A Grouchy TOP TEN (was:POA comment SPOILERS sort of)

[davewitley]

Entropy wrote:
> > 
> > 1. The Whomping Willow: Okay, if you could just run up to the 
tree 
> and
> > yell "Immobulus", don't you think someone would have figured 
that 
> out
> > by now? Fred and George?

Shirley replied:
> 
> Yup, agreed.  *That* was just stupid.  On the other hand, the 
> Whomping Willow provided some much-needed comic relief at times 
> (albeit a bit over-used by the end of the movie).

I saw 'Immobilis' as being one of those spells that need training to 
do there.  It seems plausible enough to me that if, say, Dumbledore 
wanted to deactivate the Whomping Willow he would have other ways 
than touching the knot.  It saved time in the movie on an otherwise 
fairly trivial plot point to have teachers able to do this.  I think 
this is really about the downgrading of Crookshanks and the virtual 
disappearance of the pet-related love-hate dynamic between Ron and 
Hermione.

Entropy:

> > 4. The Leaky Cauldron: Particularly, Tom the innkeeper. What is 
> this,
> > an episode of Monty Python?

Shirley:
> 
> My first thought:  Marty Feldman (may he rest in peace) from Young 
> Frankenstein.  Not, repeat *not* the picture of Tom that was in 
*my* 
> mind!
> Secondly, what's up with Fudge having what looked like an office 
in 
> the Leaky Cauldron?????

Yeah, Tom was weird.  It seems pretty clear that Cuaron decided to 
place some clear water between Muggle culture and WW culture and 
this, as well as the toads, the woman knocking on the door at the 
Leaky Cauldron, and the animal noises game were all part of that.

Entropy:
>  
> > 5. Dumbledore: If you ask me, the wisest and most powerful 
wizard of
> > his time would know a thing or two about good hygiene by now. 
Time 
> for
> > a mani and a pedi, Albus.

Shirley:
> 
> Okay, I'll give you that.  Otherwise, I liked Gambon in the role 
> (although I miss my buddy Richard Harris an awful lot).

Yes, I thought he was fine.  I thought a bit of filth and neglect 
were part of the Wise Old Mentor (TM) graduation course?  Is it 
canon that Dumbledore is well-groomed?

Entropy:

> > 7. Lucius Malfoy: As in... "there is no Lucius Malfoy". In a 
movie
> > with narry a Voldemort sighting, the least  they could do was 
leave
> > Lucius alone; he's so yummy.

Since neither Lucius nor Voldemort are in the book, I feel this is 
not a criticism of the film.

> > 8. Werewolf Lupin: Don't get me started on Werewolf Lupin.  Why 
in 
> the
> > world would Harry's class have to write a whole essay on how to 
> tell a
> > werewolf from a real wolf when the werewolf is the one that's 
seven
> > feet tall, hairless and looks like a cartoon when he runs away?
> 
> Okay, I won't get you started, but I didn't like it *at all*, 
> either.  So, I guess, don't get me started, either.  The guy 
sitting 
> next to me in the theater actually *snorted* when he saw that.

Yes, that was bizarre.  Clearly special effects were not in short 
supply, judging by the rest of the movie, so one assumes it was a 
deliberate decision.  The most likely explanation to my mind is that 
Cuaron wanted us to remember that this is a diseased and transformed 
human, not a wild animal.  Certainly a real wolf would seem rather 
anticlimactic at this point, as the wiewer would have to remember 
that the danger is not death but lycanthropy from even a small 
bite.  But still, one wonders if they couldn't have done something a 
little more naturalistic.

Entropy:
> 
> And, what was up with all the things that Hermione and Harry had 
to 
> do to get there "time past" selves going, or saving themselves?  
> Throwing things into Hagrid's hut (don't remember that in the 
book), 
> howling at the werewolf (that, neither).  Again, another bit of 
> schtick overdone....

Now I thought that was good.  It helped get the time travel concept 
across really well: considering the confusion and the debates we've 
had here in the past about the use of the Time Turner, I thought 
Cuaron did an excellent job of getting the idea across.  Hermione's 
howl is perhaps unconvincing, though I think it is entirely in 
character for her.

Entropy:

> > 9. Boggart Class: Harry actually gets up to the boggart and it 
turns
> > into a dementor. *Then* Lupin steps in. Later, Harry asks him 
why he
> > stepped in, and Lupin said he was afraid Harry's boggart would 
take
> > the form of Voldemort. But it was already a dementor! Aargh!

Shirley:
> 
> Oh!  That made me *so mad*!!  Yep, I don't think Cuaron read the 
book 
> (or maybe it was Kloves that didn't read it - isn't he the 
> screenwriter?).  At any rate, I can't believe JKR didn't step in 
and 
> say "Uh-UH, that's not the way it goes."   Another thing for the 
guy 
> next to me to groan at (and me right along with him)....

This really isn't about reading the book, IMO.  It seems 
inconsistent on its own terms.  However, I have always been a bit 
suspicious of Lupin's explanation to Harry anyway.  A worst fear is 
a worst fear, so all the other class members had already seen 
something *more* terrifying for them than Voldemort.  So I wonder if 
canon Lupin is making up a pat explanation for an action with some 
other motive anyway, and movie Lupin is just reflecting this in a 
more blatant way for the cinema audience.  The real motive 
(Consipiracy ESE!Lupin theories aside) would presumably be that 
Lupin didn't want Harry exposed to what the Dementor stands for: the 
exhuming of the horrors of the past.

Entropy:
> 
> > 10. Flitwick: WTF was that?

Shirley:
> 
> Huh?  I don't remember seeing Flitwick at all, unless you're 
thinking 
> of the guy directing the Bullfrog Choir, which I just don't get.

Yeah, I have seen a number of posts mentioning Flitwick, and have no 
idea what they are referring to, unless it's this.

David