I liked the movie a lot, especially the darker tone as the witches and wizards get older and their lives get more complicated. Ironic that the longest of the novels results in the shortest film--consequently there are parts of the novel that never made it to the screen or are truncated, especially Sirius as the black dog and the incredible difficulty the kids experienced getting into the Ministry of Magic. Those are things I recall with special interest from the novel. But quibbling aside, I found the film well-paced and less reliant on gimmicks--though quidditch brooms and pictures that talk, etc., are certainly still there, they are now just part of the woodwork as the kids move past that stuff. I think Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake) is terrific as Dolores Umbridge--that sweetsy exterior over a core of rigid and witless incomprehension of her own evil and literally abusive treatment of children (my daughter found this the most distrubing part of any of the novels/films so far). Luna is a great addition to the series. Like you, Petaloid, I loved her spacy charm (her patronus is a bunny rabbit), but more than that, she grounds Harry in crucial ways. While Ron and Hermione are perplexed at Harry's "seeing" things, she sees them, too, and enables him to stay anchored and focused, less full of the self-doubt that always troubles him. Luna thus embodies, at least to me, one of the novel's central themes--that Harry is never as fully isolated as his position as Voldemort's nemesis threatens to make him. I can understand that sometimes he pushes his friends away because he is so beset with danger from V. Luna brings him back. Someone told me she is an Irish actress who, when she read the novel, decided that only she could play Luna, applied for the part, and there she is. And hasn't Daniel Radcliffe come a long way as an actor. He got very good reviews for his role in Equus, and I think he's good here, too. Not only does he get his first screen kiss--though he's no Johnny Depp, it's slightly sexy--and take on the role of leader, he also understands through these experiences that he cannot go it alone and comes to see himself as part of a larger series of issues. Ron doesn't get much screen time in this one, though his hilarious twin brothers do--I LOVE their antics--and Hermione as problem solver is her usual take-charge self. Little Ginny Weasley is also growing up to be worthy of Harry and she is turning into a powerful witch. The one thing I missed was more screen time for Sirius Black, who is so tormented by his long imprisonment in Azkhaban that he can never really function in the "real" world, whatever that is in the world of Hogwarts. He certainly fares better than the Helena Bonham Carter character, who is completely bonkers and looks like one of the harpies from Dracula. She makes clear what Azkhaban does to its inmates, and even Sirius, while excaptionally concerned with and supportive of Harry, has been knocked a little cockeyed by his imprisonment. Bottom line: good film and I can't wait for the final novel to arrive at my doorstep this week. Will Harry die? I don't think so because it would kill the whole thing and the next two movies would be meaningless. Also, these novels have followed the formula for children's books and in children's books the heroes don't die. Alternatively, IF Harry "dies," his "death" will have an avenue of escape built in and HE'LL BE BACK!!!!!! But then I didn't think Dumbledore would die, either, until I realized that Harry can't reach full maturity until he can stand up as a leader on his own. Well, we'll all know on Friday.

Any interest in discussing character names? Since I didn't follow the first thread, I don't know if this has already been discussed. I found it interesting that certain characters were given names odd names and others were given common names. All the characters who have Latin names ending in "us" -- all those names have a meaning: Albus = white Rubeus (Hagrid) = red Sirius is the brightest star of the constellation Canis Major, the Greater Dog, Sirius Black = Black dog Remus Lupin - Remus of legendary Romulus and Remus, twins nursed by a she-wolf (Lupa means she-wolf) Argus (Filch) - Argus is a monster with a hundred eyes Severus = Severe Bilius (Ron's middle name) = peevish or ill-natured Lucius = bringer of light Regulus = prince or heart of the lion, it's the bright star in the constellation Leo Some other interesting names: Harry (from Harold meaning Army Ruler) Hermione (earthy) Ronald (Advisor to the king) James (means supplanter) Lily (the flower?) Draco = dragon (or serpent), also means cruel or severe Bellatrix = female warrior Pettigrew = small growth Fleur Delaceur = flower of the heart Tom = twin Narcissa = vanity, callousness and insensitivity Phineas (nigelus) = loudmouth As for Voldemort -- well mort means dead or death, and the only meaning I could find for Vold is that it means violent in Danish. Could = violent death? Anyway, I think a lot of these names are very interesting any comments?

I read that jk might release bk 7 on 07/07/07. yay! i also think that ron might die. Firstly, because the best friend of the hero usually dies, and second because of this article I found: "Why Ron is probably gonna get the axe before it's all over. Let's start with killing off one myth: the Ollivander's anagram. Sure, it spells out "Ronald lives" if rearranged. It also spells out "Ronald's evil" though, so I don't think that's any guarantee our little redhead is going to make it through There are two main reasons (and a bunch of smaller ones) to why I think that Ron will die. Of course, I don't want him to - it would be completely horrible - but I didn't want Sirius to die either and he did, so I figure, better be prepared for the worst, eh? Reason 1: The Stupid Joke Those of you who frequent the HP Sleuth page are familiar with the theory that when Ron makes a joke, it usually turns out to come true. I know that Galadriel Waters writes about this in her books too, but since I haven't read them, I can't make any parallels. I could repeat all the HP Sleuth arguments regarding Ron, jokes and fortune telling, but since it's already online, I'll just refer you to the HP Sleuth page instead. To the point. In OotP, Ron makes a very stupid joke indeed: "And from now on, I don't care if my tea-leaves spell die, Ron, die - I'm just chucking them in the bin where they belong" (p. 633). What bothers me here is not only that it's one of Ron's jokes, but that the "die, Ron, die" is emphasised by being put in italics. JKR could have not done this. She could have used quotation marks instead, or nothing at all for that matter. Also, the word "die" is duplicated and put around the word "Ron", surrounding it. It doesn't look too good Reason 2: McGonagall's Chess game This is a theory that I received quite some time ago from Dora and Gally. Clumsy in general as I am, I lost their e-mail address, so I couldn't write them back about it. I'll just hope that they don't mind me using it. :-) Everything in italics is part of the message they sent me. (The passage is PS p. 204-206 UK paperback edition by the way.) "Rowling always had a good sense of humour ;-). She described the Second Wizard War in the McGonagall's chess game. The chessmen (chessmen, figures...how strangely she describes them, like real people, not like pieces of stone) are black (Aurors) and white (Death Eaters). The white figures are scary, cus they are "faceless" (white terrible masks of Death Eaters) "Harry, Ron and Hermione shivered slightly -- the towering white chessmen had no faces." Then let's take a look at this: "Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you are next to him instead of that castle." "What about you?" "I'm going to be a knight," said Ron." That's a very strange choice, isn't it? Ron is very good at chess, he must knew, that it's better to be a king, because kings can stay until the end of...

I do think it's hard to make up fantastical worlds that are vastly different from the one in which we currently live and it still be relatable. My biggest gripe in scifi/fantasy is, the sky is the limit!, so why does the alien life form have to be humanoid, replete with all the same sensory organs. My son tells me it's this relatable thing. I dunno. Maybe it is. My point is, I don't know how to make up a fantastical world, what could be done differently, etc. It'd be a tough task, no doubt.