Topic: Tom's Harry Potter Movie Marathon

[DJ Doena]

Also for me it came out of nowhere that Harry Potter suddenly is such an experienced wizard that he could teach all the others.

In the book he doesn't believe that himself until the others recount all the things he's done in the past four years.

[Tom]

They also recount it in the movie. But more for the benefit for the others, so that they believe that Harry is the right guy to teach them. Harry on the other hand says that most of it was pure luck.

[Dragonfire]

He is convinced in the book to do it..and also, from the book of Goblet of Fire, he spent a lot of time practicing different spells and charms, learning new things with Hermione and Ron's help that they thought he might need for the tournament.  The three of them learned a lot spells on their own that way, and all of that was left out of the 4th movie.  And Harry can do a fully formed patronus.  That is advanced magic, though I don't think that is emphasized as much in the movies as it has been in the books.

I didn't like that the few things Hermione did in the fifth book were left out of the movie - the charm put on the ...sign in sheet...the coins that they used to tell when they would meet again.  That was cool in the book..and again, another example of a character doing advanced magic being cut out of the movie.  Those two things are relatively small, but they help reinforce just how good Hermione is.  It isn't just book learning and theory..she can do it.

[Tom]

[tom]I06C072BB53F07B26.4f.jpg[/tom]

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009/United Kingdom) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Home Video (United Kingdom) Director: David Yates Writing: Steve Kloves (Screenwriter), J.K. Rowling (Writer) Length: 154 min. Video: Widescreen 2.40 Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dutch: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1, Catalonian: Dolby Digital 5.1, Flemish: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

[tom]I06C072BB53F07B26.4b.jpg[/tom]

Stars:
Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter
Michael Gambon as Professor Albus Dumbledore
Dave Legeno as Fenrir Greyback
Elarica Gallacher as Waitress
Jim Broadbent as Professor Horace Slughorn

Plot:
Harry and Dumbledore work together to find the key to unlock Voldemort's defences as he tightens his grip on the wizarding and Muggle worlds. Meanwhile, Hogwarts students are under attack from raging teenage hormones. Love is in the air but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same.

Awards:
Won:

MTV Movie Awards (2010)		Best Villain (Tom Felton)
National Movie Awards (2010)		Best Family Film
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Ensemble
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Sequel
Scream Awards (2009)		The "Holy Sh%t!" Scene of the Year

Nominated:

Academy Award (2009)		Best Cinematography (Bruno Delbonnel)
BAFTA (2009)		Production Design (Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan)
BAFTA (2009)		Special Visual Effects (John Richardson, Tim Burke, Tim Alexander, Nicolas Aithadi)
MTV Movie Awards (2010)		Best Female Performance (Emma Watson)
MTV Movie Awards (2010)		Best Male Performance (Daniel Radcliffe)
MTV Movie Awards (2010)		Best Movie
MTV Movie Awards (2010)		Global Superstar (Daniel Radcliffe)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best F/X
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Fantasy Actor (Daniel Radcliffe)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Fantasy Actress (Emma Watson)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Fantasy Movie
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Supporting Actor (Rupert Grint)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Supporting Actress (Evanna Lynch)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Villian (Helen Bonham Carter)

Extras:

• BD-Live
• Deleted Scenes
• DVD-ROM Content
• Featurettes
• Maximum Movie Mode
• Scene Access
• Trailers

My Thoughts:

It has been awhile since I left off from this marathon. I have to admit I never had the urge to continue. Also this movie, even though it had its moments, never really drew me in. I like scenes where it is about the friendship of the three, and their love interests. But every time a scene with Dumbledore comes on, it just feels jarring. It's like they just have to cut to him with Harry, so that they can get the Voldemort storyline going, which by the way never really had me all that interested.
I don't regret buying this movie series (it didn't cost much and I did enjoy parts of it), but I still cannot see why this series has such a hype. Of course everyone will tell me now, that I have to read the books. But for me a movie still should work without having to have read the books.

Rating:

[DSig]

Nah ... although reading the books might help, i doubt that you would the films even then.

For those of us who like it it is just good fun and storytelling. The films are *fair* renditions of the books.  But like "The Lord of the Rings" films, it would be impossible to create a film that is as complete as the books.

No hype, in fact type usually drives me away from films    Just good fun

[Tom]

A good movie adaption doesn't have to follow the book closely, in my opinion. And they don't have to be as complete as the books. It has to have the guts to make changes to tell the gist of the story. I always like to cite the "Death Note" movies for a perfect example, how to cut down the source material radically, but by introducing some original storylines make it work really well.

[Tom]

[tom]I5D9182DA8B589168.4f.jpg[/tom]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010/United Kingdom) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Home Video (United Kingdom) Director: David Yates Writing: Steve Kloves (Screenwriter), J.K. Rowling (Original Material By) Length: 146 min. Video: Widescreen 2.40 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Catalonian: Dolby Digital 5.1, Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: Arabic, Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish

[tom]I5D9182DA8B589168.4b.jpg[/tom]

Stars:
Bill Nighy as Rufus Scrimgeour
Emma Watson as Hermione Granger
Richard Griffiths as Vernon Dursley
Harry Melling as Dudley Dursley
Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter

Plot:
Harry, Ron and Hermione set out to track down and destroy the secret to Voldemort's power - the Horcruxes. On their own and on the run, the three must rely on one another more than ever...but Dark Forces threaten to tear them apart.

Awards:
Won:

MTV Movie Awards (2011)		Best Villain (Tom Felton)
National Movie Awards (2011)		Best Fantasy Film

Nominated:

Academy Award (2010)		Best Art Direction (Stuart Craig, Stephanie McMillan)
Academy Award (2010)		Best Visual Effects (Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz, Nicolas Aithadi)
MTV Movie Awards (2011)		Best Female Performance (Emma Watson)
MTV Movie Awards (2011)		Best Fight (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Rod Hunt, Arden Bajraktaraj)
MTV Movie Awards (2011)		Best Kiss (Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe)
MTV Movie Awards (2011)		Best Male Performance (Daniel Radcliffe)
MTV Movie Awards (2011)		Best Movie
National Movie Awards (2011)		Best Performance of the Year (Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson)

Extras:

• BD-Live
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Maximum Movie Mode
• Scene Access

My Thoughts:

This movie had a great start. Dragged a little in the middle. And was good again towards the end. I still doubt that the finale will blow me away, but so far it was an interesting watch. Nice to see Dobby again. And the CGI of him was very well done in this movie. Contrary to the big snake in this movie which really looked fake.

Rating:

[Tom]

[tom]I0CC86A7150C1FBC4.4f.jpg[/tom]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011/United Kingdom) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Home Video (United Kingdom) Director: David Yates Writing: Steve Kloves (Screenwriter), J.K. Rowling (Original Material By) Length: 130 min. Video: Widescreen 2.40 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Catalonian: Dolby Digital 5.1, Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1, Other: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: Arabic, Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish

[tom]I0CC86A7150C1FBC4.4b.jpg[/tom]

Stars:
Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort
Michael Gambon as Professor Albus Dumbledore
Alan Rickman as Professor Severus Snape
Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter
Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley

Plot:
In the epic finale, the battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war. The stakes have never been higher and no one is safe. But it is Harry who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climatic showdown with Lord Voldemort. It all ends here.

Awards:
Won:

Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2011)		Best Makeup
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2011)		Best Sound
Empire Magazine Awards (2012)		Best Director (David Yates)
Empire Magazine Awards (2012)		Best Film
National Board of Review Awards, USA (2011)		Special Achievement Award
National Movie Awards (2011)		The Must See Film of the Summer
Screen Actors Guild Award (2011)		Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

Nominated:

Academy Award (2011)		Best Art Direction (Stuart Craig (Production Design), Stephenie McMillan (Set Decoration))
Academy Award (2011)		Best Makeup (Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin)
Academy Award (2011)		Best Visual Effects (Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler, John Richardson)
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2011)		Best Art Direction (Stuart Craig (production designer), Stephenie McMillan (set decorator))
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2011)		Best Visual Effects
Empire Magazine Awards (2012)		Best Female Newcomer (Bonnie Wright)
Empire Magazine Awards (2012)		Jameson Best Actor (Daniel Radcliffe)
Empire Magazine Awards (2012)		The Art Of 3D Presented by RealD

Extras:

• BD-Live
• Bonus Trailers
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Maximum Movie Mode
• Scene Access

My Thoughts:

Finally finished this movie marathon. This last entry is a good one. I enjoyed it throughout. A good conclusion to the series.
Overall though I still do not feel, that Harry Potter warrants the hype that it has. I am not sure if I will ever revisit the whole movie series. But I don't regret spending roughly €20 for the whole movie series.

Rating:

[Piffi]

Thanks for the reviews I enjoyed them a bit better then you tho.
Maby i should watch them again soon.

[DJ Doena]

I honestly recommend the books, just try out the first one and look how it goes from there: http://www.amazon.de/dp/1408817675/&tag=dvdcolonl0b-21

[Tom]

I honestly recommend the books, just try out the first one and look how it goes from there: http://www.amazon.de/dp/1408817675/&tag=dvdcolonl0b-21

If I would be at least a bit curious, I would. But I am not
Is the Welsh version of the book better than the original? 

[Piffi]

I honestly recommend the books, just try out the first one and look how it goes from there: http://www.amazon.de/dp/1408817675/&tag=dvdcolonl0b-21

I really enjoyed the movies. But never read the books (either) You liked the books better then the movies?
I've been thinking about getting the books you see.

[Kathy]

The books were okay - a quick read but nothing that I felt I needed to read again.

[Achim]

I really enjoyed the movies. But never read the books (either) You liked the books better then the movies?
I've been thinking about getting the books you see.

Most of the books are quite long and therefore the story is much more fleshed out. In my opinion the films did quite well in shortening stuff as needed, but the fans of the books (like Marie) often find things that should have been in the films to explain things better. Maybe I didn't notice as much as I had read the books beforehand and didn't think about the missing stuff while viewing the films (yet having that knowledge about that missing stuff).

The books are a good read. But, Karsten said "just try out the first one", which I feel must be supplemented by saying that the first one is a children's book and then the books mature in the way the original audience would have grown up with the books (the readers who maybe started at 10 would have been in their late teens when reading the last one!). (There is a lot of death and suffering in the later books...)

[Dragonfire]

I've read all the books several times.  I've honestly been thinking about reading them again soon..and watching the movies again.

For the most part, the movies are good adaptations..but a few explanations here and there were left out.

I do like the books better.  Certain things are just developed more.  There are whole subplots that are missing from the movies...While I didn't mind some of them not being in the movies, a few others end up being more important.