Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Harry Potter Month: EWW, Spiders! The Chamber of Secrets Film

Harry Potter Month is hosted by Faith at Geeky Zoo Girl and Micheline at Lunar Rainbows Reviews. This awesome event runs all through July, and you can find more information about it here.

I am the worst TV/movie binge watcher, so I'm really proud of myself for now having rewatched two of the HP movies, LOL. And I even stayed awake for all of this one (again, this is in no way any fault of the film's; it is entirely due to my old age)!

After being totally, utterly, and completely captivated by the Sorcerer's Stone film, I immediately got caught up on all of the books that were available at the time (4) and so was all set for the Chamber of Secrets movie adaptation. I remember checking the Internet—a lot—for any tidbit of news about the film. I also stalked HBO's schedule because I knew they aired short features on upcoming theatrical releases. My stalking skills were rewarded when they spotlighted CoS!

As with Sorcerer's Stone, it'd been some time since I last watched CoS, and also as with SS, it was a delight to experience it all over again. Well, maybe not so much the hideous spiders, which I'll get to in a few.

I still giggle when the pudding goes splat on Mrs. Mason's head at the beginning of the movie, thanks to a little fellow named Dobby. I just love the expression on Harry's face when he meets Dobby for the first time.

Speaking of love, I adored the scenes at the Burrow and all of the details, like the pots magically cleaning themselves (if only that happened in real life) and the clock with all of the Weasley family members on it. The home looked so cozy, and like Harry said, it was brilliant!

Something that I thought all of the films did extremely well was introducing new characters, whether they were created through the magic of special effects, like Dobby, or played by actors. In CoS we've got Kenneth Branagh's preening Gilderoy Lockhart and Jason Isaacs's sneering Lucius Malfoy. We also meet Professor Sprout and Madam Pomfrey, as well as Moaning Myrtle. I have to say, Moaning Myrtle's bathroom looks really creepy; I would not want to touch anything in there, let alone brew Polyjuice Potion that I would actually have to drink later, LOL.

And now we come to some super terrifying stuff: THE. SPIDERS! I really, really hate bugs, so ginormous spiders? NO. THANK. YOU. Seriously—I'd rather hang out with the basilisk than with Aragog and his family. It's one thing to visualize that scene in the Forbidden Forest in your head when you're reading the book, where you can set the horror level yourself. It's a complete other thing, however, where you can see these monsters on a big screen, charging at poor Harry, Ron, and Fang. To this day, I sort of avert my gaze during this scene.

Watching CoS is always a bittersweet experience, as it marks Richard Harris's final appearance as Dumbledore. I love his Dumbledore with all my heart, and his chat with Harry in his office following the events in the Chamber is especially poignant.

I still find the ending of this movie a bit awkward, when a Hagrid lovefest spontaneously breaks out in the Great Hall. I mean, I love Hagrid, too, but it was Harry who defeated the basilisk and diary Riddle and Fawkes who healed Harry and flew everyone out of the Chamber, LOL.

What are your favorite moments from the Chamber of Secrets movie?

12 comments:

  1. LOL! Yeah, the Hagrid love-fest at the end is cheesy and out of place! I love the guy too but I can't see ALL of Hogwarts welcoming him back that way...

    The spider scene is just awful!! I always think of poor Ron and his spider phobia voluntarily going into that awful place. I would have died of fright!

    I adore the scenes at The Burrow and they might just be my favorite scenes in this film. It's just such a happy and magical place. I'm always so emotional for Harry that he got to make friends with Ron and spend some time there ♥

    I agree it's bittersweet knowing that this is our final movie with THE REAL Dumbledore. I wish he would have been 10 years younger when the movies started so he could have been in shape to do them all.

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    1. Whew- I'm glad I'm not the only one who found the ending a bit much, LOL! I was very happy to see him back home at Hogwarts and all, but it definitely wasn't the way I expected the movie to end.

      Not only did the giant spiders creep me out of course, but I also didn't like all of the little spiders that Harry and Ron had to follow. Spiders are icky no matter how big or small they are, lolol.

      I wanna live at the Burrow! And I love how it practically became home for Harry and how welcome and loved he always was there.

      There are so many scenes in the rest of the movies that I would've loved to have seen Richard Harris's Dumbledore in, especially the King's Cross scene in DH. I'm getting chills just thinking about it!

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  2. God, who doesn't miss Richard Harris? He was the real-life embodiment of Dumbledore, and he just portrayed him to perfection. It was a real shame to see him go.

    The Burrow scene were also my favourite! Molly Weasley is by far one of my all-time favourites, and I love in the books when she ROARS at Fred and George and their father, then sends them into the garden with the gnomes! I have much love for Molly <3

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    1. Richard Harris was simply brilliant in the role. Every line he delivered was just perfect.

      I love Molly, too! She has the biggest heart and I love her for loving Harry like one of her own. But I also wouldn't want to mess with her, because she definitely showed that she could be one fierce lady!

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  3. Yes this one was my least favorite of them all and a very big part of that has to do with the SPIDERS. Ugh, I skip that part so I won't have to relive it over and over again. I really love the Burrow part though. I agree, that was a great treat in the film. I loved seeing Dobby as well and the memories. I really enjoy the memory part in the Lego game as well! I'm going to be watching this one again this weekend so I'll get to relive all of this as well.

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    1. I love getting to explore the Burrow in the Lego HP game and that you even get to de-gnome the garden! Enjoy your CoS rewatch this weekend! :D

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  4. I loved The Burrow! It was so much fun to visit this purely magical household and it was depicted perfectly. I do wish we got to see the de-gnoming, though. I think that would be hilarious.

    I loved Dobby and all the new adult characters. As much as I enjoy following the trio's adventures, it's an indescribable pleasure to watch the older cast at work. Kenneth Branagh was a perfect Gilderoy Lockhart. And as for Jason Isaac's Lucius Malfoy...well, my mom and I still have a crush on him!

    It's funny, I always loved Moaning Myrtle's bathroom in the film, and I thought that it looked amazing as opposed to its creepy description in the book :D I also loved the scenes where the kids were behaving like adults: brewing the potion and having a duel.

    I could go on and on it seems... I still cringe when the number of spiders gets a bit too much for me and when one of them grabs Ron through the car window - yuck!

    But the ending, well, that was something of a disappointment and quite awkward, honestly. I cringe at that too. I do love Hagrid but the book ending - with a midnight feast and everyone in their pajamas - was so perfect, I was sure we would get to see it in the film!

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    1. I would've loved to have seen the film end as the book did. At least they still showed Hermione's disappointment over exams being cancelled, lol. I also wish that the de-gnoming of the garden at the Burrow had been included; I love that scene in the book. I agree- it's so wonderful watching the adult actors' performances as well. And I totally understand you and your mom having a crush on Jason Isaacs's Lucius Malfoy; I absolutely love his voice! :D

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  5. I recently rewatched CoS also and it reminded me that there's a reason I don't watch it very often. Between Aragog, Ron and the slugs, and the Basilisk, it makes me cringe. I agree with Ron, why'd it have to be spiders?! It doesn't bother me that much, but it shouldn't be done in the first place!

    That being said, there are a lot of amazing things in the CoS movie. I love the Weasleys breaking Harry out, the introduction of the Burrow, and I always laugh when Harry travels by Floo powder and says "Diagonally!". The look the Molly and Arthur's face is hilarious! AND DOBBY! You've got to love Dobby.

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    1. Yuck- I get grossed out by the slugs, too! CoS really does have quite a few nasty creatures in it, doesn't it? LOL.

      The flying car is totally awesome; it was one of the scenes I'd been most looking forward to, and it didn't disappoint. Poor Harry- one pronunciation mishap landed him in Knockturn Alley! And yes- Molly and Arthur's reactions are too funny!

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  6. Oh how I loved Richard Harris' Dumbledore, it is truly bittersweet. I love that Harry asks Dobby to never try to save him again. It's absolutely hilarious. I'm sad that we don't get to see Dobby again until the Deathly Hallows movies!

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    1. Me too! I would've loved to have seen Dobby give Harry the gillyweed in GoF, but I also love Neville worrying that he killed Harry Potter, lol.

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