Mischief Managed

The famiglia has been watchin Harry Potter this weekend in preparation for The Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Let me start off by saying, I love Harry Potter. I devoured the books. JK Rowling is somewhat a heroine to me. She introduced a whole generation of children to books, taught them a love for reading. As a bookworm whose childhood was filled with books, I admire her for that. I envy her imagination and the power to translate her creativity into the written word.

We started from the beginning, Philosophers Stone (because we're not American), and it was as though I was reminiscing about my own childhood. This was were our love for HP was born. It was also bittersweet to see how much the leads have grown (if they're getting older, then I am too). As we progressed I am reminded just how amazing the world of wizardry really is. Overall, the first four films I believe were carried out very well. Some aspects of course were not true to the book (the absence of Dobby and Winky in Goblet of Fire, anyone?), but I could overlook this.

Then we came to the Order of the Phoenix. This was hands down my least favourite book. That damn Umbridge made me want to throw my book across the room multiple times. I suppose that is a testiment to Rowlings writing, I despised Umbridge as much as the students. I found the film to be equally frustrating. One thing that bugged me in particular was the lack of backstory for Neville's parents. In the book, we learn that they reside at St Mungo's, yet the movie completely ignores this fact. I think the film would have benefitted from acknowledging this.

Last night we watched the Half Blood Prince and I must say I was disappointed. There seemed to be holes in the plot that didn't exist in the book, or at the very least I never noticed. Primarily the issue with the Potions text book. I thought that more attention would be given to it, seeing as it forms the basis of the story. Yet it seemed as though the book was forgotten most of the movie, until Snape's confession that he was the Half Blood Prince. Even that scene came across as an after thought.

The quality of the films decreased in my eyes, from the Goblet of Fire.

At some point this week we shall be watching Deathly Hallows Part 1, and then Deathly Hallows Part 2 this coming weekend in the cinemas. I truly hope they will live up to the hype. However I don't hold very high hopes.