Thursday, October 18, 2012

Movie Review: Catching Up on Potter


 Goblet of Fire rating: B-

Directed by Mike Newell
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint

Order of the Phoenix rating: C+

Directed by David Yates
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint

            I spent some time catching up on Harry Potter movies the other night. The fourth and fifth movies in the series were showing back to back on ABC Family. I hadn’t seen Goblet of Fire or Order of the Phoenix, so I felt that I should sit back and take it in. Watching these two movies filled in some blanks for me, as I had previously seen the third, sixth, seventh, and eighth movies. I’m not a big Potter fan, but I’ve seen many of the movies because they’re always on television or a friend always wants to go to the theater.
            I enjoyed the Goblet of Fire more than the Order of the Phoenix. It seemed the story line in the first had more continuity, and while there were some surprises along the way, Harry’s goal was clear. Plus, it was more exciting and entertaining. In the latter movie, we were introduced to many evils Harry and his gang were trying to fight at different times in the movie. It did not seem as though there was one clearly developed goal. I found that I wasn’t quite as interested in this movie (this might be due to the fact that I had been Pottering it up for several hours already). However, as this series is created from a book series it makes sense that not every installation is going to be mind blowing.
            The two movies helped me understand aspects of subsequent films. The screenplays were adapted in such a way so that there weren’t any major questions with the movies, however watching these two middle movies allowed me to witness the beginning of some relationships and more background into the characters that helps explain motivations. It was also interesting to see the development of the relationship between Hermione and Ron. Since I had seen them in love at the end, I am taking a trip back through time.
Watching the Harry Potter movies may just motivate me to pick up my book À Lécole Des Sorciers. Over the summer I started reading Harry Potter in French to brush up on my language skills. I figured the Harry Potter series might be a good way to go since the reading level gradually gets more sophisticated with each book. Even if I decide not to read the other books in the series, the first book should still be more simple than some other English to French conversions.

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