Bookwhoring: Jeffrey Archer's A Prisoner of Birth

I just came from SM Centerpoint and lookee what I found:

Oh I just can't resist a Jeffrey Archer book, especially when it's hardbound and just Php99!!! This will be my read starting tonight.

Feeling: happy
All ears to: Millennium Backstreet Boys
Curled up in bed with: A Prisoner of Birth Jeffrey Archer

Meet my Dobby! ♥

Still on a Harry Potter high, I have named my newest stuffed companion Dobby (The Zombie). ♥

Feeling: happy

All ears to: Fuckin' Perfect Pink

Curled up in bed with: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part II: A Review

WARNING: Contains some spoilers.


Rating:


I'll put my limb on the line and say: BEST MOVIE EVER!!!

Because it's the last Harry Potter film, I had high expectations for Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part II. And boy, was I NOT disappointed. Only five minutes into the film, I was secretly kicking myself (of course not literally) for buying popcorn as it was only interfering with my concentration on the movie - a first in the longest time.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part II is everything a movie fan could ever hope for. It had everything: drama, action, suspense, romance, and even a touch of comedy. From its opening scene down to the last one, David Yates (director of the movie) sure did wonders in capturing the audience's attention. There was no dull moment indeed.

For die-hard Harry Potter fans, there was one concern prior to the screening of the movie (and a huge one at that). Seeing the trailers, we feared that Deathly Hallows Part II will just be another action film, leaving out important emotional details from the book - and the book was terribly emotional; after all, a lot of the characters we have come to know and love were injured and some even died. After watching the movie, I can say the fear is not unfounded. And perhaps that is my only criticism of the last movie installment in the Harry Potter series.

Not that the last movie is unemotional - believe me, the huge iMax theater was echoing with moviegoers' sniffles and sighs - just that there were some pretty emotional scenes that didn't get much exposure, like Fred's and Lupin's and Tonks' deaths. I felt cheated of my moment to grieve. The scene showing their deaths felt like this: "PAK. Fred's dead. PAK. Lupin and Tonks are dead. PAK. Next scene." I didn't even notice the Weasley family was there grieving. Or that Harry Potter felt ultimately guilty for the deaths. I also felt that the Ron-Hermione love team could've gotten more scenes. When they kissed, I felt the whole cinema go jittery, excited, and in love - just as those emotions were building up, the kiss ended. I remember thinking, "That was it???" But then again, maybe that's just the fan girl in me speaking.

But like I said, the movie is not unemotional. It was, au contraire, very high in emotions. Many times while watching the film, I kept thinking to myself, "Why did I even bother putting on eye make-up? My tears are wiping it off!" The movie was just so darn emotional that at one point, just after the dead were shown and just as Harry was entering the headmaster's office to 'look' at Snape's memory, I looked to my sister and said, "Ayoko na!" because I feel like I can't take any more tear-inducing scenes...and I knew the next few scenes would have to be the most emotional of all. And I was right.

In fact, my favorite scenes would have to be those of Snape's memory. At first, it felt a little bit too rushed that I thought Yates will not be able to give justice to just how much Snape loved Lily Potter. But he was able to do so...and those scenes erased my make-up for good! Alan Rickman, who portrayed Professor Snape, sure made every girl in the movie hiuse wishing for a Snape of their own. My heart broke into a thousand little pieces when, after Dumbledore asked him about loving Lily "after all this time", Snape answered, "Always" and tears started falling down his cheeks. The scene when he was crying (or more, bawling) as he holds the dead Lily was just very heartbreaking. One could just feel Snape's grief jumping out of the screen. Very very memorable.

After Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part II, I walked out of the cinema feeling like I lost a friend but that I know that I had very good memories with that friend and that I will always look back into those memories. That only means David Yates and the rest of the production team did a good job with the final Harry Potter film.

All in all, I'm a happy Harry Potter fan. The last movie is something that will be etched in my mind for a very long time. So long, Ron, Hermione, and Harry. It had been a long but fun journey.

P.S. I also just have to say this: Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort rocked my world! So evil. ^__^


Feeling: sick
All ears to: Paghilom album Dicta License
Curled up in bed with: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows J.K. Rowling