Harry Potter: The End

Alrighty, well...now that I've seen the final installment of the epic Harry Potter franchise a second time, I figure it's time for me to share my thoughts.

First, thoughts on the movie:
I thought that, on the whole, it was well done. Epic battle sequences, better acting than in the other 7, intense emotions, and a very well-done, very long-awaited Ron-Hermione kiss. Of course, there were a few parts that made me wonder what exactly the director/producers/writers were thinking...
Instance #1: The Malfoy-Voldemort hug.....seriously??? I don't even know where to begin on this one....first of all, Voldemort doesn't hug people...but please don't get me started on all the things that were wrong with Voldemort the movie character as opposed to Voldemort the book character. Second of all, did anyone else feel really awkward during that hug? It was like a "I'm your long lost father who left when you were little and suddenly decided to come back and pretend like I really care for you, but in all reality I'm very socially awkward" hug...I mean, with awkward squeeze and everything. I don't know if they were going for comic relief there, but really it was just not appropriate for that particular moment...or really for the movie in general.
Instance #2: The Harry-Hagrid hug...I feel like this was probably necessary, since Hagrid was so distraught about Harry being dead (PS-not very good acting by Robbie Coltrane in this one, in my opinion), but I just feel like they didn't do it well....again, awkward...."Harry." ::hugs:: ::stares:: ::walks away::....yeah, just a little awkwardly done. Maybe that's just me, but probably not.
Instance #3: The smoke fight scene...Harry and Voldemort flying through the air in a whirl of black smoke, pulling at each other's faces, culminating in a closeup of Harry pulling at the sides of Voldemort's demented-looking face. Do I really need to go into depth on this one?
Instace #4: Breaking the Unbeatable Wand...really, J.K? You let them do that? It's U-N-B-E-A-T-A-B-L-E. That's the whole point of it, right? So how is it that Harry could just snap it in half? Not. Possible. Stupid. And why didn't Harry fix his wand with it, like he was supposed to?? What's he gonna do, use Malfoy's wand for the rest of his life? Honestly, it would've taken like 4 extra seconds..."Reparo" ::wand fuses back together::. Really.
Those are really the only major complaints I had with it. Other than that, I thought it was an excellent final film for the series. Favorite character of the movie? Quite possibly McGonagall. She is a serious bad-a**. Yep.

So now, some thoughts on the franchise as a whole:
Honestly, I just can't believe it's over. Harry Potter has been over half my life...more than ten years, and now, suddenly, there's nothing left to look forward to. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just a tad upset and empty-feeling when the credits rolled on 7.2. I mean, it's never going to be the same...yes, I'm going to force my future children to read and watch (in that order) all the books/movies. Obviously. They're classics. But the anticipation won't be there. Whereas it took the Harry Potter Generation 10+ years to finish the series, it could, theoretically, take our children a week, and that's just sad to me. The waiting, although extremely difficult and not my favorite, were really what made the series that much better...because there was anticipation, reading the books/watching the movies was just that much sweeter. It's sad to me that nobody will ever experience that again.

So anyways, I guess I'll try and bring myself back into reality now. And I'll leave you with this excellent quote that my friend had as her facebook status the other day, proving once and for all the Harry Potter is ever so much better than Twilight (I mean, really, was there ever a legit contest here?):

"Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength, and doing what is right in the face of adversity...Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend."

Amen to that.

Now it's time to go grow up. ::Sigh::

-K

PS-I would love to hear your thoughts, comments, and critiques of the movies/books/anything HP-related!

Orlando and the most awesome moment of the summer

Well, hi! So Hans and I just got back from our sweet vacation to Orlando with my family. Boy, do I wish I were still there. It seriously was great. It would have been completely perfect if Florida had Utah's lack of humidity. But oh well....give a little, take a little.

So we arrived on Thursday night, and the next day, Rachel (aka my awesome sis for those of you who don't know) took us to the beach at Anna Maria Island:

It's one of those white sand, clear water beaches. And to top it off, we had a creature sighting....we were out in the water, and all of a sudden this girl starts swimming in to her friend, freaking out about seeing something in the water....then, her two friends scream and start swimming ultra-fast in to their group as well...so we look out into the water.....and see a pair of dolphins diving in and out of the water...ha. But seriously it was pretty cool.

So other than that, most of the week was spent lounging about at the pool, or floating along the resort's lazy river...the epitome of relaxation. However, on Tuesday and Wednesday, we all went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure! For all of you who are not familiar with Orlando's many theme parks, Universal's Islands of Adventure is now home to....The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! Yes, that's right, I finally got to live out my childhood (okay, not really childhood, but we'll call it that for all intents and purposes) dream of visiting Hogsmeade and Hogwarts! :) It seriously was freakin sweet. For reals. They had the Hogwart's Express (or, at least, the engine part), we visited Honeydukes and Zonko's, went inside Hogwarts, rode the Dragon Challenge (although, admittedly, I'd already ridden it when it was the Dueling Dragons), drank butterbeer, AND...I got a wand :) Yes, I know, I'm an adult, what do I need a wand for? Well, like I said, I was fulfilling my childhood dream.

However, amazing as all of this was, that's not even the best of it. We had barely entered Hogsmeade (we were still standing there just taking it all in...or I was anyways...), when the Hogwarts Express conductor started making some sort of announcement. Well, I couldn't hear him, but everyone was crowding around, so I did likewise....and suddenly, there appeared in the clearing, none other than.....

wait for it......

JAMES AND OLIVER PHELPS!!! (Read: FRED AND GEORGE!!!)

On the same day, at the same time, in the same place as I was!! Seriously, I was freaking out. For real. And I totally made eye contact with one of them, and then they passed so close to me that I could've reached out and touched them...but I didn't because they had like guard people everywhere....but seriously it was like the defining moment of my summer. I couldn't stop talking about it all week. Awesome. So, in conclusion, I had a really really really awesome vacation. Visit me on facebook for more pics :)

Hogsmeade!

Fred and George!!

Proof that I really saw them, and didn't just grab these photos off the internet or something stupid (don't mind the gross picture of me...it's freakin hot in Florida):

Hogwarts:

Enjoying some delicious Butterbeer:

And, to finish, Hans with one of the world's largest gummy bears. It weighed 5 pounds and cost $40. Extravagant? Yes.

Hello.

So I made this blog like, forever ago, and have never actually written in it. So I decided I'd give it a shot, since I'm sitting here at work with nothing to do. I'm not really sure what to write about...Hans and I have been married a little over 10 months now, and we're kind of in that little routine now where nothing extremely exciting happens :) Haha. Just kidding. But really, we've pretty much just been working. Although, next week we'll be going to Orlando with my fam! Yay!! So maybe then I'll have a more exciting post. For now.....well, I guess this one is just like the intro....the post that says I'm starting to blog....I suppose we'll see how it goes.....

If this post was a little vanilla for you, maybe you should check out my other blog....ya know, just to pass the time :) Click here to see a really awesome photography blog that will keep you entertained for the next few minutes :D