So I'm watching all of the Harry Potter movies because I never have

[PingSpike]

I like the movies, they have generally gotten better. I didn't really care for the last one though. God damn it, why has some one not killed Bealitrix or whatever yet?

I haven't read the books because I'm not really that much of a fan. A movie is about my level of interest.

Also, Harry is clearly mildly retarded. He should just do whatever Hermione tells him to do, as she's the only one that apparently bothered to study magic while they were in FUCKING WIZARD SCHOOL. Him and Ron seem like they should have been held back a few years.

 

[coldmeat]

Never seen a single one, I've always thought i would catch up on them, but reading this thread, how many damn movies do they have now?

1 movie for every book, so 7. Well, 6.5, the second part of the last movie comes out this summer.

 

[ProfJohn]

Never seen a single one, I've always thought i would catch up on them, but reading this thread, how many damn movies do they have now?

7 and one more to go.

Will be the longest continual movie series in history. Nothing else even comes close as far as telling one big long story.

 

[Homerboy]

7 and one more to go.

Will be the longest continual movie series in history. Nothing else even comes close as far as telling one big long story.

Not to mention each movie is 2+hrs long.
There are extended of Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets too I think.
Epic marathon if you want to get caught up.

 

[Platypus]

I've only read Goblet of Fire (to my niece) and that movie didn't stack up very well in comparison. I've seen all the films, they are entertaining but the last one was pretty bad imo.

 

[PingSpike]

I think they should have make LOTR into 4-5 movies instead of 3. I have return of the king extended cut and its like 6 hours long or something. Every once and awhile I want to watch it again but that is a serious time commitment!

 

[coldmeat]

I've only read Goblet of Fire (to my niece) and that movie didn't stack up very well in comparison. I've seen all the films, they are entertaining but the last one was pretty bad imo.

The last book was just terrible, in comparison to the others. Felt like she lost motivation or something and just wanted the last paycheck.

 

[Redfraggle]

I've only read Goblet of Fire (to my niece) and that movie didn't stack up very well in comparison. I've seen all the films, they are entertaining but the last one was pretty bad imo.

4 was the worst movie. It should have been two movies. Since it was just one, you get this highlights reel effect instead. Sagalore has not read the books, but has watched the movies with me. He generally seems to like them, but is also confused a lot in 4 because it moves so fast and seems to leave out pertinent events and details.


I remember reading way back when the first was coming out that they thought they'd have to replace the principal actors because the kids would just get too old. I am glad they made them at a pace that didn't make that necessary. It would not have gone well. It's not like James Bond where you can just swap out Bonds now and then and go merrily on your way.

 

[pnad]

Ive read all the books and enjoyed the movies. I normally HATE a seeing the movie after reading the book but the missing pieces don't bother me in these.

I think its because this is the only 'fantasy' series I have read and I get to see the visuals for what I had imagined while reading.

 

[ProfJohn]

I think they should have make LOTR into 4-5 movies instead of 3. I have return of the king extended cut and its like 6 hours long or something. Every once and awhile I want to watch it again but that is a serious time commitment!

The LOTR extended cuts are 4 hours each.


BTW for the life of me I don't understand why they never made extended cuts of the Potter films. There are plenty of fans that would have paid an extra $5-10 for an extend version DVD.

 

[Homerboy]

The LOTR extended cuts are 4 hours each.


BTW for the life of me I don't understand why they never made extended cuts of the Potter films. There are plenty of fans that would have paid an extra $5-10 for an extend version DVD.

There are extended version of 1 and 2. The were aired on ABC Family IIRC, but are not on DVD (yet). IIRC also, they have never ruled out more extended versions of other movies and releasing on DVD.... you gotta market properly. Wait until ALL the movies are out on DVD and are sell a billion copies. Then at the 5/10/15/whatever anniversary, re-release extended versions.

 

[blinblue]

Never seen a single one, I've always thought i would catch up on them, but reading this thread, how many damn movies do they have now?

There are 7 books, and there will be 8 movies. The last book (Deathly Hallows) was split into two movies. Part 2 is coming out this summer.


While I have enjoyed the movies, they really suffer from the changes in directors between most of the films. The visual style in 1 and 2 are drastically different from the all others and as a whole it suffers from those big changes.

I'm hoping that like 10-15 years from now they do a complete remake with a single vision of how its going to look. And this time hopefully none of the actors will die off halfway through. It will help a lot now that all the books are out (as the first movie was released when only the 4th book was out).

Anyway, enjoy the movies, they are worth a watch. And if you think you like the story/characters and don't mind reading, be sure to pick up the books, you won't be disappointed

 

[ViviTheMage]

I read the books then watched the movie ... I enjoyed them both equally. You can never expect the short movie to fullfill the entire book, they did a decent job, entertaining for sure.

 

[soulcougher73]

I thought the Half-Blood Prince was the worst of them. But i enjoyed most of the other ones. Actually DH1 was just ok as well. Those to me are probably the 2 weakest ones. Movie wise that is. Im sure the books are better.

 

[dainthomas]

The LOTR extended cuts are 4 hours each.

And are being released on bluray later this year. :thumbsup:

Early fantasy authors like Tolkien and Lewis were such masters of the language. They were able to take what could have been simplistic and/or boring plots and turn them into fantastic reads. Every time I see a comment about how boring the books are, I can't help but think that people have been ruined by short-attention-span books like HP.

 

[Redfraggle]

And are being released on bluray later this year. :thumbsup:

Early fantasy authors like Tolkien and Lewis were such masters of the language. They were able to take what could have been simplistic and/or boring plots and turn them into fantastic reads. Every time I see a comment about how boring the books are, I can't help but think that people have been ruined by short-attention-span books like HP.

I made the mistake of buying the LOTR trilogy in a single volume. It felt like it took an insane amount of time to read, but I still enjoyed it.

 

[gorcorps]

5th movie (Order of the Phoenix) was much better than the last 2. Probably my favorite one so far. Though I can't stand that blonde Luna girl... she always acts like she's high and just doesn't fit well in any scenes where she talks.

 

[Homerboy]

Hmmm I thought Luna fit in quite well to her role.
She wasn't supposed to "fit in" She's supposed to be the total odd-ball and odd-one out.

Also obligatory:

 

[gorcorps]

Hmmm I thought Luna fit in quite well to her role.
She wasn't supposed to "fit in" She's supposed to be the total odd-ball and odd-one out.

Also obligatory:

That's the thing, I haven't read the books so I don't what she's SUPPOSED to be like. I don't know whether to blame the actress, the direction, or the character itself but as an "outsider" to the HP world I don't think she fit in the story, or this group of wizards for that matter. In a story where every single character has its own quirks and oddities, forcing one to be "the odd one" is IMO unnecessary. Since everybody else is so odd already they have to have her be REALLY damned weird to be labeled as such. Her reactions and general lack of give-a-fuck about what happens around them really stood out. More often than not she jumps the line from "total oddity" to "creepy little girl".

Maybe that's the point though. Maybe she's SUPPOSED to be a hollow shell of a person and it'll make sense later. Maybe I'll look back and go "I KNEW IT!" But if she's just another one of the good guys with no real development then they fucked up big time. It's almost like they (or the author) stuck her in there after somebody complained there weren't enough girls in the story. Like the story was pretty well thought out already, but then they decided to shoehorn another person in there with the story already written. Every time Harry says he hears voices she goes "Uh... me too!" Good for you Luna, you weird ass broad. Nothing ever came of that though.

I'll watch the rest to see what happens, but in this movie in particular they didn't introduce her well enough.

 

[zokudu]

The books and movies climaxed at the 4th one for me. After that they all felt like she was churning them out for the sake of churning them out.

 

[KaOTiK]

Order of the Phoenix was my fav one. I enjoyed all the movies for the most part, though I recently watched Deathly Hallows Part 1 and I just didn't care for it all. I'm going to watch it again right before seeing Part 2 to give it a fair shake, but I just thought it was pretty crappy.

 

[dmcowen674]

The very first movie horrible. Terrible acting by everybody.

They were little kids

 

[nanette1985]

Also, Harry is clearly mildly retarded. He should just do whatever Hermione tells him to do, as she's the only one that apparently bothered to study magic while they were in FUCKING WIZARD SCHOOL. Him and Ron seem like they should have been held back a few years.

This is way too true I'd like to see a movie of "Hermione and the Dorks" with her version of the stories

 

[Homerboy]

This is way too true I'd like to see a movie of "Hermione and the Dorks" with her version of the stories

LOL yeah, That would be awesome, Hermione telling the stories from her point of view.

 

[Homerboy]

That's the thing, I haven't read the books so I don't what she's SUPPOSED to be like. I don't know whether to blame the actress, the direction, or the character itself but as an "outsider" to the HP world I don't think she fit in the story, or this group of wizards for that matter. In a story where every single character has its own quirks and oddities, forcing one to be "the odd one" is IMO unnecessary. Since everybody else is so odd already they have to have her be REALLY damned weird to be labeled as such. Her reactions and general lack of give-a-fuck about what happens around them really stood out. More often than not she jumps the line from "total oddity" to "creepy little girl".

Maybe that's the point though. Maybe she's SUPPOSED to be a hollow shell of a person and it'll make sense later. Maybe I'll look back and go "I KNEW IT!" But if she's just another one of the good guys with no real development then they fucked up big time. It's almost like they (or the author) stuck her in there after somebody complained there weren't enough girls in the story. Like the story was pretty well thought out already, but then they decided to shoehorn another person in there with the story already written. Every time Harry says he hears voices she goes "Uh... me too!" Good for you Luna, you weird ass broad. Nothing ever came of that though.

I'll watch the rest to see what happens, but in this movie in particular they didn't introduce her well enough.

This is where the shortening a 700+ page book into a 2hr movie just doesn't work. They can't do everything "right" and I agree her introduction in the movie(s) was just forced but it's about all they could do. In the books people like Neville, Luna, Percy etc all play much bigger roles. They just don't get justice in the movies.

If you remotely like the movies, and more importantly the stories in the movies, then as others have said, you need to just hammer through the books. SUPER easy reads even at 700+ pages. You could read one a week without even trying. As I previously said too, I enjoyed reading the books AFTER the movies. There were a million "OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I get it" moments.