It All Ends: The Age of Harry Potter - Page 36

Harry Potter beats the Dark Knight - http://movies.yahoo.com/news/box-office-report-final-harry-potter-pic-grosses-113501277.html

Nagini kills Snape upon being commanded by Lord Voldemort.

Originally posted by: PhoeniXof_Hades

So Rapier, how about you answer some of Ajnu's questions regarding HP. What are your favorite characters, scenes, events, quotes, Hogwart's places, non-Hogwarts dwellings? Rank the HP books and movies from your favorite to least favorite.

Favorite characters (apart from the trio):

Snape: he is my most favorite character. He was more of a hero for me than even Harry. It takes a very strong person to love someone who never loved you back and sacrificing your life so that person's death was not in vain! He was brave and very loyal. Being a good guy while seeming like a bad guy is very hard! I wasn't sure about this character while reading the series. I wanted to trust him because Dumbledore trusted him. But yet, he was so unlikeable! So I was basically wavering back and forth in deciding whether Snape was good or evil. But, after reading "The Prince's Tale," there is no telling of how much I love this guy!

Fred and George: these characters are awesome! I love them very much! Their ability to have a laugh even in the darkest of times was so amazing! They do not sit there and worry about their future. An example is "U no poo." 😆And being gryffindors, they were very brave too! Especially my Rapier!😭They honestly taught me to not take life as seriously and it is essential to have a laugh once in a while!

Dumbledore: he was very intriguing. Most of the series, he seemed to be this character who was never wrong about anything, which is probably why I wanted to trust Snape so badly! But like Ajnu said, seeing him being wrong and making mistakes, sort of gave me satisfaction. He wasn't this perfect and wise old man. He can be wrong too.

Favorite scenes:

Oh god! There are so many!

Just to name a few in no particular order:

1. Any and every scene with Fred and George! (except for Fred's death maybe). Especially them leaving Hogwarts on broomsticks! I LOVE that scene! Haha!
2. The very last scene at king's cross in the book! Harry touching his scar and saying "I know he will."
3. Harry finding out he was a wizard for the first time! The moment that changed his life forever!
4. Snape's memories (need I say more?)
5. All the Quidditch matches! Loved everything about these! The commentary, the excitement, the crowd cheering and jeering!
6. Neville's speech to Voldemort! "I'll join you when hell freezes over! Dumbledore's Army!" I was so psyched!
7. Molly's and Bellatrix's fight!
8. The first and second task of Triwizard's Tournament!
9. Battle of Hogwarts!
10. Hermione and Ron's moments!

Quotes:

Too may quotes to even bother writing down! LOL. I will write down which one I liked the most.

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

And I love all the quotes from the twins! And even Dumbledore!

Favorite Hogwarts' places:

Hmm'.Room of Requirement, Gryffindor's common room, Great Hall.

Non Hogwarts' places:

Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, The Burrow, Diagon Alley, and Hogsmeade!

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

Harry Potter beats the Dark Knight - http://movies.yahoo.com/news/box-office-report-final-harry-potter-pic-grosses-113501277.html

Nagini kills Snape upon being commanded by Lord Voldemort.

Originally posted by: PhoeniXof_Hades

So did it have the highest grossing opening weekend in history? Why did it not open in China, btw?

I was taking a quiz, and one question asked 'who killed Snape?', and two of the options were Voldemort and Nagini. I chose Voldemort - because he was the driving force behind the murder, but the 'correct' answer, as per the quiz, was Nagini. 😕

physically, yes, nagini did kill snape! but it wouldn't have if voldemort didn't order to do so!

So how many of you read fanfictions? There are some good ones, but most of them are garbages, mostly, I think. Can anyone recommend me a good fanfic - remember, it must have good writing. Nothing disturbs me more than bad writing when reading.

I had read a fanfic named 'Another Professor Snape'...I found it nice..Those who are fans of Sirius Black, might like it.

I sure hope this movie wins something!😉


Harry Potter may be a hero at Hogwarts, but he has never received much love from that other mysterious Academy, the one in Hollywood. The first seven films in the 'Potter' saga have received nine Academy Award nominations -- all in technical categories -- but have never won nor been serious contenders for Best Picture or any of the acting categories.

Could that all change with the rapturous reception from critics and audiences for 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2'? Not only is the film on track to become the top-grossing movie of the year (making it hard for the Academy to ignore), but it's also the last chance for the Academy to recognize the merits of not just one acclaimed movie but the whole beloved franchise.

Those are among the factors that give 'Deathly Hallows, Part 2' a better shot at Oscar glory than any of the first seven movies, but it's still going to be an uphill battle.

The chief obstacle for 'Deathly Hallows' will be Oscar's disdain for fantasy and sci-fi films. Given the chance to pick a movie with ostensible real-world social, political or historical importance over one that takes place in a speculative or imaginary world, the Academy will almost always go for the real-world movie. (Recent example: the victory last year of 'The Hurt Locker' over 'Avatar.') There's also the sense that the movies are dismissible as kids' stuff (despite their increasingly dark and violent tone and their appeal among adult viewers). But there is one recent exception that offers a slim hope, one which Potter fans are hanging their pointy hats upon.

That exception is 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,' another box office champion and fantasy-film franchise-capper, which swept the Oscars in 2004 and took Best Picture. But there are some clear differences between the hobbit films and the Hogwarts films. For one thing, all three 'Lord of the Rings' movies were nominated for Best Picture, so there was a precedent that the Potter pictures lack. Also, while the 'Return of the King' awards seemed to recognize the franchise as a whole, doing so made sense since Peter Jackson filmed all three parts at the same time. It's a lot easier to think of 'Lord of the Rings' as one very long movie released in three installments than it is for 'Harry Potter,' with eight films made over 11 years by four different directors.

One could also look at 'Deathly Hallows, Part 2's' critical support, an element that's usually crucial for bringing overlooked films to the Academy's attention. Currently, the movie holds an 87 score (out of 100) at Metacritic, while the critical consensus at Rotten Tomatoes gives the movie a 97 percent positive rating (100 percent among RT's top critics). The Awards Corner blog has crunched some numbers to point out that the Potter finale's Metacritic score is better than 68 percent of the Best Picture nominees' scores from the last 10 years, while its Rotten Tomatoes score is better than 85 percent of the last decade's Best Picture nominees and its RT Top Critics score beats 90 percent (and ties 10 percent) of the Best Picture nominees of the last 10 years. The blog is quick to point out, though, that critical support isn't enough on its own for an Oscar victory, or else such top-scoring critics' picks as 'The Social Network,' 'Toy Story 3' and 'Sideways' would be Best Picture winners.

'Deathly Hallows, Part 2's' box office would seem to make the film impossible to ignore. It smashed several records with its $169 million domestic opening, and it's already earned $476 million worldwide. There's no reason to think it won't be the top-grossing movie of 2011. And yet, being the top-grossing movie only helped 'Avatar' so much and didn't help 'The Dark Knight' at all, despite lofty critical praise for both films. The Academy likes to be populist (since nominating movies with huge fan bases is more likely to get people to watch the awards telecast), but it prefers to be seen as making its choices strictly on artistic merit, without being swayed by popular opinion or marketing (hence the awards for the little-seen 'Hurt Locker'). The Academy can't fail to notice the huge sales figures of 'Deathly Hallows,' but it won't want observers to think it gave that success any weight, so voters may make a point of not nominating it, just to be sure.


Of course, the main potential obstacles to a Potter victory at the Kodak Theatre are all the other likely Oscar contenders yet to be released. So far in 2011, there's not much that's a sure thing in the Best Picture category except maybe Woody Allen's 'Midnight in Paris' and Terrence Malick's 'The Tree of Life.' But before the end of the year, we'll see such biopics, literary adaptations and historical dramas as 'War Horse,' 'The Help,' 'J. Edgar', 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,' 'The Iron Lady,' 'The Descendants' and 'Coriolanus.' (There's also one other highbrow kids' movie, 'Hugo,' but it has the advantage of being directed by Martin Scorsese, so it may take the token kid-movie slot that might otherwise have gone to 'Deathly Hallows.') Two years ago, the Academy rule change that expanded the Best Picture field from five movies to 10 (a change made in the wake of the outrage over 'Dark Knight''s snub) might have ensured there was enough room for a populist favorite like the Potter finale, but the new rule just announced, which allows Oscar voters to choose between five and 10 nominees, may constrict the field again and hurt Potter's Best Picture prospects.

One place where 'Deathly Hallows' might have a strong shot is in the Best Supporting Actor category. Critics have been singling out Alan Rickman's moving performance as Professor Severus Snape in the finale, a portrayal that gives the mysterious, menacing character some real depth and complexity. Incredibly, Rickman has never been nominated for an Oscar, so the Academy may take this opportunity to right that wrong.

Nonetheless, the Oscar handicappers at the In Contention blog see Rickman as a dark horse at best among possible contenders, while they see 'Deathly Hallows' as an also-ran in a Best Picture field expected to be made up largely of movies few have seen yet.

Still, what happens if some of those films don't turn out to be as good as they're touted to be? What if, for all their aspirations to artistry or social importance, they don't turn out to be as satisfying to watch as the cathartic wallop packed by 'Deathly Hallows'? After all, what it comes down to is simply which movies did Oscar voters like the most.

And according to Oscar expert Dave Karger of Entertainment Weekly, they liked 'Deathly Hallows, Part 2.' "#HarryPotter film just screened for Oscar voters and I hear they loved it," Karger on Sunday. "Could it be the first one to get a Best Picture nomination?" That they had a special screening at all (of a movie that's not hard to find in theaters), especially this early in the voting year, has to be an encouraging sign for Potter's prospects. At the very least, it means that Academy voters are likely to consider the film on its own merits instead of reflexively dismissing it as a mass-market, family-friendly fantasy.

My grandma and her older sister watched the movie today, with my parents. Gosh! I love my family.

Did anyone catch Magic Beyond Words - The J.K Rowling story on Lifetime this evening. It was the world premiere of the movie. Thats what I spent my evening doing.

As for Oscars, to be honest I feel Return of the King was a much grander movie. I'm sure Harry Potter will surely win some of the technical awards though. Although, I really hope Alan Rickman can win an award for best supporting actor. Harry Potter has opened my eyes to the amazing Alan Rickman.

i have always wondered one thing and i wanted to know what others thought about it. Why is that Voldy believed Narcissa when she claimed Harry to be dead? Why did he trust her? It doesn't seem like Voldemort! Voldemort never trusts anyone. He operates alone. But why trust Narcissa on this one? Why not check himself if Harry is alive? It seems foolish to me.

Originally posted by: Rapier

i have always wondered one thing and i wanted to know what others thought about it. Why is that Voldy believed Narcissa when she claimed Harry to be dead? Why did he trust her? It doesn't seem like Voldemort! Voldemort never trusts anyone. He operates alone. But why trust Narcissa on this one? Why not check himself if Harry is alive? It seems foolish to me.

I think Voldemort's greatest weakness is that he always overestimates himself and underestimates his enemies. He believed Narcissa because even the idea of not being able to kill an unarmed Harry Potter (at last) is unfathomable. But I do agree with you, not only was I surprised that he asks Narcissa to check, I was also surprised that Narcissa would have the courage to lie to him. I guess we can agree that it was a necessary loophole in the plot.