— I am already 3/4 of the way through, thanks to my hour-long commute out and back to Michele’s yesterday. I wish it wasn’t going by so fast!!!
— Harry’s a moody bastard in this one, isn’t he? I guess true adolescence has begun.
— I want to punch Professor Umbridge in her fat toady face. She is, by far, the most hateable hateful character in this series.
— I love how Hermione basically coaches Harry through his blossoming romance with Cho – explaining to him how girls think, and interpreting Cho’s odd behavior for Harry. “Here’s what that meant … what she’s REALLY saying is …” We all should have a friend like that of the opposite sex.
— Poor Sirius Black. Trapped in his horrible childhood home with that despicable house-elf and the shrieking portraits of his awful ancestors.
— In general – this book is quite depressing. The vibe at Hogwarts is oppressive, frightening … and Harry, for the first time, is on the outside. He was the golden boy in all the other books – sure, he had dangerous stuff happen to him – but he was pretty much always indulged and admired (Snape notwithstanding). I like that he really has to struggle in this book – even though it’s not a pleasant experience for him. It’s going to be a good character-building thing, I’m sure. But still – the mood of the book is very dark. Much darker than the other books.
— Fred and George Weasley continue to just crack me up. Especially the joke candies they invented that make you projectile vomit one moment and then stop vomiting in the next moment. I laughed out loud on the train when they were demonstrating how the candies worked in the Gryffindor common room. Like – Harry’s trying to study, but all he can hear is the sounds of vomiting over in the corner, and then wild cheers. Hahahahahaha
— Poor Hagrid. Hagrid’s really having a tough time in this particular book.
— Here is where I am at in the book:
Harry is taking extra classes with Snape so that he can protect his brain from Lord Voldemort. He continues to have dreams about the long corridor – but he doesn’t know what it means yet. It is not yet apparent what Voldemort is up to – although the Death Eaters have escaped from Azkaban. Harry’s scar hurts him almost constantly now. He’s having a really rough time making it through the day. He has a small romance with Cho going on – which he finds really exciting and scary and awkward. Professor Umbridge is sending out educational decrees every 2 seconds … and Dumbledore continues to ignore Harry. Harry is really alone in this book. From the very beginning. He’s really on his own.
— Oh, and I absolutely love that a group of them have created a secret society to have Harry teach them Defense against the Dark Arts. I just love it.
I think they wasted Dawn French by casting her as the lady in the painting when she would make a DELICIOUS Delores Umbrigdge. If they make an OotP movie, that is.
I’ll warn you again — read the last 1/4 of the book CAREFULLY. It is very action-filled, yet complicated. I had to go back and read it again even on the second time I read it.
Enjoy! I can’t wait until you’re finished with all of them so that we can DISCUSS.
Lisa – this one actually is rather difficult to follow – it’s denser than the others. I forgot completely about certain things way back at the beginning which have turned out to be important – I wish there was an index of names in the back!! :)
I’m sure I’ll finish it by this weekend.
Then it’s on to the next one.
Oh and Dawn French is such a feckin’ genius. I mean, honestly. That woman is one of my idols.
You’re telling ME? The woman who has the whole Vicar of Dibley series on DVD and yet STILL watches it every Saturday night on PBS?
I lurve her.
It’s always amazed me how it is never mentioned that the vicar Geraldine is a woman “of size”. She’s written as a vivacious, sexual woman. It makes me sad that over here, she’d be written as a pathetic, grasping woman who’d be constantly made fun of, or, worse, a “best friend” of some hot chick.
I think they wasted Dawn French by casting her as the lady in the painting when she would make a DELICIOUS Delores Umbrigdge.
Oh fuck, that’s BRILLIANT! Damn woman, get to Hollywood and start your new career as a casting director. The best I was able to come up with was Roseanne. Bleah.
From the beginning I pictured Estelle Harris (Mrs Costanza from Seinfeld) as Umbridge – especially judging by her physical description and the description of her high, squeaky voice…
barry – really? To me, what makes Umbridge so hateful is her so-called sweetness, how she’s always smiling, her pink fuzziness, her little bow in her hair … and her overly polite and sweet manner. I want to strangle her! MRs. Costanza seems like a boorish shrew right up front.
I think there were a few episodes where she tried to play “pretty” and “refined” – at least I’m picturing it in my head – but everyone could see she was still very ugly and boorish on the inside. I guess that’s what keeps coming up for me.
hahaha I love her. She’s so great.
Zelda Rubinstein for Umbridge, if she’s still anything like she was in Poltergeist.
And this was probably my favorite of the series because of its density.
Alas, Cullen, no Zelda. JK Rowling has specified that she only wants British actors playing her parts.
(Who was the actress who played the housekeeper in Mary Poppins? The one that was married to Charles Laughton, I think? She would’ve been GREAT.)
Yeah, I know she’s specified only British. This is an admittedly against the rules aside, but how come no one has accused her of being a racist for that? Always found that interesting.
I think she made the British-only rule to prevent the series from being God-awfully Americanized.
“Ashton Kutcher IS Harry!”
“Lindsey Lohan IS Hermione!”
“Bruce Willis IS Dumbledore!”
“And special guest star Tom Cruise as Professor Snape!”
“And special guest star Tom Cruise as Professor Snape!”
Ohmigod, bite your tongue! ::hugs Alan Rickman doll::
creepy thing? i had a student teacher who was just like Umbridge. not just in the way she acted and treated us, but the way she looked and dressed and talked, too.
I think it’s perfectly fitting that she would only want British actors. It takes place in England completely.
I, for one, was mildly miffed that the two stars of the Civil war drama Cold Mountain – an American story – were played by an Australian and a Brit. So I guess I’m racist as well. :)
It’s a very rare British actor who can do a convincing American accent and it’s a very rare American actor who can actually sound British. It makes me wince to hear it, actually, most of the time. Gwyneth Paltrow is one of the only actresses i can think of who can do a British accent so well that even when she is in movies with only British actors – you can’t really tell. Although probably a British person could tell. But she’s very passable – she doesn’t call attention to herself through her shoddy accent like most Americans do.
This is how clueless I am: I read the title of the post and thought you were posting old pictures from a trip to Phoenix.
LOL Patrick! And now I’m going to have to start the whole series all over again, because I’ve forgotten all about Delores Umbridge. Drat.
Elsa Lanchester (Charles Laughton’s wife) would’ve been marvelous, but she’s gone to her reward. How about the woman who plays Hyacinth on “Keeping Up Appearances” – Patricia Routledge, I think her name is. She was in “To Sir, With Love” as one of the hipper teachers, and she does fabulous work.
Sheila, have you seen Dawn French play Ginger Rogers, old, in a wheelchair, with thick makeup, appearing in a television special, being wheeled out by boy dancers who flit around her stationary form? Jennifer Saunders is in the skit, too, playing a long-winded Katherine Hepburn. That skit has me rolling on the floor every time.
Whew. Glad the comment was taken in the spirit it was intended.
I agree with most of the comments, generally. A couple of IMO exceptions: Brits who can do more-than-passable American — Gary Oldman and Daniel Day Lewis. American who can do British — I agree with Paltrow. I also think Brad Pitt proved he could probably pull it off when he did his Pikey in Snatch. Howsabout the guys from Spinal Tap (admittedly Christopher Guest is as British as he is American)?
There are definitely exceptions. Daniel Day Lewis, you’re right. Dude’s a genius. Meryl Streep is another one. But then – that woman learned to speak French with a Polish accent for Sophie’s Choice – so in my opinion, that woman can do anything.
Rachel Griffiths – on 6 Feet Under – does a flawless American accent. Flawless. You would never know she was Australian.
Strangely enough – Brad Pitt did a passable Irish accent in that movie he did with Harrison Ford about running guns to Ireland from NYC. can’t remember the name of it.
The Devil’s Own.
Ah, Daniel Day Lewis.
I watched In The Name of The Father for the 40th time the other day, and fell in love with him — all 70s sex — all over again. The Belfast accent goes right to my core.
Lisa – God, he is just so damn good in that movie.
i loved the D.A. too! and i love that Harry is teaching them all stuff that directly contradicts Umbridge’s decrees. toady cow!