Harry Potter and the chamber of secreats - Page 2

galadriel88 · 11-17-2002, 10:23 PM

How did you guys get the TTT trailer?? My dad was late meeting us (as usual

) so I walked in late and missed the previews, but mom said they didn't show the TTT preview. Oh well....*shrugs* Starr, squealing isn't bad when it's about LOTR!

I squeal quite a bit (or go "Ooh, ooh!") whenever I see LOTR stuff. But I was like your friend when I first saw the preview - totally breathless. My first words after it was over were "Wow!" and then "I wanna see that again!"

Starr Polish · 11-17-2002, 10:30 PM

Well, I say I was silent, but my heart was beating like a hummingbird's. There were cheers of 'Yes!' coming from people around me, including littler kids. Very cool

I wore my One Ring to the theater, to show where my loyalties lie

***Khamûl*** · 11-17-2002, 11:57 PM

I went and saw the movie this afternoon. It was better than the first one. Lockhart was great. And they followed the book faithfully. I'm impressed. I can only hope that the movies get more mature and darker as the books have.

***IronParrot*** · 11-19-2002, 12:32 AM

Okay, some brief comments regarding this film, which I caught at a very very very late show on Sunday night.

- My greatest gripe is not with the film, but with the fact that I kind of wish I'd had the opportunity to see it in a kid-packed theatre on opening day (or the first Saturday matinee)...

- My other non-film gripe is that I have yet to see the TTT trailer in theatres.

As for the film itself:

What I liked

- Scene that left me with the best impression: Harry's journey into Tom Riddle's diary, where everything except Harry was sepia-toned, in a Schindler's List-esque way (except it was more sun-faded than actual grayscale). But this was, cinematically, the best scene I've seen in any Chris Columbus film, the one with the most regard for actually using the motion picture medium to a storytelling advantage. And it was certainly as enchanting as my favourite scene from Philosopher's Stone, the Mirror of Erised.

- The escape from the spiders was a thrill to watch, and made the Forbidden Forest on the whole far more terrifying than it was in Philosopher's Stone. Will go down as one of the legendary spider scenes (and will be subsequently pushed down the list come The Return of the King, right?).

- The whole climactic set piece of the Chamber of Secrets was executed quite effectively. I love how it was designed, especially the homage to North By Northwest. The Basilisk was an exciting monster to watch. It's good that what I think is the strongest part of the book, the rousing climax, was definitely taken care of in a satisfying way. I do have one gripe with this whole sequence that I actually remember, but it's a minor one... more to follow.

- Moaning Myrtle wasn't very well superimposed, but was probably the most spot-on portrayal in the film... followed, of course, by Kenneth Branagh's all-too-brief appearance as Lockhart. There is no doubt in my mind that Branagh was perfect for the role.

- The Duelling Club was another of the film's highlights for me, just on its own merits.

- Lucius slipping the diary into Ginny's cauldron I of course noticed, having read the book, but it was executed more subtly than all the Quirrell clues in the film of Philosopher's Stone. (Not that it's much of a standard to beat.)

- Dobby making himself disappear was a nice touch. And he wasn't annoying.

- The official at King's Cross who looks on as Harry and Ron fail to pass the barrier was the same as the one in Philosopher's Stone... I thought that was a nice touch.

- Musically, there really isn't much to say about the score, except for one very nice new theme for Fawkes, which I think warrants a mention.

- The film did not feel nearly as long as it was - 2h40 flashed right by. Maybe because I was familiar with the material.

What I didn't like

- The biggest problem in the first film still plagues the second: the editing is choppy and almost abysmal at times. They obviously scripted and filmed way, way more material than they could cram into a reasonable running time for distribution... seeing a bit of this, a bit of that, etc. is not preferred over actually seeing anything developed, at the expense of other subplots if necessary. We see a bit of Malfoy, a bit of Quidditch, a bit of the Burrow, a bit of Lockhart, a bit of Dumbledore, a bit of Snape, and not really much of anything. In essence, it didn't cohere as a dramatic work - more like a sitcom where various segments are just slapped one after the other. It works in the book, but it doesn't work here, especially in truncated form.

- Fawkes was a disappointment... not sure how I'd elaborate on this.

- The gripe I have with the Chamber of Secrets segment - as I said, a minor one - is Gryffindor's sword... the way it just, well, appeared, didn't quite work for me.

- Other than the Fawkes theme, the scoring seemed a bit of a rehash of the first film. However, the music wasn't nearly as intrusive in Chamber of Secrets as it was in Philosopher's Stone. It's almost as obvious a Williams rip-job as the adaptation work in Jurassic Park 3, and the re-editing of Phantom Menace music in the end battle of Attack of the Clones, but falls just short.

- If one thing was significantly a step backwards from the first film, it would be the role of Snape as a whole.

- The film can't seem to decide if watching or reading Philosopher's Stone is a prerequisite or not. In the beginning of the film, half the time it's trying to re-establish everything from scratch, and half the time it's just allusion, and it doesn't commit to any certain perspective. Establishing all the names all over again near the beginning is far from subtle.

That's all for now. If I come up with more stuff to say I'll say it.

Charlotte · 11-21-2002, 11:30 AM

can someone please help me as im pulling my hair out trying to discover, is the woman that plays Professor Sprout the same women that plays Nursie from the blackadder films? I went to see Harry Potter last Friday and i saw her and my sister asked if it was and i couldnt stay for the credits.
Thanks
love Charlotte
xxx
xxx

Hanza · 11-22-2002, 04:28 PM

no it was...Patsy Byrne
Miriam Margolyes played Queen Victoria in Black Adders Christmas Carol.

Starr Polish · 11-22-2002, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by IronParrot
If one thing was significantly a step backwards from the first film, it would be the role of Snape as a whole.

Hear, hear! Alan Rickman was the best part of both movies.

Liviaine · 11-25-2002, 08:35 PM

Well, Snape wasn't too important in it, but Lucius Malfoy was great.

No TT trailer!

Radagast The Brown · 11-26-2002, 04:43 PM

I still didn't go to HP. It just that I had no time in the last Friday and we celebrate Chanuka (Hanuca?) with dinner on this friday... well, anyway I think i'll see the movie moreee few weeks.

Varda Oiolosseo · 11-26-2002, 05:10 PM

YAY!!! I get to see Harry Potter again!!!!!!
I'm doing The Duke of Edingbourgh Award through school and as my service i'm helping at Brownies and we get to take them to see Harry Potter!! Actually taking 24 seven year olds to see a film could be a bit worrying!!!

Something that is really funny is we had to give the kids different foods to try from around the world and the leader gave them some ginger to try and they all thought they were sweets so they put loads in their mouth and when they realised that they weren't there faces were sooooo funny i couldn' stop laughing i was actually crying it was that funny!!!!!!!

galadriel88 · 11-26-2002, 06:17 PM

I'm seeing it again tonight with friends. I'm glad to be able to see it a second time around, because now I can watch it with a more critical eye. I'll post my observations tomorrow!

**crickhollow** · 11-27-2002, 12:55 PM

finally saw it last night. Lockhart was the perfect moron. Lucius (didn't he play the bad guy on _The Patriot_?) was perfect. I thought that I would dislike Dobby (I guess I was afraid he would become the Jar-Jar of HP) but he was great, too.

Snape: I must say that I cheered for Snape this episode, because it was so much fun to see him make a mockery of Lockhart (the wizard's duel, etc). When He and McGonegall tell Lockhart that they'll leave him to deal with the monster, you can almost hear them both thinking , "I hope the monster kills him"

btw--I want a sweater like the one Molly Weasely wears at the beginning!

Renille · 11-27-2002, 09:50 PM

I saw it opening night, but just discovered this thread.

Guess what? I discovered I was arachnophobic!!! I started hyperventilating during the spiders. I was extremely scared. I screamed at one point, I believe. (Luckily, no one except my friend heard me.) I didn't really approve of the basilisk! It looked like a long, slimy crocodile with huge fangs. Not snakey enough!

Oh well, I'm nitpicking. Like someone else said...MYRTLE WAS PERFECT! She was wonderful! I wish I could have been that part. It would be fun! Anyway...I LOVED Ron's squeaks. It's so funny how his and Harry's voices have begun changing between movies.

Anyway. I loved the movie, even though some parts freaked me out completely!

Varda Oiolosseo · 11-28-2002, 06:42 PM

At first when i saw it advertised i didn't like Dobby!! But i love him now he's soooooo adorable!!!

BeardofPants · 11-28-2002, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sween
tought s*** kiwi

Now, that I've finally seen it, I would just like to tell you that you can stick that comment where the sun don't shine.

***Khamûl*** · 11-29-2002, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by crickhollow
Lucius (didn't he play the bad guy on _The Patriot_?) was perfect.

Yeah, that was him. Colonel Tavington. Jason Isaacs is wonderful at playing villains because you just love to hate him.

Sween · 11-29-2002, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BeardofPants
Now, that I've finally seen it, I would just like to tell you that you can stick that comment where the sun don't shine.

were we not impressed?

**crickhollow** · 11-29-2002, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Renille
I didn't really approve of the basilisk! It looked like a long, slimy crocodile with huge fangs. Not snakey enough!

I agree. It wasn't snakey enough. Nevertheless, even though I expected it to pop out of nowhere at any moment, I still jumped so high that I almost ended up in my sister's lap

sun-star · 12-01-2002, 07:52 AM

I finally saw it, and I was pleasantly surprised. Much better than Philosopher's Stone, as everyone has said. The only problem was that although it was so long, there wasn't enough of everything - they were trying to fit it all in, and not quite managing. All the beginning until they got to Hogwarts was fantastic - I liked the opening shot of the suburbs, the Dursleys are pretty good, and the Weasleys and their house were perfect, especially the parents. But Ron! What have they done to Ron? The actor's not bad, but why is he such a weak, whimpering, whining coward? I can understand a fear of spiders, but a fear of nearly everything? He's not Neville Longbottom! Personally, that's what annoyed me the most. I have a soft spot for Ron, the Sam to Harry's Frodo.

There were lots of nice touches. It all looks great (with the possible exception of Fawkes - too red, too real-looking) especially the scene inside the diary. I liked Harry's relative incompetence with the sword in the ending too - I'm glad he didn't turn into a superhero. Ginny and Tom Riddle were good as well (why is Tom so familiar? What else has he been in?) And as everyone has said, Lockhart was brilliant.

So overall, very good

Elf.Freak · 12-01-2002, 01:30 PM

I saw the movie, liked it, but thought it fun to shout out TTT trailer with my sister!

and it's secrets by the way

11-17-2002, 10:23 PM	#21
galadriel88 Halfwitted Queen of Lothlorien Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Far off in a dream Posts: 1,166	How did you guys get the TTT trailer?? My dad was late meeting us (as usual ) so I walked in late and missed the previews, but mom said they didn't show the TTT preview. Oh well....shrugs Starr, squealing isn't bad when it's about LOTR! I squeal quite a bit (or go "Ooh, ooh!") whenever I see LOTR stuff. But I was like your friend when I first saw the preview - totally breathless. My first words after it was over were "Wow!" and then "I wanna see that again!" __________________ The beuatiful mind/The beautiful heart/Doesn't deserve the pain/How can I stop the rain? -How Can I Stop the Rain? by Kessid, my new favorite band +Every good thing that comes into my life is only a reflection of the greatest gift of all; the offering of yourself, dear Son of God+ Always remember, you're uniqe, just like everybody else! "The one constant through all the years has been the Trombone. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. Its been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again, but the Trombone has marked the time. This field, this section, this band is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and could be again. Oh, people will come . . . people will most definitely come."

11-17-2002, 10:30 PM	#22
Starr Polish Elf Lord Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Slow down and I sail on the river, slow down and I walk to the hill Posts: 2,389	Well, I say I was silent, but my heart was beating like a hummingbird's. There were cheers of 'Yes!' coming from people around me, including littler kids. Very cool I wore my One Ring to the theater, to show where my loyalties lie __________________ “The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.” –Bertrand Russell Last edited by Starr Polish : 11-17-2002 at 10:32 PM.

11-17-2002, 11:57 PM	#23
*Khamûl* Slacker Warrior Admin Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,759	I went and saw the movie this afternoon. It was better than the first one. Lockhart was great. And they followed the book faithfully. I'm impressed. I can only hope that the movies get more mature and darker as the books have. __________________ "If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you." Gandalf to Pippin Psalm 107:31

11-19-2002, 12:32 AM	#24
*IronParrot* Fowl Administrator Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Calgary or Edmonton, Canada Posts: 53,420	Okay, some brief comments regarding this film, which I caught at a very very very late show on Sunday night. - My greatest gripe is not with the film, but with the fact that I kind of wish I'd had the opportunity to see it in a kid-packed theatre on opening day (or the first Saturday matinee)... - My other non-film gripe is that I have yet to see the TTT trailer in theatres. As for the film itself: What I liked - Scene that left me with the best impression: Harry's journey into Tom Riddle's diary, where everything except Harry was sepia-toned, in a Schindler's List-esque way (except it was more sun-faded than actual grayscale). But this was, cinematically, the best scene I've seen in any Chris Columbus film, the one with the most regard for actually using the motion picture medium to a storytelling advantage. And it was certainly as enchanting as my favourite scene from Philosopher's Stone, the Mirror of Erised. - The escape from the spiders was a thrill to watch, and made the Forbidden Forest on the whole far more terrifying than it was in Philosopher's Stone. Will go down as one of the legendary spider scenes (and will be subsequently pushed down the list come The Return of the King, right?). - The whole climactic set piece of the Chamber of Secrets was executed quite effectively. I love how it was designed, especially the homage to North By Northwest. The Basilisk was an exciting monster to watch. It's good that what I think is the strongest part of the book, the rousing climax, was definitely taken care of in a satisfying way. I do have one gripe with this whole sequence that I actually remember, but it's a minor one... more to follow. - Moaning Myrtle wasn't very well superimposed, but was probably the most spot-on portrayal in the film... followed, of course, by Kenneth Branagh's all-too-brief appearance as Lockhart. There is no doubt in my mind that Branagh was perfect for the role. - The Duelling Club was another of the film's highlights for me, just on its own merits. - Lucius slipping the diary into Ginny's cauldron I of course noticed, having read the book, but it was executed more subtly than all the Quirrell clues in the film of Philosopher's Stone. (Not that it's much of a standard to beat.) - Dobby making himself disappear was a nice touch. And he wasn't annoying. - The official at King's Cross who looks on as Harry and Ron fail to pass the barrier was the same as the one in Philosopher's Stone... I thought that was a nice touch. - Musically, there really isn't much to say about the score, except for one very nice new theme for Fawkes, which I think warrants a mention. - The film did not feel nearly as long as it was - 2h40 flashed right by. Maybe because I was familiar with the material. What I didn't like - The biggest problem in the first film still plagues the second: the editing is choppy and almost abysmal at times. They obviously scripted and filmed way, way more material than they could cram into a reasonable running time for distribution... seeing a bit of this, a bit of that, etc. is not preferred over actually seeing anything developed, at the expense of other subplots if necessary. We see a bit of Malfoy, a bit of Quidditch, a bit of the Burrow, a bit of Lockhart, a bit of Dumbledore, a bit of Snape, and not really much of anything. In essence, it didn't cohere as a dramatic work - more like a sitcom where various segments are just slapped one after the other. It works in the book, but it doesn't work here, especially in truncated form. - Fawkes was a disappointment... not sure how I'd elaborate on this. - The gripe I have with the Chamber of Secrets segment - as I said, a minor one - is Gryffindor's sword... the way it just, well, appeared, didn't quite work for me. - Other than the Fawkes theme, the scoring seemed a bit of a rehash of the first film. However, the music wasn't nearly as intrusive in Chamber of Secrets as it was in Philosopher's Stone. It's almost as obvious a Williams rip-job as the adaptation work in Jurassic Park 3, and the re-editing of Phantom Menace music in the end battle of Attack of the Clones, but falls just short. - If one thing was significantly a step backwards from the first film, it would be the role of Snape as a whole. - The film can't seem to decide if watching or reading Philosopher's Stone is a prerequisite or not. In the beginning of the film, half the time it's trying to re-establish everything from scratch, and half the time it's just allusion, and it doesn't commit to any certain perspective. Establishing all the names all over again near the beginning is far from subtle. That's all for now. If I come up with more stuff to say I'll say it. __________________ All of IronParrot's posts are guaranteed to be 100% intelligent and/or sarcastic, comprising no genetically modified content and tested on no cute furry little animals unless the SPCA is looking elsewhere. If you observe a failure to uphold this warranty, please contact a forum administrator immediately to receive a full refund on your Entmoot registration. Blog: Nick's Café Canadien

11-22-2002, 04:28 PM	#26
Hanza Woolly Jumper Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: In my field of paper flowers and candy clouds of lullaby Posts: 1,200	no it was...Patsy Byrne Miriam Margolyes played Queen Victoria in Black Adders Christmas Carol. __________________ :: there's nothing comforting in change:: Why dont sheep shrink in the rain??

11-21-2002, 11:30 AM	#25
Charlotte Sapling Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Hertfordshire, England Posts: 14	can someone please help me as im pulling my hair out trying to discover, is the woman that plays Professor Sprout the same women that plays Nursie from the blackadder films? I went to see Harry Potter last Friday and i saw her and my sister asked if it was and i couldnt stay for the credits. Thanks love Charlotte xxx xxx

11-25-2002, 08:35 PM	#28
Liviaine Elven Warrior Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ithilien Posts: 203	Well, Snape wasn't too important in it, but Lucius Malfoy was great. No TT trailer!

11-26-2002, 04:43 PM	#29
Radagast The Brown Elf Lord Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Israel Posts: 6,975	I still didn't go to HP. It just that I had no time in the last Friday and we celebrate Chanuka (Hanuca?) with dinner on this friday... well, anyway I think i'll see the movie moreee few weeks. __________________ Lalala... poof! AboutNewJersey.com - New Jersey Travel and Tourism Guide

11-26-2002, 05:10 PM	#30
Varda Oiolosseo Tea Bag Queen Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mirkwood Posts: 973	YAY!!! I get to see Harry Potter again!!!!!! I'm doing The Duke of Edingbourgh Award through school and as my service i'm helping at Brownies and we get to take them to see Harry Potter!! Actually taking 24 seven year olds to see a film could be a bit worrying!!! Something that is really funny is we had to give the kids different foods to try from around the world and the leader gave them some ginger to try and they all thought they were sweets so they put loads in their mouth and when they realised that they weren't there faces were sooooo funny i couldn' stop laughing i was actually crying it was that funny!!!!!!!

11-26-2002, 06:17 PM	#31
galadriel88 Halfwitted Queen of Lothlorien Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Far off in a dream Posts: 1,166	I'm seeing it again tonight with friends. I'm glad to be able to see it a second time around, because now I can watch it with a more critical eye. I'll post my observations tomorrow! __________________ The beuatiful mind/The beautiful heart/Doesn't deserve the pain/How can I stop the rain? -How Can I Stop the Rain? by Kessid, my new favorite band +Every good thing that comes into my life is only a reflection of the greatest gift of all; the offering of yourself, dear Son of God+ Always remember, you're uniqe, just like everybody else! "The one constant through all the years has been the Trombone. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. Its been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again, but the Trombone has marked the time. This field, this section, this band is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and could be again. Oh, people will come . . . people will most definitely come."

11-27-2002, 12:55 PM	#32
crickhollow The Buckleberry Fairy/Captain Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Washington State again (I miss Texas). Posts: 1,345	finally saw it last night. Lockhart was the perfect moron. Lucius (didn't he play the bad guy on _The Patriot_?) was perfect. I thought that I would dislike Dobby (I guess I was afraid he would become the Jar-Jar of HP) but he was great, too. Snape: I must say that I cheered for Snape this episode, because it was so much fun to see him make a mockery of Lockhart (the wizard's duel, etc). When He and McGonegall tell Lockhart that they'll leave him to deal with the monster, you can almost hear them both thinking , "I hope the monster kills him" btw--I want a sweater like the one Molly Weasely wears at the beginning! __________________ A day will come at last when I Shall take the hidden paths that run West of the Moon, East of the Sun.

11-27-2002, 09:50 PM	#33
Renille Elven Lady of Speed-posting Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the cheese state Posts: 988	I saw it opening night, but just discovered this thread. Guess what? I discovered I was arachnophobic!!! I started hyperventilating during the spiders. I was extremely scared. I screamed at one point, I believe. (Luckily, no one except my friend heard me.) I didn't really approve of the basilisk! It looked like a long, slimy crocodile with huge fangs. Not snakey enough! Oh well, I'm nitpicking. Like someone else said...MYRTLE WAS PERFECT! She was wonderful! I wish I could have been that part. It would be fun! Anyway...I LOVED Ron's squeaks. It's so funny how his and Harry's voices have begun changing between movies. Anyway. I loved the movie, even though some parts freaked me out completely! __________________ Oh the thinks you can think! Think and wonder and dream...far and wide as you dare! When your thinks have run dry, in the blink of an eye, there's another world there... (from Seussical the Musical. Listen to it...watch it...really.)

11-28-2002, 06:42 PM	#34
Varda Oiolosseo Tea Bag Queen Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mirkwood Posts: 973	At first when i saw it advertised i didn't like Dobby!! But i love him now he's soooooo adorable!!!

12-01-2002, 07:52 AM	#39
sun-star Lady of Letters Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Either Oxford or Kent, England Posts: 2,476	I finally saw it, and I was pleasantly surprised. Much better than Philosopher's Stone, as everyone has said. The only problem was that although it was so long, there wasn't enough of everything - they were trying to fit it all in, and not quite managing. All the beginning until they got to Hogwarts was fantastic - I liked the opening shot of the suburbs, the Dursleys are pretty good, and the Weasleys and their house were perfect, especially the parents. But Ron! What have they done to Ron? The actor's not bad, but why is he such a weak, whimpering, whining coward? I can understand a fear of spiders, but a fear of nearly everything? He's not Neville Longbottom! Personally, that's what annoyed me the most. I have a soft spot for Ron, the Sam to Harry's Frodo. There were lots of nice touches. It all looks great (with the possible exception of Fawkes - too red, too real-looking) especially the scene inside the diary. I liked Harry's relative incompetence with the sword in the ending too - I'm glad he didn't turn into a superhero. Ginny and Tom Riddle were good as well (why is Tom so familiar? What else has he been in?) And as everyone has said, Lockhart was brilliant. So overall, very good __________________ And all the time the waves, the waves, the waves Chase, intersect and flatten on the sand As they have done for centuries, as they will For centuries to come, when not a soul Is left to picnic on the blazing rocks, When England is not England, when mankind Has blown himself to pieces. Still the sea, Consolingly disastrous, will return While the strange starfish, hugely magnified, Waits in the jewelled basin of a pool.

12-01-2002, 01:30 PM	#40
Elf.Freak Orli's lil fan Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Sugar World/Orlando Bloom Cloud Posts: 464	I saw the movie, liked it, but thought it fun to shout out TTT trailer with my sister! and it's secrets by the way __________________ >>--elven arrow--> ~ Give a man a fish and he'll feed for a day, give me a fish and you'll only get it back! ~ I've gotta new avatar! looks kinda like me...anime style! ~ LOST: Orlando Bloom. If found, please send him straight to Elf.Freak