(no subject)
The new Harry Potter movie is about on par with all the others. Some cool effects, some cool mysterious magical stuff, some amusing scenes and cute British dialogue. But somehow I still have trouble getting into the J. K. Rowlings world, because all that magic just seems so arbitrary. In order for there to be a good story, there has to be conflict, competition, struggle; and that requires cause and effect within an orderly universe, where things don’t just happen randomly and inexplicably because it’s “magic” or “Hogwarts tradition.” Even overlooking that huge flaw, all the stories are starting to look very similar. In this one, as all the others, there’s mysterious events going on, Harry is in great danger; in fact all the students are in danger, but the faculty of this school are oblivious, and everything must go on because we’ve done it that way for 800 years. We suspect that one/some of the professors is probably working for the bad guys; in the end, there’s the colossal battle, Harry against the Dark Forces, and Voldemort takes one step closer to coming back and destroying all that is good and beautiful. But apparently he takes a break for the summer, like all other magicians, so everyone can peacefully go home and wait for the next movie. Oh, and the actors are really getting too old to play the parts they have scripted for them. Harry and Ron are acting all shy and afraid to ask girls on a date. In real life, guys that age would be banging the girls and getting high on pot.