Charles Chaos
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I wasn't sure where to put this. 
[Warning: This post may contain spoilers for the sixth Harry Potter film so I ask that if you're going to talk about the sixth film, please put it under a spoiler cut so that those that haven't seen it yet don't get spoiled.
]
Okay so, this movie reviewer had never seen a Harry Potter movie, and even better (or more shocking) had never read any of the books either, so a few days before the 6th movie came out, he decided to watch them all and review them! Harry Potter through fresh eyes! I was really interested in his take on the movies since he had absolutely NO knowledge of the storyline/background, etc.
HERE is his review on the first movie.
What do you all think? Do you think that Chris Columbus' movies were the worst of the series so far, or possibly the best? Do you think he included too many details that made the movie drag on? As a 'book reader' did you think there were too many details or were you happy that he paid attention to the small things like that?
My opinion is that I don't know what "details" he's talking about. Petunia & Dudley weren't blonde but hey whatever
: Really though, I liked reading his reviews and I agree that the trio really pulled off their characters perfectly. As far as "canon" goes, the first movie was definitely the best, ever since then it's just been downhill, and it all started with Hermione's hair. 
I don't understand why people think Columbus' movies were the worst, some say it's because they're so "bright" and youthful but weren't the first two HP books as well? It is clear that as the series progresses, it gets darker, so it's only natural that the movies do that too! That's nothing to hold against Columbus.
HERE is his review on the second and third movies.
The reviewer thought that this film was less focused on introducing the new world and therefore could focus more on plots however he thought the second film was actually weaker than the first. Did you feel the same way? Did you feel the pureblood/mudblood and essentially Draco/Harry conflict was pointless that they didn't bring it up again in the movie?
Personally I did, in every movie there seems to be less of Draco (
) and therefore less of that enemy relationship but I felt it was a huge part in the books!
Prisoner of Azkaban, they changed directors. Could you tell the difference right away between the differently directed films? Or do you think Columbus would've gone the same 'darker' route by the third movie? After all, this is when the 'Grim' and the dementors start appearing. Did you think Cuaron did a better job of portraying Potterverse than Columbus?
His review on the Goblet of Fire and OotP can be found HERE.
Once again, a new director, good choice, bad choice, obvious, not obvious? This was the first film rated "PG-13" do you think this was a good judgment? I didn't see anything wrong with it. :mellow: Did you think the teenage romance was weird and misplaced, especially to those that hadn't read the books? Or do you think that all the previous movies did it justice so they could catch on that RonandHermionearethebestcoupleevar?: 
Order of the Pheonix, yet another new director, David Yates! Did you think the cinematography was so different it almost made you feel like the wizarding world was a completely different one than when Columbus first introduced it? (I did. -_- But that doesn't mean that it wasn't stunning.) Did you find it weird or somewhat disappointing that the longest book of the series (at the time) happened to be the shortest movie of all? Doesn't that make you feel like they left out potentially important stuff? Or did you think the book dragged on too long? Did you find the final battle between Voldemort lackluster as this reviewer did? Before I hadn't ever thought too badly about it but now that I read what he has to say, he makes really good points. Firstly, a thing that annoys me to no end, is that they throw spells at each other with no incantation and therefore no knowledge of what the curse is meant to do! All Voldemort & Dumbledore end up doing is throwing flashes of bright light at each other out of their wands, which is not what magic is all about! It's about the curses you throw and how powerful & how fast you can do it to surprise your partner! Jk
This reviewer also felt that Dumbledore's character in the movies is seriously underwritten and I completely agree 100 percent!!!! [Spoiler ahead]
I also agree with what he wrote about Sirius' character and his relationship between Harry. In POA the change from 'he killed my parents' to accepting him as his godfather no questions asked, is kind of weird and happened all too fast to be believable. This is one of those times when I feel that the directors relied on the audience's book knowledge to know & accept their relationship without really explaining it for those who hadn't. As a result of that, those who hadn't read the books, such as the reviewer, didn't buy it! Which leads to an anticlimatic/unemotional connection in OotP when Sirius dies. -_-
And finally, the review to the Half-Blood Prince Movie, HERE.
Omg this is by far my favorite review from this guy! He hits every nail on the head and points out very good flaws and also very good moments, etc.
I won't discuss the sixth movie because there's already a discussion thread for that, but I would like to know your thoughts on the reviewer's thoughts. Put aside the "canon" facts and things they did wrong in the movies, and think about the movies as movies. If they hadn't been this huge phenomenon as books do you think the movies alone would've been hits? While reading the books we tend to get all excited while reading the action scenes (well, I know that my heart races as I eagerly turn the page) but do you think if there were no book series behind it, the movie would be dull and lackluster when it came to action and suspense?
In my opinion, the greatest thing about the Harry Potter universe is the plot! JKR was able to create an entire world with rules, laws, etc. and so many amazing characters with very detailed, and vital, background stories and things we didn't think would be so relevant later on (the diary in book 2 ended up being a horcrux in book 6!) things like that just absolutely blow my mind to this day and I applaud the woman, BUT because it was print, she was able to go into as much detail and describe everything. If it had been film first, I think that the best part of Potterverse, no I know that the best part, would be totally cut out for these fancy flashy action scenes! I feel like we, the book readers, forgive the action scenes for not being so epic because we're in love with the overall story line of Potter but if we had never read the books, would you still find yourself honestly liking the movie series??
You don't have to answer all those questions above, I just really liked those reviews which brought out those questions, and anyway yeah, I'd just like you all to read them.
[Warning: This post may contain spoilers for the sixth Harry Potter film so I ask that if you're going to talk about the sixth film, please put it under a spoiler cut so that those that haven't seen it yet don't get spoiled.
]Okay so, this movie reviewer had never seen a Harry Potter movie, and even better (or more shocking) had never read any of the books either, so a few days before the 6th movie came out, he decided to watch them all and review them! Harry Potter through fresh eyes! I was really interested in his take on the movies since he had absolutely NO knowledge of the storyline/background, etc.
HERE is his review on the first movie.
What do you all think? Do you think that Chris Columbus' movies were the worst of the series so far, or possibly the best? Do you think he included too many details that made the movie drag on? As a 'book reader' did you think there were too many details or were you happy that he paid attention to the small things like that?
My opinion is that I don't know what "details" he's talking about. Petunia & Dudley weren't blonde but hey whatever
: Really though, I liked reading his reviews and I agree that the trio really pulled off their characters perfectly. As far as "canon" goes, the first movie was definitely the best, ever since then it's just been downhill, and it all started with Hermione's hair. I don't understand why people think Columbus' movies were the worst, some say it's because they're so "bright" and youthful but weren't the first two HP books as well? It is clear that as the series progresses, it gets darker, so it's only natural that the movies do that too! That's nothing to hold against Columbus.
HERE is his review on the second and third movies.
The reviewer thought that this film was less focused on introducing the new world and therefore could focus more on plots however he thought the second film was actually weaker than the first. Did you feel the same way? Did you feel the pureblood/mudblood and essentially Draco/Harry conflict was pointless that they didn't bring it up again in the movie?
Personally I did, in every movie there seems to be less of Draco (
) and therefore less of that enemy relationship but I felt it was a huge part in the books!Prisoner of Azkaban, they changed directors. Could you tell the difference right away between the differently directed films? Or do you think Columbus would've gone the same 'darker' route by the third movie? After all, this is when the 'Grim' and the dementors start appearing. Did you think Cuaron did a better job of portraying Potterverse than Columbus?
His review on the Goblet of Fire and OotP can be found HERE.
Once again, a new director, good choice, bad choice, obvious, not obvious? This was the first film rated "PG-13" do you think this was a good judgment? I didn't see anything wrong with it. :mellow: Did you think the teenage romance was weird and misplaced, especially to those that hadn't read the books? Or do you think that all the previous movies did it justice so they could catch on that RonandHermionearethebestcoupleevar?
: Order of the Pheonix, yet another new director, David Yates! Did you think the cinematography was so different it almost made you feel like the wizarding world was a completely different one than when Columbus first introduced it? (I did. -_- But that doesn't mean that it wasn't stunning.) Did you find it weird or somewhat disappointing that the longest book of the series (at the time) happened to be the shortest movie of all? Doesn't that make you feel like they left out potentially important stuff? Or did you think the book dragged on too long? Did you find the final battle between Voldemort lackluster as this reviewer did? Before I hadn't ever thought too badly about it but now that I read what he has to say, he makes really good points. Firstly, a thing that annoys me to no end, is that they throw spells at each other with no incantation and therefore no knowledge of what the curse is meant to do! All Voldemort & Dumbledore end up doing is throwing flashes of bright light at each other out of their wands, which is not what magic is all about! It's about the curses you throw and how powerful & how fast you can do it to surprise your partner! Jk
This reviewer also felt that Dumbledore's character in the movies is seriously underwritten and I completely agree 100 percent!!!! [Spoiler ahead]
Dumbledore is supposed to be the greatest wizard of all time, the only one Voldemort ever feared, etc. but in NONE of the movies have they really shown that!!! That's why, even though it was a beautiful scene and all, after Dumbledore's death in HBP I thought it was sooooo not portrayed correctly because they were just like "Aw our Headmaster/boss died " where it should be like "ZOMG THE GREATEST WIZARD EVER, OUR PROTECTOR JUST DIED, WHAT'RE WE GONNA DO, WE'RE DOOMED!" -_-
" where it should be like "ZOMG THE GREATEST WIZARD EVER, OUR PROTECTOR JUST DIED, WHAT'RE WE GONNA DO, WE'RE DOOMED!" -_-I also agree with what he wrote about Sirius' character and his relationship between Harry. In POA the change from 'he killed my parents' to accepting him as his godfather no questions asked, is kind of weird and happened all too fast to be believable. This is one of those times when I feel that the directors relied on the audience's book knowledge to know & accept their relationship without really explaining it for those who hadn't. As a result of that, those who hadn't read the books, such as the reviewer, didn't buy it! Which leads to an anticlimatic/unemotional connection in OotP when Sirius dies. -_-
And finally, the review to the Half-Blood Prince Movie, HERE.
Omg this is by far my favorite review from this guy! He hits every nail on the head and points out very good flaws and also very good moments, etc.
Actually I take that back, the reviewer talks about how Malfoy being chosen to kill Dumbledore was very interesting but was disappointing. He wondered why Malfoy was chosen, why did he agree/what was his intent, etc. when even if I wasn't a book reader, I could answer those questions now. He was chosen because he's the closest to Dumbledore than the other Death Eaters, he's doing it because if not, Voldemort will kill him, and his intent is to prove that his family isn't worthless/useless, his father is in jail right now!
Put aside the "canon" facts and things they did wrong in the movies, and think about the movies as movies. If they hadn't been this huge phenomenon as books do you think the movies alone would've been hits? While reading the books we tend to get all excited while reading the action scenes (well, I know that my heart races as I eagerly turn the page) but do you think if there were no book series behind it, the movie would be dull and lackluster when it came to action and suspense?In my opinion, the greatest thing about the Harry Potter universe is the plot! JKR was able to create an entire world with rules, laws, etc. and so many amazing characters with very detailed, and vital, background stories and things we didn't think would be so relevant later on (the diary in book 2 ended up being a horcrux in book 6!) things like that just absolutely blow my mind to this day and I applaud the woman, BUT because it was print, she was able to go into as much detail and describe everything. If it had been film first, I think that the best part of Potterverse, no I know that the best part, would be totally cut out for these fancy flashy action scenes! I feel like we, the book readers, forgive the action scenes for not being so epic because we're in love with the overall story line of Potter but if we had never read the books, would you still find yourself honestly liking the movie series??
You don't have to answer all those questions above, I just really liked those reviews which brought out those questions, and anyway yeah, I'd just like you all to read them.