[Previously: "Blogging, or rather, lack thereof"] [Main Index] [Next: "Contempt"]

11/13/2003 Entry: "Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban"

Music |

Mood |

Because Augusto is a big leech and he's bribing me: apparently he's being a DJ for something. Uh-huh. It's AzN music, so beware. http://66.90.86.43:1337/listen.pls

At any rate, I felt it was a good time to blog. After all, I have a Spanish quiz tomorrow, but who cares? Yo tengo la confianza en sí mismo.

Yes, that's the one I got right on today's Spanish vocab game. *dances around*

These are almost funny. Governator.

[Okay, the rest of this entry is about the HP trailer, so run away while you can. I blogged for HP in the first place :P ]

At rate, I checked my AIM messages earlier today to see that I had recieved four messages from Christina, much to my surprise. I felt so loved. At any rate, I checked the message to see some rather screaming IM's about the Harry Potter #3 trailer.

Which you can pick up here, btw.

Perhaps it was because I had acquired so very *little* sleep the night before, but somehow my heart was not bursting with enthusiasm. In fact, I wasn't at all interested. You have to remember that I own the previous two movies, which, um, well, yes. That pretty much sums up the movies right there.

Plus, I remember watching the Chamber of Secrets trailer.. I've got it on my computer right now, and I've got to say, though I was vaguely interested, it really played rather pathetically. I mean, the two minute trailer went through THE ENTIRE BOOK.

[start replay of trailer]

"Oh, look, Golum on crack. Oh, no Harry, don't go back to Hogwarts. Oh look, there's Harry, at Hogwarts! Oh, look, the chamber of secrets opened. (How do I know? Why, because all the characters are saying so! Repeatedly!) Oh, yes, the chamber has a monster in it. (How do I know? Why, because all the characters are saying so! Repeatedly!) Oh, look, Harry's writing in a diary and it's talking back to him! Oh look, Harry went in the chamber! Oh look, spiders! (Fuzzy ones from 8-Legged Freaks!) Oh look, right there, teenage boy telling Harry to match his power against that of Slytherin! Oh look, Harry picks up the sword and brandishes it in recompensense for what he doesn't have! OH LOOk, CHEESY LINE FROM RUPERT GRINT TO END THE TRAILER SINCE WE DON'T THINK WE TOLD YOU ENOUGH YET!"

[end replay]

Yes, so even though I knew that there's a much better director for my favorite of the Harry Potter books this time (Alfonso Cuaron), I really wasn't that... well, happy about it. (I don't want to get into movie one.) Was still planning on seeing it opening day and all, but really, my heart was just not going thump-thump.

Well, now, I've watched this trailer three billion times now, and I've got to say, I actually understand what Emma Watson meant when she discussed Cuaron and said, ".. Alfonso's done some amazing things with camera angles and camera shots. And this one is much more flowy. I don't know. You can just tell the difference."

Oh, you sure as hell can. I'm not even upset about Oliver Wood not being in the movie anymore.

The trailer is amazing. Really, it is, and I'm not even saying this because Christina was singing hymns about Rickman's hips. No, the trailer is really amazing - it's scary, really. There are perhaps only three actually spoken lines in the entire trailer, and yet the entire essence of the movie is really just thrown at my head. No silly lines from house elves, no "Oooh, something's going to happen and whoop! there it is" - it's all gone. When I was little, I always thought that directors pretty much didn't do anything except tell the actors to smile or frown and order cameras around (really little, people), but - WOW.

It really is smooth. It really is "flowy". I've no experience with cinematography, but it looks GREAT. The trailer itself is smoothly connected by the eerie music of the Hogwarts choir (with enormous toads, I believe), singing "Something Wicked this way comes". The BG music is still definitely John Williams, which is great, but it no longer seems too dramatic for the cheesiness of the movie, which was a problem with movies 1 & 2. I can't even say how glad I am - Prisoner of Azkaban has always been my favorite of the Harry Potter books, in particular because I was heartbroken to find out what happened to Harry's parents and in turn, Sirius Black. This movie really looks fantastic, and I keep playing it in the background now - oh god, the eeriness of the Hogwarts express, sitting on the train tracks, unmoving with the steam blowing towards the front. The sound of a swoop of wings over Sirius' stone cell. Alan Rickman in a god-awful dress. It's great.

Ah yes, if you watch the trailer, please keep a sharp eye out for the apparatus in the upper right hand corner at EXACTLY 1:01 -- it's only there for a split second, I would pause if I were you. :P

Anyway. WHOOSH. Back to homework. But really, what a great interruption and good hope for the future :)