tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9602155.post6523456207675661408..comments2024-03-04T08:47:21.895-06:00Comments on The Nicsperiment: Nicholas Hooper -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)The Nicsperimenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08101227163387381013noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9602155.post-79164919280383596152016-01-30T17:29:51.312-06:002016-01-30T17:29:51.312-06:00It's been awhile since I read it, but I enjoye...It's been awhile since I read it, but I enjoyed those sequences in the book because it made it so real to me. You get the kids going through that darkness, but other people on the run as well, and hearing hints of rebellion over the radio. The danger of making that part too small is that it weakens the release after they leave that and begin to ascend upward. And it's a valuable contrast from the other books, as it's a real nadir of the whole series--even lower than Dumbledore's death. Are they ever going to get out of this? I'm sure there might be some ways to trim it or make it a little shorter/paced faster, but it would a very tricky paring down.<br /><br />I would agree that the movie nailed the depression of the camping/bickering well. My only complaint there is the dancing scene between Harry and Hermione, as it hung up a little on the chemistry between the actors, while the characters always have a more brother/sister feeling to them. I've read that Rowling now thinks those two characters should have gotten together, but I'm going to put that in the category of her first instincts while writing the book being better (and maybe being influenced by watching the actors in the movies). The friendship between Harry and Hermione has always been something I liked in the books and make them less of a stock fantasy/story, if that makes sense.<br /><br />I also wonder if this is one area that film has it easier than writing, as it's sometimes quicker and easier for film to establish atmosphere because it brings in so many more aspects than just words (colors, light, audio coating over montages, etc.). At least I recall the movie doing well there, and the visual of Hermione hiding just on the side of their wall of invisibility from those hunting them does something visually that will almost take much longer in words.<br /><br />That's not to say you can't do atmosphere with writing (I couldn't finish McCarthy's The Road, it's atmosphere was so depressing), but it's hard to do, and scene so often trumps summary--movies can cover over their summary a little more easily, even if some people don't like montages, etc.<br /><br />And yeah, that old post of yours about Narnia completely captures why the Potter and LOTR movies trump the Narnia and Hobbit ones... the former kept the heart of the originals, and the latter lost it. Ironically to that statement, both the third Hobbit movie and TLTWATW got completely sidetracked in a huge battle sequence. Or is that a coincidence? Too tired to care. :pNealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9602155.post-38977836865307810742016-01-30T02:12:54.546-06:002016-01-30T02:12:54.546-06:00I think splitting the last book into two films is ...I think splitting the last book into two films is actually a great idea from an artistic standpoint. The first one becomes a moody, dark chase film, and the second one is essentially an action film with two extremely strong emotional beats. With that said...the seventh book is the only one I've read twice, and not because it is my favorite. The camping/bickering section of the book was a real slog for me (yes, I am one of those people). I had every intention to read the book in one night, and that section killed it. I read the book a second time a few years later to see if my opinion of that section would improve. It was a little better, but I think only because I knew it would end. Strangely enough, though, I enjoyed those parts a lot in the film...maybe because watching them goes by so much faster than reading them. The scenes are shot so poetically--by the time the snow starts to fall and Hermoine and Harry are limping through the woods, ready to give up, I think the cinematographer deserves a fat bonus.<br />With that said, I loved Sam and Frodo's bit. You can really feel the darkness around them. It also helps that the entirety of Return of the King is about as long as the camping/bickering portion of Deathly Hallows. I get what Rowling was trying to do, but it just goes on and on. She could have halved the length and doubled the impact. I must say, though, if there's something I enjoy more in that book, it's how she doesn't make Voldemort magically disintegrate at the point of death. I thought it was great that his body is lying in the hall in the aftermath, and the heroes have to deal/live with it. It humanizes the whole affair so much more. And then that should have been the end, blasted flash forward.<br />Wow, those Narnia movies are awful. I made the mistake of reading TLTWATW for the umpteenth time right before going and...holy cow, I made a post about what I was going to say right now 11 years ago, and there's a comment from your then future wife about how the two of you are worried the movie will ruin the book. <br />http://thenicsperiment.blogspot.com/2005/12/nerd-life-back-from-narnia.html<br />With that out of the way, Crystal and I gave Prince Caspian a shot on rental, laughed a lot at moments that weren't supposed to be funny, and fell asleep far before the film was over. What a shame. One day, maybe after we're gone, someone will adapt them correctly.<br />The Nicsperimenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08101227163387381013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9602155.post-56276542273216358822016-01-28T21:40:07.629-06:002016-01-28T21:40:07.629-06:00Hmm, are you considering the seventh movie as one,...Hmm, are you considering the seventh movie as one, rather than two? It's kind of a pity that they had to do that, but I was actually in the camp of people who would have been willing to watch longer movies from early on, though I know that would have been tricky to do. <br /><br />I'll be honest and say I haven't seen them both enough (or recently enough) to make a good judgement call. I would definitely say that the kid's acting quality really moved along once they got to the third movie, and of course they always had superb actors to work with as well. I felt pretty good about the rest from there, and kind of dislike the reviewer hate for new approach of "the last book these movies are based on now needs two movies." Yes, some like the Hunger Games are milking it, but there is so much good stuff in the seventh Potter book and movie that it wasn't just a money grab (though I'm sure that played in its favor for the studio). <br /> <br />Part of why I like the Potter series so much is the sixth and seventh books. I actually had been feeling like the fourth and fifth books were getting a little too long and had pacing issues (even if there is a lot of fantastic stuff in there), but the sixth and seventh books really move along well and aren't slow, despite their being about the same length. Some people say the seventh book is a little slow when they're camping in different forests for so long, but I think they're mistaking "we have reached a really depressing nadir due to a horcrux and what's going on in the real world" for slow. They're the same as the people I hear saying Sam and Frodo's journey is too slow when they're on their own. Just because the Riders of Rohan and Ents aren't running around them, there is a lot of emotional intensity (Tolkien sure felt it, he got stuck in writing their section and didn't know what to do to get them out of it). <br /><br />I hear you on the fantasy gold chunk, though. Harry's walk to the grove in book seven (and from there) is fantastic, but it doesn't hit me any harder than Aslan's own walk up to a grove filled with enemies. They're both going from the same source material, but something has to be said for the books that really established the type of book the Potter series is. Too bad Narnia's movies were not on the same par as the Potter movies. I actually couldn't bear to watch Prince Caspian, and Ebert's review of Dawn Treader just made me shudder and wish they had kept at least doing it like TLTWW. Or however you write that out in shorthand. :pNealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9602155.post-92197367420166319262016-01-26T22:29:32.912-06:002016-01-26T22:29:32.912-06:00I think the seventh movie, because of its emotiona...I think the seventh movie, because of its emotional stakes and consistent, bleak tone and cinematography, is my favorite, though I know that is not a popular choice.<br /><br />When I first saw the fifth film, the climax had me do a quick turnaround from "Aw, man, they're not going to go through all the cool, weird stuff from the Department of Mysteries?" to "Woah...this is way more powerful than all the cool, weird stuff from the Department of Mysteries."<br /><br />I liked the books. I enjoyed reading them. I might even read them again one day. But as far as YA fantasy Gold, I think I could read LOTR and the best Narnia books every year. I think Harry Potter is a tier below (like there's a little less universal truth, or something). With that said...yeah, Harry Potter is so much better than the huge rush of YA franchises that attempted to sail in its wake. I loved answering the question, "Why do these Twilight movies suck so bad compared to the Harry Potter movies?" with "Because the source material from Twilight is bad and the source material for Harry Potter is good. You can't make a movie about garbage into a movie that is not about garbage." The Nicsperimenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08101227163387381013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9602155.post-49298206325639600152016-01-25T22:46:30.904-06:002016-01-25T22:46:30.904-06:00Out of the Harry Potter movies, I feel like the 3r...Out of the Harry Potter movies, I feel like the 3rd and the fifth are the best... they feel more contained, and I would say they capture the book well while still doing what they need to do. Almost all the other ones... the book was better. Even if I like the movies overall. <br /><br />And actually, this moment with Harry that you note in the fifth movie is my favorite as well. Really nails it, and I believe it does it in a more focused way than the fifth book does... at least in a powerful scene. It's more just there, consistently throughout the book. The movie does that as well, but this is the crisis moment that lets off all that build up. <br /><br />*sniffs* Though I can't believe the books aren't on your favorites list. Rowling's style is more about humor and clear action rather than beauty, but her ideas just work together so well. And as the many other wannabe hits these days show, it's hard to consistently make your world work, and to end your story well. Throw a rock in the air and you could hit any of the other series I'm alluding to. <br /><br />*cough* divergent *cough* maze runner *cough* hunger games<br /><br />Excuse me, I had something stuck in my throat. :pNealnoreply@blogger.com