HP and the COS

[Poppa]

OK, so I know there is a Muggle Informer site and all that. But rather than discussing HP&COS as a fan, I wanted to discuss it as a movie. And I couldn't find a thread here already doing that, so, here 'tis.

Saw it on Saturday night. I thought it was much better than the first one, in terms of quality of production. The acting was a vast improvement, and Brannagh and Isaacs were great cast additions. I thought that this movie really bodes well for the rest of the series - a big improvement on the first movie. I already thought the first film was good - not excellent but good rollicking fun. This second is still not excellent, but got a lot better. Bad points. Well, I wasn't all that impressed with Richard Harris as Dumbledore. I think he was a great actor and loved many of his roles, but I just don't think he was very good at Dumbledore. It will be interesting to see who they replace him with. Whoever it is might put Harris' performance in perspective for me - might improve my viewing of it.

[Lembas]

Poppa, I'm pretty much in agreement. This was a fun flick, but the really interesting thing will be how they handle the rest of the books-to-film. They get a little more complicated plotwise with each installment and certainly longer. And the situations are getting very much more serious. Dumbledore's role in the books becomes more important, so ( and I hate to say this ) they need to get someone who's in relatively good health in their late 50s, early 60s, who can age well with makeup and tackle the role for the next few films.

I had no problem with Richard Harris in the role, but his part in the first two was more of a kindly adviser than a mover/shaker. So he was good in that regard.

The thing that gets me is that people are trying to say that new kids should be cast for the roles. Why? Critics act if as they need to stay young forever. No, as in the books, they age with each school year. They are going to grow up in the seven years at Hogwarts. Keep the same cast of kids, if they're willing. It'll be cool to see how they grow up. Why, by book 4, they're already starting to become interested in the opposite sex, so what's the big deal with not wanting them to grow up? Anyway, the fun, if you've read the books, is trying to think of your idea of who will be good in the new roles that come forward in the new movies. I've already got ideas, but I'll discuss them as each new film gets nearer.

[Mirdan]

Originally posted by Lembas
The thing that gets me is that people are trying to say that new kids should be cast for the roles. Why? Critics act if as they need to stay young forever. No, as in the books, they age with each school year. They are going to grow up in the seven years at Hogwarts. Keep the same cast of kids, if they're willing. It'll be cool to see how they grow up.

i wholeheartedly agree with you, Lembas. i don't see why it's such a big issue for some people that the kid actors need to be replaced because "they're growing up soo fast" :rolleyes: i don't see why it should even be an issue in the first place. like what you already said Lembas, the main characters age with each school year. and i know that Rupert Grint who plays Ron is older than his movie character (is Rupert 13 already? i think the kid who plays Draco Malfoy's even older! is he?), but the thing is, there are some kids out there who don't look their age...heck, even i look half my actual age! but i guess what i'm trying to get at is that i think they ought to just keep the same actors (if they still want to do the movies) for the entire series. so they'll grow up, big deal. they'll have to sooner or later anyways!

and yes, i agree in that the CoS is much improved than the first. the actors who played Harry, Ron, and Hermione were also much better IMOH. they seemed more confident, especially Daniel Radcliffe. Kenneth Branaugh and Jason Isaacs were great! but i wonder who they'll choose to play Dumbledore in the next movie...:confused:

[lithorose]

I was just going to start a thread like this!:p (oh, well. You snooze you lose, I guess;) )

I saw Harry Potter2 a couple days ago. I have never read the books or seen the first movie. Naturally there were a lot of questions of who was who (who was the ghost with the detatched head?). Here is my rambling review:

It was a lot darker than I thought it would be, for a PG movie. Didn't scare me too much, but the spider scene was really creepy! (hate spiders!) It was worse than the scene in Indy Jones with the snakes and the one with the rats. Worse than both combined.

What I don't get about the movie is how Hagrid sent them to the spiders. I was convinced he did it on purpose, since it was hinted that he had opened the chamber of secrets and would want the kids out of the way. That's probably what I get for having no previous acquaintance with the character, so I wouldn't know if he was good or not. Also Dumbledore asks Harry if there's something he wanted to tell Dumbledore, and Harry says 'no'. He's hearing really scary voices, why wouldn't he tell? There also is no consequences for not telling Dumbledore, how much could have been avoided if he had?

The Uncle. Seemed like a comedy relief, but seemed overboard to me. But it's aimed at children so I don't know. The whole first scene played out over-the-top and badly, IMO (though I did laugh at the bit about the cake!)

However, once they escaped the uncle's house it got a lot better. Branaugh (it took me most of the movie before I realized who it was), Rickman, and Jason Isaacs did great with their parts. The kids were all pretty good too. It would be nice to see them keep the same kids for the next few movies, despite their growing up.

The cgi in this movie was really, really cool! I thought it was better than LOTR and Star Wars combined.

Well, that's pretty much all I can remember for now.

edit:
Does anyone know where they filmed it? I know it was in Britain but did they use historical buildings or build it? If sets, they are very historically accurate.

[Colli]

I'm not going to say much about the movie.. I've done enough of that at the MI. ;)

Just wanted to jump in and answer your question about the filming locations.

Duke Humfrey's Library, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
Durham Cathedral, County Durham, England, UK
Fort William, Scotland, UK
Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England, UK
Goathland, North Yorkshire, England, UK
King's Cross Station, London, England, UK

One of those cathedrals is used to film most of the inside Hogwarts scenes, although at the moment I can't remember which one. :)

[Princess Aurora]

I agree they should keep the same child actors. So what if they grow up slightly faster than they are supposed to in the movie? Why is this suddenly a problem, when actors play different ages all the time. It's very common to have 20-somethings playing high school students, so why should a slight age discrepancy matter now? Personally, I'd much rather keep the continuity with the actors rather than see someone of the exact right age playing the part.

Also, just thought I'd clarify some things, since I've read the books and seen both films...
Originally posted by lithorose
What I don't get about the movie is how Hagrid sent them to the spiders. I was convinced he did it on purpose, since it was hinted that he had opened the chamber of secrets and would want the kids out of the way. That's probably what I get for having no previous acquaintance with the character, so I wouldn't know if he was good or not.
Hehe, I can see how this would be confusing to someone with no prior knowledge of the character... The thing with Hagrid is that he is fascinated with all kinds of creatures, especially large beasts (in the first book/movie he's known to handle a dragon and a three-headed dog). He sent Harry and Ron to the spiders to find out the truth, that Hagrid didn't actually open the chamber. They did find this out, but what Hagrid didn't anticipate was that the spiders would be, erm, less than hospitable. ;)
Also Dumbledore asks Harry if there's something he wanted to tell Dumbledore, and Harry says 'no'. He's hearing really scary voices, why wouldn't he tell? There also is no consequences for not telling Dumbledore, how much could have been avoided if he had?
If you remember, when Harry tells Ron and Hermione about hearing the voices, Hermione responds that "hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign." Also, the Parseltongue thing... Harry finds out it's a mark of a dark wizard... so all these things combined makes it so he doesn't exactly want to spread this information around, since people already suspect him.
The Uncle. Seemed like a comedy relief, but seemed overboard to me. But it's aimed at children so I don't know.
They may have overdone this a little in the movie, but actually, in the books Uncle Vernon is quite over-the-top. So I think the movie is just playing on that.

Anyway, hope that helps! :)

[Rivenlas]

I definitely don't want new actors. I love the ones we've got--and Draco's fourteen--so what if he's a little bigger? Makes him more menacing.
I can't believe people don't understand that kids are supposed to grow!!

Vernon was a little over-the-top, but I think it's mostly the scripts fault. He was worse in the first movie. "No post on Sundays. No blasted letters today!" etc.

[Reba]

I've seen it 3 times now and every time I just giggle uncontrolably when Dobby comes on screen. I think he's great and I want one for home :D

I like Richard Harris as Dumbledore and I will miss him terribly when the next one is released. I can't imagine Dembledore being anyone *but* Richard Harris. *sigh*

I agree that the cast as it is now is just fine, and they should leave it be. For the sake of continuity alone...please don't confuse me by having to try and figure out who everyone is by putting new actors in the kids' roles :p

My brain seems to be disfunctional today....what's the character's name who owns the cat? He cracks me up! :LOL:

I can't wait for installment #3!

[Tim Benzedrine]

Hmm. Well, I think we'd better ship this over to the MI for them to beat around!:)




Look out guys, never done this before! Ya might end up at TORN or somewhere!


EDIT: Wow, we made it. Ew! everything is green over here. Musta got seasick in the transporter beam!:barf:


Well, here we are, anyway. Ripe for merging, closing, or whatever fate the MI powers that be decide for it. Be free. little thread! Run and play amongst your brethern!

Tim belts out a lusty reendition of "Born Free"

[Lembas]

Reba, that would be Argus Filch. To me, he's almost exactly what I envisioned when I heard "Aqualung" by Jethro Tull. :barf:

[Seriphus]

I like to hear what people who haven't read the books think of the films. I think with the second film, more than with the first, it must be quite difficult to keep track of who's who and why certain things happen. Whereas with LOTR where the book is changed into a movie, HP is more putting the book straight to film, as much as is possible, without making the story totally understandable.
Despite the books being aimed at both children and adults I find the HP films are very much children's films.

Poppa, I agree that while Richard Harris was a great actor he never really fitted the role of Dumbledore. I think his reluctance to play the part came across on screen.

Serphy

[Gimlikins]

CoS was good fun. I liked the anticipation of seeing the familiar cast and settings, although I wished they spent more time at The Burrow, less time at the Forbidden Forest. I wanted more interaction with the Weasleys. I was pleasantly surprised with how they did Dobby. He was an improvement from the book IMO. I like how the main kids were developing into their characters, although I hope in the next movie, they won't rely too much on using Ron's character for comic relief. His constant scared/anxious expressions can get tired after a while. Overall, I thought the new characters were great---they picked the right actors for the part, especially Lucius, who was so believable as Draco's dad, they even have the same sneer!

[Rivenlas]

Originally posted by Gimlikins
they picked the right actors for the part, especially Lucius, who was so believable as Draco's dad, they even have the same sneer!

Oh, yay! Exactly my thoughts, as everyone on this board knows and has heard me say a million times. :rolleyes: Ah, well, back to the villain appreciation thread for me to worship my Lucius.

[ValaSarah]

Hi! I just saw CoS last night, mainly because my 2 year old keeps on Demanding Harry whenver possible. I saw HP-ST in November, and my daughter fell in love w/ Harry (literally makes us pray to "bless Harry" every night).

I've become very interested in the plot line (well, as interested as I can while sitting in eager anticipation for TTT), and am going tonight to the Library (or bookstore) to get the 1st book so I can start reading the Series.

My Husband and I had many questions about the movie last night, but I think the one that I'll ask today is:

Where does Ginny get the blood to write all the messages Vorgamort(sp?) is telling her to write? The cat gets petrified, so it's not the cat. Do they just keep a repository of blood at Hogwarts for different magic potions, etc?

**guess it shows that I haven't read the books, if it's answered in them. Total movie goer at this point, greeny to the entire HP evolution**

~Vala

[Colli]

Nope, ValaSarah, it's not ever mentioned in the books where all the blood came from (maybe the roosters she killed?)

I gave blood today... vampires. :p ;)

[Sirius Black]

That's a very interesting question, Vala! And - great to have you here as someone who hasn't read the books. (And doesn't know me yet! *eg*) What did you think about the first film? (I personally didn't like it at all. Apart from the chess-scene and Snape and some little things).
The other question is - didn't your 2-year-old find it a bit scary? :eek:

It is Voldemort, by the way, but... sshhhhh... don't say the name!!
SB

[ValaSarah]

Sirius - nice to meet you. I'm glad to admit I really like the Harry Potter series now.

What I thought of the 1st movie - well, we saw it for the first time this November. Rented it from Blockbuster. I thought it was OK, but nothing like FOTR, which was what most friends were comparing it to. My daughter, however, insisted on watching it EVERY DAY for a week, and then we borrowed a friends copy and watched it AT LEAST every day for the next week.

That being said, I liked the innocence of it. I liked the fact that I thought it was Snape that was evil, and was completely surprised at the end to find it was Quell (sp?). I like the fact that Hermione is such a strong female character, and that it seems she does more to save Harry's hide than he or Ron do.

As for my 2 year old being scared - well, that was a concern, a BIG concern. It's why we held off watching CoS until last night. But, apparently my husband, who watches her during the day, has let her watch Jurassic Park 3, and she loves it. My daughter is really big into monster movies, like Nightmare before Christmas, Monsters Inc, Harry Potter SS, Spider Man and JP3. When we watched the movie last night we could tell she was getting tense during certain scenes (like the spiders, etc) but we'd ask her if she was Ok and she'd say "Ok" or "Happy". She actually started saying "mider-man!"(her rendition of Spider Man) over and over during that scene. After the movie was over, she was elated, was saying "Good Bye Harry", as the movie credits rolled, walking through the theatre, etc, and when we got out to the street started asking "More, Harry?, More? Please? Harry?". Couple that w/ the fact she fell asleep in the car, slept through the night, and didn't have anything like a nightmare, and I think I can say she's handled it fine.

Sorry for the long paragraph.:o Guess I get long-winded in the afternoon.

I'm now off tonight to pick up a paperback of SS and I'm going to make STRONG hints to my hubby to pick up the Quad Pack from Costco in hardbound edition for my Christmas Gift. I guess this addiction will last for a while, although I'm curious to see how I handle the two after TTT comes out next week. It'll be interesting to see which one I pick first, The Silmarilion, or Harry Potter.

~Vala

[swiftsnowmane]

You can always have both as obsessions! I do!:D

No, seriously, I'm glad that the movies are making some people go out and read the books. That is one thing that I worry about, that since LotR and HP are all becoming movies, that people will just be lazy and not want to read the books anymore. I have actually heard people say "oh, I'll just go see the movie..." or "I hate reading, reading is boring etc.":eek:

Ah well, I'll never understand those people.:p

But about the blood thing....I just always thought it was from the roosters. I mean, Ginny killed a bunch of roosters, so why waste all that perfectly good blood?;) Actually, did the movie even mention why Riddle (through Ginny) wanted to kill the roosters? I can't remember, I've only seen the movie once. (though I've read the books quite a few more times than that!:D )

[Sirius Black]

Actually - good point! - did the film mention the roosters AT ALL? The only reference to them I remember is Hagrid standing in Dumbledore's office with a dead one in his hand... You must be a very perceptive movie-watcher, Vala!

(I've just been listening to the audio-GoF... still scares me...)
SB

[Colli]

The roosters are mentioned when Hagrid bursts into Dumbledore's office, and when Harry is reading from the page Hermione took out of that book. (My question, why's a nice bookworm like Hermione yanking pages out of books that are hundreds of years old?) When Harry reads it, it follows the book very closely:

From CoS, Chapter 16
Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venemous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fized with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it.

And then they see the word Pipes and figure it at out. :D

[Elfëa]

Originally posted by Colli
(My question, why's a nice bookworm like Hermione yanking pages out of books that are hundreds of years old?)


I think that actually comes from the book! :eek:
my guess: she's been rather desperate over the issue, because she's a Muggleborn...

I won't comment on the movie here, I've done so in MI and KD...

Except that I want Felton to stay for more than one movie... ;) I love the sneer... :o

[Colli]

Yeah, I remembered that from the book. Still bugs me, though. :D


I think I still have my long review at my Alias board or something, but there's no telling how much I had added.

[qleap]

So finally last week I saw it too, first day that was out here, and I liked it SO MUCH. It's still nothing I'd call my favourite movie and I still find the books way funnier, but gosh if that was an improvement. I must admit that I didn't even like the PS book too much either, but liked it anyway, and I've spent the last year trying to denying to myself that I didn't like PS movie ;) "nah nah don't say that see, just, don't think you didn't like it" ;) self-brainwashing :D This time I really enjoyed it. Finally I was watching it and I was into the story (of course it was better because the story itself gets more interesting in the books) and I was so glad to see how relaxed the directing was compared with PS. I thought it was a bit too long (I'd have cut a long part of the final scenes) but after all I have very little to complain and no self-brainwashing ;)
I didn't like the idea of Branagh as Lockhart and I was SOOOOOO wrong :D I laughed so much everytime he was in the scene I guess I was making more noise than all the kids in the cinema :D he was just BRILLIANT.

LOL Vala "More Harry?" that's just too cute :D more for the young kids and Harry...
Travelling with Floo Powder scene: Harry ends up in the wrong fireplace. He looks around at all the weird scaring things around him and stop in front of a hand. He holds his hand out towards the hand... Very young child in the cinema, very aloud "NO DON'T TOUCH IT!" :D :D that's why I love watching movies with a the cinema full of kids they're just so funny.

[Mithrildin]

Good to hear that in Italy kids in cinemas are funny. :D Here they all just seem to open their fizzy drink cans and crisps bags when there is a tension-laden, creepy silence on-screen. :rolleyes:

I think they should keep the actors for the next movies. That is, if Daniel, Rupert and Emma agree. Emma would be a stunner in the fourth movie ! :D