TLS Class of 2017 Forum

[Ricky-Bobby]

Goose doesn't play by the shirtless rules.

[thechancellor]

high-five.gif
Goose doesn't play by the shirtless rules.

I have literally no idea what is going on here and I am not ashamed to admit it

[Ricky-Bobby]

high-five.gif
Goose doesn't play by the shirtless rules.

I have literally no idea what is going on here and I am not ashamed to admit it

Prepare yourself.

[snagglepuss]

The decline of Western cinema can actually be traced back to Top Gun. The film is at its core an extended advertisement for enlisting in the US Navy and buying Ray-Ban Wayfarers (see also Tom Cruise's previous extended Ray-Ban commercial Risky Business), Wilson volleyballs (also see the successful Tom Hanks commercial Cast Away), and Kawasaki motorcycles.*






*I'm [half] kidding about all this

[Nonconsecutive]

high-five.gif
Goose doesn't play by the shirtless rules.

I have literally no idea what is going on here and I am not ashamed to admit it

Prepare yourself.

[Ricky-Bobby]

The decline of Western cinema can actually be traced back to Top Gun. The film is at its core an extended advertisement for enlisting in the US Navy and buying Ray-Ban Wayfarers (see also Tom Cruise's previous extended Ray-Ban commercial Risky Business), Wilson volleyballs (also see the successful Tom Hanks commercial Cast Away), and Kawasaki motorcycles.

DM;TG

[yost]

Officially attending Michigan in the fall!

[ZGr88n]

Officially attending Michigan in the fall!

Congrats!

[metroidbum]

.

[ZGr88n]

Haha thanks! And I know. I really try to not talk about it because I feel like such a snob anytime I even say the word :p

Oh well, at least it's a good problem to have, congrats!

[UnicornHunter]

Checking in- I'll be at Chicago next year.

[Nonconsecutive]

Checking in- I'll be at Chicago next year.

Congrats!

[emu42]

The HP series peaked in books 3-4. Harry Potter is, at its core, a series of children's books. In the end, we weren't really reading for Harry's fight with Voldemort--the overarching story was cool, but it was never what made HP unique. We were reading for the magic, the humor, the relatable characters, the random adventures in Gryffindor Tower and on the Hogwarts grounds and in Professor Snape's class. I felt that 3/4 found the perfect balance of darkness and innocent fun.

1-2 were too light (the basilisk stunning a ton of people but not killing any of them? Really?) and 5-7 lacked a lot of the humor/magic of the earlier books. Everything in books 1 and 2 had a happy ending.

And then, suddenly, we get this psycho killer on the loose, and there are all these incredible plot twists and great backstory (the Marauders) and everything comes together at the end and it was then that I was absolutely hooked as 10 year old. I am so happy that TLS agrees with me!

Book 4 was gripping throughout, and the tournament was great. The psychological aspects of 4 were the best of the series; I loved Harry's relationship with Cho, his relationship with Cedric, Cedric's relationship with this dad, the Bagman and Crouch characters, Cedric's death...3/4 are neck and neck for the best children's books I've ever read.

5 was a bit too long and Umbridge became pretty a annoying villain by the end, but 5 has some of the very best moments of the series ("Give her hell from us, Peeves.").

6 is my 3rd favorite because the backstory (Tom Riddle's past) was really cool and Dumbledore's death was SO well done.

7 was still a good book but it is not among my favorites because the magic of lazy days hanging around Hogwarts was over. It was too dark, there were too many deaths, and Harry marrying his best friend's sister AND his two best friends marrying each other? Bleh, too sappy/predictable. And the epilogue sucked.

I think that I like 4 and 6 more than 5 and 7 because I felt the deaths were handled so much better. When Cedric died (in this festive setting, after touching the trophy, with his father watching, etc.), it really resonated with me. So too did Dumbledore's death, with Snape and all that and ooooohhhh I get goosebumps just thinking about it. But Sirius's death was sort of meh...he wasn't very likable and it just wasn't an epic death like the others. And then in book 7 I got the feeling JK Rowling felt like killing off random characters to make the final battle feel more epic, but no time was paid to the dead despite them being critical characters in the books. Hedwig and Fred, really? And then after one paragraph, Harry was on to the next thing. The deaths felt so rushed and unimportant.

I'm not sure if anyone read through emu42's review of the HP series, but the tl;dr is: 3>4>6>5>7>2>1. I loved them all though

[koalacity]

Goblet of Fire easily. I'm not sure if it was because the age I was at the time of first reading GoF or what, but that book stood out as the turning point for me. I had never been so enthralled by any work of literature the way I was by Harry Potter post-GoF. Probably a lot of nostalgia speaking, but damn do I look back on the Goblet of Fire with the fondest of memories.

Same. It was also a major turning point in the tone and direction of the series.

Yeah I think that is probably the underlying factor for my feelings towards Goblet of Fire. The change of feeling like books that are children's fantasy, into something deeper. The sheer page count of Goblet of Fire compared to the first 3 also added to that.

+1

Diggory wasn't a major character, but it was with him that Rowling pulled away the curtain to reveal, "hey you, 10-year old. Enjoying your child fantasy? ...have I mentioned people can die?!" Dementors were creepy and the series always hinted at its darkness (hello, Basilisk paralysis, and Quirrell, who was a villain and hardly a person at the point of his demise), but before this, it would always pull away from harsh conclusions for its protagonists. Voldemort was pushed back, everyone recovers, not even Buckbeak can really die, and that's our narrative, right? Then Goblet of Fire laughed and shook its head. It was glorious.

This. All of this.

[lawschool22]

DUUUUUUUUUUUUKKKKKKKKKKKKKEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[yossarian]

DUUUUUUUUUUUUKKKKKKKKKKKKKEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS ON DECIDING KOMANDANT

[DCNTUA]

DUUUUUUUUUUUUKKKKKKKKKKKKKEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is this more drunken rambling or are you for realz

[chuckbass]

DUUUUUUUUUUUUKKKKKKKKKKKKKEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is this more drunken rambling or are you for realz

Yea, not sure whether to actually add to OP or not...

[chuckbass]

Sorry for the delay everyone, but you've finally all been added to the OP. So far Duke is still killing it (relatively), and it looks like you'll be able to fill a whole section at Harvard with TLSers. Also, wustluts, you really need to get it together, we started so strong.

[thechancellor]

Officially attending Michigan in the fall!

Congrats! best choice we've seen in many, many pages of this thread.

[chuckbass]

Officially attending Michigan in the fall!

Congrats! best choice we've seen in many, many pages of this thread.

You start so soon

[jk148706]

DUUUUUUUUUUUUKKKKKKKKKKKKKEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!

?

[PourMeTea]

Post removed.

[Ricky-Bobby]

Checking in- I'll be at Chicago next year.

Congrats!

[Ricky-Bobby]

Checking in- I'll be at Chicago next year.

Congrats!

ETA other responses:

[book review]

Well said! Perfect analysis, and you labeled GoF one of the best, so you are objectively correct.

DUUUUUUUUUUUUKKKKKKKKKKKKKEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats!

i don't even need a horse; i ride dirty on my bicycle in a manner resembling actual cartel activity

I don't know what any of these words mean when strung together in this order.