consistently shortchanged Ron, portraying him as a rather fearful sidekick rather than a valuable ally, and Ginny does not fare much better. Although she does some impressive wandwork, she asserts little individuality.
... for also dumping the plotline in which Hermione and Ron (not Harry) become prefects. The Inquisitorial Squad, which makes only a brief appearance in the film, is meant to be a corrupt foil to the traditional, legitimate form of student authority; the Squad has little meaning by itself. In Book 5, we see students like Hermione and Ron (and, in flashback, Remus Lupin) struggling with their new power as prefects. Without this plotline, an important theme about the responsibilities of authority is compromised; viewers are more likely to come away with an image of smart kids rebelling against cruel and stupid adults than with an understanding of the obligations and abuses of power.
To give one example: Rowling's Hermione knows she is subverting the system when she talks Harry into teaching the kids Defense Against the Dark Arts, but she is careful to stay within the letter, if not the spirit, of the law: "[E]ven if Umbridge does come in here there's nothing she can do to stop us, Harry, because I've double- and triple-checked the school rules. We're not out-of-bounds . . . . And I've looked up everything I can think of about study groups and homework groups and they're definitely allowed" (Order of the Phoenix 336). In the book, Hermione is prepared to use Hogwarts law as a defense; in the film, however, she merely giggles and says, "Sometimes it's fun to break the rules." Ron's response is both ironic and appropriate: "Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?"
... to the screenwriter and director for ignoring the lessons of their own movie. Over and over, the film insists that Harry is the stronger for being part of a group while pushing Ron, Hermione, and the others further into Harry's shadow.
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