HARRY POTTER & MY HALF PLEASURE

I haven't been blogging for quite some time as I was super busy but this is Harry Potter and I have to write about it. So yesterday was Harry Potter day and was a historical moment in my life because I watched Harry Potter in Liverpool. The book started in UK and now, I'm watching it in the UK itself!

I'm a fan of the Harry Potter book series. I love the books because of the way J.K. Rowling writes, but I am really beginning to dislike the movies. The previous movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was a disappointment. There were so many interesting moments in the book that were omitted. For example, Ron's father being sent to the hospital. I think that whole part is interesting because that part shows more about the love in the Weasley family, and also explains the reason why Harry would rush to Sirius at the end of the movie.

Also, by excluding that part, we also do not really see Neville Longbottom's hatred for Bellatrix and I think it somehow minimizes the character of Longbottom. I think if you read the book, you'll know the significance of Longbottom's character, which in the movie, has been subsided.

The penultimate book or movie of the Harry Potter series was another disappointment. The opening scene was brilliant cinematographically, no denying that. It is amazing how the director transits from the modern world to the magical world and it was beautiful how the camera brings us the POV shot in the beginning that practically brings the audience on a 'rollercoaster ride' through the towns of Diagon Alley.

However, the first shot of Harry Potter was a smack on the face for me. The beginning part was a total 'creation out of no-where' by the director. I don't really remember Harry hitting on any girls in the restaurant. The whole of the front part with Harry Potter in the cafe was a bit ...I don't know - unrelated?

I was almost lost and when Dumbledore finally appears and brought Harry somewhere, it all started to come back to me again. Although this movie has maintained certain parts of the movie, I think it failed to create that feeling of excitement the book gives. I know maybe it's because I've read the book. But then again, I feel that the movie failed to really present the dynamic relationship between the characters in the movie. For example, Harry's hatred over Snape, Harry's jealousy when he sees Ginny and Dean, Harry's feeling about the whole Hermoine-Ron relationship, Harry's feeling towards Dumbledore. Everything was too subtle in the movie.

I remember when reading the book, the entire story line was captivating. It really got me hooked as I was so eager to know who the "Half-Blood Prince" is and also to find out more about Tom Riddle's history. I think it failed because my friends who didn't read the book weren't really excited about who the Half-Blood Prince is and they were practically lost. I don't know if it's because there were no subtitles or because the significance of the Half-Blood Prince wasn't highlighted enough. I guess it's both. I don't think my friends enjoyed it because I don't think they get most parts.

The books are all brilliant, but movies a tad disappointing. Even if you get the parts, you will feel that the book has been robbed off its essence and the movie has been overly dramatized. So many parts of Tom Riddle's history has been omitted and it feels like those "Hocruxes" are nothing.

* Horcruxes are things that you can store your soul into if you rip your soul apart. In the magical world, it's like a real evil thing to do and it's like really dark magic. So Tom Riddle a.k.a. Voldemort has divided his soul into seven parts - seven Horcruxes.

What the movie didn't focus on was Dumbledore's journey in finding those Horcruxes. In the book, each Horcrux has a special value to Tom Riddle a.k.a. Voldemort. He just doesn't put his soul into cabbages or carrots. He finds things that are of real significance to him and great things. The movie failed to showcase this part and I thought it is important because it is the key to how Harry is going to find other other Horcruxes in the final book.

The diary, the ring, the goblet in the hill - all these have items have significance in Tom Riddle's life. We all know about the diary (in the second movie) but we know nothing about the ring and the goblet. The movie did not mention anything about the Ring, which has a history (which I can't recall now).

What this movie does focus on is the love-triangle between Ron and Hermoine. It tries to also feature Harry and Ginny, though I think that the love parts were all a bit awkward. I just don't feel the connection between them like how I felt with the characters when I read the books. I can't feel Harry's jealousy when he sees Ginny with another guy. I can't feel Harry thinking about Ginny all the time and I also can't really feel Hermoine when she cries because she sees Rupert and Lavender together. Nevertheless, at most parts, Hermoine and Ron are more convincing than Harry. But honestly, I think that the movie is wasted on their love relationships. Maybe there should be less of that and more on creating the suspense for audience.

My favourite character is Ron and I love Rupert Grint. I think the movie is nevertheless entertaining because there is Ron. So thank GOD for Ron! But then, even the Quidditch scenes for Ron has been tremendously altered.

I think I really can't blame the directors. The books are so long and to translate everything into a movie would be hell of a job. In conclusion, I was not entirely happy with the movie and I realize that watching a Harry Potter movie for me is just like a duty, something that I have to do as a fan of the book.

The first two Harry Potter movies were BRILLIANT. The director had captured the essence of the movie, making it magical and everything in the book is almost translated onto screen. Visually and emotional satisfying. The third and fourth movie were by far the most disappointing because most of the main parts were completely altered. Sad because the third was my favourite and it was directed by a director who had never read Harry Potter before, until when he was asked to direct the movie. It didn't work for me. The director was directing from a block-buster movie perspective, and not really from the perspective of translating the essence of Harry Potter, as a person who liked the book. I wish I could cut it some slack but I can't.