Seeker - Dark is Rising Susan Cooper words/ SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE SPOILERS

[dumbledore11214]

> marion11111:
> Well, I managed to get back into to town from my convention in 
time to catch the last 
> cheap show so i saw it too.  And thank goodness, I didn't pay full 
price.

Alla:

I would like to bet that you had more fun at your convention than 
during this movie ;)




marion1111:

> And such a sad HP imitation!  No one will know that the books pre-
date Potter and are 
> wonderful because all they'll see is how the story doesn't make 
sense and in it's best 
> moments copies HP and I'm afraid anyone who was considering 
reading the books, won't 
> now. phooey.


Alla:

Yeah. If the only good thing that would come out of this silliness 
would be for the folks to pick up those amasing books and read them, 
that IS a good thing. But I am trying to imagine the reasons why I 
would want to read the book after seeing this movie and failing.


Alla: 
> > Truly, they are not. Will's brothers "bullying" I guess you can 
call 
> > friendly teasing sort of or maybe cruel teasing.
> > 
> 
> marion11111:
> Fred and George anyone?


Alla:

Oh yeah, definitely.


 
> marion11111:
> This was one of the most confusing and pretty much pointless parts 
of the movie.  They 
> set it up with all these hints about dad's involvment with Light 
and Dark and then it goes 
> nowhere.  If they were going to rewrite the story, that would have 
been a very interesting 
> direction to go.  I also think they could have successfully 
pursued that younger sister 
> holding him to his committment to the Light - kind of an anti-
Maggie.

Alla:

Yes.

 
> marion11111:
> Very badly done.  There is no sense of  this being a timeless 
battle and that the Old Ones 
> don't actually have an immediate stake in the outcome since they 
can't die.  What was cool 
> in the book  was that they fought the battle because it was the 
right thing to do.  And Will 
> got to see what his life would be like and just how far he needed 
to grow in his power.


Alla:

That was one of the most upsetting things for me - well among many :)

That Old ones are such freaking clumsy and that Will does not really 
becomes Old one, no? I mean, he is a seeker, GRRRRR, but let me 
explain.

Will after reading Book of Gramarye does not get any wiser, no? 
Isn't that the coolest part after him reading that hidden wisdom 
comes to him and he becomes such an endearing mixture of old one and 
eleven year old ( I mean fourteen) english ( I mean american) 
youngest child ( I mean with younger sister) BOY.

I mean when he switches from thinking about Darkness rising to the 
food that he is eating and has fun with his family. TOO sweet and 
hunting too.

In the movie - GRRRR, well I found the kid to be charming enough, 
but I saw NO glimpses of the Old one at all.




 
> 
> > Max is just being I guess Imperioed by Rider, so he is not 
really 
> > bad.
> 
> marion11111:
> really, I didn't leave to go to the bathroom or get more popcorn, 
but I think i missed 
> something.  Did Maggie do that?  Did she slip something into his 
drink?  Did the Rider do 
> that?  Just by looking at him?  Is that why he had an English 
accent?


Alla:

LOL. I thought Rider did and was speaking through Max or something.




 
> 
> > 
> > Are you sitting guys? There is no Walker. Repeat after me. There 
is 
> > NO sign of Walker anywhere in the movie, NADA, zilch.
> > 
> 
> marion11111:
> I am seriously confused here.  I came in about 5 or 6 minutes late 
and assumed I missed 
> the Walker.  Who the heck is the guy in the hooded shirt on the 
movie poster?  I could have 
> sworn I read an interview where the actor said he was glad to see 
he was in a later book.  
> Or was that the guy who played the Rider?  But anyway, who is the 
guy in the hoodie?


Alla:

As I said elsewhere, Walker's sudden dissappearance made me think 
more than anything else that I am in some sort of bizarre dream.

yeah, that guy was supposed to be Walker, who, you know, loved 
Merryman and feel betrayed by him ( I meant loved Magpie and felt 
betrayed by her), I mean so betrayed that he dissappeared.


The only explanation I was able to come up with and this is 
obviously just a GUESS - that screening audience reacted so badly to 
Walker story that they cut it out completely.


But hey, maybe it is for the best. Poor Hawkin did not suffer the 
abuse of the filmmakers that all other characters did.







> > 
> > Oh, oh and the sixth sign? It is Will himself. I thought for a 
> > second he would scream to Rider, I am a Horcrux, I got it.
> > 
> 
> marion11111:
> One of the teens in front of me said at this point "Oh, he's a 
horcrux - what a rip-off."  
> And Alla, did you have any idea which sign was which other than 
the first when someone 
> actually says "You've got the sign of stone."  They all looked 
like the Sign of the Glass 
> Marble to me.  Oh, except the water sign - very obvious that one.


Alla:

Does it matter? They are ALL the same and there was no underlying 
connection with the way he received the signs, no nothing, so 
whatever I did not know which one is which. Bronze? What bronze? 
Fire? What fire?

And did not really care.




 
> 
> > And the reason why Will parents are that way? Tom, that brother 
who 
> > died, well he was Will's twin and he was kidnapped.
> >
> 
> marion11111:
> I'm speechless on that one.

Alla:

Try imagining next movies ( oh horror) with two Wills in it.


Marion:
> And did you notice that Bathilda Bagshot makes a cameo in this 
movie?  Honestly I nearly 
> cried when I saw that - and not for joy!   She needs to be careful 
she doesn't get typecast 
> as  "creepy old lady that houses snakes."

Alla:

HAHAHAHHA. Indeed. Do you think Rider and his mommy Batilda was the 
funny thing they wanted to do with Rider? Shudders.


 
> I really am OK with filmmakers changing a story if they make a 
good movie.  LotR and 
> Narnia were - I thought - very well-done and they made changes.  
HP leaves out many of 
> my favorite parts, but they're still good movies so I'm OK.  
Little Princess (the 
> Americanized one) annoys most of my kidlit friends as does the 
Susan Sarandon Little 
> Women, but I didn't even care that they changed nearly everything 
because they're such  
> beautiful movies  But this was not that good - too many cliched 
action shots and sloppy 
> story-telling.  They could have cut half that crazy backstory and 
I don't see how the twin 
> adds anything other than confusion.  

Alla:

Right, I thought LOTR was great - changes and all that. Heart of the 
story and a lot of the story was there and same thing with HP. 

After seeing this movie I will NOT complain about any cuts in HP 
ever again. Movie is a different medium, but leave a heart of the 
story there, eh?



 
> Like I said earlier, I'm afraid that anyone who was encouraged to 
read the books won't 
> bother now.
> 
> Hey, so what did happen in the first six minutes?  I came in just 
as the Christmas tree was 
> being delivered by Old George and then Harry - no wait, Will - got 
one sock from Fred and 
> George.
>


Alla:

Oh, everything is in a blur for me. LOL. I think they showed school 
and Will and his siblings leaving on the bus and Maggie there and 
Will galsing at her adoringly and picking up her scarf or something.

BAD DREAM. BAD