the laanba blog

The End is Near

The end is near.  It has been a long, 10+ years journey.  I'm trying to remember when I first started reading the Harry Potter books.  I think I started when Prisoner of Azkaban was already out so around 1999ish.  Since then I've read all the books numerous times and have followed the movies, some with enthusiasm some not.  

Harry Potter is one of my very favorite series.  I am a Potterhead although I don't let myself get crazy.  Although I do have a Harry Potter scarf and I would love to have the track jacket from Goblet of Fire.  The last book came out in 2007 and I wrote a blog post while I was reading the book for the first time.  Now we have come to the last movie.  The final trailer.  

Fellowship

By pure happenstance and thanks to Twitter (oh Twitter how I love you), I found out that there was a screening tonight for the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.  Can you believe it has been 10 years since Fellowship came out?  That is amazing to me.  I am of course a big fan of the films and it was great to see the extended cut in the theater.  Here are some random thoughts I had during the movie.

1. We are so lucky that someone like Peter Jackson made this movie.  He had an introductory clip in the beginning talking about it and it really seems like it was just meant to be for him to make these films.  Fate.   We are so lucky that it didn't get made in traditional Hollywood fashion.  That it wasn't even made in Hollywood.    The amount of detail they put into it is incredible and it shows a great love and caring.  Things that wouldn't necessarily be picked up on screen but that made a difference to the actors and to the authenticity of the world.

2.  There was an audible ooo and ahhh when Legolas first appeared.  I'm an Aragorn girl myself.

3. The music.  Oh the music with that beautiful boy soprano soaring over the scenes.  Howard Shore was inspired when he wrote this music.

4. I leaned forward in my seat in anticipation of my favorite scene from the movie and one of my favorite of all the movies, the first big battle in the mines of Moria.  When I was watching it tonight I was taken back to the first time I saw it with all the dizzying action and battle scenes.  It was so overwhelming and visceral.  

5. Also in Moria when Gandalf and Frodo are talking there were two things from Gandalf that struck a memory from 10 years ago.  Gandalf tells Frodo:

 Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. 

and when Frodo says he wished he wasn't mixed up with the ring:

So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

These two moments struck me hard 10 years ago because this movie was released just three months after the September 11th attack.  When you go back and read them again with that context in mind they are powerful statements to someone struggling to understand and process what happened.  They resonated with me 10 years ago and the memory echoed today.

6.  The audience wasn't too bad although an older man with a line of teenagers sat next to me and he was distracting. He kept shifting in his seat every minute.  After eating he cleared his throat every minute for 10 minutes straight and I was afraid he was going to do it through the whole movie. Thankfully he stopped.  Also the sound of someone trying to scrounge the last bit of popcorn out of their bucket is really loud.  I am realizing I am very ADD when it comes to movies.  I'm very easily distracted.

7. The last thing, a funny moment, when the credits rolled someone said loudly "see you next week."  Next week they will be showing The Two Towers.  I already have my ticket.  The week after that they will be showing Return of the King.  I will be in Panama so will have to miss that one, but I'm so glad I had the chance to see LOTR in the theaters again.  It is truly an experience.

Reboot

I just got back from watching Star Trek and my mind is still abuzz.  When they described it as a reboot they weren't kidding around.  I thought I saw where it was going half way through the movie, but I was completely wrong.  The whole time my mind was screaming:

You can't do that!  That's not how it goes.  You destroyed ******!

But there was a little voice saying reboot, reboot, reboot. That is how I have heard this movie described numerous times and it is probably a good thing that I was semi-prepared for it.  I didn't really expect it to end the way it did.  Almost to the end of the movie I thought it was going to go back to the old way, but it isn't.  I think I need to see it again watching from this perspective.  Even though they really have changed the story there were lots of wonderful acknowledgements to the original series.  My favorite character was Doctor McCoy.  He was hilarious and I've always loved Karl Urban.

Now I'm a Star Trek: The Next Generation girl much more than the original series.  I probably have seen less than one fourth of the original series episodes whereas I've seen all the TNG episodes multiple times.  I watched some DS9, less Voyager and even less Enterprise.  However I can easily see myself being a fan of this Star Trek reboot.  I've always loved the Star Trek universe and it is fun to see it with a new and exciting future.

Half Blood Prince

Oh yes! Can't wait.

SATC

I just got back from Sex and the City. I came to the party late with this television series. I was one of those people that said the same things all the cynics say. Why would I want to watch a show about beautiful people living in high fashion when I am neither of those things? Why would I want to watch a show about living in a fabulous city, having lots of sex, and living the party life style when I don't do any of those things? As devotees of the show know, it is more than that. It is more than the random glimpses I would see while flipping by or the clips I would see on TV. The show had heart and it spoke truth in so many ways. Since I came late to the show I caught up with Netflix (what would I do without Netflix!). There were so many times when I would watch a show and think I've been there, I've felt that way, I'm doing that right now! About love, work, life, friendship.

The movie was all of the same and I loved it. It's not perfect, there were times when it dragged, but on the whole I'm glad I got to spend the afternoon with the girls and the show that was so heartfelt. I saw interviews from people leaving the theater who said they were a little sad and I couldn't understand why. I think I know now. At least for me I went through so many emotions during the movie from joy and laughter to sadness and yes of course tears. (I probably would have cried a lot more if I wasn't in public.) There is a lot of ups and downs in this movie yet you leave with that sense of hope which is something that I always loved about the show.

Trivia: I think my favorite episode of the show is when Miranda gets married and Samantha tells them all that she has cancer. Favorite guy? Well while Big is quite dashing and how can you not love Aidan, I think my favorite guy is Harry. Or maybe Aidan. It's a toss up.

The Movie

I'm back from Order of the Phoenix. Before I go any further I promise not to do any major spoilers. This is going to be a little stream of conscious so bear with me.

Order of the Phoenix. In my listing it falls number three in my order of favorite Harry Potter movies behind Azkaban and Goblet. I think that Azkaban will always be my favorite because it is my favorite book and Alfonso Cuaron had such a vision and such a unique style. I called my mom when I got home (I always call to give my Harry Potter review) and the only way I could describe the movie was that it was very British. I'm actually not sure if that is the right way to describe it, but it definitely has its own unique style and pacing that I would not associate with American movies. Silences are ok. Conversations, thoughts, dreams all in a very subdued manner. I'm not sure if I can explain it, but it is definitely different than the blockbuster approach of Goblet and the other worldly approach of Azkaban.

The movie wasn't very long, just a little over 2 hours. I am sure they were facing a daunting task of paring down a book that was almost 900 pages long and they cut, cut, cut but honestly I think a few more minutes here and there would have helped it in parts. There was one time especially where I felt jarred by a missing scene and it only would have taken an extra minute or two to transition.

I feel a little sorry for those that do not know the books or the movies well because they are going to be lost. It was kind of like a TV show that just picks up where it left off and there aren't a lot of explanation of characters and back story. As they say in Urinetown "nothing kills a show like too much exposition" but again I think they had time to thrown in a sentence here and there.

On the good side, I really felt comfortable with the characters and for the most part I felt that the actors were comfortable in their roles. Except for a moment here and there I thought the kids were much, much better and I actually believed them in their parts. And Luna? When I saw a clip of her, I wasn't that impressed, but I just loved her. Luna is not one of my favorite people to spend time with in the books, but she was perfect on screen.

I loved the dueling battle between the Order and the Death Eaters at the end. I know it isn't long in the books, but they really could have expanded that one. I had never really thought a lot about how a wizard's duel should look, but that was it. It was beautiful to watch and I wanted more. My second favorite thing was DA lessons (if you don't know you'll figure it out later)

Overall I'm happy with it. I'm the type that tends to love things faults and all without too much analysis. I'm not really a reviewer and I don't usually bring a critical eye to things I love. (The other things in the world I critique, but tend to keep the thoughts to myself). The movie reminds me of the same feeling I got after reading the book the first time. A sense of satisfaction for completing it, but wishing for more. I plan on going back soon to catch the movie in IMAX 3D.

And for those keeping track at home I finished my re-read of Order of the Phoenix on Monday and am now into Half-Blood Prince. I will probably finish in the next few days. I'm so proud of myself because I tried to do a re-read before Half-Blood Prince came out and I failed miserably. I wrote recently about what it is like to finish a good book and a good series. Finishing Harry Potter though is going to be an order of magnitude higher than anything I've experienced to date. It is the first series that I have followed as it has been released (started on the 3rd book). Every other series that I have read were completed when I found them. I'm sure you will be hearing a lot more about this once I finish the last book so I'll stop here.

Ramblings on Harry Potter movies

This is a little inside baseball if you haven't followed Harry Potter so be warned.

It is Harry Potter weekend on ABC Family so I am currently watching Chamber of Secrets. Gilderoy Lockhart has just sauntered down the stairs and it reminds me AGAIN that the adults cast for the Harry Potter movies are so incredibly perfect.

The producers have been spot on in their adult choices. Lockhart, McGonagall, Trelawney, Hagrid, Filch, SNAPE (He is so amazing as Snape, He IS Snape.) I can't wait to see Umbridge and Bellatrix, although I'm not ready to watch Bellatrix's big moment in Phoenix because Sirius is still my favorite character.

I'm sure part of the great casting is because they ARE adults and they are experienced actors. They can take the notes on a character and develop it. I also think it is because they aren't the main stars of the movie so it might have been easier to convince the actors that the producers wanted to take on the part.

I have never liked the first two movies as much as the last two and watching them this weekend reinforces that for me. The kids are painful to watch at times. Azkaban and Goblet were much better although I don't discount the effect of not having Columbus as director. Thankfully I think they are growing into their acting skills as they get older and not a moment too soon. Phoenix, Prince and Hallows are going to be challenges.

Tick tock. I have my ticket for Phoenix. I'll be going Wednesday night. And I have about 150 pages left in my Phoenix re-read which I will obviously need to finish before Wednesday evening. And then can you believe it? A week and a half to re-read Prince and then Deathly Hallows will be in my hands. Happy and sad at the same time. Not just me, Stephen King too (thanks for the link Kell).

Sweet Music

O Brother, Where Art Thou has been playing on TBS the last few days. And it reminds me what a wonderful soundtrack it has. No wonder it spent so many weeks at the top of the charts. If you haven't checked it out you can give it a whirl here.

And.. I love this part:

Bend it

I forgot how much I love Bend it Like Beckham. It is on this evening and is the perfect accompaniment to my evening chores of packing for a school trip tomorrow, straightening up the apartment and doing the laundry. But I hate when commercials pop up (the time I actually do those chores) because I love this story.

United 93

Wow. Well, wow. I feel very subdued right now. There isn't a lot that I can say other than I definitely recommend this movie. Thanks to Pete for his recommendation first on his blog and then his review. I was having doubts, but reading this pushed me to go see it. You should read his review, because he explains it better than I could.

I was surprised that I didn't cry as much as I thought I would. I honestly thought I would be crying the whole movie and I didn't. The only time a few tears fell was when the passengers started calling their families and saying their goodbyes. And the tension at the beginning was incredible. Waiting for the plane to take off, waiting for the plane to take off. At one point I was thinking... take off already!!! ... and then I was shocked by that thought. Why in the world would I wish that plane to take off to its destiny. But I guess because I knew that it took off and I knew what happened after that. The other tension ramp up for me personally was waiting for the hijackers to take over. The waiting seemed excruciating.

That was the most silent I have ever EVER heard a movie theater after a movie. They had a few paragraphs about United 93 and September 11 and it was dead silent. When the credits started people stood up and walked out. It was still silent. No one was talking. It was a little eerie. And then you walk into the bright lights, colors and noise of the lobby. A little surreal. I'm so glad I saw it. You should see it. It is worth it.