Magic Movie Moments with Harry, Part 6: Half-Blood Prince

The sixth film in the Potter series, much like the novel which provides its basis, gives us a sense that we are at the beginning of the end.  Foundations are laid in this movie for things that will not be fully realized or resolved until this Friday in DH2.  It is for that reason that some people may have found the Half-Blood Prince film boring or confusing (maybe both), but from the stance of someone who still has that book in a tie for her favorite of the series, it actually comes off pretty well.

Muggles and Magic
Now, this scene is actually a bit of a rewrite from what we get in the opening chapter of the book (which features a conversation between the Muggle and wizarding Prime Ministers), but I think in terms of translating from book to screen, showing the bridge collapse (which is mentioned in the book's version, just not shown), is actually a better choice.  We get the message loud and clear:  this wizarding war is getting out of hand, to the point where it's affecting the Muggles who aren't even supposed to know that magic exists.  Plus, seeing the menacing steel of the Millenium Bridge (which I've walked on!) collapse into the Thames is just plain eerie.

Snape Weaves a Web
Snape has always been a complicated character, and one never very far from suspicion.  Half-Blood Prince plays with this even more, from the first scene in which he appears (a very well-executed retelling of the novel's second chapter, made all the better by the brilliant acting of Helen McRory, Helena Bonham Carter, and Alan Rickman), to the film's climax when he (SPOILER) fires the curse which kills Dumbledore.  By the film's end, as in the book, we are more bewildered than ever as to where Snape's loyalty lies, and this is almost enough on its own to draw people in for the seventh film.

Meet Tom Riddle
An entire subplot of the sixth book is the history lesson/character study of the boy who would become Lord Voldemort, and has Harry struggling to understand what his weaknesses might be.  Because a lot of what we learn about Tom Riddle comes through various discussions as well as peering into Harry's own mind, it is understandably difficult to translate to the screen.  That said, the flashbacks we do get to see in the film are well-executed and definitely try (can't say for sure that they succeed) to effectively convey this part of the story.  I especially like the memory of Dumbledore visiting a very young Tom at the orphanage where he lives.

Draco's Up to No Good
This part of the film is really well done, although that may be me still gushing over Tom Felton's impressive performance.  He does a phenomenal job showing Draco's insecurity and uncertainty as he embarks on a secret assignment from Voldemort, which culminates in his attempt and failure to kill Dumbledore.  Great acting and a very nuanced look at this character as he takes on new dimensions.

A Fitting Tribute
Now, the actual moment of Dumbledore falling from the tower onto the grounds felt a bit forced to me, as did some of the lead-up to his death.  What did really get me, however, was the response of his students out on the Hogwarts grounds.  There is a really fantastic moment where the music swells and, one by one, the students light their wands and raise them to the sky in silent solidarity with their fallen headmaster.  Since they omitted the very poignant funeral scene that the book provides, this is our chance to let Dumbledore's death sink in, and I think if I can't have the closure I'd really like, this is a decent consolation prize.

Only one more film to go before the big finale!  Excitement is building in every corner, and I'm going to have to start avoiding the internet soon to minimize the risk of spoilers.

Magic Movie Moments with Harry, Part 5: Order of the Phoenix

This film marks the beginning of the reign of the brilliant David Yates, who went on to direct the four final films in the series, including Friday's much anticipated Deathly Hallows, Part 2.  I really enjoyed Order of the Phoenix, mostly because I went into it acknowledging that adapting an 870 page tome into a 2.5 hour movie is an extremely challenging feat, and so was able to forgive them the minor details that were left out.  Overall, though, the film does a really wonderful job of conveying the ever-present darkness that we get in the novel, and Dan Radcliffe handles Harry's teen angst much better than I'd expected.  Here are some bits that are especially great:

The Worst Teacher You've Ever Had, Times 1,000.
Order of the Phoenix introduces us to Professor Dolores Umbridge, sent by the Ministry of Magic to Hogwarts School to oppress its students.  She is the worst kind of evil right from the start, looking like an innocent grandmother type but quickly revealing that this is not remotely the case.  I particularly enjoy the kind of cheerfully sadistic venom of her first lesson with Harry's class, where she spouts off Ministry bullshit and berates Harry, then punctuates it with an evil little giggle.  Umbridge gets continually worse as the movie goes on, and I have to say, Imelda Staunton is really the perfect choice to portray one of the most hated teachers in Hogwarts' history.

Harry Potter and Sirius Black:  Misunderstood Bros for Life
One thing David Yates was very deliberate about in this film was laying the groundwork for Harry and Sirius' relationship, its importance as well as Harry's increasing dependence on his godfather.  We all knew that Sirius' death was on the horizon, and that knowledge makes it all the more heartbreaking to watch scenes like the one where they study the Black family tapestry and Sirius reassures his godson that he is not, in fact, a bad person.  Knowing that this is the last time they'll see one another before the night of Sirius' murder just tips the sad scale even further.

Harry catches Cho on the rebound, awkward snogging ensues
This romance is just so silly and entertaining to watch, because Harry is so naive about everything when it comes to girls.  He understands nothing of what might be going through Cho's head after her previous boyfriend's death (Hermione kindly explains it to Harry and to us).  The scene where Harry gets his first kiss, though, is just precious and awkward and hilarious, all at the same time.  I love Harry trying not to let his eagerness to mack on Cho come on too strong, and I love that their bodies are like, a full 2 feet apart the entire time they're kissing.  I was a little disappointed by the follow-through with their eventual breakup in the film, but as the lighter subplot they were trying for, I think it still works pretty well.

The Ministry of Magic Kick-Ass-a-Thon
There are so many things to love about this part of the film, the first being that it is incredibly satisfying that they dedicate so much time to it.  From the moment the kids step off the elevator in the Ministry of Magic, you know some major shit is about to go down.  Not only do Harry and co. manage to keep Malfoy and Bellatrix at bay in the Hall of Prophecy (and bonus awesome points to Ginny for literally bringing the house down), but we are then treated first to an Order vs. Death Eaters battle, and then to a Dumbledore vs. Voldemort face-off, also known as the one we'd all been waiting for.  I'm not usually too impressed by the visual effects in films (that or I just don't pay very much attention), but these scenes are just plain cool looking.  It isn't often that these films come very close to replicating the images I have in my head of the stories, but this is one of those rare occasions they did.


The Music
It has to be said, I think this might be one of my favorite scores of all the films.  I like the tracks on Deathly Hallows Part 1 just a little bit more, but this is the film where I think each composition is featured at a perfectly fitting spot in the action, and in this way the music really does help to tell the story.  Nicholas Hooper composed the music for this movie and for Half-Blood Prince, and definitely deserves some major kudos for helping to establish the tone of both films.

This review reminds me forcibly just how close we're getting to the final film!  Excitement and nostalgia are battling inside me with each minute that passes on the way to Friday at 12:01am.

Magic Movie Moments with Harry, Part 1: Sorcerer's Stone

Anyone who is even a casual reader of this blog knows that I am a huge Harry Potter fan.  Seriously, it borders on unhealthy, this obsession I still somehow have.  And this summer marks the very last time that it's going to be (marginally) socially acceptable for me to gush over all things HP.  (This doesn't mean I won't continue to do so, it just means that it will be all the more annoying to everyone around me when I do).  Anyway, the final film comes out in just a few weeks' time, and I thought I'd take a look back at the previous seven films, the last ten years of this big-screen phenomenon, and pick out some of my favorite moments.  

Harry, Ron, and Hermione have the meet-cute of a lifetime on the train to Hogwarts.
Our Trio's First Scene Together! 
Harry and Ron bond over a mutual fascination with each other, and their love of candy (because really, who doesn't love candy?).  Hermione introduces herself with more snobbery than 99% of eleven year olds on the planet-- good thing that turned out to be a misdirect.  I loved the way each of them acted in this scene; the personalities of the three characters were well-articulated even in their first moments together.  Oh, by the way, Hermione?  That boy you're passing judgment on?  The ginger kid with the dirt on his nose?  Yeah, you're gonna marry him.

Harry's Big Game

 The quidditch scene addresses our wondering of how the hell they would convey this wacky sport on the big screen. I have to say, I'm still amused by just how brutal it was made to look here (three of Harry's teammates are down for the count by game's end, and no one seems terribly concerned), and given the limited technology of 2001, the whole thing is pretty darn impressive for its time.


Mirror Images

Our Harry takes a nighttime stroll in his newly acquired invisibility cloak, and comes across a treasure in a secret room.  This scene is probably my favorite in this book, and definitely my top 10 of the series, for the simple poignancy.  Harry is an eleven year old boy, and as such could be hoping for any number of silly things, and yet his dearest ambition is to see an image of his parents one more time.  My heartstrings had officially been tugged when I read this scene, and the wide-eyed longing with which baby-Dan Radcliffe played this scene was just perfect.  And of course, it's from this scene in both book and movie that we learn one of the most important lessons Dumbledore will teach us:  "It does not do to dwell on dreams, and forget to live."

Life-sized Chess!  Ron sacrifices himself!

This scene, apart from being so darn exciting in the book, is a huge moment of achievement for all three members of the trio.  Ron steps up to the plate in a big way, leading the team to a victory that neither Harry nor Hermione could have achieved; Hermione realizes that her brand of intelligence isn't enough in every situation (though admittedly it comes through in many of them); and Harry faces the fact that he can't be the only one to make sacrifices all the time (of course, he seems to forget and re-learn this lesson in all seven books).  And amid all the epiphanies, there's of course the really cool visual of giant chess pieces facing off in a battle to the death.


"I'm not going home, not really."

Harry finds his place at Hogwarts and we, like him, eagerly await the journey back.  I love that the film ended on this note, with John Williams' beautifully composed score swelling optimistically as the train rolls away.  It just seems to perfectly sum up the feeling in Harry's heart when he leaves this first year of magic and so many new discoveries.  There's also a bit of a bittersweet note-- Harry knows now what he's returning to, and what he's leaving behind.  Fortunately, this time it's only for a summer.

Stay tuned for part two, when I dig through the denseness that is Chamber of Secrets for its best moments.

Book Review: If Harry Potter Ran General Electric, by Tom Morris

I just finished this book too, and I have to say, it had a lot more to it than I was expecting.  Despite the current irony of lauding General Electric (who allegedly failed to pay their taxes in 2010) as a model for other businesses, the associations Morris makes between principles of ethical leadership and the world of Harry Potter are actually quite insightful, and more importantly, accessible to today's budding leader. 

Morris takes a philosophical approach to the most common problems of leadership and outlines the first leg of his project using a comparison between Aristotle and Albus Dumbledore, illustrating how the latter lives out the virtue ethics of the former in his own leadership at Hogwarts School.  Dumbledore is an Aristotelian "good" person to his very core, and opening the book with this parallel serves the purpose of pulling the reader into a discussion of how the tenets of Aristotle's virtue can be applied to "real-world" scenarios involving the students of magic we all know and love. 

Most of the book's remainder is dedicated to showing the many ways Harry Potter is a successful leader among his magical peers.  We get a look at how Harry embodies and lives many of the virtues praised by the ancient philosophers as well as modern ethicists, and we also get to see instances where Harry breaks away in some manner from the traditional approach, as well as how each of those situations works out for him and his friends.

Harry is shown to be an aspiring leader with genuine potential, but also a young man who remains prone to the same mistakes we all make in our daily lives.  Morris commends him for his seemingly limitless courage in the face of peril (which only gets more impressive in the seventh installment, which was unpublished at the time of this book's release), but he also warns the reader of caution in those situations when they, like Harry, might be tempted to allow their emotions to rule and perhaps cloud their judgment.  Having two co-pilots in Ron and Hermione is perhaps Harry's greatest strength, because they each bring to the table those strengths which he lacks. 

Overall, Morris' book provides a manual for leaders (in any realm, not just the business world), as well as a fresh lens through which we can examine this beloved book series and the characters who populate its world.  I have recommended it to the staff I'll be training for next year (we'll see if they actually give it a chance), and I recommend it to anyone who's interested in the lessons they can learn from such a seemingly unexpected source.