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It’s 6:30 AM. It’s warmer this morning, if I can call 37 F  (  4 C ) warm, considering that in Lake Tahoe, California, about an hour from our place, the temperature is   – 2 F (  – 20 C ).  I wonder how things are in Dakota, Minnessota, and Idaho. Oh, and in Michigan ! ( or is it Missouri?  Hello , Kyoki ! It’s just 37 F here in my neck of the woods !  Jealous ? Haha. )

Oh, I’m sorry. I’m digressing again. I’m supposed to be musing on Harry Potter Deathly Hallows, Part 1.  I prefer to muse and just give my 2 cents worth of thoughts on my all-time favorite book, Harry Potter, rather than write a ” review” of the film. I definitely cannot write an objective review because, for sure, I’ll be one extremely biased  critic. I love the books. I love the movies. Harry Potter can do no wrong, as far as I am concerned. 

 Ah, let me correct that last statement. The Half- Blood Prince ,the second to the last in the series , has a pretty complicated plot. This is the book where the author explains  in great detail the concept of  horcruxes .  So why the director or the writer of the movie focused  more on the romance between  Harry and Ginny and Ron and Hermione rather than on Snape, who is the half- blood prince, and most importantly, on said horcruxes,   is , in my opinion , incomprehensible. The director lost the opportunity to tie so many loose ends that would lead to the finale. But, that’s all water under the bridge now. So, when I went to watch the movie last Friday,  I did not set my expectations on high.  But, surprisingly, Deathly Hallows Part 1, was, to say the least, pretty good and well-made, and , at least, to me, emotionally gripping. Dumbledore and Snape are gone. The three friends, Harry, Ron and Hermione, are truly alone now, and are well on their way  searching  for the remaining horcruxes. However, did the movie explain what those horcruxes were ?  You see, there is just no way any one who has not read the book could possibly understand  the existence of horcruxes, and , to compound it all, it is only in this last book that the existence of the Deathly Hallows is  first revealed. Even to a Harry Potter fan like myself , who has read each book at least five times,  that revelation  totally stunned and floored me. The first thought that came to my mind was, ‘ Why did the JKRowling  introduce such an astonishing plot so late in the game ?  Thinking back, I now realize  it was a brilliant decision of the author  to not  add to the confusion  and clutter our already befuddled  minds.

So, what exactly are horcruxes?  ” Horcruxes  are magical objects that hold a piece of a man’soul. ”  Making a horcrux is the ultimate and darkest spell  a wizard  can do because he must kill in order to make it. Tom Riddle, aka Lord Valdemort/ You-Know-Who , a brilliant wizard,  is able to split his soul seven times, making him invincible, and almost immortal . In other words, Lord Voldemort cannot be killed unless the magical abjects  where he keeps his souls are found and destroyed. And what are these horcruxes?  1. Tom Riddle’s diary which Harry Potter had  inadvertently destroyed in Chamber Of Secrets when he was just 12 years old. 2. The Gaunt Family ring. The Gaunts are Valdemort’s own family. In later books, I forget which one, we see Dumbledore wearing the ring. I don’t remember how he got it, though. 3. Slytherin’s locket.  In Order of the Phoenix, the trio are cleaning up Sirius’ ancestral house ( Sirius is Harry’s father’s bestfriend, and Harry’s godfather ) when they find a locket that cannot be opened.  In Deathly Hallows, they learn that Prof. Dolores Umbridge, ( yes, that evil, evil woman ) is in possession of this locket. 4. Hufflepuff’s goblet. I don’t remember why Tom Riddle needed to use this goblet to keep one of his souls. As expected, he had to kill the owner, a descendant of the House of Hufflepuff  in order to further split his soul.  5.  Ravenclaw’s diadem. A diadem is like a royal headband. We first saw this when Harry went to the magical Room of Requirement to hide Snape’s Book of Potions. Harry took a bust, put it on top of the book and put the diadem on top of the bust to mark the spot where he hid the book. Harry did not know the diadem was a horcrux. 6. Voldemort’s snake, Nagini   7. And , not surprisingly, because people have speculated and discussed this to death, Harry himself  is a horcrux ! !  Valdemort inadvertently made Harry a horcrux when he tried to kill him. But due to Harry’s mother’s sacrifice and love for Harry, the killing spell backfired on Valdemort, and instead of killing Harry, he was unintentionally made into a ” living”  receptacle of  a bit of Valdemort’s soul. 

I am glad to see that the movie Deathly Hallows has basically remained true to the book. One thing I notice though, the writer seemed to have given up explaining the complex events non- readers might not know about.  I also feel very strongly that the movie should have put scenes of  the Dursleys departing to hide from the impending war among the wizards and muggles. The books and the previous movies always begin with the Dursleys, and in this last one, it is just right that they show them again for the last time.  That good-bye scene with cousin Dudley and Aunt Petunia is, in my humble opinion, one of the most touching part of the series. They are, after all, family, and  Harry’s last true connection to her beloved mother, Lily.

Over-all rating,   5 stars.

I am a big Harry Potter fan,so I guess that rating of 5 stars doesn’t really count. * grins*

However, I am a big fan of the Eragon trilogy, as well. But I give the movie adaptation of the first Eragon book a big , fat  ZERO.  It’s the most horrible movie adaptation I’ve seen so far.

Well, this is all for now. I hope to continue discussing Harry Potter, and the objects, the deathly hallows on my next blog.  They are such an integral part of the story,  it would be remiss of me not to talk about them  in my next harry Potter musings. Bye, and peace.