Never Seen Harry Potter But I will Tomorrow

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  • #31
    Re: Never Seen Harry Potter But I will Tomorrow

    Originally posted by Biohazard View Post
    I didn't even see all the HP films (maybe one and a half, if that), but the mere fact that the series has no distinct logline, if you will, only highlights the fact that the story is overblown simply for financial reasons - more books = more movies = more money.

    Hell, I've seen 6-season TV shows with a clearer story throughline.
    Biohazard on 7/15/2011 ~ "I haven't seen Harry Potter, but I will say this; The story doesn't make sense."

    Of course, I'm paraphrasing.
    Joan: What does the "T" stand for?
    Jack: Trustworthy.

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    • #32
      Re: Never Seen Harry Potter But I will Tomorrow

      Originally posted by tuukka View Post
      I respect these movies in many aspects, but I think that the very episodic, fragmented storytelling of Rowling is hard to translate to screen.

      BTW, one thing I really dislike about the stories: When characters get into trouble, they almost never use their wit/courage/strength/etc to survive the situation. Instead there is almost always some other character who suddenly just pops up in the scene, out of nowhere, and saves the day. It's really lazy writing and makes me respect the characters a lot less, as they are always getting their asses saved by someone else who just happens to arrive in the scene at a critical moment.

      And this scenario is repeated again and again and again in the films.
      I feel a little reluctant to be the resident Harry Potter defender, but I think someone needs to stand up for this franchise against your brutes. The story is a good one, clear, and fun. I didn't grow up with Harry Potter. I'm older than the franchise by far, yet I can appreciate it. It's not Shakespeare nor does it claim to be. But, to say that it doesn't have a story, or that the characters don't grow is just plain inaccurate.

      That said, deus ex machina does occur in this series, and there are some problems in their conclusions.

      In Sorcerer's stone, Harry and friends overcome the challenges to reveal the villain and Harry alone defeats him, but in a very contrived way, I'll admit. Then this story is the first and was clearly written for children. (Not all of them were)

      Chamber of Secrets probably has the biggest form of deus ex machina in the series. Harry defeats the threat alone, but in the process, becomes fatally wounded and is then revived through a magical phoenix.

      Prisoner ends with Harry saving himself from the dementors via time travel.

      Goblet ends with Harry facing off against his main antagonist for the first time. I do think JK could have taken a page from Star Wars at this point. In Empire, when Luke first faces Vader, he gets his a** kicked. That's what should have happened to Harry here, but instead Harry gets off a lucky spell and escapes.

      Phoenix consists of the teenagers forming their own army to fight the villains. Again Voldemort shows up, and Harry is no match for him yet, so Dumbledore is there to take the reins.

      Half Blood Prince ends with Harry losing his teacher and guide throughout the story, which may have resulted in a bigger impact had he lost this earlier in the series. Again I reference Star Wars where Luke loses Obi Wan and must fend for himself. Then again he just gains a new guide in Yoda, so moot point I suppose.

      It's just a series; a franchise, much like Bond, but they are continual whereas Bond is not. Rowling thought that seven books would be the perfect amount to tell the entire story. If she were doing it just for the money, she would have kept writing them.
      Joan: What does the "T" stand for?
      Jack: Trustworthy.

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      • #33
        Re: Never Seen Harry Potter But I will Tomorrow

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        Last edited by AJ_FIN; 06-08-2020, 12:08 PM.

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        • #34
          Re: Never Seen Harry Potter But I will Tomorrow

          I'd say HP has way more mythology going for it than Star Wars, but less than LOTR or Narnia. But either way, Rowling has created a pretty fascinating world with tons of backstory and history.

          Mostly, I don't care what anybody says, her "from-single-mother-on-the-dole to most successful author in the history of publishing and mega billionaire franchise IP owner" is just about the greatest rags to riches story EVER.

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          • #35
            Re: Never Seen Harry Potter But I will Tomorrow

            imho, the success of the franchise isn't surprising. a story is only as strong as its villain and voldemort is the ultimate boogeyman; it took harry 8 films to defeat him. i mean, when you get down to the nitty gritty, the first 3 or 4 films were about harry learning who is foe was... in the midst of that drama we spent time with a boy coming of age and learning about a magical world.

            i've never read the books although i always meant to but i've enjoyed the films. i saw the final film today and it's a good ending; very enjoyable.



            apologies, i've put white-text over what could be considered a spoiler.
            Last edited by asjah8; 07-17-2011, 06:37 AM.
            life happens
            despite a few cracked pots-
            and random sunlight

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            • #36
              Re: Never Seen Harry Potter But I will Tomorrow

              I wouldn't judge the series on the movies. They seem disconnected and piece meal compared to the books.

              You definitely can't hate it unless you've tried reading it. That's just silly.
              Quack.

              Writer on a cable drama.

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              • #37
                Re: Never Seen Harry Potter But I will Tomorrow

                Is this worth seeing in 3d?
                It's the eye of the Tiger, it's the thrill of the fight

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                • #38
                  Re: Never Seen Harry Potter But I will Tomorrow

                  Honestly, I don't think so.

                  The previews of other movies were cool in 3D but I don't think it was THAT enhanced by it. I was at least hoping I'd get hit with a spell or two.
                  Quack.

                  Writer on a cable drama.

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                  • #39
                    Re: Never Seen Harry Potter But I will Tomorrow

                    The film happens 80% in darkness, and 3D doesn't work well with darkness. I saw it in 2D, and it looked amazing.

                    My favorite of the franchise. Visually extremely impressive, full of action and dramatic events, characters are very active this time, and the actors do their best work in their series.

                    I'm not a fan of the franchise, but I had a blast with this film. It's a great action spectacle.

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                    • #40
                      Re: Never Seen Harry Potter But I will Tomorrow

                      $475m worldwide in just 3 days. Holy cash cow!

                      The HP movies alone have accounted for $7 billion in worldwide box office.

                      Pretend you're Barry Meyer right now. What's your encore? What do you plan to talk about at the quarterly conference call with your investors?

                      Success is great but it raises expectations. What's next Barry?

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                      • #41
                        Re: Never Seen Harry Potter But I will Tomorrow

                        Originally posted by Bob Smargiassi View Post
                        $475m worldwide in just 3 days. Holy cash cow!

                        The HP movies alone have accounted for $7 billion in worldwide box office.

                        Pretend you're Barry Meyer right now. What's your encore? What do you plan to talk about at the quarterly conference call with your investors?

                        Success is great but it raises expectations. What's next Barry?
                        The Dark Knight Rises, for one. Then he'll move onto the Hobbit films, then Cloud Atlas, then....etc...

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                        • #42
                          Re: Never Seen Harry Potter But I will Tomorrow

                          Without getting into a debate on whether the HARRY POTTER movies are the greatest thing in the world or just more crap...

                          Because they are based on a finite number of novels, and the novels are beloved by their readers, the series has a finite number of movies and they try to make each movie live up to expectations. For a cash cow, WB hasn't done any obvious cashing in. They've kind of created the Harry Potter Division and left them alone to make the movies.

                          I see some sequels that do seem like just cashing in - that movie made money, let's make another! What seems most important is getting a sequel out there rather than making sure it's great. These films seem... okay at best.

                          Would it make sense for a studio to limit sequels to 2 (3 total films) and that's it? Make those 3 the best films ever, and focus on not dropping the ball on the property?

                          I know everyone involved in every movie is not *trying* to make a bad film, but when the studio rushes things to get #2 out there or throw another superhero on screen because the last superhero movie was a hit, I think corners get cut and movies are shot before the scripts work. Though the HARRY POTTER films have had "deadlines", each has kind of been an individual film and not just a sequel to the last one.

                          Another element with HP is that the same screenwriter has writtten all of them - and I don't think there was ever a decision to replace him. I don't know what happens behind the scenes on these films, but has Kloves ever been rewritten?

                          Again - whether you think the new Batman series is crap or not, the first two have been successful and have *not* been screenplay by committee. Also - I don't think anyone has stuck their thumb in the pie. Again, it seems like there is a "Batman Division" that Nolan runs that makes these films and WB is mostly leaving them alone.

                          Is this a method of making studio films that works better than others?

                          - Bill
                          Free Script Tips:
                          http://www.scriptsecrets.net

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                          • #43
                            Re: Never Seen Harry Potter But I will Tomorrow

                            Originally posted by nathanq View Post
                            The Dark Knight Rises, for one. Then he'll move onto the Hobbit films, then Cloud Atlas, then....etc...
                            Those are all bankable pre-branded franchises no doubt (minus Cloud Atlas), but none of them can touch $7 billion over 10 years. Throw in merchandising revenue and the Harry Potter films are near impossible to replicate. And in a publicly traded company, stock price is all about future revenues. It'll be interesting to see what direction Barry goes to try and fill the gap.

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                            • #44
                              Re: Never Seen Harry Potter But I will Tomorrow

                              Originally posted by wcmartell View Post
                              Would it make sense for a studio to limit sequels to 2 (3 total films) and that's it? Make those 3 the best films ever, and focus on not dropping the ball on the property?
                              If bad movies are making money, why waste time making them good?

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                              • #45
                                Re: Never Seen Harry Potter But I will Tomorrow

                                Originally posted by Bob Smargiassi View Post
                                Those are all bankable pre-branded franchises no doubt (minus Cloud Atlas), but none of them can touch $7 billion over 10 years. Throw in merchandising revenue and the Harry Potter films are near impossible to replicate. And in a publicly traded company, stock price is all about future revenues. It'll be interesting to see what direction Barry goes to try and fill the gap.
                                Seems like Warner Bros should start their own publishing division just to find/create the new best-selling seven part children's book series they can turn into another multi billion dollar franchise.

                                Do you think we'll ever see another franchise like Harry Potter?

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