Me gusta leer y ver la tele

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Every Little Thing He Does is Magic

Wizards and muggles alike have all been waiting for July 2007 with eagerness and an anxious anticipation hard to describe. The reason? That both the fifth Harry Potter movie and the seventh -and last- Harry Potter book were coming out this month. At the time of this writing, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is only four days away, but the movie came out last Wednesday, and, needless to say, Sunny Jhanna sent one of its Official Bloggers to give an account of the event.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix might be my least favorite book of the series. I am not sure if this is actually true or not, but the fact is that this is the book I remember the least about. Therefore, I didn't have many complaints about what the filmmakers left out of the movie, because I just didn't remember. I read an article on Entertainment Weekly about scenes and subplots that hadn't made it into the movie after seeing the film, and I was like, "Oh, well." In fact, this is the shortest HP movie, which is kind of ironic because it is the longest book. And still, the movie didn't feel rushed like Goblet of Fire, and it certainly didn't seem to have any pointless scenes. It was trim and streamlined, and for that I loved it.

The acting was, I think, much better than in previous installments, which is not to say it was bad before (I've never thought so). It might be because the story in OOTP is darker and more anguished than ever before, but Dan Radcliffe imbues Potter with depth and anxiety, and delivers a solid performance. I also enjoyed Gary Oldman as Sirius Black more than I did in Prisoner of Azkaban, and even Michael Gambon's Dumbledore was more intense than before. And let's not forget Imelda Staunton's Professor Umbridge, a true scene-stealer that makes you laugh and cringe in disgust and horror all at the same time.

Something I also liked about OOTP is how it brings back elements from all previous movies and integrates them: former teachers, old devices we saw once before and then disappeared, different places, supporting characters… Potter's universe never felt as cohesive on screen as it does here, and I thought that was a very inspired idea. And there are also new characters, obviously, whom I thoroughly enjoyed (Luna Lovegood, for instance).

Some critics were saying this movie is way darker than the previous Potter films, and they're right. But then again, the books keep getting darker, so that should come as no surprise. They've also been saying the movie doesn't feel very magical and everything is done competently instead of magically. Well, other than the magic battles, I don't think there's a lot of magic going on, true, but I kind of like the realism and grit this movie shows. Instead of being a pampered magical word, this is a dark, dangerous place, and the students have some "real" problems such as having to take care of themselves or not being able to trust the adults. I always thought the fifth book was about Harry being a true teenager: angry, confused, and lost in the storm of emotions being that age brings. And the movie captures that magnificently, so for that if nothing else, The Order of the Phoenix might just be one of the best Potter movies so far.

12 comments:

Nash said...

La verdad es que las pelis me saben a poco, se saltan tantas cosas de los libros, ya se que si no la peli duraria dos días, que me parece ver un resumen más que ver la historia de Harry Potter y compañia.
La historia esta bien y el combate de magos, que en el libro es patetico, aqui lo llevan bastante mejor. Los efectos estan muy bien y los actores ya son actores no chiquillos.

Mario Alba said...

Cómo han crecido, sí que es verdad. El combate de magos está bien, y aunque estoy de acuerdo en que es mejor que en el libro, me hubiera gustado que fuera un poco más largo.

Es verdad que tienen que saltarse cosas, pero creo que, en general, las adaptaciones han sido muy buenas, y poco nos podemos quejar.

Anonymous said...

No he visto más que un par de películas, que sinceramente no recuerdo casi, y aún no me he leído ninguno de los libros.
Pero el momento en que estén todos disponibles en paperback a precio reducido está cada vez más cercano. Entonces será cuando me meta de lleno en el universo de la Rowling. Jejejejejeeeee....

Mario Alba said...

Buena táctica, sí señor. Yo me compro el último el sábado, que es cuando sale. Agua se me hace la boca...

Nash said...

Jo que envidia...yo tardera un año más en saber como acaba..o no por que ahora dice que puede que escriba un octavo libro.

Anonymous said...

¿Un octavo libro? Pues vaya mierda. Mi táctica se evapora por momentos.
Claro que yo no sé cómo no me lo he visto venir. :(

Mario Alba said...

Lo siento, pero no me creo eso que dices, Nacho. ¿Dónde has leído/oído la noticia? JK Rowling siempre lo ha dicho bien claro: no habrá más libros de Harry Potter. Y, de haberlos, serían libros de referencia, en plan Compendio de Magia, o Historia del Quidditch, como aquellos libros que publicó hace tiempo. Pero de continuar la historia, nada de nada. Así que, o me presentas pruebas fehacientes, o no me lo creo ;)

Nash said...

Lo lei el otro dia en un periodico, como comprenderas no me guarde la noticia, me gusta reclicar, pero decia que puede que se escriba un octavo libro, no cierra la puerta a continuar la historia de Harry Potter, con lo que nos jode el final de su libro ya que sabemos que Harry no muere. Tendras que fiarte de mi palabra, pero no de la del periodico por que esos mienten mucho.

Mario Alba said...

Me fío de tu palabra, aunque no de los periodistas. He estado buscando por intenet, y he encontrado esta entrevista publicada ayer, en la que Rowling dice:

“Harry’s story comes to a definite end in book seven,”

Y luego, sobre la posibilidad de escribir otros libros ambientados en el mismo universo:

“Because the world is so big, there would be room to do other stuff,” Rowling says carefully. “I am not planning to do that, but I’m not going to say I’m never going to do it.”

Y sobre lo que escribirá a continuación, dice:

“I can never write anything as popular again,” she said. “Lightning does not strike in the same place twice.

“I’ll do exactly what I did with Harry — I’ll write what I really want to write, and if it’s something similar, that’s OK, and if it’s something very different, that’s OK.

“I just really want to fall in love with an idea again, and go with that.”


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/
19850371/

Vamos, que no parece que vaya a haber más libros, al menos que continuen la historia de Harry.

Anonymous said...

Pues parece bastante definitivo, sí. Mejor. No me gustaría que la franquicia Potter se pase al bando del "seguir escribiendo libros solo para ganar más dinero". Hace bien la Rowling en retirarse con la dignidad bien intacta.

Mario Alba said...

Pues sí. Bastante dinero ha ganado ya como para no tener que venderse ella y sus personajes al vil metal.

Nash said...

Cuando le falta la pasta ya veras como continua la historia de nuestro amigo Harry, posiblemente tarde 10 o 20 años y lo hara, escribira algo y dira que lo tenia planeado desde el primer libro.