Thursday, July 16, 2009

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Discussion

Sam's illiterate, Jordan's a giant Potter nerd, and they ended up with the same grade. Let's hope neither of them jokes that it was caused by magic.
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9 comments:

  1. Reviewer to be namedJuly 16, 2009 at 1:53 PM

    Sam,
    First off kudos on your varied use of Potter term-laden innuendo. Well played, sir. It seems to me you agreed with Yates decision to focus on what was clearly the novel's B plot (though this might come from the fact that you didn't read the novel). Don't you think the romantic focus makes the end feel rushed?-Jordan

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  2. Reviewer to be namedJuly 16, 2009 at 1:56 PM

    Jordan,
    For the record I read the first bunch of books but just gave up when everyone in my family read Phoenix in a day and i would take months it seemed to finish a book. It was kind of a "fuck it i'll watch the movies" of course the books are much more rich with detail and story. The books are great, no doubt, but i'm not anywhere near your Potter-madness. I thought the movie was fun and all the shockers i knew about going in. Had i not known about dumbledore's demise i think i would have been more pissed at its randomness, at least how its played in the movie. gotta ask, ginny or hermoine, choose now!

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  3. Reviewer to be namedJuly 16, 2009 at 1:59 PM

    Jordan,
    Interesting point you make in your question. I enjoyed the b-plot of all the lovey-dovey stuff, but i did not know what i was missing! as far as i knew this potter book should have been called Harry Potter and the Awkward Stares Across the Room. So to say i agreed with yates is a strange choice of words, i had no choice but to agree. Does that make sense?

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  4. Reviewer to be namedJuly 16, 2009 at 2:01 PM

    Hermione, and here are the many reasons why: She is a genius, she's funny, she's brave, she's gorgeous (GOOD GOD Emaa Watson), she's loyal...I could go on and on. Personally, I always felt that Ginny becoming Harry's love interest was totally random. I guess Rowling realized there were two guys and only one girl in her nuclear group, and let's face it, Ron and Hermione were always going to end up together. Of course the book had more texture and made the Ron and Hermione relationship more complex and more adorable (even as they make their way through the cliched "making each other jealous" portion of the story), but the other thing this movie lacked was anything nearing a romantic conclusion. If Half Blood Prince the movie is the romantic comedy of the Potter series, why is it they cut out the resolution that puts Ron and hermione together and forces Harry to put world-saving in front of snogging?-Jordan

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  5. Reviewer to be namedJuly 16, 2009 at 2:05 PM

    Gotta agree on the hermione choice. I was looking for the romantic conclusion with ron and hermione as well but figured it would just come in the next movie. there is a scene where harry catches ron balls-deep in some granger, right? impressively my mom predicted how everyone would end up together after ginny was introduced. i'm sure she's not the only one who called it but i still gave her mad props on the call. i wanted me some ralph fiennes, where was he in this movie? no appearances in the book?

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  6. Reviewer to be namedJuly 16, 2009 at 2:06 PM

    Sam,
    It does make sense and now I get the chance to geek out on Half Blood Prince as a book. The larger purpose of the book is to provide context for the battle that's about to begin. The vast majority of the book is flashbacks as Dumbledore puts Harry through a rigorous course in Voldemort's past. We see Tom Riddle as a child, we watch him deal with his crazy family, and we get to discover his deterioration into the most feared Dark Wizard of all time. In addition to showing us the how and why of Voldemort, the book spotlights Dumbledore as a father figure and Harry's Obi Wan right before tearing him away leaving Harry without his mentor and the side of good without its most powerful wizard. Finally, a flashback into Snape's time at Hogwarts reveals his love for Lilly (Harry's mom) and the cruelty he undergoes by James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin, which not only gives context to his character and the reasons behind his cruelty to Harry, but also sets Snape up to complete his character arc in Deathly Hallows.-Jordan

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  7. Reviewer to be namedJuly 16, 2009 at 2:08 PM

    In terms of calling the pairings, I had hours long fights with my friends in elementary school over the fact that Ron and Hermione would end up together, while they were convinced it would be Harry and Hermione. Props to your mom for calling Ginny though. I had always hoped Rowling would introduce a better match for Harry, she always just felt like the de facto interest to me.-Jordan

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  8. Reviewer to be namedJuly 16, 2009 at 2:12 PM

    Correction: I have just recalled the Snape flashback occurred in Order of the Phoenix. Nevertheless, it absolutely NEEDED to be in the movies to give the character any motivation and make him into anything other than a prick, regardless of what side he fights on.-Jordan

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  9. Reviewer to be namedJuly 16, 2009 at 2:14 PM

    And as for Ralph, adult Voldemort is not in Half Blood Prince, but worry not, you'll get plenty of him in the two part epic that is to come...-Jordan

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