rose_griffes | Potter Potter Potter-mania!

I saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. First thoughts?
I did look at some posts about the movie before seeing it, and talked about it extensively with a friend (who actually went to the midnight showing 'cause she's apparently a crazier fangirl than I am). I wasn't too concerned about spoilers since I've read the books.

My disclaimer. Movies are inherently different from books. I'm okay with some changes to make a better movie, particularly for OotP since I'm not very fond of the book. (I'm not always this easy-going--I still resent some of the changes in the LotR movies, in particular Faramir not being a clear-cut good guy and the lack of Faramir/Eowyn romance... heh, such a hypocrite I am.)

So. Yes, the movie changed some things and simplified others. I think a lot of those things were improvements or vital for the film to be a viable work. This felt like a movie--it had a flow, a structure, that worked for me. I didn't sit around thinking that the film was too long or too slow. There was a good blend of character/relationship-building and action. All of the actors gave excellent performances and I was moved by several moments near the end. (And at two and a half hours the length was much better than some of the other films.)

The visual effects were fabulous, especially the battle in the Department of Mysteries. The motion of the adult combatants (that flow that Voldemort had in the fourth movie) works great in black (for the Death Eaters) and white (the members of the Order of the Phoenix). Kreacher was suitably vile. Grawp was... well, Grawp. Not a favorite part of mine in the books but he worked okay here. (not great, but okay)

Hm, fangirly stuff: Gary Oldman is fascinating. As Sirius Black he has a real warmth and fire; he's not in the film much but he's memorable enough that when he has his encounter with the arch (another change from the book) I was teary-eyed. Tonks was so cute for her brief scenes! I wanna be a metamorphmagus and have cool hair like her. And yay Neville! Sadly his scene at St. Mungo's hospital didn't get put in the film but we had some excellent moments of him onscreen. Helena Bonham Carter was way over the top as Bellatrix Lestrange but I think it's required for a character like her. She's truly evil and revels in serving the Dark Lord. Can't wait to see more of her later.

I'll be watching it again. Soon.

Rather than spam you with a whole lot of HP-fandom entries, I'll put my quiz results about Snape here as well. Gacked from... ~~oops, I don't know where I got it~~

synaesthete7.

What kind of Snapeist are you?

You are an Orthodox Snapeist.
You take Canon!Snape at face value -- like JKR says, Snape is "a deeply horrible person". You like to write/read stories where he's portrayed as supercilious, unfair, often undignified, and sometimes downright cruel. You may accept some partial explanations for his behavior when they're offered in canon, but you're still pretty hard on him, and don't like to let him off the hook. The guy's a nasty, unwashed git -- it says so in the books!
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There's a beautiful, incredible, fabulous fic that gives us the backstories for Tonks and Remus. It's set during the events of book 6. It's also 42 chapters long, as long as some of the actual HP books. Shades by FernWithy. After two chapters I was interested but after four I was enthralled and read most of this fic in one day.
eta:

pataka02, this is the fic I mentioned to you in the comments last week.

eta2: Orson Scott Card liked the movie as well: his review.

eta3: I'm ~~not~~ surprised by how attractive I find (blond-haired blue-eyed) Lucius Malfoy. I think I'd be concerned if I felt that attracted to Draco. Heh. AND it's time for me to stop goofing off on the computer.

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i came out a conservative snapeist so just one step above you.

Anyways, i likewise enjoyed the movie and squeed at quite a few parts. But that aside I loved the look and feel of this movie. It's getting dark and this is definitely a wizarding world that I would be afraid to live in. Honestly I think the movies may be portraying it even darker than the books (I'm doing a reread of 5 & 6 at the moment so I will let you know if my opinion changes). I love the more adult direction though. The ending was just phenomenal and almost made me cry a little (which I have to say is rare).

More parts I loved:
- Ginny has some pretty kick ass talent
- Luna was so damn cute. I loved all her scenes with Harry. (I have a tiny part of my shipper heart set aside for Harry/Luna...but I honestly believe that Harry will remain alone and unhappy, thus is his lot in life *sigh*. The boy does not get a break)
- Snape being questioned by Umbridge in potions class and then he smacks Ron (aww, student abuse)
- Fred and george's exit from Hogwart's is actually my favorite scene in all the books so I hoped that it would be good in the movie and it didn't disapoint
- the imagery, all the ministry sets were gorgeous.
- THE WIZARD BATTLE!!! The last 20 min. blew me away. And Lucius was pretty hot. I keep having to retype his name because I want to spell luscious instead. :D

Is the fic you mentioned Tonks/Remus? Gah, I need to get back into hp obsession mode. I used to be up on all the good hp fics. lol.

I loved the look and feel of this movie. It's getting dark and this is definitely a wizarding world that I would be afraid to live in.

You're right. So much of the early books and movies makes the HP world a safe place--that dark turn has been filmed very well for this movie. (Although I don't think a reread of book 5 would make me think the movie's darker--that book was pretty dark. I think it's just a question of visual medium accomlishing in economical fashion what has to be established in lots and lots of words in a book.)

Yes, Ginny was great! I really liked what they did with her in this movie. And Luna was excellent. I've barely scratched the surface of HP fics (I've ready fewer than ten), but the idea of Harry/Luna is interesting--either as friends or romantically. The movie really emphasized how she balances Harry's darker tendencies--not that she ignores them or thinks they're unmerited, but that she has a lightness of heart despite her own sad history.

Yes, the fic I linked is Tonks/Remus. The writer really sticks to canon, it's a speculation of the events in HBP from the viewpoint of those two--so there are glimpses of Harry and the other students, but they're definitely not the focus. I think what really fascinated me were the sequences of Remus with Fenrir Greyback's werewolf pack, especially at the full moon. (Most of the fic is written from Tonks's perspective, though.)

If you find any Harry/Luna, send recs my way. It would be interesting to see how others write them. I'm recs reliant, the HP fandom scares me and I'm afraid to enter.

Heh, I'm definitely edging in veeeerrrrry slowly to HP fanfic. They scare me too. Anytime you want to see stuff I really like, you can go to my del.icio.us (http://del.icio.us/rose_griffes) page and click on the sidebar stuff for hp:fic or whatever other fandoms... not surprisingly I have lots more BSG fic than anything else.

Gah... will not read anything about the movie because I'm gonna see it next week, when I head to Chicago to celebrate (and mourn) book seven with my sister. Yes, we're that sad. My brother-in-law is frightened by us, especially when we were so depressed and sad after book 6.

That said, perhaps I will check out that fic, though I dunno... Remus and Tonks really don't interest me much now, especially with their minimal roles in Book 6. I was hoping Remus would take more of an interest in Harry's life, but apparently that's not meant to be so I'll go be bitter in the corner. I get very frustrated with all the adults in the HP world because well... they suck at being adults so much of the time.

And I should totally be sleeping right now. Whoops!

I get very frustrated with all the adults in the HP world because well... they suck at being adults so much of the time.

Heh, so very true. I was thinking a lot about book five last night; one of my major complaints is how Sirius acts so immature. Harry does too, but he has an excuse to act like a fifteen-year-old... what's Black's excuse?

As for the fic, I think what hooked me was that the writer included chapters of Remus with Fenrir Greyback's werewolf pack--they were grim and well-imagined, in particular the effects on Lupin: spending so much time with an evil man, transforming into a werewolf every month rather than taking the wolfsbane potion, seeing children who are growing up with the pack rather than with a family. It goes a long way toward explaining why he tried distancing himself from Tonks and from Harry as well. Most of the fic is actually from Tonks' POV, with the occasional chapters about Remus. Anyway, it's definitely a worthwhile read, but it is still just fanfic, so...

I was thinking a lot about book five last night; one of my major complaints is how Sirius acts so immature. Harry does too, but he has an excuse to act like a fifteen-year-old... what's Black's excuse?

Yeah, I can actually cut Sirius some slack because he's pretty much completely stunted emotionally after being incarcerated and essentially tortured for so long... and then to be confined all over again, without any control or power over your life... phew. That said, I find it horrendous to read along as he confuses Harry with James, but again, that leads me to disliking all the adults around them who are so oblivious or who only care about the ends versus the means. That brings me to Dumbledore who is actually one of my favorite characters, alongside Harry.

Dumbledore is just... awful, at times. I mean, he knows better, they all do, but they allow Harry to grow up neglected and abused all for some "protection," versus teaching him and training him all along. It's just so frustrating that once again he does the same thing to Sirius; if he doesn't need him, then he's not worth his notice at the present moment. While I can accept that he's busy and can't make time for Sirius, I can never really forgive him for all that he's done to Harry, or hasn't done, for that matter.

Same with Remus; he's the only figure with a connection to his parents that Harry has left, yet he ignores him totally. I can't really forgive JK Rowling for making the adults in Harry's world so cruel and unfeeling, and inept at times. Truthfully, if Harry survives Book 7, I can't really see him sticking around the wizarding world. What has it offered him other than the same mistrust and suspicion and hatred that the Muggle world has? I mean, there are good parts, too, but... if I was Harry, I'd probably just be a recluse and let my good friends visit me and that's it.

Gah. The older I get, the more problems I have with the books. i wish I could ignore it all but I get so frustrated and angry on Harry's behalf. Heh.

The older I get, the more problems I have with the books. i wish I could ignore it all but I get so frustrated and angry on Harry's behalf. Heh.

Yup. Harry was never nurtured well after his parents' deaths, not in the wizard world and clearly not in the Muggle world... which doesn't bode well for his emotional stability in the future. If they achieve some kind of decisive victory over the Death Eaters and kill Voldemort, what's left for Harry?

I guess this is why I'm okay with the idea of him ending up with Ginny Weasley long-term, because the Weasleys have been the closest thing to family he's had. (I do find Ginny occasionally irritating in the books, but I could say the same of a lot of HP characters.)

Dumbledore is just... awful, at times.

Idealists with causes don't make good father figures, I guess. The problem with that is his neglect of Harry could hurt the cause in the long run.

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