orangerful | Entries tagged with harry

I had no intention of watching Fantastic Beasts. I had fallen out of love with the HP fandom after the 7th book. When it was announced it would be a 5-film series, I decided I wasn't interested in committing to yet another story set in Rowling's magical world. But then

rogueslayer452 linked to Pop Culture Detective and I started watching the videos on that channel and stumbled upon this one:

"The Fantastic Masculinity of Newt Scamander" (Watch on YouTube)

So I picked up the DVD at work on Friday and watched it over the weekend.

side note: my new movie watching strategy is to pretend everything is a limited run Netflix series and just watch them in hour chunks. This idea used to bother me, felt like I was doing a disservice to the film maker's not watching their entire work in one sitting. But now I've decided that maybe their film makers and their editors are doing me the disservice because I don't have time for 2+ hour movies on a regular basis.

ANYWAY! I watched the movie and I did enjoy it!

Have some bullet points:

( spoilers )

Overall, despite my nitpicks, I enjoyed this movie a lot more than I thought I would but I would still only say 3 stars. I did put the sequel on hold to see if Redmayne's performance was altered at all. Hopefully I will have that for this coming weekend's breakfast viewing.

Did you see Fantastic Beasts? Has anyone seen any interviews with Redmayne or Yates or Rowling about this character of Newt Scamander and his portrayal in the movie? I'm wondering if this was all in JK's script or Yates' interpretation or just Redmayne's take on it.

Current Mood: accomplished
Crossposts: https://orangerful.livejournal.com/1323699.html

"Daddy claims the Hogwarts houses are really gangs. They have their own colors, their own hideouts, and they are always riding for each other, like gangs. Harry, Ron, and Hermione never snitch on one another, just like gangbangers. Death Eaters even have matching tattoos. And look at Voldemort. They're scared to say his name. Really, that "He Who Must Not Be Named" stuff is like giving him a street name. That's some gangbanging shit right there."

-- from "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

FYI tomorrow, February 2nd, is the official Harry Potter Book Night, an INTERNATIONAL event started by the UK publisher. You can find details about the event on their website AND a map of all the locations all over the world that will be participating!

And guess who was crazy enough to volunteer to host the program at the library?

#HarryPotterBookNight tomorrow @aacpl Severna Park Library! Stop in anytime from 6pm-8pm for magical fun! @bloomsburypublishing

Super fun photo booth props for #HarryPotterBookNight ! Stop by tomorrow night and cast some spells with us! @aacpl Severna Park 6pm-8pm

YUP! IT WAS ME! I'M AT IT AGAIN!

And because we already had a Great Movies program in the meeting room, I will be hosting the event in the library proper. We will transform the library into a Hogwarts of our own making! I've gathered supplies from branches all around our system because Potterheads are plentiful in a library system. A few teachers from local schools have volunteered to come read from the books and several staff are bringing in their collectibles to show off.

I really have no idea what to expect. We didn't advertise much in the branch, but it was in our fliers and I made sure it was on the official website so we will see! Could be 30 people, good be 100! I'm not sure which I want more! Big programs are exhausting but so fulfilling because we see faces we don't usually see, not just the preschool students but all ages.

Anyway, I need to get some rest! It will be non-stop tomorrow because I may have also booked myself for a school visit in the afternoon LOL. Yeah, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

If you go to a Harry Potter Book Night near you, make sure you post pictures!!! I want to ~~steal their ideas for next year~~ see what others are doing!

Looks like I walked into the movie, amazing!! #harrypotter #universal #orlando

Goodbye Florida, goodbye Universal, goodbye Hogwarts. What a magical 3 days! I was so exhausted after each day I never had time to post which probably proves I had a fantastic time.

Full report this weekend!

So, this has been bugging me for awhile. I blame Tumblr. There are way too many SUPER SRS gifs of Harry Potter on tumblr and they annoy me because, and I know this will probably get my burned in effegy, but:

The Harry Potter series is not that great.

I blame the movies for creating the illusion of character growth and development. I want to find a group of people somewhere and use them as a control group because I think that, while the first 3 books are good, the series as a whole is pretty weak. BUT since we started watching the movies before the books were done, and since we got to see the principle cast (Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint) grow from little kids into adults as each film went on, it made us believe that the characters were growing. They were not - the actors were growing and maturing and becoming better at their craft, but really Harry and Co. don't do much in the way of character development for the whole series.

One of the biggest problems is that each book is actually the same and I felt this was made even more obvious with the movies. I can only rewatch the first three in the series because after that the books and movies just get unbearably LONG and DULL because Rowling felt it was necessary to follow the school year pattern in EVERY BOOK. Even if the plot would have moved better without it. Any action and discovery has to wait until the end of the school year because they can't solve the mystery or have a showdown mid-term. This isn't as big of an issue in the first three books because they are short and the stories movie a lot quicker. But I felt like the stories in 4-7 have a lot of moments where Rowling is treading water, trying to just get us to summer time so that Harry can discover the villain and win the day. Again.

(Every HP book/movie: End of summer blues/back to hogwarts yay life is so much better/new random professor introduced, snape looks mad/go to classes for first semester, odd things happen/weird things happen but then it's Xmas so break!/Xmas Break, Harry explores alone, discovers something/Classes resume, Harry tells Ron & Hermione his discovery/talk to Hagrid/QUIDDITCH MATCH/Ignore Dumbledore's advice and/or warning/Exams coming up, panic/Malfoy does something dickish/passed exams/quick solve the mystery/BATTLE!/Dumbledore lecture/back to abusive foster family.)

( and then I start to ramble... )

Current Mood: geeky

OMG DRAGON*CON SO SOOON!!!!!!!!!

16 days!!!!!!!!!

After searching and failing to find a wig that met my needs, I ordered 3 cans of black hair spray last night plus some purple hair clips in the hopes of being able to pull off Fray hair on D*C. I paid for ground shipping so hopefully they will arrive BEFORE the event. Shipping was more than the damn spray but none of the party city stores near me had it in stock so I figured the $6 shipping was probably equivalent to the amount of gas money that would have been spent driving all over to find spray.

On an unrelated note - tumblr is sort of annoying me. I think the issue is that so many of the tumblr's I follow are fandom related so it's like fandom with no filter of blogging or comments, just statements and they just annoy me. I'm growing tired of Harry Potter/Pottermore posting to the point that, while I was sort of "meh" about HP before, I'm beginning to HATE HP. I know it's not HP's fault, but still...gah, the books were just okay people. The first three were fun and then JK's editor apparently died because after that they get long and ridiculous and that seventh book? Blah.

And the Doctor Who wank?? Jeebus, people do understand that the ACTORS who played the Doctors left because they wanted to go and do other things, they were not forced off at gun point. I'm so frakkin sick of the Rose this Rose that Moffat sucks blah blah blah. Why are you watching if you don't like it??? Gah, like I said, it's because people just post images and statements, it's not like on here when actual thought is put into explaining their problems with the show.

Ummmmmmmm yes I had a couple beers when I got home, played some WoW with

simontrueheart (yes, I'm back on the WoW...it will probably last until the Star Wars MMORPG comes out and who the hell knows when that will be! Even BIOWARE won't say, WTF?)....I think I'm going to put on a DVD now and play in photoshop because I haven't made any graphics in AGES and it's just sad. Need to use that side of my brain...

ttfn

EDIT: posted some icons to

orangerfulboxes :)

Current Mood: drunk

Just got home from a FREE preview screening of Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.

It was a Harry Potter film. No more, no less.

Seriously, I disliked the way this series ended SO much. But I did think the movie improved upon the book in a few ways.

The biggest is, MORE NEVILLE!

He is a BAMF in this movie.

And he's adorable.

Seriously, I want one.

OH, and it's not worth seeing it in 3-D. There was nothing added to the film with 3D. And, I'm pretty sure it was not shot in 3D originally.

SPOILERS AHEAD

( spoilery thoughts underneath )

GAH! Just lost power for a few minutes there, long enough for me to run around and unplug everything then have it turn back on. Thought I'd lost this post but autosave WINS the day. But now my brain is completely done thinking about HP and more in the "Wow, hope that didn't fry anything"

Current Mood: sleepy

Let me just come right out and say it - book 7 in the Harry Potter series is my least favorite book in the set. I was very disappointed in some of the choices Rowling made when putting together the end of this epic series, a series that had started out as a book for Children, but had grown and evolved through the years to a worldwide phenomenon. But I had to see the movie because there is nothing more fun than a midnight showing of Harry Potter, especially at the historic Senator Theatre in Baltimore. It's just you and 799 other fans who will laugh, cheer, and even cry together for one night.

I was very impressed by Part 1. It reminded me of my favorite Harry Potter movie, The Prisoner of Azkaban. Where films 4-6 tried to copy the look but not the feel, I felt that director David Yates finally got the hang of it with this movie. Maybe it's because it is the end, because the story is so bleak. This is like The Two Towers or Empire Strikes Back - it's the center of the story where no one really wins and that darkness is hard to look away from. There is no resolution, just a moment of despair and then credits and a date on my 2011 calendar.

Of all the Harry Potter films, this is the one I would caution parents of young children about - it is very mature in the storytelling and visuals. There is torture and murder within the first 20 minutes. One review I read said it was the most "sensual" of the films, and it's hard to deny that these characters are truly young adults and they have feelings for each other that have developed over their 7 years of going to school together. Also, if you had some how missed that Voldemort's followers were Nazis, the movie makes it abundantly clear - the Ministry prints out "Dangers of Mudbloods" propaganda, the guards are dressed like Nazi officers, and one of the characters even ends up in a leather jacket similar to that of an SS officer. (Though I wonder how many of the younger American viewers picked up on this...I know I'm a bit of history fan and after watching an episode of Doctor Who last month which touched upon World War I, I've been a bit hypersensitive to noticing this stuff in films and television. But would today's 12 year old get that same bit of recognition? It wasn't exactly subtle but perhaps Yates chose to do that to reach kids that have only seen pictures of Nazis in textbooks or Indiana Jones movies.)

ANYWAY - the acting. After being surrounded for years by famous British actors, I think Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint have managed to pick up a few tricks of their own. They really get to carry this movie, since they are not confined to Hogwarts. It was nice to see them out and about in the real world and not draped in black cloaks. The scenes in the forest, chapters in the book that made me want to scream, were more tolerable when watching these three act them out. I felt the ~~One Ring~~ locket issue went on too long in the book but Hermione figures it out quickly on screen and then we can see who is wearing it at any moment (though the editing for this sequence could have been a bit better - it felt like Ron ended up with the necklace more than anyone else).

On a fandom sidenote - Harry/Ginny still feels very forced to me on film, but anytime I see Luna talking with Harry, I feel a lot more chemistry. Just my opinion, but I think they make a much more logical couple. I always felt like Rowling just pushed Ginny into a romance with him because she had decided to pair up Hermione to Ron. But Luna is an old soul, just like Harry, and I think it comes through on film even more. But perhaps that's just me.

THE SHORT VERSION (too late!):

HP7,Pt1 - It's darker, grittier, and more sensual than any of the other movies up to this point. WIth a running time of 2 hours and 30 minutes, it probalby could have been tighter in some places but Yates keeps the action going for as long as he can, and when things slow down, the film is so beautiful to watch that you don't mind a little bit of Harry moping over his parent's grave. But, like all "middle" films, it's hard to judge it without the grand finale. I hope Yates can keep the story moving forward when we come back to the Deathly Hallows in 2011.

Harry Potter Ultimate Editions on blu-ray. OMG these look awesome!!!!! Now, I would probably only get years 1-3 because I haven't even rewatched my dvds of 4 & 5 yet. But still HOMG! Look at the pictures of wittle Baby!Daniel, Baby!Rupert, and Baby!Emma in the video. So adorable. Plus, 5 hours of extras *drool* I'm such a "special features" junkie.

Up in the air about Lego Rock Band. The setlist is full of some guilty pleasure goodness (P!NK, Boys Like Girls) plus the frakkin' Ghostbusters song. Best part is, for what I'm sure will be a small fee (my guess is $5, like RB1) you can transfer all of the Lego RB songs to your Xbox harddrive and play them in normal Rock Band.

Current Mood: chipper

Okay, I'm finally getting around to typing up my thoughts on the movie. I'll preface it by saying 1) this was 2 nights ago 2) it was frakkin' 12am-3am and after waking up at 7am I didn't have as much left in me as I had hoped 3) I haven't read this book since its initial release so I wouldn't call myself a "hardcore" fan.

So, with that out of the way, I will tell you, I think I currently rank my favorite HP films as #3, #1, #6 (though I haven't rewatched #4 or #5, even though I own them on DVD...)

I really enjoyed the movie, even with it's 2+ hours runtime. Like

snarkel commented, it probably has some of the funniest moments in the series so far, but I think it also manages to pull off some of the darkest.

destertale commented that Dumbledore was channeling Gandalf even more than usual. And I think the use of photoshop filters was probably abused, but I don't mind, I like my fantasy films with a bit of soft light/exclusion blending (PHOTOSHOP HERO!)

I think one of the things that works against the films is how soon they were made after the books. I almost wish it could be like the Lord of the Rings series, and that we could be far enough removed from the series to let the scriptwriter *ahem* fix some of the story elements to make them work a bit better on film. One of the reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes commented that the weakest part of the movie is the fact that there is no villian, no final battle. More of a final really tense moment.

( spoilery thoughts for series, more play by play )

Current Mood: chipper

So, after hearing several people flail over the goodness that is Avatar:The Last Airbender (I blame

snarkel for convincing me to finally add it to my Netflix queue) I caved and watched the first episode...and the second...and the third and fourth. I REALLY like it. I'm not a fan of anime, but it's not really anime, is it? It's like this weird mix of anime storytelling conventions but with a very Disneyfied/Western style that appeals to me. I love the sense of humor and the rich story that I can already tell is forming beneath it all. Again, the Netflix/Xbox360 deal really pays off for me. I'm going to watch an episode with breakfast every day. :D

The only anime I've watched multiple times is Princess Mononoke. I tried to watch Spirited Away - tried twice actually - and for some reason it always makes me naseous. I think it's just my poor Western brain trying to handle the Eastern cultural stuff. I think it overloads. Sad but true. I might try Ponyo if it gets good reviews.

Speaking of new fandoms, I watched the first episode of s4 of SPN today. I have a couple questions from the past season though - specifically to do with Ruby's Knife. Because they talks so much in the first few seasons about how demons were possessing bodies and how the person was trapped inside and you should try to save them blah blah blah - but doesn't stabbing them in the throat with a knife effectively kill the demon AND the person dead? They were pretty free wheelin' with the knife by the end of the season and I felt a bit conflicted about how they were no longer conflicted. Whatev, I'm just hoping to be caught up by September.

The Dollhouse Blu-Ray saga seems to be at an end. I placed a new order tonight and quickly called my credit card to say "OMG LET IT GO THRU FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!!!" which they said it did. I got a confirmation e-mail and unless I get some sort of paniced phone call/email from Fox Store tomorrow, I'm going to assume that this story is over until my friend comes back from Comic Con.

Miralce "Mellie" Laurie will be in Baltimore on Saturday at Shore Leave...and I have to work. :( I wonder how many people will ask her about vases...

I found my old Pandora log-in, so I'm reviving that account so I can use the iPhone app, which everyone says is far superior to the last.fm app. I spent a good chunk of time tonight bookmarking my favorite artists of the moment.

My rl friends and I need to pick our Harry Potter theater. I can't believe the premiere is next week!!! I have a feeling we'll just end up at Arundel Mills or West Nursery because our favorite midnight theater, The Senator, is no longer a first run theater. So sad. It won't be the same. Still, we have to see it at MIDNIGHT! I don't care what kind of shape I am in on Wednesday, I will be running on Harry Potter fueled adreniline. I wasn't in love with OotP, but HBP is HBP - it is meant to be seen on the big screen!

Alright, time for bed. Gotta read the next chapter in THE STRAIN and see if the vampires show up...though since it is a trilogy, I'm starting to get a bit concerned I might have to wait until 2010 to see some serious vamp action...

Current Mood: sleepy

International Teaser Trailer for Half-Blood Prince - totally worth it for the last 10 seconds. I lol'd.

Current Mood: amused

Still a year away but who cares! Here's a Sneak Peek at Half-Blood Prince!!!!

oooh I hope santa yoda brings me OotP on DVD :D

demonqueen666 posted this on her lj, but I had to re-post here.

Rowling says Dumbledore is Gay

This apparently happened on Tuesday. I'm shocked I hadn't heard about it until now. As

blu_harvest said to me, it's like the idea of your parents having sex. I never really thought about it either way (To paraphrase Buffy - he's old, it's gross!).

Still, kudos to Rowling for just saying it and not being all coy or clever or winking and nudging.

I guess if there was going to be fall out, it would have happened by now. Perhaps no one cares anymore. I know my interest in HP has dropped since I finished the 7th book...

Current Mood: tired

w00t! Our Harry Potter program made the local newspaper! They didn't post the pictures online but you can read the article (for the time being) right here. (Though the article was clearly edited by a Muggle - several misspellings of Potterverse things.)

Still, very cool! My co-worker managed to save one of the images from the paper and post it on her personal blog here!

heiland_coo is going to hook me up with a CD of all the pictures she and her husband took during the program, so I might have a few more to share this week.

I bought the Gentle Giant Bust-Up of the Riddle Grave scene from GoF while I was in Boston. It's pretty cool, though Voldemort's aim is a little off. I've got it sitting on top of my HP books now. Probably post pictures later of all the other goodies I snagged while up north.

Current Mood: amused

Again with the too much fun
Originally uploaded by orangerful.

So, the Harry Potter program last night was a success! Everyone got into it!

heiland_coo and I went all out with our costumes, some brought graduation robes and ties, others just got a swatch of colored hairspray in their hair. Either way, we had fun and the kids were amused!

We had two volunteers outside with the Sorting hat (that I borrowed from Crofton). They kids reached into the hat and pulled out a house name, which was then shouted and cheered by my two volunteers. They got a house badge and went inside the library.

Inside the meeting room, we had lots of different crafts - you could get your face painted, make a snitch, make a broom out of a pencil, decorate Quidditch goggles, build your Hogwarts satchel, make an Owl out of a paper plate and then build a Howler for him to deliver. We had an Herbology lesson in the back with mandrakes and a Defense Against the Dark Arts Pop Quiz matching game on the chalk board.

Out in the branch, we had a scavenger hunt and a 30 question trivia challenge.

Everything went so very very well! Lots of adorable moments (the kids doing the scavenger hunt made my day when I saw them clumped together, reading the clues out loud and then scuttering off to the next clue).

heiland_coo's husband was there with his camera and I know he took more pictures and I'm hoping she will share them with me! It was such a good time and I'm hoping we can do another Harry Potter themed program next year!

Click on the picture to see a few more shots of my pink hair, the library, and the kids.

Just got home from the Harry Potter program at our branch.

heiland_coo & I rocked the hizz-ouse. (or would that be the lib-ouse?). We have over 100 people attend, 92 of them "kids", ranging from 1 year olds to teens. And we had 60 some adults who had just as much fun with the crafts and scavenger hunt.

I should have took more pictures!!! bah! I shall upload the ones I took and hopefully

heiland_coo will share any her hubby snapped while he was running around with his camera.

I have pink hair!!!!

ooooh, microwave beeped, that means dinner is served! I'm going to watch Two Towers. Possible photo post tonight or tomorrow.

Current Mood: energetic

well, I've done...not a whole lot today. I woke up around 11:30, watched an old Colbert Report while I ate blueberry muffins. Took a shower (the pink hair spray washed out really easily!) and lounged around a bit. Then I ran over to Target and got a black t-shirt and some puffy fabric paint to make my Weird Sisters t-shirt for tomorrow. I also drank one Mike's Hard Lime and a margarita, which slowed down my t-shirt productivity a bit (but did make me worry less about it). While working on the t-shirt, I watched the first Harry Potter. When I finished that, I popped in LotR: FotR - which, of course, I'm still watching now.

btw - if you watch the first Harry Potter and then pop in LotR, you begin to notice way too many similarities, mostly between Sauron and Voldemort. I prefer Sauron as a villian, he's just evil. That's it. He doesn't have any committees, or government re-structuring. He's just evil. 24/7, just wants to take over the world 100%. If it wasn't for his jewelry fetish, things would have gone nicely for him. But, alas, he loved goooooooooooold....rings.

I also have to laugh because, when I babysat Skylor, I remember him freaking out during the first 5 minutes of 'Oliver & Company'. Now, he watches LotR on a regular basis. BWahahahaha! I can't wait to ~~scar~~ show lil' Max these movies. Of course, I guess it's at least 5 years before he can even pretend to handle such things :\ *sigh*

My t-shirt is drying. I managed to get both sides done, hopefully it will be wearable tomorrow. The front says "Weird Sisters" and has a crudely drawn witch hat and guitar. The back says "1994 Wizard Tour" and lists a few random places from the books. (according to the HP Lexicon, 1994 was the year GoF happened, so I included Hogwarts on the tour!) I'll wait a couple hours and take the hairdryer out and see if I can help it along.

I'm so excited about our program tomorrow. I bet I can't fall asleep. And when I do finally fall asleep, I bet I have some sort of "OMGLIBRARYONFIRE" kind of dream. Because my brain is evil.

Galadriel's handing out gifts, I must go now (I <3 Cate Blanchett. I watched 'Elizabeth' again this month, hadn't seen it since it first came out on DVD, forgot out fantastic it is. Plus, my uncle once said he thought I sorta looked like her, so I have to love her hehe).

Current Mood: excited

it's electric!
Originally uploaded by orangerful.

With AD's help, I just sprayed my ponytail pink to see how it looked. And I think it looks pretty darn cool! I'll go all out Monday and spray my entire head o' hair.

Now, what else shall I get for my Tonks outfit...I've noticed a LOT of the images have her wearing 'Weird Sisters' t-shirts. So I think I'm going to go over to Target tomorrow and look for a plain black t-shirt and get some craft puffy paint and create a "tour" shirt.

(if you click through, there is one more picture of me, with a wand, looking silly, you have been warned)

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I'm a slayer, ask me how.

librarian. blogger. gamer. geek. girl.

movie thoughts: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

different perspective

If you haven't seen this, you need to

#HarryPotterBookNight

On my way home

brain dump - Harry Potter and the Illusion of Development

16 days - SIX-TEEN -DAYS!!!!!!!!!

must gloat while I still can!

movie thoughts: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (2010)

wishlister

THE HP REPORT (as bittertwee called it)

because I need more fandoms...

HP7 Trailer

it's never too early to start fangirling!

well, that was random of ya, JK

accio 15 minutes of fame!

Again with the too much fun

phew

lazy sunday

i can haz pink ponytail now?

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