I LIKED IT (bracing for rotten fruit thrown)

[judy_magic333]

--- In HPFGU-Movie at yahoogroups.com, "Barbara D. Poland-Waters" <bd-
bear at v...> wrote:
> Thank you, Judy, for your brave and bold post. I am usually very 
forthright
> with my opinions, which I have been in saying I didn't like POA, 
but it
> seems the people who did like the movie are very critical of us who 
did not
> like the movie, saying you can't compare the books to a film etc.

Judy:
Thank you, Barbara, for your kind post.  Afterwards, I figured that I 
hd stepped on some toes and would get some responses accordingly.  
What I said wasn't with any particular post in mind, as I have read 
quite a few over the past few days, so it got to the point when I 
just wanted to express my feelings here.  There are those who will 
undoubtedly say that I am being presumptuous because I have not seen 
the film.  Perhaps, but that hasn't kept me from getting impressions 
about the movie and things that have been said here, which I wanted 
to comment about.  In spite of how I came across, I will honestly try 
my best to go into the movie theater with an open mind (except about 
Richard Harris being the DD I prefer -- I have seen and read enough 
to be able to reach this conclusion with certainty).  



> I may be the one who mentioned not understanding how JKR can like 
this movie
> so much (to which I received comments from people saying, 
basically, how
> dare I second guess what she likes), so I know just how you feel.

Judy:
That's exactly the kind of thing that bugs me, and I have seen the 
same thing with hard-core Tolkein fans.  Neither Tolkein nor Rowling 
(as well as those who think we should never question anything they 
say or write) are better than any of us, and so I feel we have just 
as much right to our opinions as them.  Those who disagree are free 
to to respond civilly or just ignore us.  But, one side has no right 
to judge and label the other -- and this goes both ways. 



> Absolutely. I haven't criticized anyone for their liking of the 
movie
> (although I feel I, and others, have been criticized for not liking 
it). I
> prefer to spend my time debating the good and bad of the movie, not 
who's
> right and who's wrong.

Judy:
That's the impression I am getting, from what I have read.  People 
can disagree about liking or not liking the movie without being put 
down the way some have.  Like, I remember the comment that those who 
wanted more of an explanation in the movie of things going on were 
just wrong and stupid and lazy.  That made me do a slow burn, let me 
tell you.  That's the kind of judging that should not be done here.  
We can agree to disagree, okay?  The biggest bone of contention seems 
to be the Shrieking Shack scene, and it seems to me that the majority 
feels that this wasn't done properly.  This makes me sad, as this is 
a core part of POA, imo.


> BTW, in re-reading POA, I have noticed that not everything I 
thought was
> misrepresented in the movie was in fact misrepresented. For 
example, I
> thought the whole intro-to-Buckbeak scene was different, but it's 
very
> similar (up until the ride over the ocean). And I had mentioned in a
> previous post that Harry was very reckless with the Invisibility 
Cloak when
> he was in Hogsmeade, but in rereading POA, I see that he didn't 
even take it
> the first time he snuck into Hogsmeade. If that's not reckless, I 
don't know
> what is! But I still dislike minor changes, esp. when it didn't 
seem time
> was a concern (the twins telling Harry about the map after seeing 
him in his
> Invisibility Cloak, instead of just stopping him in the hall, 
talking to
> Lupin on a bridge (?!) instead of his office, etc.).
> 
> JMO, don't curse me for it!


Judy:
I will not be ridiculous and say that the movie should follow the 
book all the way down the line -- of course not.  And, I imagine that 
it will take more than one viewing to take it all in.  But, the 
impression I have (and I should have stated this in my first post) is 
that -- unlike the LOTR movies and Peter Jackson -- POA doesn't 
really capture the spirit of the book, and I think that is really 
unfortunate.  And, that Cuoron also stuck in some subtle sexual 
innuendo makes me cringe, to be perfectly honest with you.  That's 
not what I want to see in the Harry Potter universe.  This is 
certainly not in the books, right?  There is a way to handle this 
kind of content without being a censor, but I would contend that 
Couron's way ain't it.  Again, jmo.

I wish that JKR had had more creative control and input in the 
movies.  But, she chose to distance herself from that, so we are 
stuck with what we have been given.  And, she will undoubtedly take 
the big box office figures as approval of POA and doing more like 
that.  *sigh*  I sure wish what we fans say could be looked at, at 
least, by JKR . . . . . . .