The Last of the Harry Potter's.

The last Harry Potter's, number 4-7, are easily the saddest, most epic of his story. Harry endures a number of deaths and truly grows up in these. Again, I have read all of these multiple times.

The books are all the longest, so a lot of them is cut out, but the main point is there. Voldemort has returned and it is up to Harry, witht he help of Hermione, Ron and the Order of the Phoenix to stop the killing and the coming to power of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Not only are these books the most action filled, they're also the best movies.

The easy differences between the books and the movies:

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:
-In the scene where they go to the Quidditch World Cup they don't ever meet Seamus and Dean there, like in the book.
It also didn't include the house elf, Winky, who eventually joins Dobby as free elves, altough she isn't quite as keen on this idea.
They also completely ignore Hermione starting S.P.E.W. (Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare) and leaving mittens, hats, and such for the elves to free them.
Hermione also eventually captures Rita Skeeter's animagus, form a beetle, in a jar to keep her from writing anymore horrible things (although this eventually doesn't work).

Also, I'm going to have to add that I think Robert Pattinson was a much better Cedric Diggory than he is an Edward Cullen.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:
-The longest of the books, this one HAD to cut out a lot of things, although I'm going to have to say I would have settled for a longer movie with this one.
First off, when Harry goes to Grimmauld Place, he never has to clean out all of the room to get rid of te dust, doxies, boggart, etc. Eventually when Mrs. Weasley goes to get rid of the boggart, Harry walks in on her crying hysterically as each of her family member flashes by, laying on the ground dead in front of her. Then Harry sees himself dead in front of her. This scene shows how much Harry is a part of the Weasley's family, that he does have a family, just not by blood.
-It also doesn't do the whole scene witht he Marauders, it just flashes through.
-It lacks most of the fight at the Ministry of magic, where Hermione almost dies, Ginny twists her ankle, Neville is incredibly brave and break his nose, and where Ron is attacked by brains.
-They don't do justice to Fred and George when they leave Hogwarts. In the book they turn te entrance into a swamp like place and it's so much better than just fireworks.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:
-This book really lacks the development of Harry and Ginny's relationship, the rumor of the hungarian horntail tattoo that I thought was funny.
-The worst part of this movie though is that it completely is missing the whole entire fight scene in the castle, which is just stupid since it makes the movie less interesting.
-They don't have the scene of Dumbledore coming to get Harry from Privet Drive

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:
This movie was co-produced by J.K. Rowling, and was split into two parts which is probably why it stick so close to the book.
Really nothing in this book can be left out. But they did leave a couple things out in the first part:
-Dean Thomas is left out. Fred and George's radio show is left out. They don't show the ghoul in the attic pretending to be Ron with Spattergroit to keep the ministry from questioning his family of his whereabouts.
-They also leave out Harry's little birthday celebration (very little), they also don't have Lupin come to Grimmald place to ask to join there quest for the horcruxes.
-Kreacher is never given any redemption (like in the book) and he never tells Regulus's tale of turning back from the bad side nor does Harry find the picture of him on the toy broomstick and the letter from his mother to Sirius.
-They don't show Hermione literally trying to punch and beat Ron up after he comes back. Harry eventually has to cast a Shield Charm to keep them apart.

-The greatest thing about this movie though, is the way they represent Dobby. They don't leave out his parts and his death is so sad. SO freaking sad.


None of the books really capture any quidditch, but it's still a good part of the story that makes it seem more like a normal (ish) school where sports are still a big part of the education.


Really though, these were probably unfair comparisons. These books far outdo the movies in many, many aspects so the winner is... the boooks. Although the 7th one is amazing.

Books: 5     Movies: 1

Harry Potter

My favorite book series has been Harry Potter since I was in fourth grade. J.K. Rowling ws able to create an entire world from her imagination, and what's more, create characters that the reader's get to grow up with and actually get to know.

Since there are seven books in the series, this blog will only be about the first three, The Sorcerer's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets and the Prisoner of Azkaban. With no exagerration here, I have read each of those books at least four times. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban reaches the highest of any book with a grand total of eleven times.

Why should I reread the books? Well first, because I first started reading them in fourth grade, second, because everytime you reread them you get to find things you never even noticed before, third because I like to refresh before I watch the movies. Again.

Almost everyone I have talked to has read Harry Potter, so I won't bore you with the plot of the books. Here are a list of my favorite scenes that the movies don't show though:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone:
-When Harry, Ron, and Hermione all go to stop "Snape" from stealing the Sorcerer's Stone, they don't show a couple of the tasks that Harry has to solve before he can enter into the room with the Mirror of Erised.
The first is Snape's: Harry has to figure out which of the potions he should take before moving on to the next room: one will kill you, while the other will  not.
Another is the Defense Against the Dark Arts one, or Professor Quirrell's: Harry is supposed to fight a troll, but since Quirrell had already bee through there so the troll was just lying on the ground, already knocked unconscious.

Maybe those weren't necesary to the plot of the book, but I thought that it really helped you see the intelligence of Hermione, and the bravery of Harry.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:
-My favorite part in this entire book was the Valentine's Day part, where Harry gets chased around by a (I think it was an elf?) dressed as a cherub that Ginny sent Harry. I thought this part was so funny and it showed how Ginny liked Harry (foreshadowing future event?). They completely disregarded this scene though.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban:
-This was my favorite book, is my favorite book, of the series. I really love the Marauder's and I really like how you start to get to know them a little bit in this book. Sirius, the "massed murderer" is revealed to be his godfather, and Lupin is shown as James's friend. What was missing in this book was any description of how they new Black betrayed the Potters or a description of the Fidelius charm, or how Sirius escaped from Azkaban (his animagus form).


Another issue I have with the movies is that they leave out characters like Peeves the Poltergeist (who is amazing) and Pigwidgeon (Ron's owl). They also put Padma and Parvati Patil in the same house, when one of them is in Ravenclaw, and the other is in Gryffindor.

The first chapter in the book is my favorite in the entire series. It's the chapter where Harry is dropped off at the Dursley's and I think that the  movie did a really great job of accurately portraying this scene.

Here are the trailers for all three of them:

             

I think the movies did the best the could for book's of this length (particularly number 3), and are really good but again, I think that the books indeed pass up the movies because you get to know the character's far better.

Books: 4     Movies: 1

They Probably Don't Serve Beer There.

Tucker Max, author of the book I Hope They Serve Beer in He(can I say this word on here?)ll, has recieved wide criticism on his book. It is demeaning to women and promotes promiscuity among males searching to be like him. I'm going to be honest here: I liked this terrible book. I thought it was funny, crude of course, but funny nonetheless.

Seeing as this book has appeared on the blog about the differences between a book's movie, this was made into a movie. The movie greatly changed up the book; it took a book that pretty mch just described scenarios that happened to Mr. Max and created a plotline that captured these moments, but also gave them some sort of relevance and linked them all together.

If you've read the book, you know that Tucker Max is hardly angelic and he even states on the back of his book, "I am an a[y]hole, I get excessively drunk at innapropriate times, disregard social norms, indulge every whim, ignore the consequences of my actions, mock idiots and posers," etc. He feels no remorse for doing what he does and he simply just keeps on doing it. By no means am I condoning this behavior. I just think it's funny to read; I think he's a terrible person too.

But the movie gives some of the characters more of a personality than just their drunk ones. It actually shows how his actions affect the ones that he's supposed to care about (like his friends). In the movie he actually shows remorse for what happens after his friends become angry with him and makes an apology toast at the wedding of his friend.

The trailer honestly gives a pretty good jist of what he's like in the book, and in the movie:

If you are easily offended or don't want to read about a guy who might possibly me completely lacking any type of morals, I do not reccomend this movie OR book to you. At all.

Considering that in the movie Tucker Max might have some morals and that in the book there really is no doubt in my mind that he is unethical, I give the win to the movie this time. Please someone help us if guys start to try and act like this.

Books: 3  Movies: 1

My Dear Mr. Darcy

Channel 14 is the PSU movie channel, and because it's February, the month of Valentine's Day, three movies (maybe four if you count Easy A) about love are playing: Titanic, P.S. I Love You, and Pride and Prejudice. Pride and Prejudice is probably one of the most known and beloved books of all time. There are a couple different movie versions; my personal favorite is the newest one with Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen.

The movie closely follows Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s twists and turns in love. In my opinion, it accurately depicts the main plot of the book and I am really quite a fan.

But there are some things that I feel should’ve been done better. For instance, the Mr. Bennett in the movie is very serious and somber, almost as if he’s just tired of the antics of his wife and the stress of having to marry off his five daughters so they aren’t thrown from his house after his death. The Mr. Bennett in the book is more lighthearted; he’s constantly teasing his wife and his younger daughters.

An example of this humor in the book would be: “I would not trust you so near it as Eastbourne for fifty pounds! No, Kitty, I have at least learnt to be cautious, and you will feel the effects of it. No officer is ever to enter into my house again, nor even to pass through the village. Balls will be absolutely prohibited, unless you stand up with one of your sisters. And you are never to stir out of doors till you can prove that you have spent ten minutes of every day in a rational manner.”

Obviously he’s kidding when he tells his second youngest daughter this, but she takes him serious, and he just keeps with the jokes.

Another difference is at the end of the movie they add in a scene of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy after they’re married. I really think this is a good addition to the plot because it allows you to see them after their marriage, and plus it’s really cute.

Unfortunately, I love them both so much so deciding which one is better is really hard for me. But I think I'll have to go with the book once again because it leaves nothing out, and tells the complete story of every emotion and truly shows his pride and her prejudice.

Books: 3    Movies: 0

A combination. Disaster or Success?

How to Deal is a movie that is based off of two of Sarah Dessens book, Someone Like You and That Summer. Generally, I don't like it when movies change up a book, adding things that shouldn't be in there and taking away things that I think should be. But I think the producers did a fairly decent job with the film, although it is sort of cheesy and predictable. It's cute.

The story of Someone Like You really is a story about best friends and the trials they went through. When Halley's best friend, Scarlet, get's pregnant, Halley is there for her and ready to do whatever it takes since the baby's father died in a motorcycle accident. But eventually Halley meets a boy named Macon and becomes enraptured in a story of love and eventually heartbreak.

That Summer, is a book about a girl named Haven whos's trying to accept who she is. Her sister's getting married to a guy who she doesn't like, her parent's are divorvced, and her father's getting remarried.

The movie makes it more of a romance when really it's about two girls trying to find their way and realizing that sometimes you have to accept who you are, and also that "life is an awful, ugly place to not have a best friend."

I really do like the movie, but it's not anything special. It has Mandy Moore and Trent Ford:

But it skewed the meaning of the books. They're not about love, in face Macon and Halley fall in love, but (this is a spoiler so skip this little paragraph if you want to read the book) they don't make it because he can't be there for her. Even after he almost get her killed in a car accident. He doesn't show up to the hospital, nothing, not even a phone call. So rightly, she ends it and refocuses on her best friend who truly needed her right then. In the movie though, Macon comes back. He comes to the hospital and asks for her back, and instead of Halley being strong and realizing that she needs someone that will be there for her, she takes him back.

I'm going to have to give this win to the books again because you can't change a meaning of a book and have it still be the same.

image by: chellsseeyy on Flickr.com

Books: 2  Movies: 0