Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Honorable Mention List

These are just a few thoughts, minor issues that I had with the movie(s) that weren't included properly but weren't significant enough to make the top-ten list. If you have any more or think I should have ordered anything differently, please let me know. Thanks.

1. Luna finds Harry on the Hogwarts express instead of Tonks. Why? (There was something else of importance that Luna did that wasn't actually her but I can't remember what it was). Tonks' finding Harry is actually important because it shows the increased security around him in light of Voldemort's return. Luna doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

2. Harry and Ginny make out in the Room of Requirement and find the vanishing cabinet. Totally misconstrued series of events.

3. No Dobby or Kreacher following following around Malfoy. Additionally, they make no appearance whatsoever, which in turn means that Sirius' will is not addressed. That's brutal.

4. The Malfoy subplot was horribly done. They don't find out about the vanishing cabinet until Malfoy explains it to Dumbledore, Crabbe and Goyle don't change into little girls with scales to drop, and in turn aren't sullen about it, Malfoy's entire degeneration of body and spirit was poorly done, and Does he show anyone the mark in the book?


If you think of anything else, feel free to chime in.

#1: Dumbledore

So the reason this is coming on Tuesday and not Friday, like my initial intention is because I know that most of my readers, followers, etc. (at least the ones that I am familiar with) work in office jobs. Alas, there was a time long ago when my time was occupied by the glorious tasks of office work and, in yearning for more of that, I took into consideration a few things: first, you don't really care what you're reading on Friday, because you're trying to look like you're doing just enough work possible to get the hell out of there that afternoon; second, Monday's usually have legitimate work in store for you, so your opportunity to totally blow off work to read a blog about Harry Potter (and others) is probably limited; Wednesday is hump day and there's usually a Happy hour to look forward to and Thursday is only one day before Friday. So there is some distant, probably tainted method to my madness.

Anyway, number one is a multi-layered issue that has many caveats but includes both plot points and general issues taken with the movie so bear with me.

First and foremost, I have to say that the one thing that all the directors, producers, and makers of these movies do extraordinarily well is casting. Sure, Harry, Ron and Hermione are good. But Snape and McGonagall are PERFECT. Even I can't complain about the casting. And they did a fantastic job with Dumbledore initially (Richard Harris, rest in peace) and in terms of appearance, I thought Michael Gambon was a fine replacement. Gambon, however, just doesn't do it for me. I've always imagined Dumbledore possessing a truly incomparable demeanor of patience, gentleness, and understanding afforded only to those of the greatest comprehension and superiority. That being said, Dumbledore also possesses a ferocity of spirit not easily found in your average Wizard. First of all every time he enters a battle I get chills and imagine it's like Peyton Manning playing in a 7th & 8th grade football game, CC Sabathia in a little league game, or Landon Donovan in a PeeWee soccer game. You get the point. He's a superhero in a world already filled with magical powers; that's impressive. But what's more is the combination of these two feats. Dumbledore is both a man of supreme power and paramount importance to the Wizarding world and a man with unparalleled compassion and wisdom. The fusion of these two things into one person presents the ultimate champion of good, or in other words the ultimate hero(sure Harry is a hero, and our protagonist, but that doesn't detract from Dumbledore's heroism). Perhaps from an archetypal perspective, he fulfills more of a mentor or teacher role, but I'm hesitant to don him that only because of his active badassness. Anyway, ok, we all know Dumbledore is sweet, get to the point. Gambon, or Yates, or someone in charge of his behavior is doing something wrong. In a book where Dumbledore becomes most vulnerable, both physically and more importantly, emotionally (in his relationship with Harry), why is he portrayed as aloof, distracted, distant? Gambon doesn't inspire in me the bone chilling, hair-standing-on-the-back-of-my-neck confidence that JKR's Albus Dumbledore does, and it is extremely upsetting to me. The relationship in HBP was very poorly developed, failing to show Dumbledore's disappointment in Harry when he faltered in obtaining Slughorn's memory as well as the continued expressions of love the Dumbledore gives Harry, or in other words, actively reaffirming both his own (Dumbledore's) greatest strength as well as the most important fundamental difference between Harry and Voldemort. I can't help but remember reading the books and feeling a lurch in my stomach when Dumbledore is disappointed in Harry or a surge of pride when he gives out a compliment. Every time Dumbledore says one of those things like, "Well, I have the benefit of being quite clever," or something along those lines, I laughed hysterically, because what is funnier than this cockiness disguised as false modesty in the most powerful wizard of all time? (NOTHING). The movies fail to make me chortle at Dumbledore's humor. Remember when Dumbledore is on the tower, likely aware of his certain death, and yet he still maintains all the etiquette not usually afforded by the Death Eaters? Just another little thing that makes him so utterly worthy of our respect. Finally, I sobbed when Dumbledore fell to his death, reading through blurry eyes with the same hope that Harry clung to... Impossible. The movie failed to move me to any emotion whatsoever, for I never loved Dumbledore in the movies as I did in the books. And that's not fair.

As you can see, that's a lot about Dumbledore in general, and across all of the movies so far. The second point about Dumbledore is specific to HBP. I think most of you probably know what's coming, because it was the single biggest and most unnecessary plot flaw in the entire movie.

"He looked around at Dumbledore, who gestured him to retreat. Harry backed away, drawing his wand as he did so. The door burst open and somebody erupted through it and shouted, 'Expelliarmus!' Harry's body became instantly rigid and immobile, and he felt himself fall back against the tower wall, propped like an unsteady statue, unable to move or speak. ... Dumbledore had wordlessly immobilized Harry, and the second he had taken to perform the spell had cost him the chance of defending himself" (HBP, p. 584).

There was no idiotic shhh from Snape's finger over his mouth and Harry did not just wait idly beneath the stairs for one of his last remaining profound emotional connections with an adult to be severed by yet another murder at the hands of Death Eaters. This is Harry Potter we're talking about here. I don't need to remind you, but I will, that he has mindlessly, though bravely, rushed into every dangerous situation the Wizarding world has to offer. Even this stupid ass movie added its own proof of this; Harry rushes into some British Open weeds or hay or something after Bellatrix LeStrange despite explicitly being told not to go anywhere and likely walking right into a trap (something that doesn't even happen in the book and allows for the Burrow to falsely be blown up; also, it's worth noting that nothing comes of this chase either. They just disappear and the Burrow is on fire. Nice). Yet they expect us to believe that he would just sit by as Malfoy and Snape, his two MOST HATED enemies since he became a wizard killed his mentor, friend, and idol...??? NOT LIKELY. Again, I find myself trying first to control my breathing as I think about this, and then trying to at least attempt to determine why the makers of this felt this mindless failure to adhere to the important details of the books would benefit their viewers. And with this one, the reason that this gets the Number 1 Reason why Harry Potter Movies could and should be better, is because I can't think of any reason to change this, particularly in light of the fact that you've already established Harry's recklessness earlier in THIS movie. If you can think of a reason, please let me know.

Anyway, I hope you like the Top 10 and please feel free to share with any and everyone. I'm gonna post a less fleshed out Honorable Mention list later. Thanks for reading. Comments encouraged.

Friday, July 24, 2009

#2: The Battle

So in the midst of Dumbledore easing Draco Malfoy out of his intended plot, there is a battle raging beneath the astronomy tower between Death Eaters, members of the DA and members of the order. First off, I'm just amazed Yates and crew didn't want to take another opportunity to have wisps of smoke flying around not doing any actual magic at each other. Second of all, this gets absolutely no mention, no acknowledgement, NOTHING. Harry was supposed to have taken only half of his Felix Felicis when he obtained the memory from Slughorn and, for fear of an attack, he gave the rest of the potion to his friends whom he asked to patrol the halls while he was gone. (Sidenote: did anyone else think that their depiction of Harry on liquid luck was basically like he'd just railed a few lines of cocaine. I mean that wasn't what I imagined at all. He acted like a total freak and there were plenty of mistakes in that scene as well, particularly his initial interaction with Slughorn). Anyway, Ginny later says something along the lines of, well if we hadn't had your potion I think we all would have been screwed, cause spells just seemed to miss us for some reason. In other words they were extremely lucky AND they were in mortal peril. This last point seems to me something worth noting in the film and it wasn't.

The reason this is number 2 is because to paraphrase literally everyone that I know who saw this movie, "Seriously, how could they not have included the biggest battle of the book?" This whole issue is indicative of the greater sin committed by these movie-makers: they're making an adaptation of the books, not a representation. So if they can come up with a plot that encompasses what they're trying to accomplish with their film, then they do so at the expense of every true fan's desires. It's just that simple. Because their plot wasn't directly fueled by the battle taking place beneath the tower, they felt it was expendable, much to my chagrin.

Stay tuned later today for the Number 1 Reason why The Half Blood Prince could and should have been better (along with the rest of the movies). And I don't know if I'll get to it today, but I have been jotting down an honorable mention list throughout the week. That might have to wait until Monday.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

#3: The Cave

Remember the Agrocrag from Global Guts on Nickelodeon? Yea? So did David Yates. On par with and perhaps surpassing Dumbledore's death, this is one of the two most important sections of the book. What Harry and Dumbledore accomplish on this journey is significant for several reasons. The two most important are: first, this task represents the culmination of an entire year of work for Harry in getting the memory from Slughorn and his lessons with Dumbledore and perhaps several years worth of work for Dumbledore independently; second, this maiden process of searching for, gaining access to, and ultimately destroying a horcrux lays the foundation for Harry's quest in the coming years. This is the first time that Harry knowingly obtains what he believes to be a horcrux and this experience in conjunction with Dumbledore's death undoubtedly strengthens Harry's resolve regarding the mission endowed to him. It is worth noting, however, that it is an important plot point that the horcrux is in fact a fake because it prevents the plot from falling into a formulaic trap of Goal-Action-Success type writing (Courtesy of troutmonkey).

Now, if the devil is in the details, this scene has gone straight to Hell, do not pass GO, do not collect $200. Let's work from outside to inside. So I guess it was kind of cool to have these huge waves breaking against the rocks and a jutting crag to land on. But uhhh, they swim... So that might've been a little tough. I can get over this one. Next, they're in the cave and the deep dark magic protecting the door doesn't cause Dumbledore to falter even a little bit... Greatest wizard of all time, probably, but JKR sees fit to have him spend a little bit more than three seconds discovering the blood token required for entrance. Then, once he does, there's supposed to be a door outlined, not just rocks falling like someone pulled the wrong Jenga piece.

So finally they're in the same room as the horcrux and we've piled up all these mistakes already, but it gets better. First of all, the island holding the basin emanates a dull green light, Dumbledore does not throw out a portable Lumos and see it. Then, the chain is not in the water, it's in the air and he has to find it, before they're able to pull. They did a nice job with the boat I thought, though I thought the sound of it coming up from beneath the water took away from the creepiness invoked by the silence of a boat floating towards you and chains slowly clinking. Ahhh the island. Back to the agrocrag. This pixellated, boxy overdone piece of rock looked like something out of a Nintendo 64 video game. I'm of the opinion that a jet black crag of particularly sinister looking rock is far more threatening or intimidating than this silvery lego creation. Then, what pissed me off probably more than anything in this scene: it clearly states that Dumbledore, after discovering that the potion must be drunk, conjures a goblet out of nothing. Cool little bit of magic I thought. How hard is that to put in the movie? Not hard at all. Instead there's some fucking seashell sitting atop the basin like it was a kid's sand castle on the beach. And what was done with this seashell should have been much better. Imagine that your Bartender is Voldemort and he's making you a magical drink intended to cause as much emotional, perhaps physical, and psychological pain as possible... It's probably not gonna be too pleasant. I don't think that Dumbledore's struggle was near what it should have been. Alas, I am utterly unsatisfied by these movies, per usual.


Wednesday, July 22, 2009

#4: Death Eaters Can Fly

This is easily one of my biggest issues with the movies (mainly 5 and 6). I've done my best not to include Book 7 in my analysis on this list, but its essential to this particular issue. In Book 7, when Harry is being decoyed in every way imaginable and Voldemort and others are trying to capture him, the Order members who protect Harry are amazed that Voldemort has the ability to fly without any of the standard means of flight (e.g., Broomstick). The greatest Dark Wizard of all time (and debatably the most powerful wizard in the world at this point, sans Dumbledore) has discovered a power unique to him and perhaps other great wizards in history. JKR makes it QUITE clear that this is something distinctive, something extraordinarily uncommon. Following this logic, not every talentless assclown of a Death Eater can just cruise around in a wisp of smoke as they please. It's clear in the Department of Mysteries in OTP that Death eaters are not apparating as they fly alongside fleeing DA members. The entire battle that ensues between Death Eaters and Order Members is loaded with black and white smoke flying all over the place. According to the book, this is NOT possible. In HBP, three Death Eaters, including a werewolf fly all over the damn place, blowing up shops in Diagon Alley and taking down bridges as they fly by. Key word: FLY. Anything that JKR sees fit to reserve for Voldemort, and Voldemort alone should be respected as such. Essentially what these filmmakers are doing by giving powers saved for Voldemort to the likes of Malfoy and Greyback, is putting them in the same tier as Voldemort. I don't have to tell you how ridiculous this is. There are so many more ways to get around in the magical world then their are in the muggle world. Flying of your own accord is not one of them. Yet another pointless addition that detracts from the true fan's detailed assessment of the movies.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

#5: Teen Romance Novel

There is a sizable chunk of this movie that feels like it was written by Danielle Steele when she was 16. Granted, JKR herself steps up the romance in HBP, there's no doubt about it. But the words address the issue with much more subtlety than the Americanized Warner Bros production. Additionally, it's not the major plot point in the book, whereas in a movie with 153 minute running time, the ultra-compelling amorous plot between Ron and Hermione, Ron and Lavender, and Harry and Ginny probably wastes an hour of the time. As you can see from my previous posts, there are many things that I feel are woefully omitted from the movie. Again, plenty of people are probably thinking well, it's a huge book with lots of details, omission is inevitable; this is true, but my issue is not solely omission, but rather the omission of details to make room for more tween romance bullshit. I get that they're trying to market this film to a certain audience, but come on. Everyone was going to see this movie anyway.

A perfect example of my frustration regarding the teen romance aspect of this movie is this: excluding Deathly Hallows, this is by far the Darkest book yet. Voldemort's ascent to power is literally depressing the wizarding community. The ministry of magic is failing to do its job properly (e.g., the arrest of Stan Shunpike), the Order of the Phoenix has lost several key members, and Dumbledore is undoubtedly becoming weaker. All that being said, HOW DOES THIS MOVIE GET A PG RATING? If I had my way, this movie would be NC-17 and every bit of the gruesome descent to despair experienced by the wizarding community would have been the first twenty minutes, NOT Hermione huffing and puffing about Lavender Brown giving Ron googly eyes.

And finally, in the interest of defending some of the importance of the romance aspect of this book, there is one scene that sticks out in my mind that is romantic as well as essential to the advancement of the plot, which the movie (of course) is devoid of. After pages and pages, hundreds of words describing the previously inexperienced feelings that Harry has for Ginny, he is forced to do one of the hardest things humanly possible: voluntarily revoke his requited, divine love for Ginny in order to ensure her safety as he ventures forth to search for Horcruxes and ultimately, destroy Voldemort. This scene in the book does two things for me: one, it illustrates Harry's instant maturation process after Dumbledore's death; and second, it outlines quite clearly the mission he is about to embark upon, which the end of the movie barely mentions.

Thanks for Reading, stay tuned for #s 4 & 3 later today. Comments encouraged.

#6: Voldemort's Inclusion

Ok so it's confirmed at the end of OTP that Voldemort has in fact returned. The entire premise of HBP is this fact. A war has begun, things are happening that happened fourteen years prior, people are dying, his followers are returning, the dark mark is appearing more places, etc. etc. Bottom line: kind of a big deal. Yet he doesn't make a single appearance in the movie? I realize that he has limited appearances in the book as well, but what was picked and chosen for the movie about Voldemort seemed wrong to me. Particularly the omission of the scene where you meet his parents incidentally. I found the Gaunt's and the connection to the ring Horcrux to be very intriguing and again, the imagery surrounding Marvolo, his home, and his son Morfin seems like it would do very well in a visual medium. But Yates and crew felt differently.

#7: Depiction of Magic

I have always taken issue with how magic is depicted in the Harry Potter movies. When I think of what JKR most frequently says when she is describing magic, I think 'jet of light' (Jet of green light, avada kedavra; jet of red light, stupefy, etc. etc.). Now to me a jet of light is crisp, clean, about wand width and length, and travels very quickly. I imagine it almost as something fired from a laser gun, but perhaps a bit longer or shorter, depending on the laser gun. In the movies, however, jet of light is far from the case. Remember when Harry's wand connects with Voldemort's because their wand hairs came from the same unicorn? Did anyone else read that passage as, "Voldemort forces Harry to bow, they both cast a spell at one another, their wands connect, and oh, a shitload of different colored lava, molten rock, or some form of plasma flows from their wands"? NO. Seriously, magic is so poorly depicted in these movies that it drives me crazy. It literally looks like lava. Now this isn't all the time, but enough to upset me.

Another critical scene and one of the most memorable chapters in any of the 7 books: "The Only One He Ever Feared," is the chapter in Order of the Phoenix that describes the fight between Voldemort and Dumbledore in the Ministry. Ok, I personally found Book 5 to be a bit slower of a read than the rest of the books and it was very long, but for me, this chapter made the entire book worth reading. You basically wait 5 books for this. The greatest Dark Wizard of all time vs. the greatest Wizard of all time. Imagine how many galleons people would have thrown down on this fight if they'd had the chance. Not only does Dumbledore enchant some statues to prance around and take spells like champions to defend Harry as well as accost Bellatrix (not in the movie), this is one of the only times where the reader feels the true power of Dumbledore, where the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end every time he flicks his wand. Voldemort's embittered screaming emanates loathing and hatred, while Dumbledore's calm and measured words ensure the reader (as well as Voldemort, I believe), that he is superior. The movie does alright with the snake and the aquaorb, but they make Dumbledore seem so feeble, so old, so challenged by Voldemort, which in my mind was never the case.

But what about the HBP movie you say? Well the one example that I can think of off the top of my head is when someone (can't remember who) casts a spell at Fenrir Greyback, who, wandless, blocks this spell. I'm sorry, but how? We have a clear counter-example present in all the books and movies, Remus Lupin, who is clearly a wizard but for one night a month. He doesn't just conjure or block spells at whim with his hands. I believe JKR's intention with Fenrir was not to endow him with special powers, but rather to express his truly sinister and evil nature, demonstrating things such as his positioning before the full moon, etc.

I realize that these things may seem little or insignificant, but what will confuse and upset me forever about these movies is that I do not and will not understand why details provided by the author of the incredible books are changed when they don't have to be. One example of this will be discussed in #3, but you'll have to wait for that. Stay tuned later for today for #s 6 &5.

Finally, if you think something, post a comment!

Monday, July 20, 2009

#8: Defense Against the Dark Arts Lessons-OBSOLETE

I'm thinking now that perhaps I should have switched #8 and #9 in order of importance but no matter, the list must continue.

Several important things contribute to this issue in the book: the first is that in the explanation of his actions to Bellatrix and Narcissa, Snape states that Dumbledore would not give him the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor for fear that this post might foment a dark sentiment in Snape, believed by Dumbledore to have been relinquished; thus when he gets the appointment in HBP, it is a big deal. The crux of his lesson plan that JKR mentions is the ability to cast spells without saying them aloud, thus rendering one's opponent ignorant of the spell headed for them. "those who progress to using magic without shouting incantations gain an element of surprise in their spell-casting," (Snape, HBP, p. 179). Throughout HBP, Snape berates Harry for his inability to attain this ability which later is of crucial importance when trying to battle with Snape after Dumbledore's death. (This is also of supreme importance in what very well might end up being the movie's biggest blunder, discussed later in the list). The movie does not implement a single DADA lesson, nor does it explain nonverbal spells at all; the movie merely has Malfoy and Harry battling proficiently without saying a word in Myrtle's (no appearance for her either, or any of the ghosts for that matter) bathroom until Harry casts sectumsempera.

Perhaps I am alone, but I was of the opinion that it was very big deal that Snape, a former Death Eater, was teaching DADA at Hogwarts. Additionally, of equal importance was the instruction of nonverbal spells in the NEWT year of DADA. The movie gives these facts limited coverage and opens itself yet again to mistakes resulting from omission of crucial details.

That's all for today, but keep reading for #s 7, 6, & 5 tomorrow.

#9: Omission of Scenes: Minister 2 Prime Minister & Dumbledore's Funeral

The omission of scenes really bugs me. When I read Harry Potter books, the imagery conveyed by the words seems very clear to me. I'm a visual thinker and while I acknowledge that this visuo-spatial experience is undoubtedly different for everyone, there are certain passages, certain chapters, certain lines even in these books that I feel HAVE to jump off the page to anyone above a 6th grade reading level. Now I completely understand and have experienced firsthand creative interpretation, but again (and perhaps I am remiss for thinking too highly of my own interpretation), there are certain things (scenes, chapters, interactions, conversations etc.) in these books I just cannot get over being stricken from the movies, particularly when they're replaced by the development of Ron's relationship with an overbearing, overacted, extremely annoying Lavender Brown.

Two such omissions are addressed here:

The first is the first chapter of the book, "The Other Minister," which incidentally seems to me like a logical starting place for a movie. This chapter depicts the introduction of the new Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, by the old forcibly resigned minister, Cornelius Fudge to the Muggle Prime Minister of Great Britain. Additionally, this chapter chronicles the dissent to despair that is actively occurring in the Wizarding world; each time Fudge visits with the Prime Minister, he seems more and more disheveled and disheartened by the news he's required to report. Then comes Scrimgeour, the former Head of the Auror's office, a grizzly, chiseled, time-tested wizard who in my mind is the equivalent of electing a "wartime president," someone who has experience dealing with the worst the world has to offer. Additionally, this chapter is paramount to the understanding or comprehension of how truly bad things have gotten as Voldemort's ascent to power continues. Coordination and collaboration with the muggle world on the part of the Ministry of Magic clearly illustrates the worst things can be. As if it wasn't enough to not include this awesomely powerful scene that really sends a chill down the reader's spine, the geniuses in charge leave out the entire ministry of magic plot line. Scrimgeour isn't mentioned, in turn he doesn't visit the Weasleys and ask Harry to be the poster child for the ministry, Kingsley Shacklebolt isn't an aid in the Prime Minister's office, etc. etc. So many cool things are left out and it just amazes me that a brand new character who has such an awesome description in the book can be omitted entirely from the movie when an obnoxious and totally despised character, Dolores Umbridge, got so much screen time in Order of the Phoenix.

Albus Dumbledore is far and away recognized as the greatest wizard of all time. Exceedingly brilliant, devilishly clever, longtime Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, co-inventor of the Sorcerer's Stone, some hundred and fifty years old, and responsible in part for the education of every talented wizard this side of Russia for the last three-quarters of a century (personal estimation). I say all this to make clear the fact that when someone of this stature, of this quintessential unparalleled importance to the wizarding world is murdered by his own subordinate, his life will be celebrated second to none. JKR does this fact wonderful justice. Point to someone who didn't get chills when they read about the merpeople's song, the centaurs' tribute of arrows, and the somber lowering of a white, marble coffin and I'll point to a robot. To me, if I were a director or part of making a movie, I would be salivating at the thought of showing people my vision of this funeral. It was too good not to. The movie fails to include any bit of this scene. While I am quick to condemn them for this and despise the movies as I do, my friend suggested to me a compromise that even they could have come up with: why not have the cheesy, misrepresented last scene of the movie take place at the funeral. Then you get your lame appeal to the tween audience that giggles when the actors touch each other and you reach the very tip of the iceberg with pleasing people like me (or at least you give me one less thing to criticize you for).

Your comments are more than welcome. Stay tuned for #8 later today.

#10: The Burrow Explodes

Number 10 on our list may seem like an insignificant detail that's added to the movie to spice things up a bit, throw in a little extra steam (pun intended), but in reality the addition of this scene is actually indicative of a much greater sin committed by the makers of this (these) movie(s). The addition of scenes not included anywhere in the book detracts significantly from the inclusion of details clearly and pointedly laid out in the book. JKR does not strike me as someone who includes details frivolously, particularly at this point in the series; yet David Yates and Steve Kloves and whomever else are responsible for the production of these films seem ignorant of that fact, choosing what would market best rather than what would make the best film. For those of us who love these books and view them as written by someone one generation removed from the likes of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis (in terms of storytelling ability), to watch them be mangled and turned into teen romance flicks with special effects is a disappointing sight indeed.

The Burrow was never set on fire by Bellatrix LeStrange. And if it had been, do you think that 7 or 8 wizards would have stood by shivering like they'd just seen a bad car accident with their arms around one another or do you think they'd all be casting 'Aguamenti' or some other combination of spells to put the fire out and save their belongings, not to mention their tenuously constructed home? Additionally, this scene sets up one of the bigger mistakes the movie makes, which will come later in this list, but keep in mind that the second he hears her, Harry takes off against all counsel and good sense, seeking to kill Bellatrix.