to think that the Harry Potter are timeless literature and the films are woefully miscast?

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Inflammatory title to draw you in. I hope. I just fancied some HP chat.

I'm re-watching the films at the moment. Is it me or is there something old-ladyish about Alan Rickman's mouth? I realize I am thinking about this far too hard, and I know it's practically forbidden to speak ill of him on MN. But every time I see those films, I'm disappointed again that he just isn't as sexy as his voice.

I also think the Burrow looks all wrong to me. I love what they do with the reeds in the scene where Bellatrix taunts Harry and he and Ginny run after her. But I imagined the Burrow being rural and farmland-ish, with an overgrown garden around it - not plonked down in the middle of a marsh. Am I right?

What's your favourite bit of the films/books?

I love the name thing nominative determinism especially since I realised things after - like Sirius being the Dog Star.

I think filch is brilliant, does the film not have the squib stuff? Shame. I dislike what they did to padma and parvarti patil in the films - the whole talking in unison, finishing sentences etc, when they're in different houses etc.

@ Wolfy McWolf.

When I read the Prisoner of Azkaban I did make the wolf connection re Remus because I had been fixated on Greek and Roman mythology when slightly younger.

If I was still writing my phd I'd cite all of you clever clogses.

I'm not sure what I think about the nominative determinism - something I think it's good and sometimes rubbish. I do like the more subtle ones like the cat being called Mrs Norris

Help me out with the cat....

Mansfield park I think

Assuming the nosey parker/busybody Mrs Norris from Mansfield Park is the namesake.

Although could be Norris from Corrie either

Yes, I liked that. And I got that when I first read it.

ABland, Mrs Norris is the really nosy, annoying sister.

Though I did read a very funny fanfic ages ago where someone imagined her as Filch's animagus wife, and she was constantly getting into spats with McGonagall in her cat form.

I had head theories the cat was an animagus too

I love the nominative determinism. (not that I knew it was called that before this thread, mind!)

I never knew about Mrs Norris being a character in Mansfield Park! I got all the Latiny / Greeky / Astronomyy ones (classical background).

You live and learn

Oh! I always assumed mrs Norris was an animagus who had got "stuck" in cat form. The relationship - to my mind - between her and Filch is not quite straight pet to owner...

Harry did disarm him - he used experillamus (sp).

Plus, rowlings get out clause - "the wand chooses the wizard" lol

Knock-Knock
Who's there?
You know
You-Know-Who?
Exactly, AVADA KEDAVRA!

Dreadful, I know, but makes me titter

My DS1 auditioned for HP, just before they had that big blow-up with Speilberg wanting to do it and put Haley Joel Osment in the role (and can you imaging that ). In the light of how big it got I was v disappointed that DS1 didn't get it, but glad she didn't sell-out to the Americans.

I didn't think that Hermione was right at all. There was a girl at DD's school who was exactly as Hermione is described in the books. Wasn't EW also too young? And Ron's constant swearing was wrong for the time and his age, and not mentioned in the book.

Also thought Sirius was totally wrong. Hadn't considered until I read this thread that the ages were all out too, since the adults were contemporaries of James and Lily.

EW was the right age according to this:

uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110907130622AAACO0L

I though RW did use mild swearing in the books too, or am I mis-remembering?

He definitely swore, mild stuff like Bloody hell!

Just googled and yes, definitely mild swearing in the books - lots of US sites commenting on it :D

I think that isn't that unusual for first year of high school boys tbh. It would often be far harsher words ime.

Oooh LRD, I just catching up with this thread and saw you mention Susan Cooper. I LOVED her Dark is Rising sequence as a child and rarely meet anyone else who has even heard of her IRL. Just beginning to read them to dd, have been waiting for years for her to be old enough. I'm trying to wait til we can be on holiday somewhere close to the settings of the books before we read them to give them extra resonance for her too.
I love when you can share a book that's really touched you with your kids. :)

Another Dark Is Rising fan - should pick up the paperback from my parents this holiday for DS!

O fear of that Maryz, I watched 10 minutes of it and it was so crap I'd never look again. Such a shame as I think they whole series would have had incredible cinematic potential!

No, not O.