Oh, those pesky Deathly Hallows...

[smeddley]

I also saw the OotP movie, thought it was crappy. Is it just me, or has their acting gone downhill? Plus, they kinda screwed up the plot, unnecessarily, of course. I realize you can't fit a 800+ page book into a short movie, but by changing some of the things they did leave in, I think they screwed up.

I'm glad I read the spoilers, because it lowered my expectations. If I'd gone into this with high expectations I would've been even more disappointed.

First off, why did she have to kill off Hedwig? It was pointless and cruel, there would have been plenty of reasons to leave her behind and get her out of the way. She was no longer a useful character and she was offed. You can tell a lot about people by the way they treat animals, Ms. Rowling, even fictional ones. And I don't think I like you any more.

The rest of the book was the average, cliche quest, with the usually Potter-level writing. Easy to read, and the only really interesting part was the Ravenclaw's door. I like Luna even more now! I wish she'd seen fit to show us what happened to her.

Oh, and I forgot that she made me kinda dislike Lupin, no reason to make him emo like Harry, was there?

Finally, the epilogue was miserable. Horrid, sappy, and badly written. Really, really, really awful - even by Potter standards. She would've been better off without it.

Frankly, the last book finished the downward spiral started by the last few. It's like, even though they'd gotten longer, she'd gotten tired of writing them and they got sloppier, plot-wise. I'm over it, chances of me ever re-reading them are slim, and though I may watch the remaining movies, it won't be in a movie theater, but in the comfort of my own house, so I can make further snide remarks at the screen.

Now, on to other books!

...after a few boards of Jewel Quest. ;)

Comments

[foxfirefey]

Best HP review evar!

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

...uh, if you say so. I thought it was kinda stupid (though I do wonder why Ron gets the epitaph of 'date-rapist' - perhaps this person has been reading too much fanfic..?).

[foxfirefey]

Because it was playfully vicious, but gave credit where it felt credit was due.

Also, it's a bit of an exaggeration with Ron, I'm sure. The reviewer in question just finds a magical version of The System to be a rather creepy way to go about dating.

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

I didn't see a single thing difference about the dating aspect of life as a wizard than in real life, so that just confuses me.

Ginny was kinda a tramp, though... ;) She got around!

[foxfirefey]

What if that book contains instructions on the magical equivalent of roofies!

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Unless it was written in magic, invisible ink...

You know, Ron was once poisoned with a Love Potion (it was actually meant for Harry), but he never used it on anyone.

Riddle's mom did, though. That's the only reason he was born at all. So, love potion = evil.

[icecat.livejournal.com]

I agree. I read the review and I was thinking that they were being snarky for the sake of being snarky. Forced and unfunny.

[elaran.livejournal.com]

I hated what she did to Remus. =/

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Yeah, unfortunately it came through as a shallow plot device to make Harry look smart and good, but I don't think it was realistic (considering Lupin's past behavior) or well-done. There was a lot I didn't like, and I keep see-sawing between dislike and 'it was okay'. I think I may have just over-Pottered myself, and my deep dislike of the movie (not to mention blowing $14 on it) is clouding my judgment.

[elaran.livejournal.com]

I liked the book overall. There are parts I thought were badly done but in general, I think it was a good finale and she tied up all the loose ends.

I liked OotP as a movie. That and GoF are the only movies I've liked. The first two movies followed the plot perfectly but were badly made I think. Luna was love in the movie though!

[jayaresays.livejournal.com]

Thanks for spoiling it! LOL I'm JK. This is exactly why I'm glad I never joined the hype back when I was younger, I'd be extremely disappointed. I think if I were J.K. Rowling and people wanted more, I'd frickin' do it! I mean why not, you're almost provided a lifetime of wealth for doing that.

Oh! And Jewel Quest kicks!

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

I think my reaction is different from a lot I'm reading because I didn't 'grow up' with this story. I was well into adulthood when I picked up the first book, so I've never identified with any of the characters in the ways younger people do.

There's still plenty of room for her to write more, I mean, the rebuilding of Hogwarts? That would make for an interesting story. Do Ron, Hermione and Harry ever finish their educations? What do they do for a living now? What happened to the surviving bad guys, the Malfoys (other than Draco, why wasn't he punished?), and Luna? You can never wrap up all of the loose ends to a story, the possibility for more is always there. Maybe not centered on Potter, but in the same storyline. Luna could go on adventures for her 'imaginary' critters, you know, and discover... something. :D

[jayaresays.livejournal.com]

I know semi what you're talking about but not really. I never read any of the books. A part of me still wants to read them, but I feel it's too late for me to get into it, lol.

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Ah, it's never too late. I thought I'd hate re-reading them since I knew what happened (and having seen to movies a billion times) but it was really enjoyable. I'd give it a try if you want to.

[intracutaneous.livejournal.com]

I know we're not LJ friends but I was checking out your LJ via R_Stills (to let you know that you're banner maker for the previous challenge) and I just had to reply to your review:

I'm agree with you. It wasn't that great and I hated that she had to kill of Remus and Tonks and make Teddy an orphan... :( Just because there's prejudice against werewolves doesn't mean they have to die to live happily ever after!

If ever you decide to actually go to the movie theater for the next two movies (especially the last), I'd be glad to join you! I love hearing snide remarks, lol!

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the gentle prod! ;) I completely forgot, I'm such a scatterbrain sometimes (I use my calendar for most things, including posting contests and reminders...)

Oooh, we could totally MST3K them together! I want to know how they're going to get around Umbridge getting into the Room of Requirements with brute force in movie 5, where the Death Eaters can't get into it in book 7?! I always thought it was a magical room, so if you broke down the wall there'd be nothing there...

[leaper.livejournal.com]

I think the reason the Death Eaters couldn't get in in Book 7 is because part of the requirement was that they needed a hide-out. Neville went on for a little bit about how careful the wording of the requirement had to be.

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Oh, but see, in the movie Umbridge simply used a battering ram and demolished the wall, revealing the room behind it. She didn't need the magic door at all.

THAT'S what I had a problem with...

[intracutaneous.livejournal.com]

I get where you're going at. The movies tend to screw up a lot of things... like Sirius' death for example. Grr!

[icecat.livejournal.com]

Technically, in the book, Umbridge didn't force her way into the room, they caught them when everyone was streaming out, didn't she? I didn't like that they changed that plot device (and a few others from book to movie - eg Cho Chang doesn't rat out the DA, her friend does) but I guess they had to to make the movie make sense (since they had to cut so much out).

Spoiler! Spoiler! Don't read this comment if you haven't reached the end yet.

[icecat.livejournal.com]

Overall, while I may not have liked the people she killed off (er, that she killed them off to begin with), this is her universe and what she says goes. I was trying to read this not to question her every decision, and to just enjoy it and see where the story takes me.

But I did have a little bit of a quibble with how Harry defeated Voldemort in the end. Harry didn't take the Elder Wand from Draco, he took his personal wand, so how would the Elder Wand see that as a switch in allegiance? And that whole bit about Dumbledore and Snape, and how the allegiance didn't switch to Snape because they agreed upon the killing? Well in that case, wouldn't Dumbledore have died by his own hand, so to speak, thus releasing teh Elder Wand from any allegiance in the future? That was a bit of circuitous and "convenient" logic.

[revoked-soul.livejournal.com]

You let being in a movie theatre stop you from making snide comments? Bah. I make snide comments wherever I please! Unfortunately, sometimes I make them a little louder than I really intended, which has caused much embarrassment on the part of those who go to movies with me...

Anyway, I waited til I finished the book to read this and comment here...and I have to say, I agree with pretty much everything you said, and have a few more complaints besides. But that's tru of most things I read - I've developed the unfortunate habit of picking apart every book I read and movie I watch. It makes it a hell of a lot harde to find things I really like...

In regards to Hedwig and her early death, there's a sort of rule about sequels in the horror world (of which I am overly and unwillingly aware...). Basically, in a sequel, and in any subsequent sequels, you have to up the body count. More character have to die, and somebody has to die sooner.

I think that's what the Hedwig thing was. When people are expecting big, scary, evil things to happen in a book, you hand them an early and sad demise, try to pull them in quick. And to pull off a big war type deal like at the end, you have to have a certain number of casualties to make it believable...and the casualties then just depend on who the author can bear to part with and who she can't.

And now I'm rambling so off I go...