Harry Potter 6, Review *Spoilers!*

I've seen Harry Potter 6 nearly twice, read the book through, and thus am a bit of an expert on the movie. The reason I saw it *nearly* twice is that there was a fire at the theater I saw it in the first night and we were evacuated. The screen cut off just as the golem-like creatures had dragged Harry underwater (I have issues with their appearance.... when I read it, I pictured undead humans, dripping and gross but not disfigured). It's the most suspenseful part of the movie, if for a moment you suspend disbelief, and faith that Potter will live to make another film. And I had to wait 24 hours to see how it resolves; a film enthusiast's nightmare.

The film's aesthetic retained the wholesome and magical quality of the previous 5 films, and the adherence to the HP story is satisfying if not entire. There are significant chunks missing (Bill and Fleur's wedding, for example... since Bill has been absent completely from the previous movies, there was no need to include him in this one. The death-eater attack is dealt with in a different way) but nothing is missing that changes the plot or would be too compelling to omit.

The hilarity Rowling infused into the 6th book is maintained, and most (if not all) of my favorite funny lines are included. The treatment of Luna Lovegood (temperament, costuming, her overall glow) is absolutely perfect. While certain events are merely alluded to (Lucius Malfoy's imprisonment being one), they perhaps necessitate audience members to be following the story.

I'm going to watch the movies in succession soon, to see if they are followable on their own (analyzed as if I never read the books, if such analysis is possible). I believe that by this point, someone unfamiliar with Harry Potter's saga would be baffled completely by Harry Potter 6. Not that it's confusing in and of itself the way HP5 was, but there are things that you could miss if not listening properly and which are never explained (the Room of Requirement being one).

The onscreen chemistry.... is absolutely to die for. Keeping the same cast for several movies seemed to help them become close, as one expects the characters would, and their interaction is sublime. Sure, they're good actors, but being together so long could only help. I'd like to see them develop Hermione and Ron's relationship well through the next movie(s). They don't really seem 'a couple' by the end. Word is going around that 7 is being shot as two films.... I'm not so sure. I sort of think they'll keep it short as they've done with the others, which would not do the story justice at all.


In summation, GO SEE IT. It's beautiful.

Coloring Books get a Bad Rap

Someday you'll recognize that it isn't settling; it's feeling no need to intensify for the world to see, it's being done with needing some special person to color in between your lines. someday you'll realize that the marker with the color is in your hand, you'll remove all the other hands piling on top of your own, struggling with you over which direction to color, and you'll make your own marks. And you'll realize you didn't draw the lines which are pre-set on the page, they were there, and you don't need to follow them... but they'll be there. You can make a dark enough mark and add on to them, change the way they form you, the way they become the structure of your presentation, but they will always be your basis. These lines are not a part of the page. Yet, to remove them, you'd have to damage the page. So you draw, you add your color, and eventually, everybody else just steps back and looks at the beauty of it. And everybody views it differently than you do. And no one can force your picture to be ugly. Use your creativity. You're holding the marker. It's your life. And you're already different, but not because of the lines or the page itself. You're different because of the force connecting the hand to the marker. Think about it. I can't explain it to you. Because, it's My life. And all of that? Is in My head.

'Encounters at the End of the World'

Werner Herzog likens Antarctica to an alien landscape as well as to a cathedral, through voice-over and music in a 2007 narrative of his experience near the South Pole. He begins by constraining the time and place, saying there are only 4 months of the year that planes can land where his flight landed. He tells us the scenery was not what he'd expected; he was disappointed. (Later, we also see the landscapes postcards generally proclaim) And though he told the agency who funded his film he wouldn't be talking about penguins, an adorable array of penguins (as well as a dissociable penguin researcher) waddle into the film anyway. He characterizes a certain penguin as deranged for deserting its flock and heading inland interminably, in a clear comparison to people who've left their place of origin and moved to Antarctica.

What I found most interesting about this piece as a whole was that the opening credit before the picture faded in was 'a film by Werner Herzog'. This simple line of text reinforces the subjective, the author's narrative, the authority by default and disclaims 'truth' more so than if it were merely to state the title and begin. He produces opinions vocally as well as by holding particularly odd shots much longer than a traditional videographer would.... par example, while underwater, a shot of some twirling creature shaped like a vanilla wafer (oblong, oval) which has light glowing through it, for nearly a full minute. In film, this is generally a horrible decision. The audience loses interest, or begins to analyze the psychoses of the filmmaker.

Another intriguing aspect of his 'artistic eye' or possibly simply his method of operation is that he has little concern for making people uncomfortable. He seems to have an understanding of how humans react to cameras, and an interest in the same. He knows they're more likely to answer questions without regard for their audience. He knows if you stand there long enough filming, people will approach. He watches as subjects move from performing for the camera and hamming it up, to waiting for him to turn it off, to embarrassed, to ever-goofier voguing. This film is less interested in the scientific research of life and geology at the South Pole than in the social science of the people who live there. This is an incredibly interesting angle, since it is not a natural place of habitation for humans. It is artificially colonized by scientists and adventure-seekers.

The visuals are colorful and unexpected (undersea critters that I had never seen and some I'd only heard of) and the score is incredible, composed for the film. His words were audibly pronounced and easy to follow, though accented in a way I'd never heard before. Developing insight into Herzog's mindset was unavoidable, as well as a taste of the impetus people acquire for what adventure lies in store in Antarctica.

Dracula, a Film Review

Dracula

A classic movie, with a beautiful set and the acting talent of none other than Bela Lugosi, made famous solely for his role as The Count. His intimidating stare may seem comical in this day and age, as do the ravings of Renfield, but they begin to gain an eerieness as the movie goes on, and even lend the viewer the same sense they might achieve going through a scripted haunt.

The dialogue is simple and direct, the story is clear and sets up for generations the Hollywood conventions for vampires.

While bearing similarities to the movie of the same title that features Winona Ryder, they are both based directly on the novel.

If you are a lover of vampire culture (for whatever reason) go back and see the classic, the original film version, or, hell.... check out the novel itself.

Occasionally, Love has little to do with how well you got to know a person, and everything to do with all the hope they gave you for the future.

Keep Your Eyes Open

Last night was fun. I spent more of it discussing vampires than I'd expected. I can't reveal details of this conversation, but I can say that a friend of mine is planning to write a pretty cool story about vampires, and you should keep your eyes open.

I also learned of Lamia, who seems to have semi-stolen my name. CHILDREN-EATER. it All makes the sense now.

“Lamia!” he shriek’d; and nothing but the shriek
With its sad echo did the silence break.
“Begone, foul dream!” he cried, gazing again
In the bride’s face, where now no azure vein
Wander’d on fair-spaced temples; no soft bloom
Misted the cheek; no passion to illume
The deep-recessed vision:—-all was blight;
Lamia, no longer fair, there sat a deadly white.

Munsters

So, I just watched the first episode of volume 1 of the Munsters, (1964) and here are my impressions. I found the dialogue cheesy. Uncle Herman and Aunt Lily are preoccupied with appearances. Granted, their worldview is that they are normal and everyone else is more or less 'off'.

Not to say that I didn't like it. I just, didn't like it enough to be obsessed with it. I'm about to watch some of the Addams Family (1964) series. I like them and I know it.

Nearly Haunt Convention time... damn, I can't wait.