One Week Later

It's been a week since the last Great Harry-thon came to a close (and by close, I mean close).  Throughout this week we have seen the grand finale three times--once in the double feature/midnight showing with our dear friends Lacie and Leland, once on Saturday night with Mike, and once on Wednesday night for Julie's work party (that means it was free!) with our London friends Caity and Melissa.  We always joke with people who were unable to join our opening day festivities that it probably wouldn't be very hard to persuade us to see it again if they want to go at a later date, so we might just see it a couple more times in the theater (and when it comes to the dollar theater??  Forget about it!).

So what did I think?  I'll tell you what I think!  Well, you can probably guess what I think, and you would probably be right.

I loved it.

I don't know if I'm ready to give it my stamp of "favorite," but it comes pretty close.  Although it's the shortest of the films, which makes sense as it covers about 250 pages of text, I was amazed at how it filled the time, since it basically consisted of two major events (though they were pretty major).  The action was intense and the characters and relationships were at their very best.  Dan, Rupert and Emma have sure come a long way in the acting department, though I always thought they played their characters well, and by now I can't possibly imagine anyone else as Harry, Ron and Hermione.  I almost cared about Snape, and Alan Rickman finally had his chance to actually do a little acting (he's a fine Snape, I guess, though he doesn't really nail the nastiness that Snape has in the books, and his portrayal has always been restrained and a little bit theatrical).  The score was fantastic, it had the right blend of end-of-the-wizarding-world intensity and real emotion, and expertly incorporated some perfectly-placed key themes from the very first John Williams scores to great effect--there were a couple of moments when I gasped and gripped Julie's arm when an incredibly familiar theme started to play.

The midnight experience was fun, and I'm glad we did it, not to mention the excitement of the double feature and starting the second half almost immediately after the first (which I so desperately wanted to do last November when Part 1 was released), and though there were some people who were obviously dragged there and didn't quite "get" the excitement of a midnight showing, it was really awesome.  As a side note, I'm really glad we bought tickets early enough to get them right here in Provo so we wouldn't have to drive home through construction and freeway closures at three in the morning... We were dressed in full Gryffindor attire (which I admit is more conducive to a fall/winter movie release), and the hundreds of fans waiting in the lobby and the theater were duly impressed, and some even asked to take pictures with or of us.  We were like celebrities!  One day we will have a wee tot and draw a scar on his forehead and go as James, Lily and Harry.  I mean, I have heard more than once already that I kind of resemble James in the movies, which I'll totally accept.

She's so excited!

The Wife stopped to say a quick hello to Captain America.  See you next week!

This is a very small indication of the crowds.  This is the line for snacks and cheeses.

Rushing to finish re-reading the Epilogue between Part 1 and Part 2.

Us!  Note the Cherry Coke in the cupholder.  We were taking precautions in order to be alert all through the night.

The Lius!

Now that's what I like to see.  A theater showing Harry Potter all day.

Overall I was so pleased to see just how much they included in this movie, and the embellishments to the ending didn't bother me at all.  That Fiendfyre scene is really intense (just sayin') and I thought it was a fitting final battle between Harry and Voldemort, with some very interesting themes being brought full-circle.  Yes, I did laugh, gasp and smile almost the whole time, and yes, I did get kind of misty at certain parts (and some of them were really unexpected parts!).  The only gripe I have, and it is minor, is that this doesn't seem to have a fully fleshed-out story as a film on its own.  As the second half of one really long film based on the last Harry Potter book, it is fanTAStic, and I like to think of the two movies as one long movie anyway.  I think it's better that way, and the story and characters round out better.  My annoyance with the splitting of the book into two parts is well-documented, and the trend it seems to have started (NO Twilight book can or should be split into two parts, period.  Especially not the last one.  I just have no idea how they're going to make that into two movies that don't induce the viewer into a coma.), and I still think it would have been awesome to have one super-long finale event, but if it means that I get both of these awesome movies, I'll take it.  I wonder if I'll ever be able to just watch one of the movies once Part 2 is on DVD...  So far I'm already finding it difficult to just listen to the second part of the soundtracks.

 

Anyway, it was wonderful, and it's been a really awesome trip from start to finish.  It's been ten years since the first movie was released, and the memories of driving with Elise up to Jordan Landing are as fresh in my mind as the day they happened.  The traditions have changed, and I have luckily found a spouse that is as enamored of The Boy Who Lived as I am (at LEAST as much as I am), so she understands and indulges (and encourages and fuels!) the hype and excitement I feel as each Harry Potter Day, of which there are now very very few remaining, draws closer.  I do have mixed feelings about it all being over at least, but I don't feel all tragic and woeful and "the end of an era means the end of my life and childhood and happiness!" like some of the fans are feeling, I feel like it's been an amazing journey, and though I've had my quibbles with some of the movies, I'm a very grateful fan.  I didn't "grow up" with the books or movies, like my younger sister and fellow super-fan did, but I still followed them and came to feel like the characters were really good friends.  It does feel like the end of something big, but I like to think of it as Alan Rickman is quoted to have said in some premiere interviews:  "I think things like this are meant to end, and you should not miss it--you should just be happy that it ends well."  Will there ever be anything like Harry Potter again?  I seriously doubt it.  It's an incredible phenomenon that has meant so much to so many people on such real and personal levels, and I can't see anything else ever coming close to that, but that just makes me glad that I found it when I did and was able to take part in and enjoy all the amazing hype and waiting (and waiting and waiting...) for the newest book or movie.  I don't even know what I'll have to look forward to so eagerly in the theaters now...  OhwaityesIdoit'sTheHobbitofcourse.

Also, about the Epilogue?  I like it.  The make-up wasn't entirely convincing (Ron and Hermione hardly looked older at all), but when you see the images floating around the internet of how they looked the first time they filmed that scene (19 years later?  More like 39 years later!  This first attempt was scrapped, leading almost to cutting the Epilogue scene entirely), you realize that it's really pretty good.  It was so great to hear that familiar music and see Harry sending his own kids off to Hogwarts, coming full-circle and bringing back memories of his own first journey on the Hogwarts Express, almost as if it happened to each of us.  It's so weird that there's a real feeling of personal nostalgia involved, but there it is.  It was also kind of symbolic of the feeling I (and we as fans) will have one day when I put the first book in the hands of my own kids and introduce them to the experience of discovering the world of Harry and Co.  Hopefully they'll be interested in the books before the movies, I would love for them to have the same experience I had of discovering the world in the words before seeing them brought to life so expertly on the screen.

HP7.2 Take 2!

This time I'm reading The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

 

 

So yeah, this is a little gooey, not unlike when I blogged about finally reading the last book, but it's been a huge part of my life for more than a decade, influencing my art, my musical and cinematic taste, and it was even a huge factor in the development of my relationship with my dear sister and of course, the series of very fortunate events that led me to meeting and marrying my moste splendid wife.  Thanks for everything, Harry.  Your story has been told, but you're not really out of the picture.

A message to people who still haven't seen this movie, or to those who (SOMEhow) haven't seen the other ones, or, even more amazingly, haven't read the books:  SEE IT.  READ THEM.  Then come back and thank me. :)

One Day

One day!  It's coming out tomorrow!  Well, technically it's coming out tonight, and we are going to see it at midnight, as part of a double feature, as I have said.  We have a few additions to our usual costumes, thanks to a few well-spent dollars during our trip to Orlando a couple months ago, and we will be totally stylin'.  I guess I have nothing much else to say except that I'm way excited!  I'm sure that I'll be sad when it's all over, but for now I'm just so stoked.

To end this post with something a little more than a few sentences, I shall post this video that I came across yesterday.  I kept wondering aloud to The Wife just exactly why Voldemort kept yelling in that one way that he always yells so many times in the trailers.  Apparently I wasn't the only one who wondered this:



There's even a Facebook group devoted to this phenomenon! I don't know why they include that audio so much, but I hope it's not distracting to the overall movie! I'm sure I'll just chuckle, and then keep alternately gasping and crying and laughing.

See you on the other side!

One Week

Well, a week from now we will have seen the end of the cinematic saga of the Boy Who Lived and the people who love him, and we'll also probably be extremely tired too after our double feature and midnight showing, but it will be worth it (and we'll probably already be thinking about going again the next day).  We were a little annoyed when we discovered the double feature option (showing Part 1 at 9 pm and then Part 2 immediately after at midnight), because we didn't know about that until we had already bought tickets for a different showing, and the double feature were just a package deal.  Then we thought we might just ask at the ticket office, and the very nice girl was more than happy to exchange our four tickets for seats at the double feature (which is NOT in 3D--score).  She even gave us some coupons good for drinks for just a dollar all evening long, which will probably go unused--if I really had that much to drink, I would spend the whole movie in the loo.  No thanks.

So I am quite sure it's going to just be amazing, and we're going to be blown away, and we will laugh and cry and cheer and gasp, etc. etc., but otherwise I don't have a lot to say right now except I'm super excited of course, and not really feeling that kind of bittersweetness that I'm sure will eventually come as I realize it's all more or less over, as happened when I first finished the last book a couple of years ago.  To commemorate the final week we will begin our last Great Harry-thon tonight.  So, I will leave this post with some of the awesome brand new posters that were released:

TWO WANDS.

Bellatrix's wand!

... Loaner wand.

So grim, right?  They're perfect.  I'm sure I'll have plenty to blog about this time next week, so until then, I really hope people who are interested have their tickets already, because they're pretty much gone for that first night.  We made that mistake last time and ended up going to a theater out of town which led to insane return traffic at 3 in the morning.  Yikes.  Now we're going to be practically home when it ends.  Ends...  *sniff*

XD

Ride the Lightning

Last week we heard that Harry and the Potters would be stopping in Salt Lake City during their almost-60-city "Ride the Lightning" summer tour.  The Wife has seen them in concert three times already, but I never have, and we thought it would be fun (not to mention that there's always the possibility that they might not be touring anywhere nearby again).

For those who aren't familiar with them, they're a punk rock band created by two brothers (who both dress as and go by the stage name of Harry Potter, one of them Harry Potter Year 4 and the other Harry Potter Year 7) and a drummer who play and sing songs based on the Harry Potter stories.  The band has been together for 9 years (though they've been through about as many drummers) and played over 500 shows, have released several albums, and they apparently have quite a cult following.  You can find out more about them at the website linked above.

Rocking in a library because, well, where else?

Anyway, we almost decided not to go all the way up there, but last night at the last minute we changed our mind and headed up to catch most of their hour-long outdoor show.  Their kind of music isn't normally my thing exactly, but it was really fun!  The crowd wasn't huge, but it was very appreciative, and the weather and venue were perfect for this kind of event.

Harry Potter Year 4

Now that is one killer Gryffindor sax.

Harry Potter Year 7

Drummer du jour, Sirius Black!

Some of their songs are pretty simple or based on a single phrase of text or a random character, but they're amusing and catchy, and a lot of people were dancing and singing along.  They're a novelty band, but they are pretty talented.  Here are a few choice samples:






They were really funny and totally involved with the audience, I just kind of grinned the whole time.  There were people of all ages, including people with their small kids and people in costume, and some people who just happened to be walking or biking by and stopped to listen.   And it was free!  But we enjoyed it so much we bought a couple of t-shirts.  (I am just amazed that iPhones can take credit cards these days.  Wow.)

Most of their shows are at libraries because, again, well, where else?

This line took forever to get through.  Someone there had my same awesome shirt too.

It was just what I needed after a long day at work, and the perfect way to get even more in the spirit of things for the movie in two weeks.  (TWO WEEKS!!!)  And, if we learned anything from the concert, it is, as The Wife said, that Harry Potter love is alive and well.

Middle-earth: Let's Go Back There, Shall We?

As promised, I have some exciting news to share concerning our very favorite upcoming Tolkien movies.  But first, an appropriate and relevant introduction.

A couple of months ago The Wife and I were quite excited to learn that certain theaters would be showing the extended editions of The Lord of the Rings on the big screen, one each week for three weeks, ostensibly to promote their release on Blu-ray, but also perhaps to generate even more interest in Jackon's upcoming Middle-earth work (it couldn't hurt anyway, right?)...  At first we thought they wouldn't be showing them here, which was such a bummer, but THEN we realized they would be showing them right here in our favorite Provo Towne Centre Cinemark!

So, for the last three weeks, and ending last night, The Wife and I have been quite glad to experience all three of them again, "the way they were meant to be seen," as Peter Jackson said in each of his brief introductions.  They are all still (and always) so amazing, and it was fun to see them all big and big-like again.  Can you believe the first one came out ten years ago this fall??

So then, this leads me to my exciting follow-through.  A lot of people have already seen these, but recently a few photos have been released giving us out first look at The Hobbit!  :D  And here they are (courtesy of this article):

Could this not possibly look any more like Bilbo ought to look??

It's Gandalf!  Just as he always looked!

Just a couple of Hobbits out on the town.

Um, do this not look absolutely perfect??  I admit that I had my doubts as to whether or not this movie would ever even be made, I mean the rumors were circulating for years, and Peter Jackson had a lot of issues with the script and the studio and even getting the directing gig again, but now here it is!  I'm finally just about ready to give up my final shreds of doubt and start believing that this epic movie(s) event is actually happening!  I don't even mind that they're splitting it into two movies (the titles and release dates of which have also recently been announced) and adding characters that weren't in the book, but who appeared in the subsequent trilogy.  It will be epic and historical, and it will be interesting because this book sort of has a different tone than The Lord of the Rings, but it looks like it's all going to be very consistent, which is so great.

Christmas 2012 can't come soon enough.

American Fork Canyon 5K 2011

Time for a race report!  Several weeks ago Melody let us know about this first annual race in American Fork and although I procrastinated past the date of getting two discounts, I signed up anyway.  So, last Saturday a bunch of us were up bright and early to run a fun race for a great cause.  Julie wasn't feeling quite up to it this time, so she didn't join in, and others of our usual family running mates were out of town or otherwise occupied, but those who were present really enjoyed it.

The course was varied and interesting, starting at the high school, then with a great uphill toward the Mt. Timpanogos temple at about the first mile mark, followed by a nice downhill slope, and then down a nice shaded path that ran along a little river, leading out into the final stretch back to the high school.  Besides me, Jonny ran with the kids, and Cami and Jake ran (Jake's first, and with a great time for his first 5K), and Melody, the hardcorest of us all, was up at around 4 am to board the bus that took her and the other half-marathon runners up the canyon for their earlier start and much longer race (which you can read about here).  It sounds like such a nice course that, although the longest race I've ever done so far is a 10K, it makes me wish I had taken her up on her offer to join her for it.  I might have died though, so it's probably for the best that I held off for now.

So we had a great time, and I came in at about 21:19 (though by my count it was closer to 21 even), about 6:52/mile, which seems to be about my usual pace for the last year or so of races.  I kept a pretty good pace and didn't quite feel like I would die to keep it up, and I even managed to pass up Jonny toward the first half (because he was pushing two kids in the stroller, let it be clearly known--the only times I can outrun him, ha ha), and it seemed to me that I was pretty close to the front of the pack, though I lost track of the head of the team as soon as the half marathon runners merged with us for the last mile or so.  There were a lot of runners, so I wasn't looking to place or anything, so imagine my surprise when I checked the results sheet and learned that I was 6th place overall, and 1st in my division!  That was a pleasant discovery.  (For the record, Jonny was less than a minute behind me, kids in tow and all).  There were some discrepancies with timing on the website's posted times (19:52??  I'll take it!  New PR!), but it seems to be all sorted out now.

We all placed first in our division!  It's so nice that for now Jonny and I are a year apart so we can both win for a while.

Melody liked Cami's face better in this one so we kept it.  I think I look a little more, um, something in it too.  Jonny looks classic.

They had markers and posterboard to make motivational signage for your favorite runners, so we made one for Melody as we watched her triumphant finish to a race more than four times as long as the one we had just finished, and then for fun made one for Jonny and the little ones as they had gone back and ran alongside Melody for her final stretch.  Julia was thrilled about the posters.

It's an inside joke!  And a long-running one too.

Even though it was a new race, it was very well-attended, and it was really nicely organized.  The breakfast/treats supplied were really great, the cause was good, the atmosphere was fun, the shirts were great quality and the weather was perfect.  Maybe we'll make a tradition of this race.  It seems a little better than what Strawberry Days has become (though rumor is that race has taken a slight turn for the better since last year's disappointment).  Though, if we do run it next year, we'll surely sign up a little earlier and take advantage of all the early-registration discounts and perks, and hopefully those who were absent and missed will join in the fun next time.  Thanks for the heads-up, Melody!  Also, much thanks to Melody for the pictures.  We forgot our camera this time.

Afterward, I took some breakfast to The Wife (just a little jealous that she was able to have a little bit of a lie-in), and we celebrated the morning's victory by going to the early bird matinee of Kung Fu Panda 2 and sharing a delicious lunch at Zupas, after which we met my new goshdaughter, Keira.  That's a good morning.

Pottermore? Or Potterless?...

A week or so ago we came across the teaser website for some upcoming something or other called Pottermore.  It looked like this:

Yeah, not much there, pretty nondescript.  There were a lot of rumors online about a new Harry Potter website (eh), an interactive fan community or game of some kind (blah) or more books (wishful thinking), and I was curious, but not holding my breath or anything.  I was prepared for something not terribly exciting, but still thought it could end up being pretty cool, whatever it was.  I mean, the hype was there.  There was a link to a YouTube channel just to continue the tease, which looked like this:

It was kind of cool because as time went by more and more owls would appear, but who wants to watch a YouTube countdown for a week?  So then we kind of forgot about it most of the time, and yesterday we happened to remember, and then we realized there was only one day left, and then we kind of more or less completely forgot about it again (remember the days of yore when I would have checked this kind of thing every day just to see what new owls had arrived and what breed they were and what it could all possibly mean?  And checked dozens of websites and forums and discussed every single possibility?  Yeah, those days are pretty much gone, [sort of] sad to say) until this morning when we were like, oh right, that was announced.  So, here's the lady herself with the "big news":



Yeah.  I can't help but utter a somewhat underwhelmed "meh" at this, though I'm marginally interested in the "18,000 words of additional content including background details and settings" (though of course it could just mean another fiasco of Dumbledoric proportions).

So that's that.  It could be cool, but I'm glad I wasn't expecting something incredibly amazing.  We'll see how it turns out when it debuts this fall, but until then at least we have a pretty exciting movie event to look forward to, for which we now have tickets!  Midnight show, here we come, for better or worse (is it weird that I already feel like I'm getting "too old" for those kind of late-night shenanigans?).

And anyway, nothing can overshadow the excitement of this morning's release of brand new pictures from The Hobbit.  (That's right, I said The Hobbit!!!  Stay tuned, I'll post those soon too!)