This is a particularly sore subject for me. Many of my reformer peers and co-workers have nicely groomed and trendy beards. I am turning the corner to thirty next year and I really only have to shave one spot on my face – a small mole on my cheek.

I remember in Jr. High the only kid who could beat me in the 100 meter dash was an 8th grader from another school who was most likely dumbledore’s son. I remember looking at him and pining for the day when I would be able to express my manliness in such a way. By a cruel twist of fate, I now find myself daily surrounded by very manly men sporting very manly beards.

sigh….

Affiche française du film

Film fantastique anglo-américain de David Yates (Harry Potter et l’Ordre du Phoenix)

Scénario de Steve Kloves (les quatre premiers Harry Potter)

Sorti dans les salles le 15 juillet 2009, disponible en DVD et Blu-Ray Disc le 18 novembre 2009

Durée de deux heures 24 environ (générique de fin non compris)

Avec Daniel Radcliffe (tous les HP), Rupert Grint & Emma Watson (tous les HP), Michael Gambon (tous les HP à partir du 3), Alan Rickman (tous les HP, Die hard, Robin des bois-Prince des voleurs)…

Synopsis: Harry Potter a une nouvelle fois vu un de ses proches mourir; son parrain Sirius Black a passé l’arme à gauche, et celui qu’on nomme l’Élu n’a désormais plus de famille (excepté peut-être sa tante Moldu). A l’heure où le monde de la magie ose enfin s’organiser pour lutter contre les forces de Lord Voldemort, Harry reçoit la visite d’Albus Dumbledore, légendaire sorcier seul capable de battre le seigneur des ténèbres en duel. Le directeur de Poudlard aura besoin de l’aide de l’Élu tout au long de l’année pour percer à jour le secret terrifiant de Voldemort. Mais cette année, un terrifiant adversaire menace plus que jamais les élèves: l’adolescence ! Les conquêtes sentimentales fusent, et aucun n’y échappera… Sauf Drago Malefoy, qui va manigancer ce qui conduira à l’ébranlement non seulement de Harry, mais aussi de Poudlard tout entier…

Rah quel déchirement, quel tourment, quel torture ! Nous sommes ici en présence du meilleur film Harry Potter de la série, entaché par des défauts qui prennent ici une ampleur plus grande que précédemment. Explications.

Le sixième tome de la série est l’un des plus appréciés des fans (à juste titre). Après avoir signé un cinquième opus tout à fait convainquant (d’autant plus quand on sait que L’Ordre du Phoenix est le tome le plus difficile à transposer au cinéma !), le réalisateur David Yates (également en charge de l’adaptation en deux parties de l’ultime volet, à venir en été et fin 2010) rempile et cette fois change quelque peu ses objectifs. Ainsi, le scénariste Steve Kloves (qui avait signé de bonnes adaptations des quatre premiers tomes, mais qui n’a pas participé au cinquième volet) revient dans l’équipe du film. L’orientation prise par les deux hommes peut déconcerter: David Yates décrit cette sixième année comme celle du triptyque “sex, drugs & rock’n roll” ! Il explore donc les aspects de l’adolescence (légèrement traités auparavent), et il faut avouer que c’est plutôt audacieux de sa part ! D’autant plus que son initiative est risquée, car explorer “l’âge bête” peut mettre en recul l’univers magique. Mais il faut avouer que ce n’est pas tellement le cas. Mais le tandem se montre encore plus audacieux par la suite, car comme pour palier à l’absence de certaines scènes du livre (ADAPTATION oblige), ils en ont rajouté deux ! Bien qu’elles ne soient pas très indispensables, on ne dit pas non à ce genre d’initiative. L’essentiel du livre est retranscrit comme il faut (bon boulot, Steve !). Mais il y a un hic, parfois très gênant: sans être “fourre-tout”, le film aborde de nombreuses choses; parfois c’est superficiel, et parfois c’est travaillé en profondeur. Un tel déséquilibre peut paraitre désagréable. En revanche, il est plaisant de voir que cet épisode se montre ténébreux par moments (la fin est la plus pessimiste de tous les HP jusqu’à présent ! Et ce, malgré la petite séquence de transition avec le dernier opus qui suit peu après…), et l’humour fait mouche à chaque fois^^ Les effets spéciaux sont toujours aussi soignés, le montage propre. Ce qui frappe également sur ce sixième Harry Potter, c’est la photographie. Bruno Delbonnel a fait un travail somptueux ! L’image est “magique”, les couleurs alternent entre ténèbres et lumière… Non, vraiment magnifique ! La partition musicale est d’ailleurs du même acabit (sur le cinquième HP, c’était un peu transparent). L’interprétation des acteurs est toujours aussi bonne, et les nouveaux s’en sortent bien (très bon Jim Broadbent en Horace Slughorn !). Mention spéciale à Tom Felton, très bon en Malefoy meurtri par le choix ! Ternissons le tableau en évoquant les défauts de ce prince “métisse”…

D’abord, il y a ce sentiment de fourre-tout, évoqué tout à l’heure, qui gâche un peu le plaisir. Mais le plus flagrant: pourquoi ne pas avoir fait un film de trois heures et plus ? Ces deux heures 24 sont bien trop juste pour transposer le sixième volet ! Cela aurait permis une plus grande fidélité et l’approfondissement de certaines choses à peine évoquées… Le cinéma a déjà montré que le public est capable de rester plus de trois heures dans une salle, alors pourquoi ne pas avoir osé !!!!?????

-Réalisation: David Yates est en bonne forme, soyez rassuré(e) ! 4/5

-Scénario: difficile de transposer un matériel aussi riche en seulement 144 minutes, et Steve Kloves en fait partiellement les frais… De très bonne facture sinon. 3.5/5

-Performances dramatiques: comme d’habitude, on a le droit à un jeu d’acteurs pertinent, et certains brillent particulièrement. 4.5/5

-Doublage vocale français: le même très bon niveau que d’habitude, malgré le remplacement des voix de McGonagall et d’Hagrid. 4/5

-Musique et bruitages: brillante partition de Nicholas Hooper, qui sort enfin de son cocon. Des bruitages sympa et punchy. 4/5

-Les plus mieux meilleurs: jeu d’acteurs, la photo du film sublime, l’orientation prise par David Yates, la musique, scénario large…

-Les pires pas mieux défauts: … mais qui, à trop ratisser, survolent certaines choses, durée du film trop étroite pour un bouquin aussi riche, traitement inégale en profondeur des personnages (Hagrid seulement dans deux scènes !), alternance entre scènes comiques et séquences sombres parfois difficile, scènes ajoutées manquant d’intérêt (mais on salue l’initiative)…

Note globale: 20/25, soit 16/20.

Jamie Campbell Bower as Number 11-12 in The Prisoner. Photo copyright of Granada/AMC

Imagine having a life where pretty much everything you want is within easy reach and all you have to do is ask for it. In AMC’s re-imagined version of The Prisoner, Number 11-12 wakes up to that every day as a resident of The Village. The son of Number Two, the overseer of this residential “paradise,” and M2, his idealistic mother, this 17-year-old is among the privileged and is being groomed to one day take over his father’s duties within The Village. It sounds like the perfect situation, maybe not for 11-12, but it was one that actor Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays 11-12, could not wait to jump into.

“There had been rumors of The Prisoner floating about, and then I got a phone call from my agent telling me, ‘I think you should go out for this.’ He’s rarely wrong, so I did,” recalls Bower. “I received four pages of audition sides from one of the episodes, and as I read them something really struck home with me. There was just something quite moving about the material and this idea of family and the connection between 11-12 and his father, Two, played by Ian McKellen.

“So I was very excited about the project to begin with, and it was, I think, a rainy Tuesday afternoon when I went down to London’s South Bank next to the Thames for my audition. Whatever I did must have worked because I received another call telling me that I got the role, which was brilliant.”

11-12 with his father, Number Two (Ian McKellen). Photo copyright of Granada/AMC

While a life of privilege may sound enticing to some, especially a young person, it is rarely all that is cracked up to be. And as typically happens, no one seems to have asked 11-12 what he wants.

“With my character, it’s that classic case of, ‘I don’t want to be the prince any more. I want to be an ordinary person,” says Bower. “But then he also thinks that one day he might inherit The Village, so like most people his age, 11-12 is definitely feeling some angst towards his father. As for his relationship with his mother, M2 [Rachael Blake], it’s very distant. He loves her dearly, but he never sees her. His mother is just this entity in the house they live in, and 11-12 strives to have a much closer bond with her.

“So as you might imagine, 11-12 is quite highly strung and emotionally charged. He also has this feeling that he’s missing something in his life, but he doesn’t know what it is. Acting-wise, maintaining that high level of intensity and emotion wasn’t easy. In fact,there was one particular scene that I did with Vincent Regan [Number 909] that screws up my character in a major way. We shot it over an entire day and I had to be incredibly emotional most of that time. Again, it was tough, but it was also a challenge and one I enjoyed because it really helped me to grow as a person as well as an actor.”

Not a good day in The Village for 11-12. Photo copyright of Granada/AMC

Much to his surprise, a frustrated 11-12’s eyes are opened to an entirely new set of possibilities for his future, thanks to The Village’s newest resident and The Prisoner’s lead character, Number Six (Jim Caviezel). “Six’s arrival throws a bit of a spanner into the works of The Village,” notes Bower. “He comes along and forthrightly and outwardly says, ‘This isn’t all there is’ and 11-12’s reaction to that is, ‘Well, maybe he’s right.’ So his interaction with Six is one of curiosity as well as questioning and trying to understand why it is that this man is saying what he’s saying. And I think 11-12 ends up believing in and trusting Six.”

While their onscreen personas are caught up in the turmoil of what is happening to them, The Prisoner’s cast as well as crew could not have enjoyed their time together more, Bower included. “Everyone involved in this project is incredibly talented and fun,” enthuses the actor. “Working with Ian McKellen is an absolute joy and a pleasure. The same is true of working with young British stars like Hayley Atwell [Lucy/4-15] and Ruth Wilson [Number 313]. We all became good mates and helped each other out, patted one another on the back when we needed it, and laughed at each other when we didn’t need it,” he jokes. “We spent four-and-a-half months together in South Africa. Not many people can say that, apart from those who live there, and we had a really nice time.”

Bower was 14 when he decided that he wanted to become an actor, and four years later made his feature film debut in director Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. “I had just turned 18 and was at boarding school in the English countryside,” he says. “I was sneaking out at five o’clock in the morning through my house master’s backdoor and getting into a car that was waiting for me outside the school gates to take me to set. I’d then return to school around seven at night and go back to bed.

11-12 shares a rare moment with his mother, M2 (Rachael Blake). Photo copyright of Granada/AMC

“I did that for about two weeks and then I made the decision that I should probably just leave school and not bum a free bed off them every night. So that’s what I did, and it was an incredibly terrifying experience for me, being just 18 and working alongside people like Tim Burton as well as Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall. It was also a phenomenal opportunity and it gave me such an amazing starting point that I could never have dreamt of, so I was very, very lucky.”

Besides The Prisoner, Bower can also currently be seen as Caius in the latest installment of the hugely successful teenage vampire tale The Twilight Saga: New Moon. “I was in Los Angeles not too long ago and they were casting for New Moon,” says the actor. “My American agent asked me if I would like to audition for it, and I said that I’d kill to audition for it. So I met with [director] Chris Weitz and then I got a call offering me the role of Caius, which I was really excited about.

“Caius, along with Michael Sheen’s character of Ar0, and Marcus,who is played by Chris Heyerdahl, are the leaders of an ancient Italian vampire coven known as the Volturi. We shot in Vancouver and I was there for about three weeks working with actors like Michael, Chris, Dakota Fanning [Jane], Rob Pattinson [Edward Cullen] and Kris Stewart [Bella Swan]. It was a real treasure of a role for me and another great set of actors to work with and learn from.”

Change is in the air when 11-12 crosses paths with Number Six (Jim Caviezel). Photo copyright of Granada/AMC

The actor has a lead role alongside Keira Knightley and Colin Farrell in the upcoming film London Boulevard and has guest-starred in an episode of the new British Fantasy TV series Game of Thrones. Harry Potter fans can also look forward to enjoying Bower’s performance in the two-part Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

“I play Gellert Grindelwald, who’s an old friend of Dumbledore’s [Michael Gambon],” he says. “They have this idea that they can create a utopian wizardry world, and then there’s a big fight and something awful happens,” teases the actor.

“So it was another fun project, and ‘fun’ is one of the things about this job that’s important to me. I hope I can continue doing this up until the point that it isn’t fun any more. That’s when people become jaded and become the person that they never wanted to be. I think growing as an actor and a performer is a wonderful thing to behold, and feeling like you’re learning as well. That’s especially important for young actors like myself who have chosen a different path. We haven’t gone to university, but, instead, have decided that acting is what we want to do, and as long as you’re learning while doing it, then I think that’s the main thing that will keep you happy.”

Steve Eramo

The Prisoner concludes tonight, Tuesday, November 17th @ 8 p.m. EST/PST.

As noted above, all photos copyright of Granada TV and AMC, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

When I first saw Harry Potter VI: The Half-Blood Prince I noticed two things:

1. That movie is fucking terrible.
2. One scene is eerily similar to a scene from X-Men 3: The Last Stand

It’s additionally suspicious that both films are the worst in their franchise. The scene in question, however, is the memory scene where Dumbledore first meets Tom Riddle and invites him to study at Hogwarts. Though the tone and dialogue are slightly different, the subtext is exactly identical. Teacher(s) comes to supernaturally powerful youngster, teacher tells youngster they’re similar, youngster is suspicious, teacher tells youngster they have a power that needs to be controlled. Additionally, both youngsters go on to kill their teachers [Note: Voldemort kills Dumbledore indirectly - I know he wasn't hold thing wand. Don't even try.] The way the music builds tension is also very, very similar.

See for yourself:

WHAM. Take that ‘arry. I know the book was written before X-Men 3, but X-Men and Xavier’s school have been around for decades. Regardless, the sixth Harry Potter movie was terrible.

Not to credit the films over the books, especially this last film (which I’m already noticing was a ridiculously poor adaptation of the text), but the cursing of Katie Bell stands out as a remarkably memorable image from the movie. I remember it striking me as horribly violent and unsettling for a kid’s book. Keep in mind, until I started reading, I was convinced this series was for children. Silly, silly Muggle.

"You just think happy thoughts. They lift you into the air." -Peter Pan

So finally getting to the moment where Katie Bell took flight was both satisfying (because I could link it with a moment I clearly remembered from the film) and unnerving (because I realized moreso from the reading exactly what her cursing implies, and how close she got to going the way of Cedric Diggory).

Book 6 is dark. I’m not telling any of you Harry Potter fans anything new, but as someone approaching it for the first time, it’s amazingly darker than Book 5, which shocked me for somehow being darker than Book 4. I respect J.K. for her twisted vision. The violence encountered by school children and teenagers is honestly twisted. But then, isn’t all the best literature a little off kilter?

Before I get into “Who sent the Necklace?”, I want to talk about Tonks for a minute. I love Tonks. I loved Tonks in Book 5. I continue to love Tonks in Book 6. But to be honest, she was one of those characters I didn’t expect to see much of in Half-Blood Prince – while she clearly hadn’t played herself to the fullest in Order of the Phoenix, I didn’t anticipate too much from her this time around. I figured she’d come into play somewhere along the line, mostly because she was too interesting to disappear after one battle at the Ministry. Still, I didn’t anticipate she’d have such a mysterious role this time around. Something is up with Tonks. Something is not right. How did she just-so-happen to appear at Hogsmede right when Harry was confronting Mundungus (who may not have been the bad guy of Book 5, as I previously predicted, but still remains an ass)? That’s just a little too convenient to dismiss. I’m sorry. If reading these books has taught me anything, it’s to never dismiss something that is just too good to be true.

Tonks doesn’t join the dark side, does she?

Yes, I keep wanting to apply Star Wars terminology to this series. And no, I don’t even like Star Wars.

I hope Tonks doesn’t go bad. But oh man, that would be a fantastic plot twist if she did…

Anyway, I’m rambling. The necklace! Who sent the necklace?

I honestly do not think it was Draco. Ignoring my inexplicable adoration for the little blonde twit, I just don’t think he’s that clever. Someone is trying to kill Dumbledore. Obviously. Part of me wants to think that Snape sent it in order to keep Draco from having to kill Dumbledore on his own, but that would run counter my argument that Snape only kills Dumbledore because he made the unbreakable vow to step-in if Draco is unable to complete the deed himself. Actually, come to think of it, I bet Narcissa sent it. A desperate mother will go to desperate measures to protect her cub. Or is that giving Narcissa too much credit? Maybe Bellatrix sent it, because she’s batshit crazy. I could see where she wouldn’t want Draco to steal her thunder and kill Dumbledore, when such an act would put him in high favor with Voldemort (for whom she harbors a massive people crush). But that seems too cunning for Bellatrix.

My vote is with Narcissa. That would make sense, thematically. The series seems very focused on mothers making sacrifices for their children – or failing to do so. Harry’s mother dies for her son, Voldemort’s mother dies in spite of her son. Why not have Narcissa step up to the plate?

This brings me to my favorite quote of Chapter 12, when Dumbledore points out to Harry that yes, Voldemort’s mother had a choice not to die in order to be there for her son – but Harry’s mother had the choice, as well.

Ouch.

First off, a big hello to thehogshead.org readers! Glad to have you!

A few things you should know about this crazy little project. Yes, I am really reading the series for the very first time (I’ve been living under a rock, which is much like living in a closet under a staircase). While I’ve seen 5 of the 6 films, I really don’t remember them that well. And yes, I love comments (this is like one gigantic book club, where I’m the only one still reading the book), but no spoilers! Also, you should know I like to make predictions about where things are going…but my track record is abysmal.

I mean really abysmal.

Impressively abysmal.

I thought Lupin was Crookshanks and Tom Riddle was a good guy.

Case in point:

Chapter 11: Hermione’s Helping Hand

“Can you think of any way Malfoy – ?”
“Oh, drop it, Harry.”

In the midst of Quidditch trials and a visit with Hagrid, Harry started surmising that Draco must have snuck something Dark into Hogwarts – a theory that was quickly shot down by both Hermione and Ron.

My mind started racing. “Draco used Harry’s invisibility cloak! Draco used Harry’s invisibility cloak! He stole it from him on the train, remember?” I was so excited. I had finally figured something out. Fist pump! Celebratory dance! And the characters would figure it out soon enough.

Or not, because in fact, Draco didn’t take Harry’s invisibility cloak on the train. He left Harry beneath it, to ride paralyzed and undiscovered back to London.

Fail.

So this brings me back to the wardrobe. Again, I saw the sixth film (though it made very little coherent sense, to be honest). I remember something about a wardrobe, though – a wardrobe and an unfortunate canary. I’m 99.9% sure that the wardrobe will link up with one on Knockturn Alley, creating a portal into Hogwarts, thus sneaking in the Death Eaters, yada yada yada, Snape kills Dumbledore.

I remember that part – or at least I’m very successfully making that part up to myself. What I don’t remember is why the Half-Blood Prince is important. Yes, yes, the Half-Blood Prince is Snape. They give that away entirely too early in the film. I’m just not sure why that matters. Okay, so Snape was really excellent at Potions. Fabulous. And…?

I don’t feel like this is Harry’s story so much as Snape’s story, at least at this stage in the game. As I said back in September, though, I am still not convinced Snape is evil. I think there’s more to it than that. Perhaps I’m grasping at straws here, but I really don’t want him to be evil, in the same way I don’t want Draco to be evil. Hey, maybe no one turns out to be evil and it’s all just one big misunderstanding. Cut to Harry and Voldemort sitting around a campfire, toasting smores and telling scary Muggle stories…

Too optimistic?

********************

The Weekly Reader’s Poll is back. Check it out in the sidebar!

Ruby to Astrea: “I know who that is. He’s the one with the big hat and the beard.”

Fraser: “Who?”

Ruby: “Abe Lincoln.”

Fraser: “Oh. I thought you were talking about Dumbledore.”

Hurray for American History references in day to day life.

Week after week (after week after week…), CollegeCandy and our pal John bring you some of the weirdest, funniest, and saddest things he hears on his college campus. And we know he’s not the only one who hears this stuff. Join the Overheard revolution! Listen in on some weirdos’ conversations and share them in the comments or send ‘em over to us to put in next week’s post.

(Two girls, hanging out in the women’s center.)

Girl: It would decrease your value as a lesbian lover if you didn’t have any fingers.

(One girl, leaning across the aisle during class.)

Girl 1: Hey… hey.

Girl 2: What?

Girl 1: Have you ever been to CakeFarts dot com?

(Guy, talking to his friends at a restaurant.)

Guy: I kinda want to shoot myself in the stomach so food will fall out.

(Two girls and a guy, making dinner.)

Guy: I don’t know. How do you melt cheese?

Girl 1: Don’t you just sit on it?

Girl 2: You could have a cooking show. “Cooking Butt.”

(Two big frat guys, walking outside the dining hall.)

Guy 1: I don’t know if she likes me. Like, she called me, and she wants to hang out… but I still don’t know. What do you think?

Guy 2: Well, how do you feel when you’re together?

Guy 1: I feel really good.

Girl, in front of them: *starts crying*

(Guy, yelling into his cell phone, riding on a skateboard.)

Guy: YOU GOTTA DO IT WITH LOVE, MAN!

(Girl in class, reading “Sleeping Beauty” out loud.)

Girl (reading): … What took you so long?

Guy: Aren’t you a little short for a Stormtrooper?

(Girl, guy, talking over lunch.)

Girl: The drag ball’s this Saturday.

Guy (flabbergasted): The… the drag ball!? But … but this changes everything!

(Girl, on the phone.)

Girl: I do love you! But I gotta chill on the ropes first!

(Class discussion of an English book.)

Girl: So, he’s just big, old, repressed and asexual. Like an 18th-century Dumbledore.

(Girl, guy, finishing dinner.)

Guy: Ow! I hate going out with you. You’re just all stabbing, all the time.

Called it! Snape is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, just like I predicted. And now for my next trick…

To be honest, I hesitate to say anything I “guess” about Book 6 is really a guess and not just a vague memory from the very confusing film. But let me bask in my glory, no matter how undeserved. Correct predictions on my part come around so infrequently.

This weekend, I plowed through chapters 7 and 8, which really isn’t a great deal of progress, but is better than reading absolutely nothing and leaving this blog completely unattended for a full week. What a slacker! Still, my actors are on Fall Break and I have a wicked cold, so what better way to make use of my time than to spend an hour buried in a Harry Potter book? Surprisingly, for having only read two chapters, I have a lot to say. Okay, maybe the fact that I have a lot to say doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone.

So, because it’s always easier to split things into easily digestible morsels…

Morsel #1: Slughorn
I don’t like him, but I don’t dislike him. He’s self-promoting and a Slytherin, and yet he hasn’t actually done anything to earn complete and utter dislike. In a book chock full of characters who just beg to be despised, Slughorn hasn’t quite made it into those ranks yet. He sure is slimy, though – saddling up to the most well-positioned students and cutting out those who are of no use to him.

Something that caught my attention when Ginny showed up to Slughorn’s meeting: are Ginny and Harry in any way like Lily and James? Harry’s not a pompous ass like his father (yeah, I said it), but I’m sensing some similarities. Ginny really has nothing to offer Slughorn but her skills, which I can only assume is what Lily offered as well. I know Ginny and Harry get together in this book, but I don’t believe they stay together. Still, it’s something to consider.

Morsel #2: Violent Video Games Made Me Do It
The children are getting violent! The fight at the Ministry was turbulent, to say the least, but so much to be expected. Draco kicking Harry square in the nose is a new kind of violence. That’s the kind of violence you can feel through the text – the kind of violence that would make me wrestle this book out of a child’s hands and hand her a Babysitter’s Club book or something in exchange.

This whole book is cringe-worthy, with people disappearing, muggles and wizards alike in constant danger, and severe, unapologetic violence. I will say, to its benefit, that the violence is not gratuitous. It’s just that when you have one character kicking another in the face and you’re only on Chapter 7, you can expect things to only get worse.

Morsel #3: Snape, You’ve Just Won the Opportunity to Teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. What are You Going to Do Now?
Again, I called it – but maybe I didn’t really call it, just remembered it. Either way, Snape is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, which raises a number of questions, and these questions hinge on my previous predictions.

If Snape is really a good guy, and his murder of Dumbledore is to serve a higher purpose, than it makes total sense that Dumbledore would trust him with this job. If Snape is actually a bad guy, maybe Dumbledore really is losing his touch. Or maybe Dumbledore knows Snape is a bad guy and there is a reason to keep him around and give him this job. I feel like these pieces will not come together fully in this book. A conversation with a friend over the weekend gives me the impression that there is a lot more I just don’t realize yet, and I’m probably completely off the mark. That said, the whole thing’s curious.

Morsel #4: I’m a Big Kid Now
Harry’s no longer a whiney little bitch. Hazaah! He’s friends with who he wants to be friends with and everyone else can screw off, in plain English. It’s a nice change. The same friend I mentioned before noted that the train scene, in which Harry sits with Luna and Neville even though they aren’t “cool” (who is, really?) almost mirrors the scene in Book 5, except Harry’s not embarrassed this time. No, in this book, we’re leaving the overly emotional, completely unbalanced, fatalistic childishness to Draco.

Which leads me to…

Morsel #5: Draco’s Definitely a Death Eater
This is not a prediction. I saw the film. The clues are obvious. Draco’s a Death Eater. Poor life choice, buddy. Poor life choice – but a wholly predictable one. I mean, if you introduced me to Draco when he was a child and asked “What do you think this kid will grow up to be?”, I probably wouldn’t have come back with “A really nice guy.” He doesn’t seem like a nice guy. There’s very little nice about Draco. And yet, I still want there to be some sort of redeeming moment for him. Maybe I put too much stock in this character. It’s not his story. Redeeming him may take away from the overall plot. I just want him to be okay. I’m rooting for him, though this may only end in tears.

I stated this weekend that if J.K. kills off Draco, I’m putting the book down and not finishing the series. Fair warning. (Don’t tell me!)

Side note: To all of you who have been diligently checking back here for updates, thank you. To all of you who have been very patient while I’ve been M.I.A., thank you. And to all of you who are new to this blog (there seems to be some new faces), welcome!

Louweasleydore:

I will always fail to understand the point of Tippex Mice because they don’t work and they fail at tidying up essays written in my untidy scrawl. Granted I should have done the essay Friday afternoon and been a good girl but no, I didn’t, and yesterday I was too tired and today I was trying to put it off as long as possible but made good progress with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets which is always a good thing. Though kind of pretty bad. I hardly moved today and I only read up to the point where Hermione has just turned into the cat of Millicent Bulstrode which is pathetic really because when I got Half Blood Prince I read the whole thing in a day and that is a mahoosive 607 pages and it is oh so awfully bad that I know that without even looking but I only read like 200 today of a considerably easy book. My mother cannot understand why I re-read the Harry Potters over and over again and not get bored, and to tell the truth it’s because from the moment I read the first page of Philosophers Stone I forget everything that happens in the whole series and it’s as if I’m reading it for the first time. EVERY time I worry about whether McGonagall will expel Harry when she sees him on the broomstick after going after Draco for Neville’s Remembrall, or what will happen when the Troll gets in on Hallowe’en. And every time I read them, I take note of something I haven’t noticed before, like today I read:

He carried Errol to a perch just inside the back door and tried to stand him on it, but Errol flopped straight off again so Ron laid him on the draining board instead, muttering, ‘Pathetic.’ Then he ripped open Hermione’s letter and read it out loud.

Never before have I noticed that in the I’ve-read-it-so-many-times-I-can’t-even-count-how-many-times-that-is that I’ve read it. Which is quite bad, really. I need to purchase a new set of the books. I am on my second already (the first fell apart because I read them so much) and now these ones are falling apart too NO THANKS TO MY SISTER who finds it funny to peel off the front covers. Anger at the destruction of books! I want this, and my God my mother had to tear me away from it in Waterstones when I set eyes upon it over a year ago: http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/j-k-+rowling/harry+potter+hardback+boxed+set/5833471/ PLEASE SOMEBODY BUY THIS FOR ME. They’re hardback, evidently, it’s in the title, and IN A BOX. Such a simple thing makes me squee like a fangirl, which of course, I am. I will save up my pitiful amounts of money and actually buy this. My mum doesn’t understand why I want them so bad; she was all “The ending won’t change, it’s the same story!” and I’m all pshht mother you don’t know that. Obviously, I was only joking, but I always like to think when I start reading them again that things will happen differently, though what could actually happen, I have no idea. I won’t ruin it for those of you who haven’t read the last one (but come on, it’s been over two years now, you have no excuse) but certain things won’t die. I don’t really like the last one all that much. Of course, it is a work of art, it all comes together etc etc but it’s one of those books where you NEED to know what happens, but when you get to the last five chapters, you die a little inside. Don’t you agree? You NEED to know what happens but you cannot bring yourself to finish the book because then it’s over. And there will be no date, a couple of years in the future, for which you are waiting in anticipation for the next in the series to be released, and you’re stood outside Waterstones at midnight wearing a witches hat. I never actually did that, I wasn’t allowed, but my God had I been able to I would have been there so fast you would have thought I’d apparated. Look at me, being 17 and writing so lovingly about Harry Potter, but really, you should have seen it coming. LouWEASLEYDORE. And I am currently sat at my computer, obviously, wearing my jammie bottoms and my Dumbledore’s Army teeshirt. My jammie bottoms have big stars all over them too, at which I exclaimed in the middle of Primark, Aberdeen:

Look, they have stars on, I SHALL LOOK LIKE A WIZARD!

I said that around real people, but honestly I say alot of things concerning my love for Harry Potter that really should stay inside my head. For example, someone says something that slightly resembles a quote from one of the books and I go and say the whole paragraph in which it’s written, and will more than likely tell you the chapter it’s in too. Actually, I’m not that bad that I know it word for word, but I will know what the paragraph is trying to say. The only two I can say off by heart is the first sentence of Philosophers Stone, but thats a given, and in Half Blood Prince where Harry, Ron and Hermione are talking and Hermione’s all “I’m not the one who sulked for half an hour because Madam Rosmerta didn’t laugh at my joke about the Hag, the Healer and the Mimbulus Mimbletonia.” and knowing my luck that will mostly likely be wrong but it is 11pm when I have college tomorrow and I’m going to hate myself when I am waking up to a glorious chorus of Still Figuring Out at 6.45am and so it is, therefore, a forgivable offence.

History essays – that was the point of this shenanigan. I really really REALLY do not care what the role of Elizabethan Parliament was if it was only called a few times in years; the point is Liz did a good job at whatever it was she did and England turned out pretty much okay for it. Essays like these make me wish I had done Modern History, I feel I would have been so much better at it!

Ah well.

It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live.

Is that correctly quoted? Anyway, Dumbledore’s a genius and a babe and we all love him.

x

Dumbledore's pensieve

I have to say; yesterday’s visit to Whole Foods was much better than the last one.

I have been feeling altogether more upbeat, more confident about the Law of Attraction being real, therefore I am less worried about this, that and the other happening before I can do this, that and the other.  As a result, I virtually never worry about our money lasting until blah, blah… as I used to.  But, if one of those thoughts does manage to sneak past me, I told you yesterday; I whack it on the head with thoughts of the great things that I know are coming my way.

Also, and this is amazing, since starting this project, my writing is, how can I put it?  It’s like a river has burst its banks.  Perfect words, sentences, images, whole chapters flow to me all the time. It’s exhilarating but exhausting too.  I can hardly step away from my laptop, before the next “load” is spilling over, usually when I am in the shower, out driving, or shopping.  I pull over whenever I can, and do my best to put it all down.  Sometimes I feel I am like one of those poor cows that are pumped full with hormones, as soon as they are milked their udders fill up.  I wish I could have a “pensieve” like the one that Dumbledore in Harry Potter had, in his office.  Then I could take a wand, touch it to my udder, I mean temple, say abracadabra and every letter and syllable swirling in my head, could go into the pensieve until I’m ready to play scrabble.

Still, I’m thrilled!  Anyway, what I really wanted to say is, that I was so busy mentally writing while I was shopping, that I didn’t even look at the price of the roast chicken, and the other things that I was putting in my basket.  When I got to the register I paid and didn’t even look at the receipt!  And guess what else, I stopped at the first gas station I saw on the way back and filled up the car, while before I would go to the cheapest one around.

Oh boy did it feel good just doing instead of worrying about doing.

Anyway, my husband got back last night, and I was happy to see him again, but I noticed that my energy was being affected by his…

Relationships….

See you tomorrow

Your Friend,

Success

A couple of days ago my friends and I decided to make our own dinners and to just enjoy each other’s company. It was about five of us, so it was really just laid back. Well, I didn’t really make dinner, I just kind of sat there. I wasn’t just sitting there because I was lazy, I mean yeah I’m lazy, but if I were to be cooking people’s lives would be in danger. So!, I guess it works out to everyone’s benefit that I just sit on the sofa and watch reruns of Sex and the City as everyone else slaves away in the scorching kitchen. After dinner was made we all just sat around the table and ate.

Somehow the topic of Dumbledore’s sexuality came up. For those of you who don’t know, Dumbledore is a character in the wildly popular Harry Potter books. Apparently J.K Rowling made him gay? First off, you can’t just make people gay with a flip of a wand, and what was the point of making him gay? Is he going to come out to the children of Hogwarts when the next book comes out? I don’t know what her intentions were with that, but that’s beside the point.

When my friend said “Oh yea apparently J.K Rowling made Dumbledore gay,” I responded with “That’s stupid, that doesn’t do us any good.” Emphasis on us. Did any of you guys catch what I just did? I said us, as in that doesn’t do us gays any good. I realized what I was saying like 2 seconds after I said “us,” but because I didn’t want to correct myself and draw even more attention to the slip up I just completed my sentence. My friend looked at me and said “Us? are you a part of the gay community?” She said it really jokingly and I said “I met us as in, it doesn’t change the storyline of Harry Potter at all, and that it was pointless to have Dumbledore be gay. Like it doesn’t do us readers any good.” Good save huh? Damn I am fast on my feet.

I mean the whole situation wasn’t that big of a deal, but it had me thinking. If I unconsciously referred to myself as an individual in the gay community by using the word “us” maybe I am that much more comfortable with myself. I never would have made a mistake like that years before. So I’m thinking I am getting there. So thank you Dumbledore for helping me realize that I am much more comfortable with myself. So maybe J.K Rowling did have a purpose for making Dumbledore gay. Watch, the next book Dumbledore gets caught having sexual affairs with Ron and Harry. But for now, let me have my moment. Dumbledore is gay because he helped me realize that I am a tad more comfortable with myself.

- – - – -

Yes!, I know the series of books is over. But!, I forgot to mention the part where we were talking about the “next generation” of the book franchise. Haha, very Rainbow High meets Hogwarts mixed with Cruel Intentions. But!, I am too lazy to go back and type all of that stuff. So!, deal with it. Hii.

Who is your favorite actor in the Harry Potter films? It’s a pretty weighted question if you consider the many factors that go into it. You can have a renowned, seasoned actor on screen, such as Emma Thompson, who is portraying a character who simply is not as developed and interesting as the other characters she is playing against. In that way, someone like Tom Felton, who is much younger and inexperienced by comparison, somehow outshines a veteran actor. It ain’t fair – but hey, that’s showbiz, kid!

That said, you heavily favored someone with clear merit, both as an actor and a character – 37% of you voted for Alan Rickman (Severus Snape). It’s difficult to imagine anyone else embodying Snape quite like Rickman. His voice, his look, and his mannerisms all match the description given by the text. This is a prime example of phenomenal casting. No arguments. I don’t care how evil (or good) Snape ends up, it’s actually a pleasure having him on screen. Essentially, Rickman can just stand in front of Hogwarts reading the phone book and I’d probably see the film.

I make no claims to this image - this is someone else's brainchild. And that someone else is awesome...

With a not-too-shabby 19% of the vote is Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange). Before, I mentioned how I was struggling to hate Bellatrix simply because I adore Carter. She’s just so good at being so awful! It’s worth pointing out, though, that she seems to have made a career out of playing the crazy bitch.

Pulling a five-way tie for 3rd place, with 7% of the vote, we have Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Maggie Smith (Minerva McGonagall), Gary Oldman (Sirius Black), and Richard Harris (the original Albus Dumbledore). A few thoughts:

I raise an eyebrow whenever someone says one of the younger actors is their favorite. My mind immediately goes “fan girls!” and writes off the opinion. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying they aren’t talented. You grow up on screen, portraying the same character for most of your life, and you’re bound to be good at it. I’m just floating the opinion that perhaps, just perhaps, they cannot possibly outshine someone more experienced. A plethora of screen time does not a scene-stealing actor make.

Grint is precious. He could not be any more British if he was the Queen of England herself. And Felton I’m just not sure about. I started to buy him as a very strong actor in the sixth film, but I need to see what happens in the seventh before I say anything. He could become very one-note. Lots of people can look troubled and angsty.

Maggie Smith, on the other hand, is a goddess of the screen. I will not argue with this vote – in fact, I question why it wasn’t higher. It’s not easy playing the reservation she portrays. That self-contained attitude takes a lot more work than simply losing your shit on screen.

As for Richard Harris, I’d have to go back to the first film to cast an opinion. Terrible truth – I wouldn’t have noticed the differences between the Dumbledores if everyone hadn’t made such a big deal about it. I just never paid that much attention to the films. And while the match isn’t perfect, they did a pretty good job hiding it. It’s not like the case of the mysteriously switching Darrens in Bewitched.

So you guys do realize you stuck Gary Oldman in the same category as a guy who died before the series was finished, right? Because it’s Gary Oldman, and I don’t know if I need to remind you who that is, but it’s GARY OLDMAN! This vote surprised me. I remain surprised. Surprised and shocked. Shock and awed. Awed. Just awed.

And with a mere 4% of the vote (which amounts to 1 vote each, for those of you scoring at home), we have Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort) and Daniel Radcliff (Harry Potter). Again, a few things…

Ralph Fiennes is one of my favorite actors of all time. I would pay to watch him watch paint dry. And while he’s barely discernable under all that Voldemort makeup, it takes a special actor to pull off what he pulls of as that character. “Hey, listen – we have this part in this film for you. Your job is to play the embodiment of evil. You up for it?” Granted, this is a man who played the embodiment of evil back in the early nineties with Schindler’s List, so I suppose it’s only a few steps from a Nazi to Voldemort (they’re a few very weird steps, but a few steps nonetheless).

Daniel Radcliff – only one vote. Hmmm. For all my lecturing about the young actors outshining the veterans, and how having a good character does not make you a good performer, I’m still surprised so many other actors stole the show from the lead. At the end of the day, he is Harry Potter. And it will be interesting to watch him break away from that role. They always say the challenge for a child actor is to force the world to see them outside their childhood role. Try doing that when you are the face of the most well-known fictional child in recent history. Equus was a good start, I’ll give him that.

I’m not particularly surprised Emma Watson didn’t make this vote. I liked her better when she was a frazzled child. As an unnecessarily attractive teen, she’s kind of blah in the acting department. No offense. I’m sure she’s a lovely person. Just not my cup of tea – and seemingly, no one else’s either.

So there you have it – another Reader Poll down. You may notice the dramatic lack of “poll” in the sidebar. I haven’t come up with a new one yet – it’s getting tricky. Stay tuned. It’s coming.

Depois que deixou o cargo de diretor, o nosso bom, aclamado e amado velhinho Alvo Dumbledore desapareceu e nem dá pistas ou sinais de fumaça de onde está alojado. Você notou o sumiço dele? Não? Pois a gente sim! E foi nesta polêmica question que decidimos realizar uma divertida, descontraída e totalmente excelente ― diga-se de passagem ― promoção. Não só para discentes, mas para todos os membros participantes da HOB. Sim, todos podem participar.

A pergunta é fácil e nada complexa: Onde está Dumbledore?

Com o limite máximo de 140 caracteres ― ou seja, a sua resposta não poderá ultrapassar o pico de 140 palavras ― você irá mandar a sua sugestão para este link (clique nele, por obséquio).

Nota mental: A frase só não pode passar de 140 caracteres, mas isso não significa que ela precisa ter exatos 140 caracteres, tá compreendido?

As três ideias mais criativas, engraçadas, cômicas, interessantes e dignas de um escandaloso “WTH?” barra “OMG!” ganharão um prêmio super especial ― e secreto, tornamos a dizer de passagem novamente de novo (nem erramos agora).

Dica Mental: Não fique tão esperançoso, pois não vamos lhe dar um par de ingressos para a inauguração do parque temático The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (O Mundo Mágico de Harry Potter) ou tampouco um chá descontraído com a autora dos livros de Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling… mas prometemos algo interessante.

Só podem mandar apenas uma frase cada pessoa, e ainda não temos uma data de encerramento da promotion. Portanto, você possuem tempo livre para pensar à vontade e com calma antes de mandar algo. Mas pelas cuecas floridas de Merlin, não demorem! Afinal, Voldemort está louco para saber onde o barbudo está.

Chapter 6: Draco’s Detour – what a misleadingly innocent chapter title! From my half-hearted, notably confused, Miller High Life inspired viewing of the sixth film, I can say that Half-Blood Prince is Draco’s time to shine – at least that’s the impression I got from all those emo-tastic troubled close-ups of his pained, tortured face (it felt like a Linkin Park music video). Of course, I’m approaching this book with a little too much insight into where it’s going, so what seems merely like Draco being a little bitch (as per usual) in a shop on Knockturn Alley, is actually something a lot deeper – and I know that. And if I remember correctly (which I very well might not), the wardrobe in Knockturn Alley links up with the wardrobe at Hogwarts, thereby transporting the Death Eaters on to the property to slay Dumbledore (though perhaps they were after Harry?). Also, the wardrobe currently doesn’t work (I think it’s going to kill a canary sometime in the near future). I don’t know. All I know is that Miller High Life tasted like sewer water.

So, Draco. Draco, Draco, Draco. What to make of Draco? I’ve always liked this character. As I said way back in the beginning, I want there to be some sort of redeeming moment for Draco. I won’t be satisfied if he turns evil and stays evil, case closed. That’s too easy. It’s too predictable. “Wait, you mean the school bully becomes an adult bad guy? No way!” Too much, too much.

That said, he sure is set-up to turn evil.

Looking a little too old to pass for a high schooler, if you ask me...

First off, he’s rich, and everyone knows that money and evilness go hand-in-hand – mad scientists, corrupt politicians, greedy businessmen, and practically every comic book bad guy are sitting on stores of cash. Billy Zane’s character in Titanic! This is what I’m saying.

Secondly, he’s the son of an evil father. What better way to inherit the evil gene than through one’s own daddy? Yes folks, it’s a gene.

Thirdly, he looks like a poster child for the Hitler Youth. WHAT IS WITH THE HAIR? And has anyone else noticed that in the earlier movies, it was yellow – now it’s almost white? It’s like they felt really bad bleaching a small child’s hair, but now that he’s an adult…

So all eyes are on Draco – and rightfully so. I’m going out on a limb here, but I’m going to say the Malforys probably aren’t to be trusted.

And did Narcissa threaten Harry? Just pointing that out.

On to lighter topics, I’m enjoying Fred and George Weasley more in this book than any of the past (though their treatment of Umbridge was noteworthy). However, I’m afraid to get attached because of a TERRIBLE spoiler I accidentally stumbled across almost two months ago. I don’t know if it’s true, but let’s just say I’m not taking my chances. So no more talk about the Weasley twins.

Though I suppose it’s safe to talk about Mrs. Weasley, who continues to make me smile in her tizzy to keep her family safe. You have to feel bad for her. How do you keep tabs on a family that large when they ALL seem to want to put themselves in danger?

********************

The Reader Poll has been extended because I’ve been a bit infrequent about writing. New Poll tomorrow! If you haven’t voted yet, check out the sidebar.

Quem joga RPG PbF sabe muito bem o que vem acontecendo: uma explosão de novos boards, a divisão dos jogadores entre eles, e a desilusão quando os mesmos após de um tempo, no máximo 3 meses geralmente, fecha. É frustrante ver um personagem criado, pensado, desenvolvido não foi para a frente porque o board fechou?

Mas qual a causa disso? Porque os RPGs vem se tornando ‘descartáveis’?

Falta de comprometimento dos jogadores e dos administradores? Tramas falhas? Falta de continuidade? Mas e os fóruns que tem tramas bem pensadas e em desenvolvimento? Qual a causa de fechamento?

Cabe a cada um de nós, jogadores, pensarmos no que está acontecendo e decidirmos o que fazer. E mais ainda, cabe a nós também pensar duas, três vezes antes de abrir um novo board por simplesmente querer ser administrador de um, ajudando assim no fim iminente dos RPGs que é, iondiscutivelmente, uma das formas de entretenimento mais inteligentes não só pela criatividade dos jogadores, ou por nos ajudar a manter vivo o nosso bom e velho (?) português, que é assassinado a cada segundo. Mais do que isso, é um lugar onde podemos conhecer pessoas, nos aproximarmos e aprendermos mais com cada uma delas.

Não vamos deixar os RPGs morrerem!

Qual a solução para isso? O que podemos fazer para que os fóruns não desapareçam? O que fazer para que fóruns bem estruturados, que passam por problemas em virtude de desinteresse sobrevivam?

Pensem nisso. Talvez possamos salvá-los, e assim mantermos nosso passatempo favorito.

I have had it with living in a yelling house. And by yelling, I don’t meant hollering to get each others’ attention because of the cavernous and sound-dampening nature of our dwelling, but shrieking with fury because we are bucking under the strain of being in middle school and having responsibilities, and do not like the consequences of neglecting said responsibilities. Or we are, possibly, a female adult reacting to said middle school shrieking.

I have told Iz that I will help her with her self-organization skills, but that she has to take responsibility for managing her own business in a timely manner, even if books and TV beckon more alluringly. I reminded her that she’s ninety percent of the way there with most of her school work and self-starting her homework, etc.

And I told her that there would be no more yelling in anger. Not at all. It’s intolerable, it’s going to give me a blood-pressure-triggered heart attack, and it’s a horrible example for her siblings. It turns our pleasant, well-organized morning school drop off routine into a traveling misery-fest.

So, what will we do? We do our best to follow the examples of non-yellers Jesus, Dumbledore, and Buddha. We will become a JeDuBu household.

The Precepts of JeDuBu

• We will give each other the benefit of the doubt instead of making accusations.
• We will be mindful that ours is one of only two perspectives in a dialog.
• We will pause whenever we feel the urge to yell, and wait until we can speak calmly.
• We will try to be patient, and wait for the other person to finish talking before we speak.
• We will try to accommodate each others’ emotional states.
• We will remember that we love each other, and treat each other as loved ones.
• We will reserve the right to tweak each other’s noses non-maliciously, as needed.

What else do you think these guys would add to the list above?

Phew, it’s been a while! Did you miss me? I would have sent an owl explaining my absence, but then I found this article explaining how out here in “reality”, owls are actually aggressive predators who will absolutely shred you, velociraptor-style. So after much deliberation, I decided the last thing I need is for my readership to be sliced and diced by a wayward message owl (lucky for you!).

It’s not that I’ve forgotten about you; I just haven’t had the time to read. Life is what happens when you’re trying to finish the Harry Potter series. These days, I’m smack dab in the midst of directing a musical at a local university, so there isn’t a lot of free time to go around. Seems that while Book 6 may not be the longest of the series, but it will inevitably take me the longest to finish. Stay with me – I will finish this series, come hell or high water (or evil killer messenger owls).

So without further adieu: Chapter 4 – Horace Slughorn

There’s a lot to cover in this chapter, so I’m going to make like a messenger owl and slice it up into little bite size pieces (yes, I’m still milking the owl thing).

Initial Impressions of Horace Slughorn
As with every new character that is introduced in the series, I quickly Googled Slughorn to match the name to a face from the films. This time around, I recognized the actor, which is good since I only saw the movie in July and as far as I know, I haven’t experienced any traumatic head injuries since then. Or maybe I have, because I don’t remember if Slughorn turns bad or stays good or is even actually good to begin with. Onward we blindly stumble!

Make like an Ikea chair...

The gut reaction anytime someone admits to being a member of the Slytherin House may be a little unfounded. If every single one of the Slytherins is bad, wouldn’t they have disbanded the House by now? Dumbledore must find something valuable in the Slytherins to keep them around. Just because the four houses have been the same since Hogwart’s founding, that doesn’t mean a shake-up can’t take place. The Slytherins must have something good to offer the wizarding community, despite their remarkable inclination toward evil.

So I guess it shouldn’t send up too many red flags that Slughorn used to be the Slytherin House Head. Dumbledore trusts him, after all. Then again, Dumbledore trusts Snape (which I’ve already gone on about at length, so no need to dig that up again) and he had no problem trusting Fake Moody/Crouch. Maybe Dumbledore is slipping.

That said, Slughorn seems too frightened by the Death Eaters to actually be one. Of course, he didn’t do a very good job hiding from them if Dumbledore could find him so easily – he didn’t even send up the Dark Mark above his house. He may have fooled Harry, but could he honestly be fooling an entire Death Eater army? Maybe he’s hiding from something/someone else? Dumbledore, perhaps? But then, why would he willingly go to Hogwarts?

I feel like Slughorn goes bad in some way, because I distinctly remember him giving crazy eyes in the movie at some point. Then again, the actor kind of looks like he’s always sort of giving crazy eyes, so that might not mean anything.

Is Slughorn racist, wizard-style? I don’t think so. I think he’s just old. By listing all the Muggle-borns he has known to go on to great things, he is effectively still singling them out as different and remarkable for their kind. But I get the feeling prejudices against Muggle-borns may follow the same timeline as modern racism struggles, thereby explaining why an old wizard might say things that aren’t particularly appropriate by modern standards. Maybe not. Maybe that’s just me inserting completely unrelated data into a fiction book. Anyone have any further info on this?

So Slughorn has favorites and one of those favorites was Lily Evans Potter. I’m remembering a dinner scene in the film – I’m going to surmise it was hosted by Slughorn so that he could wine and dine those he felt had the greatest potential. I’m sure more came out of this scene, but I’m at a loss. I’m just going to assume that Slughorn will pursue Harry’s friendship and Harry, in turn, will reject Slughorn’s. This is a mix of what I think I remember from the film and what I feel would make sense.

Side Note: I bet Snape gets to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts this year and Slughorn gets Potions. Eh? Eh? Maybe? Possibly? Potentially? Indoobidily?

Welcome Back, Dumbledore
Welcome back, your dreams were your ticket out.
Welcome back, to the same old place that you laughed about.
Well, the names have changed since you hung around,
But those dreams remained and they’ve turned around.

It feels like Dumbledore is finally back in the series. Has he gotten wittier, or is it just the almost complete lack of ridiculous Dumbledore comments in Book 5 that is drawing my attention? There’s going to be a lot of him in Half-Blood Prince. It’s like his swan song (((single tear))).

Dumbledore has a variety of moments in the beginning of this book, from the scene in the Dursley’s living room, to his exchanges with Slughorn and Harry in Chapter 4. Maybe he is losing a bit of his edge (where did the charred hand come from?), but he still has the wherewithal to bring Harry along to tempt Slughorn back to Hogwarts.

Dumbledore is going to use Harry in this book. This isn’t going to be a student/pupil relationship anymore, and you can already tell. In a lot of ways, Harry needs Dumbledore, but moreso, Dumbledore needs Harry. It will be an interesting pairing. They’re like Batman and Robin, minus the unfortunate wardrobe choices (at least on Harry’s part).

Harry’s Mental State
And we’ve grown up (at least a little). Harry has grown a pair since last we met, which is a relief. Sirius’ death and the revelation of his ultimate fate have harden the once spunky (then unabashedly emo) wizard. He seems emotionally shaken, but resolute. That said, the scene in the Weasley’s outhouse-turned-broom closet was still heartbreaking. Dumbledore isn’t one to pull punches. Well, I guess once you’ve broken the news to someone who they are either going to have to kill someone or die, you stop protecting their feelings from other realities, such as the fact that the only parental figure they’ve ever had will never be coming back, and thereby life is unfair.

An interesting quote: “It could be me next, couldn’t it? But if it is, I’ll make sure to take as many Death Eaters with me as I can, and Voldemort too if I can manage it.” And now we’re playing a new game, folks.

Aparating
Only one thought: if it is so unpleasant, why do Fred and George Weasley apparate everywhere that isn’t exactly where they are standing at the moment?

Inferi
Oh great, we have a corpse army now? Are these those things that are crawling out of the water when Harry and Dumbledore are doing the thing with the thing? Yeah, if you can actually figure out what I just said, don’t answer that.

Protecting Your Home and Family Against Dark Forces
Okay, this is actually from Chapter 3, but I wanted to go back and point out how much this reminds me of the whole Homeland Security “How to Protect Your Family Against Evil Terrorists and Their Evil Plans Against Wholesome Americans” pamphlets that came out a few years back. Surprisingly missing from the Ministry of Magic’s pamphlet: duct tape. Don’t these wizards know that the best way to protect oneself against evil is to duct tape ones home? Where have they been?

Anyway, that’s it for Chapter 4. Next stop, the Weasley’s house, which is always fun. So much red hair, so many freckles…

We were a month and a bit late, but finally our chance came to watch the sixth installment of this huge money making franchise. “How huge?” I hear you ask. Well…

The film opened to critical acclaim and instant commercial success, breaking the records for biggest midnight opening gross of all time as well as biggest single-day worldwide gross of all time. In five days the film made $394 million, breaking the record for biggest five-day worldwide gross in history. It is also the highest-grossing film of 2009, grossing more than $930 million, which puts the film on the all-time list of 10 highest-grossing films worldwide.

It was directed by David Yates off of… well nothing I’ve seen.

Lead roles come from Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint & Emma Watson off of these indie films:

Not many people watched them.

Appearances were also made by…

Him that plays baddies good:

Her:

The one on the right:

This guy, who’s in everything and has that face.

Sir him:

and… Tim Burton’s wife who just happens to be right and is cast for every role in his films:

What a weirdo.

So a well respected British cast. But what to make of the film?

It was definitely better than I expected. One never really predicts that a film which is this guaranteed to make millions would need to be any good however, expectations were exceeded and the thing that primarily excited me was the visual aspect of the film.

Rolling hills in what looked like Scottish countryside, super imposed into the magic school of Hogwarts.

Fabulous white snowy scenes followed by enthralling games of Quidditch where you felt like a ball might hit you in the face.

The very first scene looked the best; as a sweeping camera quickly sped us through the streets of london, it really is stunning.

As for the script, it was nothing special. For example, the descision to give away a very necessary plot device in having a teacher ask Ron, Harry and Hermione, why it is, that “whenever anything happens, it’s always you three?” to which Ron replies; “Believe me, Professor. I’ve been asking myself that same question for the past six years.” Yes, we would be asking the same thing if we didn’t all realise, it’s a film . That annoyed me.

There was much comedy, including a very humorous bit where Ron is intoxicated by a love potion and he comments on how he thinks the moon is beautiful. Funny guy.

The acting was pretty top notch for the most part. My favourite being Sir Michael Gambon, who as usual delivered in the part of Albus Dumbledore. He’s likeable and just generally very good!

Not all of the acting was good. I was particuarly distressed by Bonnie Wright who played Ginny Weasley. I can see how they were stuck with her, having cast her for a minor role in the earlier films, not knowing she’dbe required for lead roles later on. To be quite honest she hasn’t got the right look for us to believe our protagonist would even think about wanting to be with her and quite frankly she can’t act. For what could potentially be the biggest film of the decade, the production company should have made wiser choices in ensuring their cast was perfect.

Overall this film most definitely held my interest and it looked brilliant. It made me want to watch the next one and ensured that I did not regret spending my time and money on it.

via

Dimulai dengan sebuah pertanyaan: Apakah film Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince (HP 6) ini masih layak ditunggu sejak Warner Bros menundanya tujuh bulan lalu? Yang pasti novelnya sudah lama saya simpan di lemari karena HP 6 sudah terbit empat tahun yang lalu. Saya sudah nyaris tiga kali membaca buku setebal 607 halaman tersebut,  namun – seperti fans lainnya – sempat kecewa karena versi filmnya ternyata ditunda. Para penggemar Harry Potter juga sudah merasakan ‘serangan’ Stephenie Meyer lewat empat saga Twilight-nya yang tiba-tiba laku keras, bahkan versi film pertama literatur vampir tersebut sudah difilmkan – dan sukses besar.

ron weasley berevolusi di harry potter 6

Tapi franchise Harry Potter, mengutip majalah Cinemags sepertinya sudah terkena mantra ‘anti-kritik.’ Apa pun yang mungkin dikatakan oleh para kritikus film, serial Harry Potter tetap saja laku. Terbukti, orang berbondong-bondong menonton film keenam ini sejak gedung bioskop dibuka sampai tengah malam. Dalam lima hari pertama sejak peluncuran pertamanya 15 Juli 2009, HP 6 sudah meraih US $391 juta! Sayangnya, HP 6 terkesan dibuat hanya untuk ‘menopang’ seri ketujuh yang merupakan kisah pamungkas, sehingga nilainya menjadi kurang sebagai sebuah film yang utuh.

Pubertas
Seakan sengaja dikontraskan dengan keadaan dunia sihir yang sedang dalam bahaya, seri keenam ini menampilkan sesuatu yang berbeda: para siswa tahun keenam Hogwarts memasuki masa pubertas; sesuatu yang tak bisa ditangkal oleh mantra sihir apapun. Berkat kreativitas penulis naskah Steve Kloves, pakem tradisional ditinggalkan. Film tidak lagi dimulai di rumah keluarga Dursley, namun di sebuah coffee shop subway, di mana Harry Potter terlihat sedang menggoda si pelayan (atau sebaliknya).

Sahabat-sahabat Harry, Ron Weasley dan Hermione Granger juga tidak luput dari fenomena tersebut. Ron akhirnya berhasil mengakhiri ‘ketidakpopulerannya’ dan melepaskan diri dari bayang-bayang Harry ketika Lavender Brown ‘bergayut’ di tangannya. Selain itu, ia juga dipercaya untuk menjadi kiper tim Quidditch asrama Gryffindor. Si ‘kutu buku’ Hermione sekarang menjadi impulsif dan emosional karena cemburu melihat kedekatan Ron dengan Lavender. Kisah cinta monyet anak-anak Hogwarts tersebut menjadi semakin rumit ketika melibatkan Cormac McLaggen, Romilda Vane, Ginny Weasley dan Dean Thomas.

Namun tanpa mereka sadari, Hogwarts perlahan-lahan menjadi tempat yang ‘gelap’ dan menakutkan. Antek-antek Voldemort, para Pelahap Maut (Death Eaters) terus berusaha menembus mantra pertahanan sekolah sihir tersebut. Hal ini disadari oleh Dumbledore, sehingga ia melatih Harry secara khusus, walaupun ia belum siap. Sebagai langkah awal, kepala sekolah sihir itu memperkenalkan Harry kepada salah seorang temannya bernama Horace Slughorn, yang memiliki ingatan yang berguna untuk menyingkap masa lalu Voldemort, sehingga kelemahannya dapat diketahui. Di samping itu, Harry juga ‘dibekali’ dengan buku teks ramuan aneh dengan nama pemilik ‘The Half-Blood Prince’, yang berisi catatan-catatan rahasia sehingga ia menjadi murid paling pintar di kelas Potions.

Kisah Harry Potter, sebagai sebuah bildungsroman, memasuki tahap di mana proses pengembangan karakter utama berlangsung lama dan melelahkan, ketika kebutuhannya sering bertolak belakang dengan keinginannya. Ia ‘direkayasa’ oleh lingkungannya, sehingga tidak jarang gagal untuk berdiri sendiri. Sampai tahun keenam, Harry masih asal-asalan menggunakan mantra sihir, apalagi mengukur kekuatan lawan yang akan dihadapinya. Dalam teori Joseph Campbell, The Hero’s Journey (1985), sosok arketip utama, Hero (tidak bisa diterjemahkan sebagai Pahlawan), memang dibantu oleh seorang mentor atau guru. Ia memberikan ilmu, nasihat, latihan, bahkan senjata kepada Hero untuk menjalankan misinya. Namun, pada titik kulminasi waktu tertentu Hero harus berjuang sendirian tanpa kawalan sang mentor yang disebut The Wise Old Man tersebut. Dumbledore memang harus ‘dieksekusi’ pada HP 6 untuk memenuhi pola Hero’s Journey sebagai jalan menuju The Ordeal, tempat di mana ia harus menghadapi risiko sekaligus menyaksikan kematian sebelum meraih kemenangan. Hal ini juga menjadi semacam ‘a swift kick in the pants’ bagi Harry dalam mengatasi ketergantungannya kepada orang lain sehingga petualangan dapat dilanjutkan. Kedekatan, interaksi, dan emosi antara Harry dengan mentornya itu ditampilkan dengan sempurna dalam film ini.

Draco Malfoy, yang merupakan tokoh antitesis Harry selama ini terpilih menjadi eksekutor pertama Dumbledore. Sementara semuanya sibuk mengendalikan hormon mereka, Draco mulai memisahkan diri dari geng Slytherin. Ia mulai frustrasi dengan beban yang diberikan Voldemort kepadanya untuk melakukan sebuah misi yang sangat berat tersebut. Namun fakta bahwa Snape, pada saat-saat terakhir, mengambilalih peran Draco semata-mata merupakan kemahiran pengarang dalam mempermainkan perasaan penonton. Film diputus di sini sehingga menciptakan misteri besar untuk cerita selanjutnya.

David Yates sengaja menghapus pertempuran antara para  Pelahap Maut dengan penghuni Hogwarts dan upacara pemakaman Dumbledore dalam HP 6. Akibatnya film ini terasa kurang utuh sebagai sebuah cerita yang memiliki penyelesaian (ending) setelah klimaks. Tetapi kita semua tahu bahwa tujuannya hanya satu: agar film berikutnya menjadi lebih misterius dan ditunggu-tunggu. Bagaimana sebenarnya posisi Snape yang mengaku sebagai The Half-Blood Prince itu? Bisakah Harry bertahan tanpa Dumbledore? Atau apakah Hogwarts akan ditutup? Dalam sistem penceritaan, meminjam istilah Roland Barthes, HP 6 meninggalkan semacam kode hermeneutic bagi penonton dalam mengantisipasi Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows episode I dan II.

HP 6 bukan untuk ‘Newcomer’
Sebagai sebuah drama, HP 6 adalah cerita yang stagnan dan mungkin agak membosankan. Ia penuh dengan adegan dan tempat yang spesifik, serta karakter minor yang tidak begitu jelas perannya. Banyak dialog yang terasa begitu textbook, kaku dan tidak alami, sehingga membuat kita bertanya-tanya: Apa saja yang dilakukan anak-anak ini selama hampir satu dekade? Selain itu, terdapat kesan ‘berpanjang-panjang’ dalam menampilkan kisah cinta anak-anak Hogwarts, sehingga bahaya besar yang sedang mengancam menjadi ‘terpinggirkan’ dan klimaks terus tertunda.

Kali ini tidak ada lagi penjelasan-penjelasan detil mengenai suatu kejadian, karakter atau objek-objek yang ditampilkan. Penonton ‘harus’ sudah tahu plot cerita, latar, implikasi-implikasi dialog, dan lain sebagainya. Ternyata saya salah ketika menganggap bahwa HP 6 dapat menjaring penggemar baru tanpa perlu membaca buku. Salah seorang teman saya – non-fans – keluar dari gedung bioskop tanpa mengerti sedikitpun tentang film yang baru saja ditontonnya. Maaf teman, film ini ‘hanya’ diperuntukkan bagi para penggemar Harry Potter.

Lumos!