Harry Potter

  • Thread starter Thread starter Magic069
  • 37 comments
  • 1,515 views
Magic069

Magic069

Messages
5,891
I saw it, every good movie i thought. They did a good job explaining everything...

I have never read the books and I think I am hooked, the movie made me think about reading one...

of course i said think about, not gonna do it or anything... :lol:
 
I saw this movie too, and it was a solid movie. There wasn't anything in it that will make it a lasting classic, but I'm glad that this turned out as well as it has, because this series seems to have quite a bit of cinematic potential.
The one thing that really bother me about the movie was that Harry Potter, the great wizard to be, never actually used any magic. (not really anyway.) But it was rather enjoyable. Probably more so if I were 20 years younger.
Even though it might not sound it here, I'd give it a thumbs up. :thumbsup:
 
Originally posted by Tom McDonnell
I saw this movie too, and it was a solid movie. There wasn't anything in it that will make it a lasting classic, but I'm glad that this turned out as well as it has, because this series seems to have quite a bit of cinematic potential.
The one thing that really bother me about the movie was that Harry Potter, the great wizard to be, never actually used any magic. (not really anyway.) But it was rather enjoyable. Probably more so if I were 20 years younger.
Even though it might not sound it here, I'd give it a thumbs up. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

he was more brave then anything... the girl was the best wizard of all of them... to me it seemed....
 
Originally posted by Jazza
Has anyone actually read the books? They absolutely rock to the max, especially the last one.
Click to expand...

I read the first and the third, but not the second. I let my cousin borrow the second before I got to read it.
 
I have read all 4 books so far in the series. There will be 7 total. The fifth is not out yet. I saw the movie and it was great. It was exactly the way I read it in the book. The girl is the best wizard in the first book. (Hermione) When your into the second book and so on Harry becomes who everybody thinks he is... a wizard. He learns more about himself and crap and then it really all begins.
 
Sorry to bring this thread back from the grave, but seeing as the new film is released this month i thought it apropriate to resurect a thread instead of making anything new.

Anyway, ive just finished reading the book to this film (finished last night), and the book is great, and im hoping they do the book justice with the new film, nayone read any of the newer books, aka 4,5,6? im just about to start #5 and im looking forward to the last book as someone important dies (pease dont tell me who :) ).

After watching the first i was hooked, its sad i know, but i really like the story's and the film always tend to be well done, although in the The Prisoner Of Azkaban, the part about the his farther being an (Animegus - Not sure how to spell), this then makes the part in the film, when Harry uses the Patronus to protect him and Sirius a little confusing unless the books are read, because the Patronus is a stag, which in turn is the animal that Harrys dad turns into, also in The Chamber Of Secrets Harry uses a spell to blast spiders out of the way, but in The Goblet Of Fire, he faces a spider but has no spell to harm it!!! bit of a boo boo god knows how they will show this in the new movie, but these are just small things.

Anyway im going to strt the fith book tonight, anyone with any thoughts please share.
 
Read all the books and really like the series. The films aren't bad. The latest film looks like it'll be the best yet, there's a lot that goes on. Shame that Fleur isn't as hot in the film as the books make her out to be.
 
Shame that Fleur isn't as hot in the film as the books make her out to be.
Click to expand...

Yeh the thing with Ron going red all the time was funny, the new film dose look like it's going to be the best for sure, but i really liked The Prisoner Of Azkaban and being on chapter 12 of The Order Of The Phoenix after last night, im getting into this one, you seem to think that J.K. Rowling is making the books darker and for the more mature reader as she goes along, the bits with Fudge in really make me want to go in the book and shake him, he's such an idiot.
 
I didn't like The Goblet Of Fire that much; I really really really got tired of hearing Harry complain all the time. It was like one big whinge-fest for him. I did think the next two books have picked up a bit, and there's an interesting if subtle trend in them that I'm wondering about how it will pan out.
 
Famine
Poorly-written, plagiarised toss.
Click to expand...
I disagree fairly firmly, though I don't believe it is worthy of becoming an obsessive way of life, either. It's an interesting story and I'm wondering how it's going to end up. Nothing more, nothing less.
 
Duke
I didn't like The Goblet Of Fire that much; I really really really got tired of hearing Harry complain all the time. It was like one big whinge-fest for him. I did think the next two books have picked up a bit, and there's an interesting if subtle trend in them that I'm wondering about how it will pan out.
Click to expand...
To me Harry is like that since book 4, and I'm beginning to see a recurring pattern in the story ie. who dies next? I still enjoy the series but not as much as I used to. Finished book 6 in a day and never picked it up again. I just want to see what happens.
 
DQuaN
Quite an objective fellow aren't you Famine ;)
Click to expand...

I read the books - up to The Goblet of Fire - in one week.

I wasn't engaged in the slightest and everything seemed to be telegraphed from a mile away. This was probably down to a poor writing style but also because I've read it all before - in The Lord of the Rings and Terry Pratchett's "DiscWorld" series, amongst others.

The woman just doesn't seem to have an original idea in her head.
 
I must agree with the idea's are quite lacking in originality, but you have to look at the books in different prospective, because they are written primarily for children, i finished The Order Of the Phoenix last night and have just started to read The Half-Blood Prince, ive enjoyed them so far, although the whining Harry has started to do since TGOF has started to grate a little, but ive enjoyed none the less. Im a big fan of Terry Pratchett, as im just finishing The Science Of Discworld 2, and its very funny and educational at the same point, but i tend to read these books over a couple of months instead of speed reading the Harry Potter that ive done, maybe due to the way in which they have been written i dont know!
 
I have read through Order of the Phoenix and plan to read Half Blood Prince sometime in the future so if what I say is off let me know, but don't say why, although I do know what happens at the end of Half Blood Prince thanks to a co-worker.

I agree that Harry has been whining a lot and he seems to be getting more and more distrustful, as if he thinks everyone is going to betray him. Does anyone else think that if he would quit whining and go tell an adult what is going on that he would find himself in much fewer life or death situations? I mean, he constantly hides what he is seeing, hearing, feeling, whatever from adults and sometimes even from his best friends. Then after he has narrowly escaped death at the end of the school year (Voldemort should catch him off guard and attack in October) everyone knew what the signs of trouble were and could have helped him if he would have trusted them.

Hey, Harry, you want to live? Talk to the old people that know stuff and you might not even get in a bad situation!

Anyone else agree here?
 
I'm in the middle of the order of the phoenix now. I've read all the other books in about a month and a half.

Personally, I read it for the story's sake. It's not horrible, it's not amazing. I feel that Rowling is by no means some extraordinary writer. I could've written Harry Potter and been the million (billion?) dollar author instead. I find a lot of the characters lack reason and/or intelligence. The only exceptions are Dumbledore and Lupin, and maybe Hermoine. Rowling uses a lot of borrowed ideas. I believe her writing is ultimately just an introduction to recreational reading for children. It's not the top of the mountain, but enjoys its popularity because it's a commonground where people begin to ascend up the mountain. A lot of this is due to marketing and media, not by actual content.

I am kind of pissed off at all the moodiness of Harry. Sirius is also a jerk. Rowling started off well with him, but so far in Book 5, he's almost a total immature child at times.

Edit: Oh yeah...All the movies i've seen are absolutely horrible. I haven't seen the 3rd one, and I hope it and the 4th are good, because they have a lot to make up for.
 
sprite
I must agree with the idea's are quite lacking in originality, but you have to look at the books in different prospective, because they are written primarily for children
Click to expand...

I've been told that many times, but it just doesn't wash.

For a start, more adults read them than children. For a second, "books written for children" don't have to be simpering ass-smears, devoid of personality or plot. For a third, plagiarism is never acceptable.

Stick your kids onto Ursula Le Guin's "A Wizard of Earthsea" books. They're written for children too and, though she's tried her hardest to copy them, Rowling just can't match the character of that series.

Can I justify my claims of copying?

"While still a boy, he discovers that he has the inborn aptitude to practice magic. Some years later, he uses this ability to save his...

[he] then travels to the school of wizardry ... summons a spirit of darkness that scars him and leaves him for dead.

Ultimately [he] confronts the shadow that hunts him, and defeats it by realizing that it is his own shadow."


Wikipedia's transcript of the plot of... "A Wizard of Earthsea".

Anyone want to guess what will happen to Voldemort in the end?

Why Le Guin hasn't sued yet escapes me - never mind Pratchett or Tolkein's estate.


Just an additional. Anyone want to tell me who this character is?

gaiman.JPG


I'll give you a clue - he's a 12 year old English boy who discovers he can do magic one day, is paid a visit by a wizard from a far-away magical institution and is given a pet owl to carry messages to him.


I'm happy to accept that there's an awful lot of "borrowing" and homage in this area of writing in particular - Pratchett is especially good at putting in subtle nods to other authors ("Ullo... it'ssssss my birthday." - Witches Abroad) - but there's a long, long road between the odd gag and building your entire premise around another person's work, to the extent that the plot and even the artwork is cloned (in Earthsea, Sparrowhawk discovers magic, grows up, then releases the evil shadow after he's left the School. In the "Books of Magic", the character pictured above experiences everything in the same order as Potter, it was just written a decade previously).
 
Wow, Famine. That's a real eye-opener. Thank you for sharing.

Lol, blackbird. What a post to follow.

I hope Le Guin does do something, though. That's really her story. What's saddest of all is that Harry Potter with always be known instead of A Wizard of Earthsea.
 
I like Harry potter.

Another great magical series i read was Raymond E Faist, The Magician, Silverthorn and darkness at seathalon.

Those 3 are very good IMHO.

I like Harry Potter and i had no idea that their was any books out their so similar!
 
Famine
Why Le Guin hasn't sued yet escapes me - never mind Pratchett or Tolkein's estate.
Click to expand...
Because it happens so much that if everyone sued the court systems would have nothing else to do. Do you know how many times I read a story or watch a movie and think that it is a total rip off of some classic? Or better yet when a "new" story comes out as a movie and then the original is made into a movie and people start complaining about how the original was a ripoff (see: The Incredibles).

For the best example of this that no one ever notices watch the original War of the Worlds movie and then watch Independence Day.

Let me sum up: Aliens invade Earth without warning systematically taking out populated areas and high priority military targets using their death rays and then slowly work their way down to the smaller targets. The first major retaliatory attack is launched from El Toro Marine Air Station but all attempts are thwarted due to shields covering the alien craft. El Toro is soon destroyed. A scientist joins the government staff after having been the first to realize what we were dealing with. Thsi scientist argues against attempting a nuclear attack but we are left little choice. The nuclear attack fails to penetrate the shield of the aliens. By accident the scientist discovers that the alines can be stopped due to a virus that we deal with on a daily basis.

Which one was that? Independence Day used a computer virus. Also the radio drama of War of the Worlds describes a giant black cloud that the aliens send out from the center of the city, killing everything that comes into contact with it. Picture how the aliens in Independence Day destroyed the cities with their energy beam. Seem familiar? Independence Day was an updated War of the Worlds ten times better than Spielberg even dreamed of doing and no one noticed.

So, Famine, how many people could sue for this? They would have to rework copyright laws or 90% of the new ideas to come out would be thrown out. Just accept it that Rowling had a better PR agent. Anyone who is well read knows that she isn't the best of the writers nor is her idea original.

And Tolkein's estate would have to sue 99% of all fantasy writers if they were to go after every person that stole (borrowed) his ideas. He changed how the fantasy world where wizards and goblins live is viewed forever. Look at every fantasy and RPG game out there.

It is a fact of life and no matter how much you complain it won't change, so I figure you should just learn to deal with it. It's not worth getting upset over. But I don't think you should suddenly like Harry Potter, just keep informing the less well-read people of the world the truth and point them the way of the better books.
 
I noticed. I even laughed out loud in the cinema when they talked about a computer virus (which annoyed a few people who had no idea what I was laughing at).

Tolkein was largely "inspired by" and, subsequently, has inspired (anyone who uses the incorrect plural of "dwarfs" is inspired by Tolkein), but I've never seen such wholesale copy'n'pasting than with Rowling. She doesn't just take the notion of wizards from Tolkein, and the notion of a school of magic from Le Guin. She's taken the stories and, very lightly, written over the names (with a good dollop of dumbing-down). I'd put money on the fact that Voldemort turns out to be a "shadow" of Harry Potter in the end (it has already been hinted at, with the fact that Voldemort couldn't kill him originally, and both of them chose the exact same wand).


Again though, show this to a hundred people and ask who they think it is:

gaiman.JPG


I know why Gaiman didn't sue - and it certainly had nothing to do with Warner buying the rights to Sandman. Nosiree.
 
I agree with Duke.
I very much have enjoyed reading all six of the books and am waiting patiently for the 7th.
They may parallel another series. But have you ever read any of the Mac Bolan, the Destroyer, or Jerry Ahern's Survivalist series?
I read the first 15 books. And they were pretty much all the same book with subtle changes.
Most of Robert Ludlum's books are the same book.
All of Clive Cussler's books about Dirk Pitt are the same book.
Granted, all the writers I've listed have pretty much copied themselves...

I think that if anyone is the shadow, it is Potter. Voldemort chose Potter as the one that could defeat him. It could have just as easily been Neville Longbottom.
We also have no idea why the Weasley's are considered to be "blood-traitors" by the "Death-Eaters". I surmise that it could have also been one of them that could defeat him.

Now, I'll have to find the Earthsea books and read them. Like I have that kind of time in my life.
Curse you, Famine. I have too many books on my list to read already. You've just added another year onto my list.:lol:
 
Gil
All of Clive Cussler's books about Dirk Pitt are the same book.
Click to expand...
Hey now! Back away from my favorite guilty pleasure.

Besides, they change. He has a different cool car in every one. :sly:


Harry Potter is nothing more than guilty pleasure for me. That's why I wait until I can find a used copy in paperback before I read the newest book.
 
Well just finished The last book (so far), Famine that’s some interesting info cheers, but I have to say despite this blatant evidence for plagiarism I have enjoyed them all and the last book is IMO the best in the series, and is left open for allot more books.

The idea that anything that is written is original; is not, most of the books including what have been considered original have their root firmly in other books and published works, this is the way it goes, its hard to come up with original work, I bet even Tolkin, Prattchet & Lewis stole ideas and fantasy stories, only to mold them to fit their own vision, and to say that Rowlin is a bad writer for this is a little harsh, but this doesn’t excuse her from doing a bad job with what she has stolen. Yes there are characters that have been left deflated but most of these people are not so detrimental to the story, and those who have said that Sirrius was a poor character, granted he was in TGOF & TOOTP but he dies, so the loss isn’t too big.

I also stick by that the statement I made about the books being children’s books, as she originally wrote them for her children (well the first anyway), and to quash this with
For a start, more adults read them than children. For a second, "books written for children" don't have to be simpering ass-smears, devoid of personality or plot.
Click to expand...
isn’t entirely fare, as yes adults read them but this doesn’t stop them being a children’s book, and yes they have to have simpering ass-smears & devoid of personality or plot. for the sake that most children in England & across the world are so lame at reading that to make them understandable to children who can understand words with more than 1 or 2 syllables would be classed as prejudice.

I understand that The Harry Potter books have been very popular, and more to do with the film which introduced them to a wider audience quicker than what a book would have done, and I agree that they do lack them touches of better authors, but at the end of all six books I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed them and im awaiting with some enthusiasm for the next and I hope the series grows from strength to strength.
 

Latest Posts

Back