"If you don't know why that's awesome, then you need awesome lessons."

Hey how you been ?

Stares into the night,"what did she say?"

hey hi

That’s okay- I’ve been on vacation and stuff too. I went back and looked at what I wrote, and I apologize again for its completely insane length.

I also enjoy Keane and Coldplay. I don’t have full albums of either, just bits and pieces, but they’ve both got unique sounds. Thanks to my friend’s insistence that I watch Doctor Who, I can’t help but think of the Doctor now whenever I hear Coldplay. Especially Viva la Vida. If I wasn’t a complete dork before, as a result of the Harry Potter obsession, I am now. A popular book series is one thing, obscure British sci-fi is quite another.

*nods furiously in agreement* Part of the reason we love the trio is because we can relate to them. If all they ever did was play Quidditch or battle the forces of evil, the books wouldn’t have been nearly as good. And people are making a fuss over the emotional aspect of HPB? That’s one I haven’t heard before. Generally, the romantic/emotional stuff seems to be fairly popular, from what I’ve encountered.

O.O I just listened to that particular HBP track online. It’s very powerful. Simple with the singing, but powerful all the same. And properly eerie.

I got a new soundtrack before my vacation too! I bought the original Star Wars. It’s one I’ve been meaning to get for some time, I love the music in the films. Ben Kenobi’s Death/TIE Fighter Attack is one of the most addicting soundtrack pieces I’ve ever heard. It’s absolutely fantastic. Are you familiar with it?

Aw, Ratatouille! I’ve heard a tiny bit of that one, though not as much as Up. I agree, Carl Goes Up is great, but I also enjoy Married Life and The Ellie Badge. The mix of cheerful and melancholy is so neat. All this Pixar talk is making me want to watch one of their movies. Can’t wait for Toy Story to hit theaters in a couple of weeks, that’ll be fun.

Addition to this- I do love soundtracks, and listen to them frequently, but they aren't my Harry Potter of music. More like a Pride and Prejudice- excellent and highly enjoyable, just not my favorite, especially when Harry Potter's around (though I am highly biased in this comparison :P). Just in case that came off as "I listen to them occasionally but whatever I don't like them very much". Because that's not my opinion of them. Yeah... It's late-ish here and if this came across crazy-like, my apologies.

Must get the last two! I always put getting soundtracks off, because I want the whole album, and I don't like paying for them on iTunes. Might as well get the CD. So I ask for a few of them for bdays and such, and nobody ever comes through. I'm going to come up with a mad list of them this year, and only put a few DVDs, gift cards, and money on the rest of the list, and see what happens :D I really want Up, the music for that was excellent.

Whoa, authority. O.O I'm no authority, unfortunately. I just find them relaxing for writing. *inferiority* I listen to a mix of music, usually rock, classic rock, alternative, and a very little bit of electronic pop (only Owl City, because it is so cheerful, it's impossible to be sad when you hear it).

PoA is the favorite of so many people. And I do like the story, I really do. I've read it countless times (only a woman would make chocolate the cure for all ailments :D). I enjoy the book far more than the movie. I really feel it is a combination of things that did it for me. Perhaps it's the stark contrast from the first two to PoA. When it first came out, I was incredibly peeved that they spent most of their time at school wearing normal clothes. I still feel that way with the recent movies. They're wizards. They wear robes for much of their off time, especially during the school year. It's just what's done in their universe. I know it's nitpicky, but besides the clothes, many scenes made it feel as though they were teenagers in midst of HBP-esque drama. Not that there aren't hormones or anything going on here, but it just pushed them to act far too grown up than the characters really were at this stage. Especially in comparison with the previous two, where they seemed so young. A more gradual transition would have been nice, in character actions, dialogue, and looks. The new Dumbledore was >_< too (then again, I just have issues where new Dumbledore is concerned). All of this, combined with the poor explanation of the Marauders (which would have taken maybe a couple more minutes to explain fully) just did the movie in for me. Oh, and don't forget the werewolf effect. WHAT was that? O.O

I think GoF was cheesy to an extent. Both the music and the tournament scenes were very "look at us, we scream EPIC. Feel our epicness". At least, that's the impression I got from it. I agree on the Quidditch World Cup; I sat in the theater going WHUT :O. If I remember correctly, I was muttering things about SPEW and the World Cup under my breath after leaving that one, actually. Maybe I've gotten adjusted to the older characters, or maybe it was the presence of uniforms that made me enjoy it more. I'm not quite sure. I wouldn't say I love the movie, but I can tolerate it and watch it, at least more than with PoA. Perhaps I still have lingering resentment over Hermione's rainbow belt...

The "who are you and what have you done with *insert name here*" has been overdone and I just don't find it funny, same as you. I've found that some of these scenes really make the dynamic between the trio different in the movies than in the books. It also contributes to the lingering H/Hr factor. They just seem so much closer in the movies, it gives the wrong idea. The directors and/or screenwriters always have just Hermione figuring things out with Harry (making Ron look dim witted). There's less trio time, even on more ordinary things like visits to Hagrid's or a quick butterbeer in The Three Broomsticks. It's the ordinary, day-in and day-out scenes in the books that really build the relationship of the trio and their relationships with other characters. It irks me that they never show Harry struggling with schoolwork and what have you on top of his worries about Voldy or whatever else is going on in his life. The movies lose the depth of the books; Harry has to battle so much at once, while dealing with a normal life. You don't get quite as much of that struggle in the films, which is a shame.

*stares at above* Whoa. Rant much today? Excuse my mad ramblings.

@Crystal Rain. Sorry for the delayed reply, it was a crazy weekend and I didn't have time to get online. I decided to comment here, rather than exploding the comment page on the Twilight board.

I'm definitely going to have to listen to the newer soundtracks now. I need some fresh music addiction. I love John Williams' soundtracks, and I also enjoy Danny Elfman's. Soundtracks in general are lovely, I've found them to be quite relaxing, especially when writing.

I always felt that way about PoA, rather than GoF, actually. It seemed that the Marauders and the events of the past were never really explained fully, when it wouldn't have taken that much effort to do so. For that reason, I've never enjoyed it; there's always that nagging annoyance that someone, somewhere didn't add just a line or two to explain what was going on. GoF stayed on the straight and narrow path- here's the game, let's see how Harry does. It doesn't have as many layers as the more recent ones do, and yet I don't find it as irritating, despite some gaping holes. Which is ironic, since GoF is actually my favorite book. But I am still resentful that they cut the skrewts, because they are ridiculously awesome.

Yates does well with transitioning and the camera angles, yes. It was quite obvious in HBP, the transitions are smooth and creative. Cuaron did have a unique style- it was a very in-your-face, get-in-the-action sort of feel. I didn't mind it, but as I already said, I'm not a huge fan of the PoA movie, so that's just me.

I do find that shocking as well. I imagine that there are other people heavily influencing the script, because the changes in tone and dialogue are so severe, it definitely makes you wonder if it's the same guy. Some lines or scenes can be very forced or overplayed, as if the actors themselves know how bad the dialogue is and are just pushing through it. I can't think of an example at the moment, but it's usually one of those lines you chuckle at once that they play in all of the trailers and ads. I agree, I do wonder at times if they really understand the characters. I can think of one prominent example from HBP, but I won't say it if you haven't seen it yet, no spoilage ^_^

Hi!
Thanks for joining the group for Siriusly Obsessed: A Serious Harry Potter Podcast. After a long delay (apologies) Episode #2 is finally up! Well... the un-edited version. Sorry about that, but the nargles ate the edited version. We are recording episode #3 on Friday, and we have HUGE news!

You can listen to Episode #2 here: http://siriuslyobsessed.mypodcast.com/
OR you can download us from iTunes

Thanks again for your support!
xx Anjali