Harry Potter TV Series (5 Viewers)

[St. Widge]

Not for nothin' but the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios is the best ride/amusement park environment I have ever been on or seen. That section of the park could literally be expanded to an entire Theme Park full of NOTHING but Harry Potter related content. It really is that good. DiaGON Alley, Butterbeer, Honeydukes, Hogwarts, et al... It really is a place to fan out, geek out, just plain ol' enjoy yourself.

I assume you are talking about the one in LA, but the one is Florida is amazing too. I brought my daughter to it several times when she was younger and she loved the place. And I loved it too. I just wish I had the time to go there when it wasn't a 98 degree Florida summer.

 

[Taurus]

It's been a long time since I read the book and I only read it once so I don't recall all the details you do, but I guess I always thought that Deckhard being so human (along with Baty) supported the idea that the replicants had become more human than the humans who created them and that humans had lost their humanity.

But, that could just because I've seen the movie so many times and listed to the White Zombie song More Human than Human too many times.

The book is very different from the movie. I'm referencing the film.

In order for Deckard to be a replicant, all the cops, his landlord, the noodle guy, they'd all have to be in on the conspiracy to keep him fooled into thinking he's a human Blade Runner.

 

[St. Widge]

The book is very different from the movie. I'm referencing the film.

In order for Deckard to be a replicant, all the cops, his landlord, the noodle guy, they'd all have to be in on the conspiracy to keep him fooled into thinking he's a human Blade Runner.

As far as the movie, I would agree that I never got the conclusion from the movie that Deckard was a replicant. If it was Scott's intention to imply that Deckard was a replicant in the movie then I think he missed. Although I will say that I think there is a cut of the movie where it seems more obvious. It was the book that made me think Deckard was a replicant. I saw the original cut of the movie several times before reading the book and the book was the first time I got the idea that Deckard was a replicant.

 

[SaintsFanInLA]

I assume you are talking about the one in LA, but the one is Florida is amazing too. I brought my daughter to it several times when she was younger and she loved the place. And I loved it too. I just wish I had the time to go there when it wasn't a 98 degree Florida summer.

Yes. The one in LA. It was amazing. I definitely want to go back. There was so much awesome stuff.

 

[Optimus Prime]

 

[livefromDC]

Ugh...she gets on my nerves. I wish she could just go away. I know some of you think this as well, but listen people, Harry and Hermione are like siblings. I know it sounds cool to put together the captain of the football team with the quirky but beautiful valedictorian because that's what American high school movies have taught us. They also taught us that nerds, jocks, cheerleaders, cool kids, emu, and outsiders are the distinct groups that all high school kids fit into. Thankfully, HP wasn't created around American sensibilities.

She's come out and said a lot of dumb stuff that contradicts canon over the years and we don't know why. However, she's also come out and said a lot of dumb stuff about things no one asked her about so, yeah. But it's obvious from the books that Hermione and Ron are a match and Harry and Ginny Weasley are a match. It doesn't help that most people's impression of Ginny is shaped by the movies. I don't want to dump on a child actor (at the time) but she was nothing like book Ginny. She's fire and wit and perfectly matches Harry's energy. And while we're at it, Rupert Grint did a great job playing Ron Weasley in the movies, but the movie version of Ron Weasley is NOT like Ron in the books. He wasn't smart like Hermione (and no one was) but he was much stronger than he's portrayed in the movies. He has a very strong personality. In a house of brave, tenacious kids, he was chosen to be a prefect, a leader among leaders. He's exactly the type of person Hermione would find attractive. Compassionate, loyal, leader, and funny. I just don't get it. I can't see Harry being attracted to her either. Ron and Hermione always had that relationship where they were hiding liking the other by being little more cruel to the other than they had to be. There was never an attraction to Hermione on Harry's part...and it shows.

 

[St. Widge]

Ugh...she gets on my nerves. I wish she could just go away. I know some of you think this as well, but listen people, Harry and Hermione are like siblings. I know it sounds cool to put together the captain of the football team with the quirky but beautiful valedictorian because that's what American high school movies have taught us. They also taught us that nerds, jocks, cheerleaders, cool kids, emu, and outsiders are the distinct groups that all high school kids fit into. Thankfully, HP wasn't created around American sensibilities.

She's come out and said a lot of dumb stuff that contradicts canon over the years and we don't know why. However, she's also come out and said a lot of dumb stuff about things no one asked her about so, yeah. But it's obvious from the books that Hermione and Ron are a match and Harry and Ginny Weasley are a match. It doesn't help that most people's impression of Ginny is shaped by the movies. I don't want to dump on a child actor (at the time) but she was nothing like book Ginny. She's fire and wit and perfectly matches Harry's energy. And while we're at it, Rupert Grint did a great job playing Ron Weasley in the movies, but the movie version of Ron Weasley is NOT like Ron in the books. He wasn't smart like Hermione (and no one was) but he was much stronger than he's portrayed in the movies. He has a very strong personality. In a house of brave, tenacious kids, he was chosen to be a prefect, a leader among leaders. He's exactly the type of person Hermione would find attractive. Compassionate, loyal, leader, and funny. I just don't get it. I can't see Harry being attracted to her either. Ron and Hermione always had that relationship where they were hiding liking the other by being little more cruel to the other than they had to be. There was never an attraction to Hermione on Harry's part...and it shows.

Maybe it's a book vs. movie thing. I honestly only read the first few books because I was teaching my daughter to read and I didn't continue the books after she could read on her own. So maybe the books are vastly different. I just didn't see the relationships from the movies fitting based on how the characters were portrayed in the movies.

Also, I never really saw Harry as the jock captain of the football team type. But that again could be a movie vs. book kind of thing. But, frankly, if he really was that type I probably would not have liked him as a character.

Then again, while I overall like the Harry Potter stories and the theme parks, I'm certainly no expert on the lore or the subject in general.

 

[antipop]

Then again, while I overall like the Harry Potter stories and the theme parks, I'm certainly no expert on the lore or the subject in general.

zeetes told me you have Harry Potter Underoos

 

[St. Widge]

zeetes told me you have Harry Potter Underoos

zeetes can't reach where I keep my Underros so he can't know what kind they are.

 

[livefromDC]

Also, I never really saw Harry as the jock captain of the football team type. But that again could be a movie vs. book kind of thing. But, frankly, if he really was that type I probably would not have liked him as a character.

Yep, Harry Potter was captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team at Hogwarts in his sixth year. But that's kind of my point. Harry IS the football star on campus but HP isn't Americanized. I think on a subconscious level though that's where some of the Harry/Hermione stuff comes from. Our desire to put together the seemingly perfect choices for Prom Queen and King.

In the books, the dynamics between all three are move obvious. Especially in the way the friends would argue. When Harry and Hermione argue (or Harry and Ron for that matter), they have it out and sometimes it got ugly. Then they would resolve it, and hug it out. When Ron and Hermione argue it’s a knock-down, drag-out fight that ends with Hermione stomping away in frustration and tears and Ron turning into a moody mess. There was always underlying tension to their fights. Of course Hermione figured out long before either of the boys did why that was. And then I think Harry figured it out and wisely said, "yeah, I ain't getting in it, either they figure it out or not, I ain't touching it." Eventually though, Ron catches up too. And once they finally figured it out, it's like a cloud is lifted and they live happily ever after.

I love that Harry and Hermione can have this beautiful friendship and it's just that. Boys and girls, men and women CAN have incredible platonic relationships. It's one of the things I really like about the series. A young adult series that didn't devolve into a love triangle is absolutely refreshing. And again on the American sensibility side, we know the movie formula. Star of the movie Guy and leading girl go through life or death situation, when they come out excited that they're alive, "oh wait, were we kissing? I just realized I love you. Let's have sex cause we've bonded through this trauma!"

 

[St. Widge]

Yep, Harry Potter was captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team at Hogwarts in his sixth year. But that's kind of my point. Harry IS the football star on campus but HP isn't Americanized. I think on a subconscious level though that's where some of the Harry/Hermione stuff comes from. Our desire to put together the seemingly perfect choices for Prom Queen and King.

In the books, the dynamics between all three are move obvious. Especially in the way the friends would argue. When Harry and Hermione argue (or Harry and Ron for that matter), they have it out and sometimes it got ugly. Then they would resolve it, and hug it out. When Ron and Hermione argue it’s a knock-down, drag-out fight that ends with Hermione stomping away in frustration and tears and Ron turning into a moody mess. There was always underlying tension to their fights. Of course Hermione figured out long before either of the boys did why that was. And then I think Harry figured it out and wisely said, "yeah, I ain't getting in it, either they figure it out or not, I ain't touching it." Eventually though, Ron catches up too. And once they finally figured it out, it's like a cloud is lifted and they live happily ever after.

I love that Harry and Hermione can have this beautiful friendship and it's just that. Boys and girls, men and women CAN have incredible platonic relationships. It's one of the things I really like about the series. A young adult series that didn't devolve into a love triangle is absolutely refreshing. And again on the American sensibility side, we know the movie formula. Star of the movie Guy and leading girl go through life or death situation, when they come out excited that they're alive, "oh wait, were we kissing? I just realized I love you. Let's have sex cause we've bonded through this trauma!"

We are going to have to agree to disagree on this one. I'll defer to you on whether the Ron/Hermoine and Harry/Ginny relationships make sense in the books. But they didn't make sense to me in the movies. All the "fights" they had seemed very forced and just another version of the trope that when girls and boys like each other the boys are mean to the girls an they both secretly like each other. There just wasn't any real chemistry between Ron and Hermoine in the movies, or between Harry and Ginny for that matter.

As far as it being an "Americanized" view, I think it's the opposite. I think the Americanized view of these things is that the nerdy guy ends up with the hot girl who realizes that he treats her better than the captain of the football team who is as arse. Harry is not American and despite being captain of the Quiditch team, is not an arse. So it's not at all an American point of view. In fact, it's the opposite of what Americans expect for the nerdy girl to end up with the captain of the football team. Captains of football teams end up with the popular girls, the cheerleaders and Ginny arguably fits that role more than Hermoine.

Anyway, to me the movies very much so made it feel like Harry ended up with Ginny as a second choice and the fact that Harry and Hermoine wanted to be more than friends seemed very clear to me in the scene where they danced to the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song in the tent.

Maybe it's just bad film making that does not reflect the books, but I don't see those relationships as working in the movies. Doesn't ruin the movies but I did find the ending very odd and sad in that regard.

 

[livefromDC]

We are going to have to agree to disagree on this one. I'll defer to you on whether the Ron/Hermoine and Harry/Ginny relationships make sense in the books. But they didn't make sense to me in the movies. All the "fights" they had seemed very forced and just another version of the trope that when girls and boys like each other the boys are mean to the girls an they both secretly like each other. There just wasn't any real chemistry between Ron and Hermoine in the movies, or between Harry and Ginny for that matter.

As far as it being an "Americanized" view, I think it's the opposite. I think the Americanized view of these things is that the nerdy guy ends up with the hot girl who realizes that he treats her better than the captain of the football team who is as arse. Harry is not American and despite being captain of the Quiditch team, is not an arse. So it's not at all an American point of view. In fact, it's the opposite of what Americans expect for the nerdy girl to end up with the captain of the football team. Captains of football teams end up with the popular girls, the cheerleaders and Ginny arguably fits that role more than Hermoine.

Anyway, to me the movies very much so made it feel like Harry ended up with Ginny as a second choice and the fact that Harry and Hermoine wanted to be more than friends seemed very clear to me in the scene where they danced to the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song in the tent.

Maybe it's just bad film making that does not reflect the books, but I don't see those relationships as working in the movies. Doesn't ruin the movies but I did find the ending very odd and sad in that regard.

The movies did as good a job as could be done considering they started coming out before the books were finished. And let's be honest, it could have been far worse (looking at you, GoT). Despite the movies having to cut out a lot, it was still really done well. Unfortunately, Ginny's casting was done well before the movies knew the greater role she would take on in the books. To that point, she's hardly seen into the movies until it becomes known that she's going to be Harry's love interest. So we agree there. It was hard to manufacture the connection when the movie directors always treated Ginny like a background character. And unfortunately, the actor wasn't strong enough to pull off the lost time in the later movies. This is one of the things I'm looking forward to the TV series correcting. Ginny will surely play a more prominent part in the TV show at least starting with book two. From the movies, you almost forget that she's a big part of that storyline. She's there in the books. The movie makers just didn't know she'd be so important and it shows.

Respectfully, you've misinterpreted the scene you referenced. It wasn't them attempting to be more than friends or hinting at them wanting to be more than friends. Quite the opposite, that scene is specifically about Ron. It was an attempt to cheer up his friend who's obviously missing the guy she's in love with. The scene ends on a somber note. The unspoken message that both understood was it's not the same without him here. She knows what he's trying to do and appreciates it. He understands that she's trying to make the best of it and not show how it's getting to her and appreciates her for sticking through it. It's a love and mutual respect for their friendship being highlighted in that scene, nothing more.

 

[St. Widge]

The movies did as good a job as could be done considering they started coming out before the books were finished. And let's be honest, it could have been far worse (looking at you, GoT). Despite the movies having to cut out a lot, it was still really done well. Unfortunately, Ginny's casting was done well before the movies knew the greater role she would take on in the books. To that point, she's hardly seen into the movies until it becomes known that she's going to be Harry's lover interest. So we agree there. It was hard to manufacture the connection when the movie director's always treated Ginny like a background character. And unfortunately, the actor wasn't strong enough to pull off the lost time in the later movies. This is one of the things I'm looking forward to the TV series correcting. Ginny will surely play a more prominent part in the TV show at least starting with book two. From the movies, you almost forget that she's a big part of that storyline. She's there in the books. The movie makers just didn't know she'd be so important and it shows.

Respectfully, you've misinterpreted the scene you referenced. It wasn't them attempting to be more than friends or hinting at them wanting to be more than friends. Quite the opposite, that scene is specifically about Ron. It was an attempt to cheer up his friend who's obviously missing the guy she's in love with. The scene ends on a somber note. The unspoken message that both understood was it's not the same without him here. She knows what he trying to do and appreciates it. He understands that she's trying to make the best of it and not show how it's getting to her and appreciates her for sticking through it. It's a love and mutual respect for their friendship being highlighted in that scene, nothing more.

That's fair. But, I don't see your interpretation of the dancing. Maybe it's because Radcliffe and Watson had the chemistry and talent that Gint doesn't have, but I never saw that level of closeness or love between Hermoine and Ron and it seem to me to be more than friendship. Frankly, Hermoine is much like Harry's mother . . . and Harry is "just like his father" to some extent. So that's part of why I think that relationship makes more sense.

In addition, maybe it's just because I'm not a romantic, but what is love other than a close friendship with a shared physical attraction?

But, all these things are open to interpretation, and maybe my interpretation isn't shared by everyone or even the majority.

 

[livefromDC]

That's fair. But, I don't see your interpretation of the dancing. Maybe it's because Radcliffe and Watson had the chemistry and talent that Gint doesn't have, but I never saw that level of closeness or love between Hermoine and Ron and it seem to me to be more than friendship. Frankly, Hermoine is much like Harry's mother . . . and Harry is "just like his father" to some extent. So that's part of why I think that relationship makes more sense.

In addition, maybe it's just because I'm not a romantic, but what is love other than a close friendship with a shared physical attraction?

But, all these things are open to interpretation, and maybe my interpretation isn't shared by everyone or even the majority.

Dancing doesn't equal attraction. Yeah, it's the movies. Also, Harry's nothing like his father. If that's your takeaway, there's certainly some missing context in the movies. James is the embodiment of the star athlete king of the school jerk.

 

[St. Widge]

Dancing doesn't equal attraction. Yeah, it's the movies. Also, Harry's nothing like his father. If that's your takeaway, there's certainly some missing context in the movies. James is the embodiment of the star athlete king of the school jerk.

I was quoting Snape who said Harry was just like his father. Anyway, I agree he wasn't just like his father, but there are definite similarities in the bravery, popularity, and athletic skills. Obviously his father had a cruel streak that Harry does not have, but again Hermoine was much like Harry's mother and if you know your Freud then . . . I'm half joking, but it does happen quite a bit that men are attracted to women that are like their mother and given that Harry had no mother figure growing up, it would make sense for him to be looking for a "mother".

As for the dancing, no dancing doesn't have to mean attraction, but I don't recall seeing many women in platonic relationships dancing like they were. I know I wouldn't want my wife dancing with a friend like that. But, that could just be the movie.