Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Jamie has some movies to see

Oscar nominations came out this morning, and while I have many to see before I can really judge (including 6 of the best picture nominees), here are my first reactions:
-          Muppets!!  Seriously, that was what I was most excited about. This is probably my favorite film of the year, or at least a close second to the Harry Potter finale.  I am elated to see one of its songs making the cut, although what is up with only two songs being nominated in this category?  Is that not incredibly bizarre?  Hopefully this means we’ll get to see them performed, although I didn’t see Rio and have no idea what that song is all about, I’d love to see Jason Segel (and perhaps the songwriter, Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie) perform at the Oscars.  And a cameo from Jim Parsons perhaps? We can all dream.
-         And since I mentioned Harry Potter – I didn’t really think that Alan Rickman would get the nomination, but in my heart, he is the true winner of the Supporting Actor category.  What a brilliant, heart-breaking performance.  Now I feel compelled to see all the other nominees to feel truly justified in claiming that he was better than them all.  Stay tuned.
-          Nine nominees for best picture!  I was sure that with the new limitations (films must get at least 5% of the first place votes) we would see less nominations, but apparently the academy loved all kinds of different movies this year, almost hitting the 10 film cap.
-          Of those nine, I have only seen Hugo, Moneyball, & The Help to date, and from those I would give the award to Hugo, hands down.  While I love Moneyball (even if it wasn’t awesome, and it was, it’s about baseball so of course I love it), and enjoyed the Help (and the acting was fantastic), I was a little surprised to see them so dominate this awards season.  It was interesting to see the biopics (or biopic like films) shut out of the main category (J Edgar, My Week With Marilyn, The Iron Lady), however it wasn’t that surprising after the terrible reviews of J Edgar and The Iron Lady.  Had any of those films been better received, I think they could have pushed a few of the other nominees out.  Hugo, however, is a brilliant film, it looks beautiful, the storyline is rich, the casting perfect, and who doesn’t love a movie that highlights loving and preserving movies, we know the academy voters do.  My only thought when leaving (as I was wiping away the tears) was that for a children’s movie it was a little slow and I would caution parents against taking very young children or any who cannot sit through something that isn’t as high paced as a typical kid’s movie.  And then I would tell adults to go sans kids, because it’s certainly a film for all.
-          Supporting actress - I think I am on my own here but I was disappointed with the role of Celia in the film.  I don’t think it was Jessica Chastain’s fault, whose performance was certainly good, but I was disappointed by the film’s portrayal of Minnie & Celia’s storyline. Not Minnie's as a whole so much, but their joint story that was quite separate from the rest of the action and drama in the book, and which I thought was so fascinating.  Overall, I thought this film adaptation was incredibly well done, the cuts and tweaks made sense and the story came together nicely, but I found that particular storyline lacking and while I understood why they would have cut it for the film, I am then confused as to why that actress is getting so much buzz for a role that I thought was lacking.  But perhaps not as many voters read the book and my perception is just skewed by that.  I do think the Octavia Spencer’s Minnie is so perfect that I will be disappointed if she doesn’t walk away with the award. 

Now, off to see The Artist, The Descendants, Midnight in Paris - very excited to see those three, as well as The Tree of Life, War Horse, & Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - a little less excited to see those, but they can’t be as painful as Young Adult (both Patton Oswalt & Charlize Theron gave Oscar worthy performances, but I suspect the voters were too uncomfortable to finish the film and/or think about it after having finished it).  I’ll also try to fit in a few of the films nominated for acting and writing awards, but not best picture, such as My Week with Marilyn, The Iron Lady, A Better Life, Albert Nobbs, A Seperation, Bridesmaids, The Ides of March, Beginners, and perhaps even more.  More on this before February 26th!

Books read: 4 (I know, that's the same as last week, but Eragon wasn't as engaging as I had hoped and I put it down, half way through White Cat though!)

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Jamie Reads 50 Books

I recognize that most of the time on here I post about TV.  That’s because I unapologetically, and occasionally quite defensively, like TV. However, it isn’t the only form of entertainment that I enjoy.  I try to see all the Oscar nominees before the Oscars (which will be a bit of a challenge this year as I am quite behind, at least based on the Golden Globe nominations).  I have season tickets to the 5th Avenue Theatre.  I watch a whole lot of baseball, a fair amount of football, and as much of the NCAA basketball tournament as I can fit into my life (I mean, I do have a job).  And I read.  Not as many books as your friendly neighborhood librarian might read, but last year it was around 40 books.  Per my shelfari account it was actually 50, but that included some comics (like all of Buffy Season 8 and a few of the Walking Dead volumes), which I count as reading, but not as a whole book.  I mean, maybe all the volumes together could be a book, but anyhow I still read quite a few books last year,  I am stepping it up this year and my goal this year is to read 50 books.  That’s just over 4 a month, and I think I can do it.  I’m 18 days in and I’ve read 4 already, and have started the 5th.  Here are my quick, not at all spoilery reviews of the first three:

Game of Thrones – George R.R. Martin
Wow is there a lot of death in this book.  I mean, I was prepared for it, in fact so prepared that I think I expected even more characters to die than did, but even so it seemed like people were dropping off, violently, constantly.  That said, it’s a great story with fascinating characters and I cannot wait to see where the story goes.  Also, for how long it is, it moves quickly and is not at all difficult to read/get into.  I was instantly engaged.

The Maze Runner – James Dashner
Finished the Hunger Games and the Uglies and looking for your next dystopian future young adult series?  Here it is.  The Maze Runner starts with our protagonist, Thomas, waking up in the Glade, unable to remember anything.  There is a group of boys already there and they seem to have a little bit of an idea of what is going on, but like Thomas, have no idea where they came from, or where they really are.  I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out what was happening as Thomas got more pieces to the puzzle.  And now, of course, I have to get the sequel.

The Fault in Our Stars – John Green
And now for something without a sequel! Of course, the trade off for this beautiful story is tears, and more tears, and a deep emotional reaction that will have you thinking about why it affected you so much for days.  I haven’t cried this much since Deathly Hallows, and I had much more time to get attached to that story.  I also laughed, out loud, a lot. That said, it’s amazing and you need to go to your local bookstore and pick up a signed copy today (John Green signed the first 150,000 copies, you really should go buy it). 

Franny & Zooey - J.D. Salinger
This was… alright.  It’s certainly no Catcher in the Rye, which I love.  It’s not too long, but I got stuck and put it down with about 60 pages left to go, read the three books listed above, and then came back to it.  I did find it worthwhile to power through the end, but overall, I just wasn’t that engaged in the story or themes or really any of it.  But that’s okay. 

Now reading: Eragon

Also coming up are Ready Player One, White Cat, The Baseball Codes, Rebel Angels, The Mediator, One for the Money, and I will finally get around to reading the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  Oh, and I need to re-read The Handmaid’s Tale for my book club (yes, that totally counts toward the 50, especially since I haven’t read it since high school) And that’s just what I have in my room.  Maybe I can do better than 50.  Stick around and find out. Even if I don’t post reviews for all of them, I’ll be sure to put a count at the bottom of my posts (stealing the idea of a count from a few other blogs that I read occasionally).

Books read in 2012: 4

Monday, January 16, 2012

Kacey Finds Inspiration...

2 quarters left is all I have in getting my teaching certification. A classroom full of kindergarteners has proven to be a great adventure, which at times can be exhausting and emotionally draining. And I love every bloody minute of it.

Teaching is a lovely, fun, rewarding profession to be in, but because it’s not all peaches and roses I sometimes have to remind myself what’s really important. So where, might you ask, do I draw my outside inspiration when I’m feeling a little low and need a pick me up. Where I find most inspiration… television, books and movies.

So here are some of my favorite, most inspiring fictional teachers and a brief description about what exactly I think is inspiring about them...

Miss. Frizzle (Magic School Bus):
Talk about awesome, hands on experience provided for her students. Instead of standing up in front of her students lecturing them about some boring science topic, Miss Frizzle gives them some serious firsthand experience. She manages to do something few teachers ever did for me… make science fun!

Also, her fashion pretty much is the best ever and I fully intend to do my best to emulate it one day.

John Keating (Dead Poets Society):
Carpe Diem. Inspiring young high school aged men to think outside the box through literature might not be a direct connection to my classroom of kindergartners, but I definitely think a teacher who invests in the students beyond teaching curriculum is very inspiring. Keating’s inspiring disregard for textbook jargon warms my heart and reminds me a teacher must not be afraid to think outside the box in order to motivate students. And honestly, given the opportunity, I’m pretty sure all my kindergartners would stand up on their desks.

Miss Bliss (Save By the Bell):
Patience. That is truly the essence of Miss Bliss. Not only managing to survive a student like Zack Morris and all his shenanigans, but actually managing to help and guide him through his awkward early adolescent years takes nothing less than tons of patience.

Mr. Feeny (Boy Meets World) :
Who was more dedicated to his students than Mr. Feeny? He followed them from junior high all the way through college. And there was no limit to advice and guidance, and very often his lessons went way beyond the classroom which is something I hope I can do for my students. Perhaps the most memorable scene from Mr. Feeny was from the very last episode:

Mr. Feeny: Believe in yourselves. Dream. Try. Do good
Topanga: Don't you mean "do well"?
Mr. Feeny: No, I mean "do good".
I hope I can inspire students to “do good.”

Giles (Buffy the Vampire Slayer):
Okay this might not be the most traditional student/teacher relationship, but Giles was the librarian and his relationship with Buffy was often based around a school setting (which happened to be on a Hellmouth). Mostly I hope I can help my students be inspired to save the world even it just means putting paper in the recycling or fighting demons. I plan to be up for the task always and Giles is a shinning example of how that might look.  

The professors of Hogwarts (Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin, Hagrid,… even (and especially) Snape) (Harry Potter):
This is kind of a broad one I know and I could talk about each teacher because of each of their unique awesomeness. And let’s face Hogwarts had their fair share of not so great (some really awful) professors (Quirrell, Lockhart, Umbridge to name a few). But really thinking about the whole picture there is a lot to draw from and find inspiring. These professors put the lives of their students first and provided a safe place for students when everything away from school seemed uncertain and dangerous. Even if some scary stuff happened at the school, the professors did everything in the power to protect, educate and help their students. That’s definitely the type of teacher I find inspiring.


And that’s it. The truth is that there are a lot of awesome teachers out there that I have had the good fortune of working with and I find them truly inspiring as well. But I just couldn’t think of anything more fun than combining my love of pop culture with my love of teaching. J

Monday, January 9, 2012

Jamie Talks Death on TV

So Kacey’s Harry Potter marathon sounded pretty epic and here I am writing about death on TV.  To make up for it, I promise to follow it with a post about how many things on Fringe keep reminding me of Alias… but only after I finish season 3.  So for now, we’re talking death on TV.
After reading a recent Hypable article about worst character deaths (which made some very good points, even if I didn’t agree with all of it), I was thinking, if those were among the worst, then what were the, hmm… I don’t want to say “best” for this post, so let’s go with most intense. You know what I’m talking about, either jaw dropping shock, or when you know it's coming but still sob through it. I could have just done a list from Joss Whedon shows (guy is not afraid to kill of characters, on Buffy alone there could be a whole post) but opted to make it a little more well-rounded.  Here’s what I got:
Dawson's Creek - The Creek (as I like to call it) broke our hearts more than a few times, but never more than with the loss of Dawson's dad Mitch and then again in the finale with the death of Jen. The first was out of nowhere with a car accident  that led even Gram to note that she and the Lord were not on speaking terms this week.  This man, reconciled with his wife with a new baby on the way was taken quickly, with the audience caught completely off guard.  For the series finale we were transported five years into the future (they had accomplished quite a bit in those short years...hmmm) only to lose Jen to an incurable disease.  We sobbed along with her friends, especially Jack, who was the logical choice (with his partner, Pacey's brother Doug) to take care of Jen's now parentless child.  They just wanted to give us one last emotional roller coaster, and I don't recall a dry eye in the college apartment where I watched the show.
ER - There was no surprise here, Dr. Green had been sick, the previews for the episode had been clear, we knew Anthony Edwards was leaving, but the episode still delivered an emotional punch to the stomach as Dr. Mark Green flew to Hawaii with his family for his final days.  For me this was yet another episode viewed in college, only this time it was the entire lobby in the dorm that sat around watching through the tears.
NCIS - The death of Kate was a pretty bold move for this show in its second season. Killing off one of your main characters?  So soon?  Just as we made it through Tony getting the plague, we are immediately dealt the loss of Kate, which still haunts our surviving main characters to this day.  A few years later, to show they still weren't afraid to make big changes, the writers killed off Jenny, leaving the rest of the team to pick up the pieces, and leaving the audience searching for that damn box of tissue.   Of course, this gamble paid off as we still sit around in fear week after week that one of our favorite characters might disappear at any moment.
The West Wing - We mourned the loss of Mrs. Landingham right along with President Bartlett, as Aaron Sorkin's writing made us feel like we too were losing a member of our team.  However nothing could prepare us for the end of season seven when real life impacted the show in a heart-wrenching manner. Actor John Spencer passed away unexpectedly late in the season of the show's final year.  Spencer's Leo McGary had been a pivotal and beloved part of the show, both as Bartlett's chief of staff and later as Matt Santos' running mate.  We went from jubilation after a Santos/McGary win to utter devastation as both cast and characters dealt with this tragedy.  Again, Sorkin left no dry eyes in the audience as he put forward a fitting tribute.
Angel - And we come to the first Joss Whedon series to make my list (note: Firefly was omitted because the major deaths came in the film, not on TV, and Dollhouse is omitted because Kacey needs to watch it, and Dr. Horrible is really a mini-movie… but you see why I could just write a post about how Whedon shows will leave you mourning the characters you love most) The death of Cordelia was covered well in the Hypable article mentioned at the start of this post.  And I have to agree that overall, Cordy's demise was disappointing.  However, the season 5 episode where she made one last appearance that confirmed she really was gone was very well done, and a far more appropriate end for the character who showed us that even the bitchiest popular girl can grow up and grow a heart.  Mere episodes later, however, just when Wesley & Fred finally get together we are devastated by Fred’s death along with all the boys on the show who loved her.  Leave it to Whedon to break our hearts by the death of a beloved character, yet manage to keep the actress in the show.  Amy Acker's performance in that episode should have won her awards as her shift from Fred to Ilyria was flawless.
Buffy - Did anyone not die on this show? To highlight that epic battles don't just take extras we lose Anya and Spike in the finale.  Anya dies fighting the good fight, after having come a long way from season 3 where she flees prior to the ascension.  Spike bravely sacrifices himself, putting his season 7 soul to good use.  Thankfully he came back to life on Angel the following season. A world without Spike is too much to take, and we clearly needed him in the season 8 comic.  Tara's death at the end of season 6 almost destroyed Willow (and the world), but surprisingly it was Dawn's reaction to it that broke my heart.  That depressing season was just starting to look up when they laid that tragedy on us. Buffy died twice, the first only briefly, but in the season 5 finale our heroine gave it all up for her sister (and the world) in a finale fitting of a season full of tears.  However two deaths were more powerful than all the rest.  The first was the death of Angel at the end of season 2 (even though he comes back in the next season).  Season 2 is brilliant, both as a whole and it also contains some of my favorite stand-alone episodes (Halloween, I Only Have Eyes For You, Passion), but none better than the two part finale.  Joyce finds out about vampires, Giles kidnapped, Kendra murdered, Willow in the hospital, Buffy kicked out of school, an alliance with Spike, all leading to an epic battle with Angel.  But it's not enough to just let it be a normal battle. At the last second, or more accurately a few seconds too late, Angel's soul is restored. Buffy has no choice but to kill the love of her life and save the world.  No wonder she ran away, wouldn't you?  It has taken years of re-watching to get to a point where I am desensitized enough to not sob through the end of that season.  I cannot, however, make it through the brilliantly devastating episode, The Body, where our heroine loses her mom, Joyce, without heavy sobbing.   Who knew that the loss of a character you didn't even think you liked that much would be the most powerful episode (although she did grow on me a little that season, Whedon probably did that on purpose). It was the performance of all the survivors that was heartbreaking. So used to fighting evil and demons, they are at a loss on how to deal with what they cannot defeat with weapons and magic.
Not included on this countdown, but contemplated: Lost (because everyone dies)... among other shows (The O.C., Alias, Once Upon a Time, and I'm sure others...)
Final thought on TV deaths and internet spoilers: There have been a number of significant deaths on shows I either don't watch or am not current with, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad and I can't help but notice how the internet has changed the way that we watch these shows. On the one hand, I can choose to watch these shows later in life, either on Netflix or some other method of online streaming, or on DVD.  On the other, as someone who reads a lot of entertainment news online and uses Twitter, it is nearly impossible to avoid spoilers when the deaths are particularly shocking (ex: Boardwalk Empire).  My parents, they can watch any of these shows and be completely shocked when the big deaths happen, but I have to make an effort to avoid knowing who is going to die in Game of Thrones before I find the time to attempt to read the massive series.  I could just spend less time online.  But that's not going to happen. 

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Kacey Watches all 8 HP in One Sitting...

So I did it. I got up at 8:00am (Pacific Standard Time) on December 21st (yay for school breaks!) and began my nearly 20 hour Harry Potter movie marathon. (Thanks to Jamie for owning all 8 films and letting me borrow the 6 films I do not own!) I began watching on the big screen in the living room of my parents’ home, but decided that it would be much more considerate of me as a roommate to move to my above the garage suite once the ‘rents came home from work. I completed this marathon of awesomeness at about 3:30 in the morning and have been thinking about how to share my thoughts since.

I thought about analyzing the differences between director’s style’s and changes in the setting or something, but why dwell on inconsistencies when I can focus on the high level of entertainment that these films provide for me. I mean I already have fallen in love with the stories and characters via the books, but the films are brilliant, particularly when they have to convey something in 30 seconds that it takes J.K. Rowling 30 pages to do (I know we all have moments of “I can’t believe they didn’t do ______” but overall they are well done). So as I watched I made about some favorite moments and lines with side notes of the lovely actors that deliver them. This is the result.

Movie 1:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 

First off important to mention that while I love Michael Gambon as Dumbledore… Richard Harris is truly my favorite, even if his presence in the first film is somewhat limited to “looks” he gives from the head table.

Favorite lines:

Dumbledore: “It does not do to dwell on dreams, Harry, and forget to live.”

Dumbledore: “It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.”

(**This scene where he gives the extra point to Neville always makes me cry, which I promise was just the beginning of many tears shed throughout the marathon.**)

The first film overall is great, but has limited standout scenes. This is mostly due to the young acting. (Although the introduction of Seamus blowing things up is one of the best continued side jokes throughout all 8 films)

The main trio (HRH as I will call them) do manage to deliver some great lines and develop the early stages of these friendships.

My personal favorite:

Hermione: “Now if you two don't mind, I'm going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed - or worse, expelled.”
Ron: “She needs to sort out her priorities!”
 

Movie 2:

Harry Potter and the Chamber of the Secrets

This might be the funniest film. Even though other films provide some pretty great lines (and with perhaps a little more grown up humor), this one still remains light without the scary undertones of impending doom (although big ass scary snake does damper things a little).  Plus there is more of the Weasley family by way of showing the Burrow (also known as my future home).

Arthur Weasley: “Now, Harry you must know all about Muggles, tell me, what exactly is the function of a rubber duck?”

Probably one of the reasons for high humor in this film is of course Dobby even if he does cause Harry some problems!  (**Almost started crying when he first came on the screen**)

Harry: Promise me something.
Dobby: Anything, sir.
Harry: Never try to save my life again.
(**Almost tears here… kind of foreboding.**)

Also the source of great laughs (and irritations) is Gilderoy Lockhart portrayed by the great Kenneth Branagh. When Ron’s broken wand causes him to lose his mind the amusement only increases.
Lockhart: “It’s like magic.

Moaning Myrtle (the lovely Shirley Henderson) always knows how to make Harry feel awkward by her forwardness.
Moaning Myrtle: “Oh, Harry? If you die down there, you're welcome to share my toilet."
Ron seems to be in constant fear throughout the whole movie between the flying car scene, his slight fear of his mother and of course- spiders.
Ron: “Why spiders? Why couldn’t it be ‘follow the butterflies’?”
While most of my comments regarding this film are about its humor it would be a shame to ignore the primer of Jason Issac’s portrayal of Lucius Malfoy which is mostly pure evil and absolutely brilliant (and increasingly complex in future movies).

 Another great quote from Dumbledore (and one of Richard Harris’ final scenes as Dumbledore)

Dumbledore: “It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices.”

Movie 3:

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Welcome Michael Gambon as Dumbledore!

This film has more stuff to “sort” than fighting Voldemort (well actually the book does, so in turn so does the film).

Enter Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) and Remus Lupin (David Thewlis). The reuniting scene in the Shrieking Shack is a great bromance sort of moment. Particularly the comments shared when they are reunited:

Lupin: “Finally, the flesh reflects the madness within.”
Black: “Well, you'd know all about the madness within, wouldn't you Remus?”

Moments that do make me laugh in a kind of otherwise somewhat emotional heavy film:

Ron’s continued fear of spider:

Ron: [sitting bolt upright in bed] Spiders... the spiders... they want me to tap-dance. And I don't want to tap-dance!
Harry: You tell those spiders, Ron.
Ron: Yeah, tell them... I'll tell them...”

Snape (the BRILLIANT Alan Rickman) dressed in Neville’s grandmother’s clothes.
(**Not sure why I haven’t mention Alan Rickman before- but really the epic stuff comes a little later.**)

Trying to tell the future in Trewlawney’s (Emma Thompson does “mental” well):

Ron: Oh yeah... well, Harry's got a sort of wonky cross... that's trials and suffering. And, uh, that there could be the sun, and that's happiness, so... you're gonna suffer... but you're gonna be happy about it...
(Noticing that many of the more humorous quotes tend to come out of Ron’s mouth)

BEST moment: Hermione punches Malfoy. So it totally rocks in the book as well and so much about book 3 in my mind is about how awesome Hermione is anyways. But the punch is bloody brilliant and needs to be mentioned.

Movie 4:

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

This is where I get to make some sort of joke about sparkly vampires as Hogwarts’ golden boy but really the best moment is when Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson) first comes on screen and Hermione and Ginny exchange a “look.” And with that we have teenagers… hormones and all. 

Ron and Harry must find a date for the Yule Ball and begin their first real adventure with girls… This distracts them from their “studies” and Snape (who has a limited role in film) continues to gently “remind them” to stop talking. (He hits Ron and Harry on the back of the head Gibbs style). Snape makes the scene hysterical without saying one word.

And then it occurs to Ron:
Ron: Hermione, you’re a girl.

Although he’s not the real (spoiler alert) Mad-Eye Moody (wonderfully played by Brendan Gleeson) the character is awesome. The Ferret scene makes me almost giddy:

McGonagall: “Professor Moody! What are you doing?”
Mad-Eye: “Teaching.”
McGonagall: “Teach - is that a student?”
Mad-Eye: “Technically it's a ferret.”

This seems to be my first mention of the magnificent Maggie Smith as McGonagall and although some of her more epic scenes come later I do love the dancing scene.

First she describes the Yule ball as a night of  well mannered frivolity.”
But then insist:
McGonagall: “The house of Godric Gryffindor has commanded the respect of the wizarding world for nearly ten centuries. I will not have you, in one night, besmirching that name by behaving like a babbling, bumbling band of baboons!”

I love a little awkward bromance action too when Ron and Harry fight, but more importantly make up in less-than climatic sort of way.
Hermione: “Boys.”

Despite these funny, uncomfortable teenager moments for the HRH trio we are finally introduced to evilest of evils- a fully functional Voldemort (fabulous Ralph Fiennes). Who while being horrifying still does not forget a little bad guy banter:

Voldemort: “Come now, Harry, the niceties must be observed. Dumbledore would not want you to forget your manners.”

Movie 5:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Okay I know I said I wasn’t going to talk about technical and visual stuff, but two things must be noted: the flying through London scene at the beginning is awesome and I much prefer Harry and Ron with shorter hair.

Now enter “Emo Harry.” (I learned that from Jamie)

Dolores Umbridge is a hateful, spiteful woman and I think I might like Voldemort better than her (Imelda Stauton does a great job). I think it’s the teacher in me and when she says things like:

Umbridge: “It is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations, which after all, is what school is all about”

Although it seems that Harry is angry most the movie, he finally meet Miss Luna Lovegood who points things out in her amazingly awkward and prophetic way.

Luna: “If it’s just you alone, you’re not as much as a threat.”

And eventually Harry does start to get a little inspirational:

Harry:” Working hard is important, but there's something else that's even more important: believing in yourself. Look at it this way: every great wizard in history has started out as nothing more than we are now - students. If they can do it, why not us?”

Still the wonder that are girls baffle Ron and Harry in the film.
Hermione: “Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon”

I think this character gets too few lines in the films, because this is a real gem:
Kingsley Shacklebolt: “You may not like him, Minister, but you can't deny: Dumbledore's got style.”

Fred and George are always there to break tensions when Harry gets too tense and the best scene in the whole movie coincides with the best part in the book as well- Fred and George’s exit from Hogwarts.

(** At this point I moved to my suite above the garage, which was good because the tears were flowing with Sirus’ death and I knew it was only going to get worse.**)

Movie 6:

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Now we’re getting to the really heavy stuff, but the 6th film does have some pretty great scenes that make it a little less intense.

There are a few lines in this movie I like because they almost poke fun at what is happening. Lines such as:

Dumbledore: “You must be wondering why I brought you here.”
Harry: “Actually sir after all these year I just sort of go with.”

Ginny: “Why is it he’s always covered in blood”
(Referring to Harry)

And one of my favorites:
McGonagall: “Why is it, that whenever anything happens, it's always you three?”
Ron: “Believe me, Professor. I've been asking myself that same question for the past six years.”

McGonagall makes sure the boys stay focused on school no matter how much they try to slack off:
McGonagall: (to Harry) “Take Weasley with you, he looks entirely too happy.”

And ultimately, despite the looming fear that Voldemort is back and Dumbledore giving Harry new responsibilities, Ron and Harry still manage to find themselves perplexed by girls. What they decide is that Ginny and Hermione both have “nice skin.”
(They’ll get there eventually)

I’m a little unsure which is funnier- love potioned Ron or Harry on Felix Felicis. However, the Felix Felicis scene is a little more drawn out and ends with a drunk Hagrid and Professor Slughorn.

Slughorn: “Well that's life, I suppose...you go along and then, suddenly...poof!”

And then stuff gets real serious, real fast and Dumbledore is dead.

(**And guess what, I cried - again. Damn you Snape for playing your part so well.**)

Movie 7:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Okay now stuff is about to get really real. The last two movies are really just full of epic awesomeness (accompanied with lots of tears, of course.)

The intensity is there from the get-go, only to be broken a little by the great scene of the “7 Potters.” 

Mad-Eye: Fair warning, it tastes like goblin piss.
Fred: Have lots of experience with that, do you, Mad-Eye?... Just trying to diffuse the tension."

And then Mad-Eye dies, but as always Fred and George provide us with a little smile.

Fred: “George! How do you feel?"
George: “Saint-like.”
Fred: “Come again?”
George: “Saint like. I'm holy... Holey, get it?”
Fred: “The whole world of ear-related humor, and you go for, "I'm holy"? You're pathetic.”
George: “Reckon I'm still better looking than you.”

Silly Hermione, even after 7 years she is still getting her priorities a little mixed up.
Hermione: “We didn't celebrate your birthday, Harry. Ginny and I... we'd prepared a cake. We were going to bring it out at the end of the wedding.”
Harry: “Hermione... I appreciate the thought, honestly. But given that we were almost killed by a couple of Death Eaters a few minutes ago...”
Hermione: “Right. Perspective.”

So glad Neville wasn’t left out of the film, because he is so bad ass.
Neville: “Hey, losers. He isn't here.”

I hate when Ron leaves. But it then if I didn’t hate when he leaves I wouldn’t love when he comes back. I love that Hermione gets pissed at him and he pretty much does whatever he can to get her to forgive him.

Ron: “How long do you think she'll stay mad at me?”
Harry: “Just keep talking about that little ball of light touching your heart, and she'll come 'round.”

Dobby=sadness… all I’m going to say.
(**Many tears**)

 Movie 8

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

(**At this point in my movie watching I was starting to feel emotionally drained and tired because it was 2:00 in the morning. This may have somewhat influenced just how invested I was in watching the final film and everything just seemed so epic that it needed to be noted.  There are just so many fantastic scenes in the movie! And of course- lots of tears**)

 The HRH trio breaks into Gringotts- chaos. Harry pretty much sums it up when they decide to then go to Hogwarts.

Harry: “We have to go there, now.”
Hermione: “What? We can't do that! We've got to plan! We've got to figure it out...”
Harry: “Hermione! When have any of our plans ever actually worked? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose!”



The whole group of Hogwarts students reunited with the trio. Ron is a little disappointed with Ginny’s reaction.
Ron: “Six months she hadn't see me, it's like I'm a Frankie First Year. I'm only her brother...”
Seamus: “She's got lots of them, but there's only one Harry.”
Ron: “Shut up Seamus.”
McGonagall is a total-Hogwarts protecting- order giving-badass. I freaking love her.

McGonagall: “That doesn't mean we can't delay him. And his name is Voldemort, so you might as well use it, he's going to try and kill you either way.” 

Longbottom: “Are you really giving us permission to do this?”
McGonagall: “Yes, Longbottom.”
Longbottom: “Blow it up? Boom?”
McGonagall: “BOOM!... Why don't you confer with Mr. Finnigan? As I recall, he has a particular proclivity for pyrotechnics.”
Seamus: “I can bring it down!”
McGonagall: “That's the spirit, now away you go.”

The best line in the whole movie might be Maggie Smith’s “boom!”

Neville: “Ya, you and whose army?”
Then Boom!

The whole build up to the castle’s protection being infiltrated is super intense. And the last real moment we see some of the beloved characters alive.

Lupin: “It is the quality of ones convictions that determines success, not the number of followers.”
Shacklebolt: “Who said that?”
Lupin: “Me.”

Alan Rickman is so awesome as Snape. I just have to say that again, because this film is when the real mind-blowing stuff goes down… I mean-come on- SO GOOD (in a really sad sort of way.)

Snape: “No one... can know.”
Dumbledore: “That I shall never reveal the best of you, Severus?”
(**I cry**)

One scene that really gets me is when Harry turns over the stone and sees his parents, Lupin and Sirius.

Harry: “Why are you here, all of you?”
Lily: “We never left.”
(**I sob**)

The King’s Station scene with Dumbledore is well done in the movie and doesn’t leave out some of my favorite lines from the book.

Dumbledore: “You wonderful boy. You brave, brave man.”

Harry: “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
Dumbledore: “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Then the finality of it all. Neville is a wickedly awesome once more and Tom goes down.

 And thank you filmmakers for not leaving out the best:
Molly Weasley: “Not my daughter, you bitch!”
(**I cheer!**)


There you have it. It’s was pretty great and a total worthy use on time during my winter break. If you decide this is time worthy make sure you plan ahead (as not to be interrupted), get a good night sleep the night before and be prepared to be a little more emotional than watching the movies separately.

Now if only I could master the art of speed reading I could read all the books in one sitting…