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[KarStealer]

Well, as long as it sin't as horribly mislead as the others, and has details that some people find "irrevelant" in it, i'll be fine.

[0bsessions]

Just use the guy who played his dad. Sounds exceedingly simple to me.

[Muskrat121]

I cried many a time in book 7 but i don't think films 7 and 8 will have quite the same effect due to the cagey awkward acting.

Also, I don't think Daniel Radcliffe will have any trouble still looking 17. However, I have no idea what they will do if they include the shitty epilogue thing. He can't pull of being over 30.

I hope they don't do the "shitty epilogue thing."  I thought the seventh book was fantastic, and that epilogue was totally stupid and shitty.

[Lines]

That's how I feel about the epilogue. Actually, when people were posting pages all over the internet, I read it thinking it was fake and then I got the book and I was really REALLY disappointed it was real. It's probably the thing I think the series could have done without. Disappointing endings can ruin a series, but luckily the rest of the book was strong enough to outweigh the ending.

[Ikrik]

He's been too old to play the part for a couple years now.  He was supposed to be 15 in the last movie but he could have easily passed for 18-19.  Anyway it doesn't matter because the movie is going to be terrible.  I believe the only reason why people are going to like it is because it's "Harry Potter." That's all.  Girls will be "OMG Rupert Grint is SO hawt" and guys will be like "yeah......Ginny." But the movie is still going to be terrible. 

The epilogue for the book was the single biggest copout I've EVER seen in my life....actually, that's not really true.  Ever since the 4th book the series has been terrible and predictable and incredibly angsty.  Malfoy doesn't die?  WHAT!?  Harry is still alive?! WHAT!? Ok...so Harry....hates Malfoy and Malfoy hates Harry and in the seventh book they're PRETTY close to killing each other...and yet years later they can see each other on a railway platform and not duke it out?  Not possible. 

[no one special]

The epilogue for the book was the single biggest copout I've EVER seen in my life....actually, that's not really true.  Ever since the 4th book the series has been terrible and predictable and incredibly angsty.  Malfoy doesn't die?  WHAT!?  Harry is still alive?! WHAT!? Ok...so Harry....hates Malfoy and Malfoy hates Harry and in the seventh book they're PRETTY close to killing each other...and yet years later they can see each other on a railway platform and not duke it out?  Not possible. 

a couple of points:

1) Harry saved his life.  No matter how much you hate someone, if a wholly selfless act out of the goodness of their heart is the sole reason you're not a smoking pile of Fiendfyre ash, you'll cut 'em a little slack.  Oh, you'll still hate him, but there'll be a microscopic dusty fleck of gratitude nagging you in the back of your mind.

2) After Voldemort was destroyed, Malfoy's time to shine was over.  The reign of Dark wizardry was toast, so the Dark Wizard kids pretty much go into hiding and go on with their lives after that - especially if they, like Malfoy, are lucky enough not to be locked away for the rest of their days. 

3) Malfoy was changed after that experience.  After basically being condemned to death for some s*** your father did, and almost dying numerous times, anyone would be.  You realize you got off lucky and you grow older and a little wiser and decide to focus on more important things in life.  The old hatred is still there, but you're not gonna go dueling in the streets anymore.


I do agree with you though, that Harry not dying was crap.  Having a martyr who lives is just.... I dunno, feels wrong. 

[MissAmbiguity]

A few things

People who can read book five in one sitting are insane. I can read each of the other books in a day. I can read the first three in a day... but serious OotP is huuuge, it takes me two days every time. I read DH in one sitting, six hours, as well.

The epilogue was full of crap. I understand JK Rowling needed to give Harry a family after his traumatic childhood, I do... but seriously that was tied up waaay too neatly. The girl of his dreams is conveniently the girl who's been in love with him since she was 10. She's also so beautiful that the Slytherins would have her if her family wasn't full of blood traitors. She's a great athlete and she also has a mean bogey hex which she can get away with, every time. She's funny, popular and relates to Harry because she's also been possessed by Voldermort. She also has red hair and reminds Harry of his mother. She's also a bit of an outcast in the beginning because of her second hand robes and lack of nice things, so she's suffered for character. Isn't that just perfect?

=.= And anyways... here in the muggle world, how many people marry their high school sweethearts? Really.

Any ways, Harry and Draco, I don't think it's unusual that they can at least be civil to each other in public. Harry did save his life in the room of requirement. Narcissa may have had ulterior motives when she told Voldermort Harry was dead, but she did save his life.

[ThePQ4]

People who can read book five in one sitting are insane.

Maybe you're the one who is insane, and the rest of us are just spectacularly awesome... Or have a lot of time on our hands.
(For the record: I believe it took me about...15 hours, including the half-hour of sleep I took to read the book...the first time. The second time it was probably more like 10)

I agree about the prologue thing though. It was pretty bad. I would have preferred to have never seen it, and left with that "wonderment" of what happened to the characters afterwards. But, over all, I still love the series, and I don't understand why people who don't insist on trying to bring down the rest of us for liking it... If you say they're so shitty, why do you involve yourselves in conversations about it??

Just sayin'.

[Lines]

I read all of the books in one sitting the first time I read them, including OotP. They aren't challenging reads, even if some of them are quite long, and I'm a fast reader as is. One of my friends actually finished a few hours before I did and had to struggle not to tell me about what happened in book 5. I had to do the same for book 7 with her, because I didn't have to work the next day and she did.

[0bsessions]

I would like it noted that I guarantee every single person here bitching about the fact the ending was "wrapped up too neatly" or would have preferred to "wonder" would have been bitching relentlessly about a lack of closure and asking "but what happens to everyone" if the book ended after the Battle of Hogwarts. Ambiguous endings do not please the masses.

Seriously, are we, as a society, so jaded that we can't deal with a happy ending once in a while? Jesus, a little optimism won't kill you.

I would also like it noted that I feel Harry's relationship with Ginny was rather natural and organic. They weren't "high school sweethearts." They dated for all of a couple months throughout their time in school together. She was his best friend's sister and I'd classify her much more along the lines of "girl next door" than anything and she fit the classic girl next door archetype. She was the one girl amongst six boys raised in a loving, but tight environment. If you ask me, Ginny's one of the more realistic characters in the books.

[Jimmy the Squid]

I liked the epilogue, it wrapped everything up nicely and (big surprise) I'm a sucker for happy endings. I just don't think it was particularly well-written. After all 7 books it felt like she had written it while she was writing Philosopher's Stone. It didn't fit in with the level of writing that I had come to expect after Order of the Phoenix.

[0bsessions]

You see, I kind of liked that. It felt like it was going full circle.

[Jimmy the Squid]

I guess, it just struck me as a clumsy handling of good material.

[Lines]

I followed Jon's advice because I DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO GO BLIND.

[0bsessions]

I've edited it and I swear Linds, if you don't edit that before the slash-fic people see that and start fucking up my thread, I swear to god, there will be hell to pay.

[Lines]

Fixed it.

[0bsessions]

A wise decision.

[Ikrik]

I agree that ending the book with the conclusion of the Battle of Hogwarts would be a tremendous mistake.  There'd be no sense of closure and people would be hounding JKR forever trying to figure out what happens to Harry and the gang. 

I also love happy endings, and having Harry Potter ending on a sad note would completely destroy the dreams of the kids who read them.  HOWEVER what I did not appreciate about the epilogue was how sappy, stupid, pointless and predictable it was.  I was rooting for Harry to die, Ron and Hermoine to mourn him and for them and Ginny to destroy Voldemort forever.  As soon as Harry came back to life I knew that everything was going to end happily and hey....Dumbledore was brought back too!?  Even though she said he wasn't going to be brought back?! Pfftt. 

What I hated the most about the epilogue was that it really left me wanting a lot more.  The LAST thing I cared about would be the kids that Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Harry, and Malfoy end up having.  I was more interested in what Harry's job was going to be, I mean you can't just spit in the Minister Of Magic's face and just expect to be an Auror.  I cared about Neville and Percy and how Fred/George was dealing with the death of Fred/George.

However, what I got was fanservice, like an anime pantyshot, makes you happy....but really doesn't do anything at all.

[MissAmbiguity]

Who's trying to bring down anyone else? I love the Harry Potter series, I've been reading the books since I was in sixth grade. I wouldn't have made it to the epilogue otherwise -- that doesn't mean I can't dislike parts of it. That also doesn't mean I'm trying to change your mind by having an opinion.

To Obsessions,
No, ending the book after the Battle of Hogwarts wouldn't have been a good place to stop... but Rowling really could have done a much better job with the epilogue. It felt like a cop out to have things end so serenely. She had so much material to work with and yet she didn't address any of it.
How about some closure for the people who actually died? Harry got to see Lupin after, but he got to be with his friends and maybe he didn't have to suffer from the effects of the werewolf bite post death, but what about Fred and the rest of the Weasleys? Only Dobby got a funeral, there was no time for any one else. I'm surprised Malfoy could even bring his kid to school and that he wasn't being stoned to death. What happened to all the surviving death eaters? Were there trials? She spent all of book five telling preaching about how the four houses should unite and then didn't develop it any further. Aside from Snape, none of the Slytherins helped out with the war effort. Not one student from one quarter of the magical British community actually bothered to join up in DA or make any difference on the other side. She left a lot of things hanging, and not in a good way.


I just don't like Ginny in general, so that might be it. =P I didn't think there relationship had much development. Granted, he only started noticing her after he got over his feelings for Cho (with the help of some jealousy) but
1) It felt like it came from the middle of no where
2) It seemed like they had little to no interaction whatsoever
3) I would have bought a relationship with Luna -- she seemed to "get" Harry more.

It felt like she was his little sister more than anything else. That's all I'm saying. It felt weird, underdeveloped and much too convenient. Look at Ron and Hermione's relationship. Even if you were to dislike the pairing, you could see it happening since book four. They're not perfect, they have obvious flaws and holes with their relationship as seen with their constant bickering but it was always there.

Any who, also about crushing children's dreams... after the third book, it's not really meant for children to read. It has to be young adult+... too angsty otherwise.


=P and now you've gotten me curious about slash-fic people.

[Dimmukane]

Linds,


Dammit.

[Lines]

Dammit?

=P and now you've gotten me curious about slash-fic people.

Nooooooooo! If you are not into that sort of thing, you do not want to go there. Unless it's read by amper, then it's good for comic value, but other wise that is a scary place.

[LizziL]

I just don't like Ginny in general, so that might be it. =P I didn't think there relationship had much development. Granted, he only started noticing her after he got over his feelings for Cho (with the help of some jealousy) but
1) It felt like it came from the middle of no where
2) It seemed like they had little to no interaction whatsoever
3) I would have bought a relationship with Luna -- she seemed to "get" Harry more.

It felt like she was his little sister more than anything else. That's all I'm saying. It felt weird, underdeveloped and much too convenient. Look at Ron and Hermione's relationship. Even if you were to dislike the pairing, you could see it happening since book four. They're not perfect, they have obvious flaws and holes with their relationship as seen with their constant bickering but it was always there.

Never before has someone actually...articulated this for me.
Ugh, the Ginny relationship always seemed really *odd* to me, because it just came out of nowhere. Granted, after re-reading the books *cough*several times*cough*, it kind of made sense, just...still seemed weird. She's your best friend's SISTER, dude! It's like if I dated one of my friend's older brothers....it'd be weeeeeeeeird! I just wouldn't do it...

[MissAmbiguity]

Mmm... my sister actually has the same problem, too. My sister is 23 and my brother is 22. It's not that she has a thing against younger guys, but she feels like if she dates someone his age, it's like dating her brother...

Although, I'm 19 and I don't have a problem dating someone 22... but I'd probably not date my brother's friends. It would be weird.

[Jimmy the Squid]

I don't see a problem with it. One of my friends is going out with his sister's best friend. They're moving out together this year in fact. Honestly the only thing that has stopped me from making a move on any of my friends' siblings is, well I just don't like them. Other than a weird territoriality about your friends or your siblings I really can't see why it would be an issue.

Edited because I forgot about my new hobby.

[0bsessions]

Man, if any of my friends had attractive sisters, I'd have reeped that gold mine ages ago.

[Lines]

I have friends who have dated friend's younger siblings. As long as the older sibling is okay with it, I don't see the big deal.

[Ballard]

Yeah but quite often they're not..

[Dissy]

Fuck Harry Potter.  Seriously, how can anybody read those books and not come away rom them disgusted.  The prose is awful, the dialogue is reminiscent of the worst B-movies.  All in all, they are shitty novels And I still haven't read six or seven.

[minorbird]

Rowling isn't the greatest writer that ever lived, and I think that awful epilogue is testament to that. But considering that a lot of people started reading the books when they were very young (I was 8 I think?) they were drawn into the imaginative aspects of the world that she's created, like the spells and monsters - not the amazingly sosphisticated dialogue, or the beautifully written prose. Yeah of course, ten years later I can look back and see because of the wider reading I've done that she's not the greatest, but not only did she improve considerably from Philosopher's Stone to Deathly Hallows but she did do a lot in getting kids actually reading books. Plus, its the nostalgia of dipping into that imaginative journey with Harry and pals every once and a while that I find enjoyable. But yeah, the books aren't everyone cups of tea. And I've definetly seen some B-movies with much worse dialogue.

[Dimmukane]

I don't know, I've seen some pretty bad B-movies. 

[0bsessions]

minorbird pretty much nailed it.

Literary genius it's not, but she's got children reading. I think that matters a hell of a whole lot.

Besides, something doesn't need to be perfect to be enjoyable. Take the original Star Wars Trilogy. One of the most beloved stories and film series of our generation. The dialogue is actually relatively cheesy and weak half the time and the plot is an incredible cliche when you take the space element out. Poor peasant meets mentor figure and goes on a quest to save the princess. Hero gets caught up in a quest to save the world from an evil emperor. Throw in magic and a daring rogue and that's essentially every fantasy story ever.

[Dimmukane]

Don't forget dysfunctional families!  They're everywhere!

[Ikrik]

Actually JK Rowling ISN'T getting kids to read. A study was done somewhere in BC that showed that after Harry Potter kid's aren't reading anything else.  While I applaud her for getting some kids reading if they put down reading after Harry Potter nothing has changed. 

[Dimmukane]

But it is encouraging literacy.  I think.  She does use some big words from time to time that I imagine most 8 year olds would be clueless about otherwise.

[MissAmbiguity]

She's a better story teller than she is a writer, if anyone understands what I mean by that o.o''

[Surgoshan]

That her plots are compelling, but lack cohesion and occasionally have holes in them?  Her characters are easy to connect to, but lack any real depth or strong motivations?  That her setting is ill-defined and basically a thin mat veneer for her characters to stand in front of?

Yeah.  But I still enjoy the books.  Not so much the movies.

[minorbird]

Actually JK Rowling ISN'T getting kids to read. A study was done somewhere in BC that showed that after Harry Potter kid's aren't reading anything else.  While I applaud her for getting some kids reading if they put down reading after Harry Potter nothing has changed. 

Whilst I did read a lot before HP, I found it incredibly hard to move past those books as I had become so completely involved with the characters and the story. Then I discovered Tolkien and everything was good again.

The dilemma is that if you really enjoyed the books, you're not going to enjoy the movies because of your expectations. Whenver there is an adaptation of a book I've read to a movie I constantly find myself, despite my best efforts not to, nitpicking where they have missed something, or changed the chronological order of things, or just generally fucked everything up.
As such, I almost died when I saw the Golden Compass. Completely butchered it.

[Jimmy the Squid]

For some reason I am able to separate the two mediums from each other so that they both remain entertaining. As a result I love terrible films even though they butcher the source material. On the upside, I am much happier this way.

[minorbird]

Whatever keeps you sane. I'm one of those assholes who sits in the cinema furiously muttering things like "where the fuck did the Quidditch go?" or "what spell was that?". Inconsistencies drive me bonkers.

[smellslikemagic]

I think they should cut out any mention of the (absolutely unnecessary) Deathly Hallows, but keep the title.  Mwa ha ha.

I got quite annoyed with her introducing the bit about deathly hallows halfway into the book, because adding too many plot elements into a story is weak.  I mean, even the greatest minds have done it (Hitchcock for one) but it really disengages my interest.