Any Harry Potter Fans here? I just bought the Blu Rays from the freaking UK!

Well, I knew I was taking a risk in writing something that could be perceived as "negative" about a series as passionately followed as Harry Potter.

Hey, make no mistake, I'm in my mid-40's and I've read every book and seen every movie. I think that would probably put me on the "fan" side of the ledger. Or just creepy weird guy side of the ledger....

And I would say, I respect JK Rowlings for the decision she made, chronologically aging the characters and simultaneously changing the tone as the series progressed was a bold decision.

It just doesn't quite really work for me. For original fans, or fans that aged along with Harry Potters crew, I can see where it would create a very strong connection.

Also I think anything that get's young kids and adults clamoring for books and reading...is a good thing.

My reaction is distinctly personal. I'm simply admitting to more enjoyment of the "younger" more whimsical aspects to the series, which probably necessarily faded as the series progressed.

But overall? There's good reason Harry Potter became as huge as it became. There's ample reason it has become a institution that includes a series of movies, and even a theme park.

The original tapestry of detail and imagination created by JK Rowlings was amazing.

I simply find the adventures of a 10 year old, being transported to a magical school of wizardry, a lot more fun than the exploits of a battle hardened 19 year old fighting a giant carnivorous snake, and the noseless face of evil itself.

But if anyone asked? And nobody did. I'd say sure, watch all the movies, read all the books. Read the first one....several times...

I'd much rather plunge through platform 9-3/4's than walk onto a car lot. Because I'm pretty sure the salesman has taken Polyjuice potion and really isn't my friend from High School. And if I say "I'll Take It"...I'm sure I'll be taken to the dealer managers office to meet "He that shall not be named".

To spin this back to Prius Chat...You really need a "Defense Against The Dark Arts" background to deal with most car sales situations. 2 things happened as I drove my Honda Fit off the lot...#1 my vehicle magically depreciated in value, thousands of dollars, instantly....and #2, I swear I saw a bright light in the rear view and the salesman wave (his pen?) and say " Avada Kedavra "..I ducked and was really glad I got the 3M protective film...

 

i agree on the innocent lighthearted beginning, it's easy to ignore the fact that voldemort (shudder) killed harry's parents amid everything else going on. then she brought the hammer down in the end. would i have preferred less darkness? yes, but as professor slughorn so appropriately said," there would be no light without the dark."

 

yes, one hp book. it must be diificult, but he started at age 6 and the later books are really inapropriate in his parents and my opinions. i'm sure there are plenty of young children who have read them all and much worse, nevermind what is available on the internet.

 

I'm surprised nobody mentioned this wonderful (and accurate) Stephen King quote: “Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend.â€

 

Years back, Stephen King gave a graduation speech (can't remember the school) but it was one of the best graduation speechs I've ever heard. I'm sure it's out on the internet and it's well worth reading.

I'm still waiting for the Stephen King theme park. The animatronic Kathy Bates proclaming to be my #1 fan...would be worth it alone...

Sorry this has gotten off topic...never mind...

 

does anyone think rowling has another good book in her? i hope so, but sometimes, we're allowed only one great idea in life. hers just happened to be a grand slam.

 

I'm still waiting for mine

 

for some of us, it was buying a prius.

 

The Magic Wand Remote Control

For those of you that like to really get into the Harry Potter movies, Hammacker Schlemmer has come to your rescue with the Magic Wand Remote Control. The Magic Wand Remote Control - Hammacher Schlemmer

Now you can "swish and flick" to control your TV.

 

i know what i want for Christmas!

 

Fruitcake?

 

that's what i'm talking about!

 

My younger daughter and I have to disagree with this. Dumbledore is not as old as Flamel, and contemporaries of his, such as his brother, and his friend/turned foe, Grindelwald, are also still alive, and they did not have access to the Philosopher's stone.

You can probably tell from the above that we are fans - we visited Harry Potter World in Orlando last year as a celebration of my daughter's graduation from high school, and were at the opening of the Harry Potter exhibition that has just opened here in Sydney.

My elder daughter started the whole exercise, by reading the first 3 books then badgering me to order book 4 when it was announced that it was coming out. I felt that I needed to see just what had captured my daughter's imagination, so also read the first 3 books, and then waited for her to read book 4 so I could then read it. We have subsequently bought each of the books on the day they were released, seen each of the movies on the day of release, and purchased the dvd on the day of release. My younger daughter got caught by the movies, then got into the books, and is now more of a fan that my elder daughter. Both girls are members of the Pottermore web site.

We now see that they are planning to set up a HP studio tour in London, so my daughter is now busy working out how she can save to pay for the flight to London to see it.

 

the perfect family! how did you like universal? we hope to go this winter. we have movie 8 and our new bluray player ready for family night at the movies on saturday.:cheer2:

 

Universal was great. We had multi-park and multi-day tickets, so visited the two parks several times - you really need a couple of days to see everything and to ride all the rides. We did, of course, the HP main ride each day - it is worth queuing for the ride, as the whole experience of walking through the different parts of Hogwarts is fantastic, but once you have done that a couple of times, they also have a 'singles' entrance that takes you straight to the ride.

They have the same 'single rider' option on a couple of the other rides in the different parks - we used it to great advantage for the Men in Black ride.

You also need to do the dragon ride at least twice - just to ride the two dragons - each has its own turns and twists, so really the ride is two rides.

Also, be prepared to try the butter beer - we loved it. Don't go for the frozen one, just drink the normal butter beer.

We were there in November (end of the Australian school year), and the crowds were quite small, so going in the winter is a great idea. We had one wet day, which we used to ride all the water rides - you are going to get wet on these rides, so the fact that it is raining is not a big problem. It fined up in the afternoon, and once we had dried off, we almost had the parks to ourselves, there were so few people.

We also did a number of the Disney parks.

Recommended rides/shows are:

Universal's Islands of Adventure
1. Harry Potter,
2. Dragon Challenge
3. The Incredible Hulk Coaster (but only if you love coasters)

Universal Studios
1. Men in Black,
2. Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue
3. Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket (again only for the coaster lovers)

Disney's Hollywood Studios
1. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
2. Extreme Stunt Show

Disney's Animal Kingdom
1. Festival of the Lion King
2. Expedition Everest

Epcot
1. Turtle Talk with Crush (really for the small kids, but the animated interaction with the audience is something to be seen)

Magic Kingdom
1. Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor
2. Space Mountain

We also tried a small place that Disney had called Disney Quest which is multiple floors of pinball machines, video games and a number of great virtual rides - try the Cyber Space Mountain.

 

excellent! i was wondering how he would do in that play. kind of a 180 for him.
we watched dh2 on bluray last night, it was beautiful. what a picture. nice little welcome from rowling, thanking everybody for the billion or so dollars she made on the series.

 

Agree with AussieOwner, Dumbledore killed himself when he destroyed the ring which was both a Horcrux and a Deathly Hallow, Flamel had made enough elixir for himself and his wife to "set things in order before moving on" before the sorcerer's stone was moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts

Watched a movie recently on TCM, made in 1945ish, British, the characters used the fireplace to transport themselves from place to place.

 

she took a lot of ideas from a lot of different places (as every writer does) and fashioned them into one amazing story! which hallow was the ring?