Harry Potter Fun Facts

Since it is awesome/ always relevant and my life obviously lacks any interesting content.

When Harry Left Hogwarts

I don't think there'll ever be a time when Harry Potter doesn't make me laugh or cry, feel happy or sad.





PART 1
PART 2

No more reason to go on, to be honest.

The War Is Done.

We protected the stone, we opened the chamber, we freed the prisoner, we were chosen by the goblet, we fought along side the order, we learned from the prince, we mastered the hallows, and we fought our war.

The war is won.

Fan vids like these... make me so happy.

POTTERMORE: HOUSE

Seriously... is anyone surprised? (:

POTTERMORE: WAND

So... earlier today, I got an email saying I can now access my POTTERMORE account. Yay! From here on in, my posts will be potter-filled and will just recount my online wizarding exploits.

First order of business goes to wands.

Once you enter Ollivander's, a series of questions will have to be answered. I'm censoring mine, but it will be available upon request. Here are the questions:

What is your size for your age?
What color are your eyes?
Was the day you were born an odd number or even number?
What do you pride yourself on?
Travelling alone, which route would you take?
What do you fear most?
What would you take from a chest of magical objects?

The wand I got is...


Here's the description:
WAND CORE


WAND LENGTH & FLEXIBILITY


WAND WOOD


I'll update with more news soon! (=

POTTERMORE

Happy Birthday, Harry Potter!

And to your creator, Ms. Jo Rowling!

Genuine Love

A decade ago, Jo and her merry band of witches and wizards turned me into literature.

Thank you, Jo.

And thank you, Harry.

Pottermore.

Hihihi. The servers are finally open! Been trying to register since Pottermore was announced, to no luck. Thankfully, I stumbled upon Criela's post about being able to register. Yay!

The End Of An Era

"I have just returned from the dubbing studio where I spoke into a microphone as Severus Snape for absolutely the last time. On the screen were some flashback shots of Daniel, Emma and Rupert from ten years ago. They were 12. I have also recently returned from New York, and while I was there, I saw Daniel singing and dancing (brilliantly) on Broadway. A lifetime seems to have passed in minutes.

Three children have become adults since a phone call with Jo Rowling, containing one small clue, persuaded me that there was more to Snape than an unchanging costume, and that even though only three books were out at that time, she held the entire massive but delicate narrative in the surest of hands.

It is an ancient need to be told stories. But the story needs a great storyteller. Thanks for all of it, Jo."

- Alan Rickman, Empire Magazine, April 26, 2011.
SOURCE.

MY BONES WILL LIE IN THE THEATER FOREVER.

Amaze-balls.

This is a picture of a bathroom stall at my school. The writing you see, that’s the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone/Philosopher’s Stone. I have no clue who wrote it, but whoever they are, they are my HERO.

SOURCE.

HP & The Deathly Hallows P.1

Usually, when I go into a movie house to watch a film adaptation of a novel I've already read, I expect to leave feeling a little shortchanged. Fortunately, this is not the case with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, the penultimate film in a series of books and films beloved by many.

David Yates, the director who helmed the 2nd half of 8 films in the Harry Potter world, must be applauded for his visual masterpiece. While we have yet to see the final installment in this magical saga, it is safe to assume, from what we've seen in Part 1 of the Deathly Hallows, that he, along with the scriptwriters, have stuck as close to the novels as possible. It is not often that directors and scriptwriters abstain from making "creative" changes to the film version of book adaptations. While minor changes have been made, even a book purist such as I must admit that while it may not necessarily be for the better, it was not for the worst as well.

Daniel Radcliffe started out as the weakest actor amongst the famous trio, but he certainly did not finish that way. What might have been brought by years of training and experience have shaped him into a believable Harry Potter - one we root for and want to stand behind. His portrayal of Harry as a bestfriend and would-be-hero was inspiring, to say the least. My favorite scene of Daniel Radcliffe has to be the 7 Potters. He seemed to adapt the little idiosyncrasies that make it easy to tell whom he is supposed to be. From the twins' comfortable and laughing manner, to Fleur's shallow one, to Mundungus's reluctance at participating, and Hermione's forthright manner, he has given us something to laugh at before we cry at the tragedy that will soon follow.

Rupert Grint, on the other hand, makes it seem like he IS Ron Weasley. He manages to capture Ron's obvious jealousy and frustration with Harry, while not overdoing it in a manner where we become annoyed with him. We see instances that might have influenced his judgment, and we sympathize with his situation. Removed from his family early on in the film, as with the novel, Ron clings to a radio that announces Wizards and Muggles that have been captured and/ or killed by the Death Eaters at the Ministry of Magic, in the hopes of not hearing names of his loved ones. A scene to applaud is his argument with Harry as he screams "You want to know why I listen to that radio so much? It's because I don't want to hear Ginny's name, or Fred's, or George's, or Mum's and you don't understand. Your parents are dead. You have no family!" While obviously under the influence of the cursed locket, we are able to understand where his frustrations come from. Rupert's performance and delivery was fantastic.

Emma Watson's Hermione Granger is also not a performance to scoff at. While lots of people have called her bland, she is able to bring to the scene a sense of foundation for the trio - almost as if she was the rock holding them together. Emma's no-nonsense manner is perfect for Hermione's quick thinking and girl scout preparedness, which has enabled the famous 3 to survive out on the run as long as they did. I concur with Ron's "We wouldn't last 2 days without Hermione." line. They really wouldn't have. And Daniel and Rupert wouldn't have made it without Emma as well. My 2 favorite scenes of Emma has to be her narrative as she recites the tale of the 3 brothers and her heartwrenching screams as Helena Bonham Carter's Bellatrix Lestrange tortures her for information. It was short, but it was well done.

Not much scenes were given to the others as Part 1 of the Deathly Hallows is largely centered on the trio as they evade Death Eaters and search for Horcruxes. However, in their brief scenes, the rest of the cast delivered performances so wonderfully made that it is hard to pinpoint who stood out the most. As an ensemble, the casting directors of the Harry Potter franchise did a splendid job. The actors seem to be perfect for their roles.

Rhys Ifans's performance as Loony Luna's father, Xenophilius, was brilliant. His broken hearted speech about having to trade Harry for Luna was nothing short of gut-wrenching. Helena Bonham Carter once again proves how effective she is as bloodthirsty Bellatrix Lestrange and Jason Isaac's Lucius Malfoy is so believable that you can see the frustration over what will become of his family mingled with fear of the Dark Lord in his eyes. James and Oliver Phelps as Fred and George were perfectly casted as the comic relief of the series.

I also have to single out the performances of David O'Hara, Steffan Rhodri, and Sophie Thompson as Albert Runcorn, Reg Cattermole, and Mafalda Hopkirk, respectively. For those who aren't familiar with them, they are the 3 officials of the Ministry of Magic that Harry, Ron, and Hermione impersonated. They were hilarious! I swear I could see Hermione's face in the various expressions of Mafalda Hopkirk.

Of course, who could forget the tears brought about by some of the scenes? From Hedwig's death, to the news of Mad-Eye's, to Neville Longbottom standing up to death eaters and referring to them as "Losers", many a tears were shed with this movie. The hardest one to bear, however, belongs to Dobby. I couldn't contain my sobs as I saw Bellatrix throw the dagger that will take Dobby's life, and eventually, Dobby calling out to Harry as he lays there in Harry's arms proclaiming what a beautiful place it was to be with friends. As I type, tears fill my eyes. He is, indeed, a free elf.

While 2 and a half hours might be long for a single movie, I can honestly speak for everyone when I say that the movie was horribly cut short. I could've stayed for another 2 and a half just to finish the film. Unfortunately, we have to wait another year before the series concludes, but hey, on the bright side, that's one more year of Harry Potter being with us. 2 thumbs up, plus my toes, to everyone who made this film. It was, as it well should be, magical.

All good things,
Essa.

HP On My Mind

All thanks to brother dear, I got to watch the advanced, no ticket-sale screening for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.


In light of recent events, finding out that I would be able to watch the first-ever screening of the latest movie installment in the Harry Potter franchise has been quite the pleasant surprise. I've been antsy the entire day, looking at the clock every 5 minutes, willing it to move faster. Finally, the time has come for us to leave the house.

Now if you know me at all, you'd know that I'm a die-hard Harry Potter fan. The first Potter book was the first ever book I finished reading by myself back when I was 11 (and even then, I finished it in one sitting!) I personally feel emotionally attached to the series, and every year, during my birth month (YES! FATE! I even share the month with Harry and authoress JKR), I would bug my dad to get me the latest HP book. 4 Books into that, the first movie came out and even whilst I found myself disappointed, I've always had a special place in my heart for them. I grew up with these kids. They are my memories. When the 7th book came out, I read it in record time and I found myself crying and applauding, basically looking like a lunatic, after turning the last page. I felt robbed and bereft of something I anticipate all through-out the year, annually. Nevertheless, I consoled myself with the fact that I would still be waiting for 3 movies. Now the list has been cut to two, and again, I'm starting to feel the coming of the end of an era.

The Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie has been the most different out of all 6 movies. This time around, the movie focuses more on the teenagers than the adults. Indeed, they hardly had any screen time at all (except for Michael Gambon's Dumbledore and Jim Broadbent's Slughorn). The kids are older, experimenting more with relationships. The book, probably the darkest of all 6 books, differ a lot from it's movie adaptation. The movie has been the funniest so far and I kind of enjoyed that feel to it. In contrast to Ron and Hermione's and Harry and Ginny's relationship (or lack thereof) woes is Draco's thirst to prove himself in the dark side.


The verdict? The movie was okay. Just okay. Nothing spectacular, but not completely disappointing in it's entirety. Jim Broadbent made a wonderful Slughorn, coming alive in every scene. Tom Felton's performance, in my opinion, was the most outstanding. He was fantastic! He really captured the inner conflict Draco was struggling with -- wanting to prove he can avenge their family name but at the same time, realizing that being the regular school jackass is a lot different from being an actual death eater. Another great performance was that of Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix LeStrange, but that needn't be said. She is terrific in everything. This movie is a refreshing change from it's predecessors. I daresay the fans of the book may have contrasting feelings (such as myself) about the movie, but overall, it wasn't a complete waste.


And I have to add, EVERYONE GREW INTO THEMSELVES. The movie is full of beautiful people. Even creepy Cormac MgLaggen stole my heart. :P

Wizard kid,
Essa.