1. Wow, those kids look like they’re about 6 years old.
2. Hermione was pretty bitchy back in the day.
3. Daniel Radcliffe/Harry has exactly two facial expressions: “total surprise at being famous for basically doing nothing” and “grim determination as he prepares to face off against a monster that the adults really should be killing instead of sitting around and making stupid rules about not going in the forest”.
4. Maggie Smith/Professor McGonagall has exactly two expressions: “prim disapproval of basically everything that is going on” and “sad acceptance of the fact that no one understands how much she suffers for her art (I won an Oscar, people!)”.
5. How did Dumbledore wash that beard of his? Or not have nightmares about garbage disposals?
6. Alan Rickman must have had a very understanding pharmacist.
7. Those “viewing towers” at the quidditch matches were really cool, despite being essentially pointless if you actually wanted to watch the game.
8. There are hundreds of kids mucking about at Hogwarts, but at any given time there are only four kids in a given classroom. And one of the four is usually Hermione, waving her attention-craving hand in the air and yearning to answer another question from the teacher before her head explodes with all that knowledge.
9. They only have one caretaker in this place? No wonder he looks so mean and old.
10. Hagrid, dude, it’s about that hair.
11. Hey, the woman who plays Harry’s nasty aunt is the same woman who showed up on True Blood last season and made Pam’s face not be pretty any more, which of course led to dissatisfaction, war, and a debate about Marnie’s right to open a pseudo Pottery Barn shop.
12. What’s the horrid, spoiled cousin’s name, the one with all the presents and the whining? Runtley? Grunt boy? Doesn’t matter. He needs to go. Life’s too short to put up with that mess.
13. Why do they let Hagrid live in that little hut off by himself? Nobody else gets to have a cabana.
14. You’d think somebody could figure out how to make those staircases not move. This is a school, right?
15. Wouldn’t it be easier to just have someone cast a spell on you so that you would automatically know all the spells and wouldn’t have to go to class? Or is this a union issue?
16. I don’t want the paintings on the wall to talk. I don’t care if I get to wear a pretty robe and wave a twig around, I need my decorating accessories to be quiet.
17. Seriously, they had a multi-million-dollar budget and they couldn’t come up with a scar for Harry that didn’t look like it was done by a third-grader with focus issues?
18. Practically the whole school year goes by, with unicorns being ravaged and ugly goblins being let loose in the lavatory, and no one thought to take a peek under that one guy’s turban?
19. There’s something wrong with that whole scoring thing for the House Competition. Hermione and Ron got the same amount of bonus points for the little underground death-chess thingy toward the end of the movie, even though all she did was stand there, with her and her hair looking anguished, while Ron did all the work and almost died about 40 times. And he rode a horse. Hermione didn’t ride anything. I’m thinking somebody needs to file a grievance.
20. I would never take off the Invisibility Cloak. Ever.
(Originally published in “The Sound and the Fury” on 01/20/12, slightly revised and updated with extra flair for this post.)
Categories: 10 Reasons Why
The simple answer to all these is Chris Columbus. Worst mainstream movie director ever.
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Well, he does hew to a certain over-used formula with basically everything he touches, so there’s that. But at the end of the day, he continues to cash some really big paychecks, any one of which could change my life forever. So more power to him in that respect. Besides, if he hadn’t been the director, I wouldn’t have been able to come up with this blog post… 😉
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Well there is that.
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I agree!
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Thanks, Vinitha! It’s nice to know that other people are wondering about the same things… 😉
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I wouldn’t mind having a slenderising cloak and less anguished hair.
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We both dream of the same things. Oh, and someone who can magically clean the bathrooms in this house, because I really don’t relish doing that… 😉
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Awh but we LOVE all things ‘Harry Potter’ Brian! In fact, if the thought of cleaning it didn’t put me off, I would very much like to live at Hogwarts! The refectory alone at mealtimes when the food magically appears is divine! We live close to Lacock Abbey where they filmed the Hogwarts scenes and I always bring my Nimbus 2000 when we visit, I haven’t made it off the ground yet…
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Oh, I fully heart Harry Potter and all the things that Rowling intended such to be. It’s a universal story of acceptance. (As Stephen King once said in response to a book review proclaiming that some novel was “Harry Potter for grownups”: “HARRY POTTER is Harry Potter for grownups”.) I would absolutely thrive at Hogwarts, but an owl never dropped an invitation, sadly, despite my yearning. And yes, I also lug my Nimbus 2000 about, still hopeful, but there’s something a bit hinky about it and I have never been cleared for take-off… 😉
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Only 20 thoughts Brian? I would mark your card ” Brian could do better if he concentrated more”.
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Fair enough. I have a tendency to get distracted and forget what I’m…
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Facebook keeps presenting me with links to “Wow look how hot all those kids are now”. I admit I look. I admit it’s true. I admit it feels so damn wrong.
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I have also clicked, and there has been shame, but I have continued to click (especially when it concerns the guy who played Neville Longbottom, who went from “meh” to “holy cow!”). Mea culpa. Click. I shouldn’t be doing this. Click. Nothing to gain here. Click…
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Lol…
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…oh and THAT was why ‘Pixels’ sucked so hard.
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I like rewatching the movies for scenes of Diagon Alley and Snape turning dramatically, his cape flying. Also, pretty sure Snape would be my favorite teacher. Actually, I think I had him for Algebra.
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And I actually think that I dated him, during my Goth years. Perhaps I’m a bit confused (I don’t get enough fiber in my diet, and things happen) but I seem to remember that cold, hard stare, which could equally mean “We are meant for each other!” and “Why are you still here?”
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OMG, you dated my Algebra teacher?! That’s so cool! 😀
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Well, that’s one way to put it… 😉
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Sigh, I miss Alan Rickman. I miss True Blood. Aren’t stairs supposed to move like that? ⚜
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I miss Alan and True Blood as well. (Although I do have to say that the last shot in True Blood, making it all about chosen family, was one of the most satisfying final scenes for a series that I’ve seen.) And the stairs? Well, they sometimes move like that for me. But usually only when I’m in NOLA and I’ve been sucking down Bloody Marys since 9am and I’m best friends with EVERYBODY in the bar… 😉
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Sorry to be so late commenting. I just got back from an Alaskan cruise and am slowly (but surely) putting my toes back into the world of online anything. You are quite right about most of these issues. I think it may be time for me to sit down and rewatch all of these films, just so I can make a sound judgement. But first, of course, I must reread all of the books…I will be back after all of that fun…
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I actually used to reread the whole series every time a new book came out. There’s just something very satisfying with the whole story arc, something comforting. For me, the movies don’t repeat as well, especially the earlier entries, probably due to the revolving door of directors. Still, the whole thing is quite a feat. Now, this Alaskan cruise thing, allow me to mention that I am very jealous and I hope you had a splendid time, although I’m sure you did, as you are very adept at seizing the moment… 😉
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You are greatness!! 🙂
And I totally agree with the last one, lol!
(Lego did a good job with HP too, don’tcha think?!) :Dl
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[Muffled voice comes from under old afghan being used as substitute invisibility cloak] “Yes, the Lego HP game is pretty swell, perhaps my favorite overall, still deciding. Now, did you bring the butter beer or not?”
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“Grunt Boy!” ROFLMAO!!!
😄
Both Hagrid and Dumbledore never had to worry about going hungry…all of that facial hair could keep leftovers for days!
😉
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Maybe THAT’s where Jimmy Hoffa is!
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LOL – yes! He’s hiding out there with D. B. Cooper!
😄
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I always loved how Snape rocked the black outfit he always wore. Forget Audrey Hepburn and her black dress, Snape knew how to wear black.
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Some people can carry off that “possibly going to the dark side” couture and some people can’t… 😉
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