DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN THE MOVIE! I AM WARNING YOU!!!!!
Yesterday my wonderful friends joined me in watching movies 5-7, eating Harry Potter-themed treats, waiting in line for six hours, and waiting in the theatre (in our awesome seats) for two more.
Yesterday my wonderful friends joined me in watching movies 5-7, eating Harry Potter-themed treats, waiting in line for six hours, and waiting in the theatre (in our awesome seats) for two more.
Erin made golden snitch cake pops! I can't bring myself to get rid of the quidditch field. I think it might stay in my room forever...
I made butterbeer cupcakes.
Melanie made cookie pops! Props to this Only a Fan of the Movies girl, but SHE STILL NEEDS TO READ THEM! So does Erin, as a matter of fact.
Emily made Dirigible Plum pudding! Yes, in fact she is one of the coolest people ever.
Kate helped me make pretzel wands.
The tickets!
Gildroy Lockhart (Denton) and Hogwarts student (Eric).
Harry (Domenico) and Ginny (Erin).
Death Eater (Rylee).
Gryffindor cuties (Rachel and Spencer).
Harry's Patronus (Kate) and dementor (Ken).
Thirteen-year-old girl who wouldn't stop talking to us/photobombing, Bill Weasley (Heston), Chrookshanks (Tab), and Tonks (Kiko).
Ken hadn't seen the sixth and seventh movies, so we made sure he watched both of them before the eighth film. Luckily, we had the time.
Professor Trelawney (Megan)!
Shannon is a muggle, but we let her join the magic anyway.
That'll be Dobby (Nick) on the left.
Oh my goodness, THAT GIRL! SHE DOESN'T EVEN GO HERE!
Guess who Sarah was!
Everyone keeps asking me, "Is it everything you hoped for?"
The short answer is... Yes.
The long answer is... Mostly yes. I've always made excuses for why they left out parts of the books in previous films, but for the first time it felt like a personal blow, especially because I thought that they would try their best to include everything because it was their last chance to and had the least amount of chapters they've ever had to work with. Dumbledore's story just completely got the back-burner. However, I understand why they made the cuts and alterations, so I can't keep a grudge against the people who brought to life the books that define my childhood and made the magic last this much longer. In the end, the books will always be richer and have more depth. There's no argument there. On the whole, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was awesome, magical, emotional, wonderful, scary, beautiful, and unlike any other movie I've ever seen.
The thing that I think they did really well, much more than any other film, was create an atmosphere of complete terror. A movie has never made me felt so terrified and queasy. This isn't a kids movie, I can tell you that. When Harry Imperiuses the goblin at Gringotts, I think the dopey expression on his face was supposed to be funny, but I found it really scary. The Imperius curse is horrifying to me--being under the control of someone else is a frightening thought. But I guess that's why it's a Unforgivable Curse! The sprawled-out goblins as well... Awful. VOLDEMORT IS SO BAD. So much blood is spilled, and so much slaughter takes place. It's horrible. Just horrible. It was completely weird and unnerving seeing the students of Hogwarts in an atmosphere of such blatant murder and death. However, I was holding up pretty well until it cut to a scene of Fenir Greyback biting and killing Lavendar Brown. That just made me so sick. From then on, I was a wreck. When they showed Snape with Voldemort, I was immediately beside myself with tears. Then his death and the pensieve flashbacks... MERLIN'S PANTS! I had to try to keep my sobbing quiet for the sake of the people around me, but when Dumbledore says, "After all this time?" and Snape replies, "Always"... Well, I let escape a little noise typical of hysteric crying. Alan Rickman played the perfect Snape these past ten years. I just want to hug him. Always.
Another thing they somehow magically managed to do was inject humor into the bleak events. I found myself laughing at countless one-liners from everyone from Professor McGonnagall to Neville to...well, Voldemort. The Dark Lord seemed to be comic relief at times, which I am not sure was fully intended. His weird little noises and part in the Most Awkward Hug to Ever be Captured on Film left the entire theatre in a fit of giggles. Having to hug Voldemort is reason enough to not join the dark side.
A few more thoughts: The Hermione/Ron kiss was awesome, but I think I prefer the sweetness of the book version. I was beyond confused when Neville announced his love for Luna, but I can't be too angry about it, because I always wanted Luna to end up with Harry or Neville in the books. Seeing Fred, Tonks, and Lupin was devastating. We clapped and cheered when Mrs. Weasley killed Bellatrix and Neville killed Nagini. I thought it was kind of hilarious that not one person clapped or cheered when Voldemort was killed, but whatevs. I myself felt quite victorious when it happened. The epilogue was great. It could've been super cheesy, but they did it well.
And then it ended. There were hugs. When Erin and Domenico drove me home, I made them put on Voldemort is Going Down. When I got out of the car, they thanked me for planning the party and as I usually say, I replied, "Anytime," but being the drama queen I truly am deep inside, I went on, "except actually not, because this is never going to happen ever again." And then I walked to my door like a big baby.
Of course I couldn't go to sleep yet, so I cleaned up and read "Harry Potter: The Ultimate Movie Celebration" insert from Empire, which went through each of the eight films with interviews and pictures, while listening to Maggie's aptly titled mix CD, "Post-Potter Depression" that I conveniently got in my fantastic blogger swap package earlier in the day. Tears were involved, but mostly I realized how incredibly lucky I am to have been a part of such a monumental thing. When the CD ended, I placed my Harry Potter wand on my nightstand and went to sleep with at least some sense of closure.
One of my favorite parts in the final film was when Harry talks to Dumbledore at King's Cross (and not just because Daniel Radcliffe looks mighty fine in gray and I got to see Dumbledore). I think they did so well with this scene, which makes me infinitely happy. The scene perfectly sums up the whole Harry Potter business to me:
When Dumbledore said, "Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic," I immediately thought of the magic JK Rowling has provided to my very, very fortunate generation and how I am going to share the magic with my children someday. Thank you, Jo, for making my childhood the most magical it could possibly be. You are literally the coolest person alive.
When Dumbledore said, "Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love," I thought about how Harry Potter is the ultimate story of love conquering all.
When Dumbledore said, "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?", I thought about how just because the magical world of Harry Potter is in our imaginations, doesn't mean that it is any less real to us.
All was well.
A few more thoughts: The Hermione/Ron kiss was awesome, but I think I prefer the sweetness of the book version. I was beyond confused when Neville announced his love for Luna, but I can't be too angry about it, because I always wanted Luna to end up with Harry or Neville in the books. Seeing Fred, Tonks, and Lupin was devastating. We clapped and cheered when Mrs. Weasley killed Bellatrix and Neville killed Nagini. I thought it was kind of hilarious that not one person clapped or cheered when Voldemort was killed, but whatevs. I myself felt quite victorious when it happened. The epilogue was great. It could've been super cheesy, but they did it well.
And then it ended. There were hugs. When Erin and Domenico drove me home, I made them put on Voldemort is Going Down. When I got out of the car, they thanked me for planning the party and as I usually say, I replied, "Anytime," but being the drama queen I truly am deep inside, I went on, "except actually not, because this is never going to happen ever again." And then I walked to my door like a big baby.
Of course I couldn't go to sleep yet, so I cleaned up and read "Harry Potter: The Ultimate Movie Celebration" insert from Empire, which went through each of the eight films with interviews and pictures, while listening to Maggie's aptly titled mix CD, "Post-Potter Depression" that I conveniently got in my fantastic blogger swap package earlier in the day. Tears were involved, but mostly I realized how incredibly lucky I am to have been a part of such a monumental thing. When the CD ended, I placed my Harry Potter wand on my nightstand and went to sleep with at least some sense of closure.
One of my favorite parts in the final film was when Harry talks to Dumbledore at King's Cross (and not just because Daniel Radcliffe looks mighty fine in gray and I got to see Dumbledore). I think they did so well with this scene, which makes me infinitely happy. The scene perfectly sums up the whole Harry Potter business to me:
When Dumbledore said, "Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic," I immediately thought of the magic JK Rowling has provided to my very, very fortunate generation and how I am going to share the magic with my children someday. Thank you, Jo, for making my childhood the most magical it could possibly be. You are literally the coolest person alive.
When Dumbledore said, "Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love," I thought about how Harry Potter is the ultimate story of love conquering all.
When Dumbledore said, "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?", I thought about how just because the magical world of Harry Potter is in our imaginations, doesn't mean that it is any less real to us.
All was well.
