I feel like some kind of jerk when I complain about Harry Potter movies and books. I mean, who am I to complain? If I don't like them, I should just shut up about them, right? But that's the problem - I do like them. And because I like them so much, it annoys me when I watch the movies (last week's Film Festival entry: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and spend the entire time pointing out the flaws and fallacies and foolishness.
Because it is full of all of those things. Plots are contrived, characters actually lose depth as the series continues, and the story becomes more and more frustrating. As the books advance from one to seven, the story becomes more and more serious and the goofy childishness decreases. Books three, four and, to some extent, five are the sweet spot of the series, where they have not lost all of their charm and yet the story is actually tense.
But the movie for Goblet of Fire is quite good, despite my complaints. One of my universal peeves is the use of tension that I consider to be fake; miscommunication. And it is in this film (and book) that the pattern becomes locked in: nobody believes Harry, nobody listens to him, but then it turns out he is right and everybody is sorry for not believing him. This is perfected in the next film/book (Order of the Phoenix) and does not really relent for the remainder of the series. And here I go again, holding this series up to a higher standard than it deserves. I forget sometimes what it all actually is: a childrens series. True, it had massive crossover success, but at its core, it was still a book about and for children. As much as I loved them, I don't know if I have much interest in rereading them. Does that make me a bad person? Does it make me an adult? A boring old square who would rather read a nonfiction book about numbers than a book about wizards? Or am I just too old to relive the experience of reading a truly fantastic series? A book that I do often wish to revisit is Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I really do recommend this book highly. It is extremely long, and although this prohibits it from being a beach read, it is the kind of book that becomes a good friend and you are very sad when it finally ends.
Sorry I failed to write anything about L.A. Confidential, but what can be said really? It's a fantastic movie! If you haven't seen it, you need to. If you have seen it, I'm pretty sure it's about time to see it again. Later this week: The Royal Tenenbaums.
3 comments:
"I forget sometimes what it all actually is: a childrens series. True, it had massive crossover success, but at its core, it was still a book about and for children." Am I going to have to get all Andrew on you?! Lower standards for kids' books??!! I am shocked and appalled at this blasphemy.
I wouldn't say lower standards for kids' books, but I would certainly try to remember that children and adults make an entirely different target audience. Themes that adults want to read about and are equipped to understand are different than things that children should read. It's simply a matter of what a reader can relate to. To a child or teen, the thought of marrying your best friend's sister, who is essentially your high school sweetheart, has deep resonance. To an adult who is all too aware that high school romances are probably the worst relationships you can get stuck in, this is not a realistic - or even desirable - plot development.
But I will gladly concede that, despite being kids' books, the Harry Potter books are better than much contemporary adult fiction.
I know exactly how you feel on rereading them. I've been tossing that idea around lately, myself. I've kind of stopped caring about the Harry Potter series and I want to reread them simply for the sake of remembering why I loved them so much.
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