giggle while I type

While I work on my little "thoughts on OotP" post, you have got to see this because it is hilarious/cute.

Seriously, if you don't have cj_rss on your flist, you are missing out.

EDIT: Also - Portland, Maine winds the coolest city award from me. Check out Mugglefest My uncle is apparently making wands to sell! He better save one for his favorite niece!!!

OotP: the experience

best theater to experience a movie
Originally uploaded by orangerful.

Yes, so you know my thoughts on the movie, but let me tell you about the evening.

Actually, everything went really smoothly! I snuck out of work a teensy bit earlier than scheduled (by starving myself...I doubt I'll ever do that again!) and managed to have enough time to grab batteries for my camera, get home, and change before blu_harvest showed up. Not long after, heiland_coo and lostacanthus arrived and all 4 of us piled into the Mini (yes it can be done!). The weather behaved so we were able to put the top down, which was a lot of fun. Conversation ranged from what we hoped to see in the movie, to the upcoming Golden Compass film, to why boy-on-boy action (in manga) appeals to 12 year old girls.

We arrived at the theater a little around 9:30. We called Zen West and ordered some nachos. A few minutes later, destertale and Dave arrived. Then dstntp1lgr1m and _____saveferris found us in the alley way. Conversation went from Laurel's costume, to the upcoming Crofton program, to how I told dstntp1lgr1m not to talk during movies, and our movie viewing memories from childhood.

They opened up the theater around 11pm and let everyone in to find seats, use the restroom, and get popcorn. Good thing too, the ladies room line took about 30 minutes to get through! Conversation here started with the invention of the urinal, moved to the works of Neil Gaiman, and ended with a giant bucket of popcorn in my lap being 1/3 empty before the movie even started!

Theater owner Thomas Kiefaber got up in a silly red wizard hat and thanked everyone for coming. And then, the curtains parted (yes they have curtains!) and the show just started. (shhh no talking!)

Afterwards, we chatted a bit about how much we enjoyed the movie, then fell back into our cars to head home. On the ride home, we mostly talked about what little things we liked about the movie, what things we wished had been in there, and how there are some Amish people out there that are poly-dactyl midgets.

HP & OotP: my thoughts

Last night, we went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter at the Senator Theater. More on the general experience of that later. Right now, I must get my thoughts on my movie down before I start reading everyone else's comments!

First, I'll be honest. I've only read the books once. I want to re-read them, I really do, I just haven't had time. I'm a slow reader and working in a library makes it hard for me to focus on the books I own when there are so many more to borrow! So, the events of book 5 are not fresh in my mind. I only remember the moments that had an impact on me. So I can't do a lot of book to movie comparison. This is just going to be me talking about how I felt about the movie.

After seeing 'Order', I have to say I think it is my second favorite of the film franchise -- Azkaban is still number one for me*. I think all of the Potter films suffer from the fact that they have to cover SO much time in 2 hours. Rowling stretches the story an entire year, how many books or movies can you think of where they cover an entire year in 2 hours? Not too many. And since these books (esp Order) are massive tomes, things will get cut, and editing can get a bit weird. But I felt the director and editor did a very good job with 'Order', keeping it moving but not making you feel like you'd missed huge chunks of anything.

It's clear that the screenplay writer examined the book and tried to find the biggest theme he could and latched on to that - Will Harry fall to the dark side become Voldemort? Any part of the book that was not directly tied to that theme had to go. It would have just weighed down the flow of the story and made the story too convoluted to tell on screen.

( blah blah blah does she ever shut up? )

So, yes, good movie! If you sit and compare it to the book, I doubt it will hold up, but as Harry Potter films go, I think it was really good. Satisfying like a Snickers. I think the director did a much better job than the last guy juggling the massive amount of plot that needed to be shown vs. what the fans would want to see.

Oh, and if you see the A&E special is on TV and you have not seen the movie yet - DO NOT WATCH IT! They show SO much of the movie, it would just ruin so many moments. Tape it for later but don't watch it. I just started to (because I DVR'd it) and I'm so happy I didn't watch it, I think it would have taken some of the fun out of the film for me.

*for those who care, the order goes Azkaban, Phoenix, Sorcerer's Stone, Chamber, Goblet.