Hello! I saw the sixth Harry Potter movie on Tuesday (a store that sells Harry Potter merchandise was doing a special screening of it, so I got to see it a day early! Whoopee!). I thought it was wonderful, and I was surprised at how little there was for me to complain about, since I’m such a diehard, nitpicky Harry Potter fan. I’d say it’s one of my favorite of the Harry Potter movies so far, and David Yates, as well as everyone else involved, did an excellent job. I only had a few qualms with the movie, and I will post them after I’m finished gushing about the parts I liked.

Now, if it isn’t obvious enough already, the remainder of this post contains spoilers from the movie!

Firstly, there was a lot of romance in this book, and unlike a lot of people (for there is a fair amount of fans that dislike the sixth book for this very reason), I adored it. One gem that stood out to me was Jessie Cave, who played Ron’s fling, Lavender Brown (or, in the books, Parvati Patil’s best friend). She didn’t have a huge part, but she pulled off being an obnoxious girlfriend so well. Her performances were best in the scene on the train where she wrote R + L in a heart in the fog of the glass (so deliciously awkward for Ron and Harry), and in the scene where Ron muttered Hermione’s name in his sleep. I can’t remember exactly what Dumbledore says after she exits the scene, but it killed me. I didn’t expect much from her, but I thought she was wonderful. There are no small parts, only small actors!

The Ron/Hermione hints (anvil-sized, anyone?) were simply amazing in this movie. What I loved about it was that it was so clearly established that Harry and Hermione were best friends and nothing more. The reason I’ve always disliked the Harry/Hermione romantic pairing is because I adore their friendship so much. I love how they lean on each other like best friends should, especially in times like that when their romantic lives encounter turbulence. Yes, Ron and Hermione were very sweet, and I must say I’m insanely excited for their scenes in both parts of the seventh movie (if you’ve read Deathly Hallows, you know what I’m talking about)!

Here’s the aspect of the romance that I didn’t like: Harry and Ginny. I am a Harry/Ginny fan, but I don’t like the way it was done in the books, much less the movies. There weren’t any hints that Harry liked Ginny in any of the books up until the book where they got together, which annoyed me to an extent. Sure, Ginny’s crush on Harry was laid out in earlier books, but that’s all it seemed like: a schoolgirl crush, not to mention the fact that Harry didn’t seem attracted to her at all. It seemed like such a last-minute decision, but JK Rowling (who I will always love, no matter how unbelievable aspects of Harry/Ginny are) apparently planned it from the beginning. If I were her, I would have stuck some of it in the end of Order of the Phoenix, even if it were subtle (maybe Harry internally commenting on Ginny’s nice smile, pretty eyes, something, anything). In a similar way, it wasn’t really developed in the movies very well, either. Harry was all over Cho, and once she’s out of the picture, Ginny randomly becomes a love interest. It really saddens me, because I think as characters they are so compatible, and so much more could have been done with it. Ginny’s feisty enough not to take any of Harry’s crap when he’s angry, and he admires her spirit. They’re an adorable couple and complement each other well, but the problem was lack of development. I think the issue was that there was too much going on in Harry’s world for enough focus to be put on Harry’s love life. And hey, I suppose that makes sense.

Anyway, I kind of went off on a tangent. What I’m getting at is, the Harry/Ginny kiss was very unsatisfying. They didn’t have much chemistry at all, and it just seemed so awkward. I prefer the book version (I almost always do) and feel like the kiss was just badly done. Bonnie Wright, Dan Radcliffe, I love both of you as actors and I’ve grown up watching you, but it could have been better!

Oh my goodness, the humor! I think this was the funniest Harry Potter movie by far. When Harry was under Felix Felicis, the theater couldn’t stop laughing. He was just so bubbly and hilarious that it was hard not to giggle. One of my favorite moments during that segment was this:

Slughorn: “Harry!”
Harry: “Sir!”

On the page it doesn’t look funny, but it’s the way Jim Broadbent and Daniel Radcliffe deliver the lines. See the movie (if you haven’t already) and you’ll get what I mean. Plus, the sexual references were so fantastic and hidden in there. My favorites would have to be Cormac McLaggen attempting to seduce Hermione by licking his finger (and Hermione’s reacting look of disgust) and Ron saying to Harry, “So, did you and Ginny do it?”

Oh, speaking of the Slug Club scene where Slughorn and several other students were eating dessert, I felt a little pang of sadness when the camera upon a face of one particular actor. The boy who played Marcus Belby (the kid devouring the dessert balls), Robert Knox, never got to see his role in the Harry Potter movie on the big screen. Last year, on May 24, 2008, at the young age of eighteen (my gosh, so young), he was stabbed to death outside of a bar while trying to protect his younger brother. My heart goes out to the poor kid. He’s been dead over a year now, and hopefully wherever he is, he’s happy.

Now, on a less depressing note, I will shift the attention to Tom Felton, who portrays Draco Malfoy. Draco actually had some interesting stuff to do in this movie (what with him being recruited by Voldemort and all, he’s transitioned from schoolyard bully to assassin, and both the book and movie prove he’s not really cut out for the latter). Holy crap, the kid can really act! I found myself feeling sorry for Malfoy, especially in the bathroom scene where the kid was crying his eyes out. I love sympathetic villains, and it demonstrates that there are shades of gray: just because someone is mean-spirited doesn’t mean they’re evil. I also loved the scene where he was faced with killing a man, and he couldn’t do it. I commend Tom Felton on his performance, especially the lines, “I have to. He’ll kill me.” He sounded like a broken little child, which is exactly how Draco felt at the time. Good job, Tom.

Helena Bonham Carter had me laughing in this movie. Honestly, Bellatrix could not have been played by anyone else. Her insane tendencies and girlish cackles made the character both humorous and frightening, which is exactly what Bellatrix is meant to be.

Okay, what was up with the Burrow catching on fire for no reason? I disliked that part, mostly because of how unnecessary it was. It didn’t do anything to move the plot along, nor did it really intensify the action. It should have been cut.

I can’t believe I almost forgot Evanna Lynch! She’s a favorite of mine because of how well she plays the part of Luna. They couldn’t have picked a better Luna–it’s like they took her out of my brain, exactly as I imagined her, voice and all. She didn’t have much to do in this, but she’s always so interesting to watch.

Well, I think that sums up everything. Needless to say, I can’t wait for Deathly Hallows!

One last note: Go see Up. It’s breathtaking. Trust me, you will cry, and cry, and cry. In a good way.

~Morgan

Since it’s all over the news. Michael Jackson died of a heart attack yesterday. I was in shock when I found out–one of my friends sent me a text about it, and then another called me, and when I turned on the news, it was confirmed. I was never a Michael Jackson enthusiast or anything. I didn’t follow the news surrounding him, I haven’t heard any of his songs except some of the more famous ones (”Thriller” comes to mind), and of course I heard about the pedophilia rumors (I don’t know if he really did molest anyone or not, but it’s not really my business to know. I don’t know enough about it. I doubt the rumors are true, though). Still, I was always aware of his success, his talent, and his impact on the musical world. Some referred to him as the “King of Pop”, and millions of people looked up to him as an inspiration. It’s awful that he died at only fifty–it’s awful for anyone to die so young (also keep Farrah Fawcett in mind, who also died yesterday at 62. I had never heard of her before yesterday, but still, may she rest in peace. From what I heard, she dealt with her cancer with admirable bravery).

It’s great shocks like this that make you realize how short life truly is. Nobody saw that coming, probably not even Michael Jackson himself. I asked my dad if it was anything like this when Elvis died, and he said yes, the incidents were similar. Mr. Jackson may have died young, but he left his mark on the world. He followed what he was passionate about, and boy was he good at it. What I’m saying is, don’t wait. If you want to do something, don’t put it off till tomorrow or next week or next year. Do it now. You don’t know when death’s going to snatch you. For all I know, I could be dead tomorrow. That’s terrifying to think about, but it’s also reality. You need to pursue your passion, put some meaning into your life. If you don’t know your passion yet, trust me, you’ll find it. Doesn’t matter whether you’re young or old. If you find something you’re talented at and that you love, get down to business and hone your skill. So much good can come out of it, so much more good than sitting it home and watching TiVo or wasting your life on some website, gossiping about the latest celebrity scandal. If you love cooking, bake a cake, and if you don’t know how but you want to know, learn.

One thing that struck me when I was watching people gather around the hospital in Michael Jackson’s honor on the news yesterday was…are these people that really care about him? Are they upset that such talent has been lost to the world? Are they worried about his family? I hope so. I hope they weren’t congregated in the area because of the reason I fear many people were interested in his death–it’s something to gossip about. That’s one thing about humans that bothers me. We all have some sort of strange attraction to gossip. The worst of it is when people do it for the sake of gossiping, making a big, dramatic show, feigning all the emotions they’re supposed to feel–such as sadness over a death, or happiness over a wedding–when they’re not really feeling it at all.

Long story short, may Michael Jackson rest in peace, and I send all my condolences to his family, friends, and all that loved him (although I doubt anything would comfort them right now). He will be very, very missed.

I realized I didn’t tell you guys about the Strawberry Festival, so I figured I’d fill you in. I knew that they would be picking me up in a car to go to the hotel. I thought that was pretty awesome, but imagine how surprised I was when there was a limo in front of my house! I got pretty excited, so we hopped in once we got packed up and everything. We got caught in traffic, but that was okay, because I had my iPod and my sister and brother there, as well as my mom. When we got to the hotel, we were treated nicely and told where our room was, but we didn’t have much time before we had to go cut the cake (the largest strawberry shortcake in the world).

We took a shuttle over there, and the cake was on a stage and everything. They were introducing the celebrities (including Cloris Leachman, the star of the show–wow, she’s a character! I learned that fixing people’s hair is a hobby of hers when she spent a few minutes doing mine before I took a picture with her. If any of you saw her on the Bonnie Hunt show, you know what I’m talking about). When I got onstage to be introduced in front of this huge crowd of people, I had no idea that I had to talk, so I proceeded to humiliate myself in public. There was a lot of stuttering and “uhh…”’s from me, and my “speech” basically ended with something like “I feel out of place up here, to be honest” before I hastily handed the microphone back to the man who gave it to me. I was pretty embarrassed, but felt better once I did an interview with this nice guy.

The night at the hotel was so much fun. I had cheesecake, Wendy had fudge cake, and we watched Coraline on the TV. It was my first time seeing it, and for a G rated movie, it was pretty creepy (and fantastic!). It was so imaginative–it’s those types of movies that inspire me. I think the look of everything was what was most creative, and I loved how everyone kept getting Coraline’s name wrong.

The next day we had to wake up extra early for the breakfast. People were introduced again, although thankfully there were no speeches this time, unless you count Cloris. She received a gift (a pitcher with strawberries on it) but she acted like the paper in the box was her present. It was hilarious the way she was waving the papers around and saying, “Oh thank you, how generous! Such nice, white paper!”

Then we waited for the buses that would take us to the parade. I talked with some girls that asked for my autograph for a while, and Shanica Knowles, who works with me on Hannah, was there as well. Poor Shanica got barely any sleep the night before, so she was exhausted. Soon enough, we were on our way to the parade and brought to our floats.

Now, keep in mind that I never considered myself famous. I still don’t. When I got to my float, or rather, my hundred-year-old car (which was pretty cool), I was surprised to find that it was just for me. I had imagined sitting on a large float alongside the rest of the celebrities, just waving to the people as we passed by. That was far from the truth. The people who led me to my car and drove it were so sweet! Lots of guys were there asking if I needed water and everything. I’ll admit I felt kind of guilty being treated to that kind of luxury. I mean, I didn’t do anything! I didn’t help the human race! I didn’t discover a cure to cancer!

Then came the parade. Oh my gosh. It was terrifying. Of course, it was fun as well, and I LOVED seeing all the little kids get excited when I went by. But by the end, my face hurt from smiling and I literally could not feel my right hand. People were yelling my name from both sides, screaming “Hannah Montana!” and asking me to smile and wave at them. I didn’t want to miss anybody–I wanted to make sure everyone got a hello–but that was physically impossible. That really sucks, because I remember being little and watching the Disneyland parades, hoping that Princess Aurora or someone would see me. Some people gave me this look like “Who’s that?” as I passed, and I sympathized with them.

Oh, at one point, a bunch of little kids ran up to my car and started running along with it, brandishing things in my face for me to sign. I tried to get all of them (I was so scared they were going to be run over or something) but the police escort guy told them “no autographs”, so they had to leave. I felt really bad that I couldn’t sign everything, but at least there was an autograph booth later, so hopefully the ones that didn’t get anything during the parade got to go to that. According to the police scanner, I found out later, my car was the one that was “mobbed”. I was thinking, huh?! I mean, I guess you could consider it a “mob”, but they were little kids…

I signed autographs for a while. I ended up being the last one there to sign, but I didn’t want to leave until everyone in line got what they came for. I mean, come on, how awful would that be if I just stood up in the middle of signing, with ten or so people still in line, and said, “Well, sayonara! My hand hurts, so if you didn’t get what you stood in line for for an hour, too bad for you!”? I didn’t want to walk away while some little girl who wanted my autograph had her spirits deflate and her hopes and dreams crushed like an old soda can.

The carnival was fun, but I didn’t stay late, because one of the first rides I went on made me, Wendy and Thomas all nauseous. I got to stop at this amazing booth with all this Kingdom Hearts and Death Note merchandise (I don’t think I ever mentioned that I’m obsessed with Death Note. L for the win!) I ended up getting a watch that’s twice the size it should be for a wrist my size. It’s a wind up watch, and I love it. It even has the rules of the Death Note written on it, albeit in badly translated English. Actually, it’s barely readable because of the weird translation, but that’s okay.

Then I got to go home in a limo and relax. You know, I check a lot of journals myself. As you can tell from my previous post, I check Libba Bray’s livejournal. In addition to that, I look at Emma Watson’s online journal and Paramore’s (love them!) livejournal. I’m always so excited to see what they’ve written, get a little peek into their minds, and see what they’ve been up to, how their lives have been.

Then I realized, whoa, wait a minute. I’ve got a journal that is checked by fans as well. And I never update! I got to thinking, when I post an entry, do they get excited? Do they look forward to reading the new ones, like I do with Emma and Libba and Paramore? Therefore, I have decided to update more often. True, I don’t usually have much going on in the world of acting, but hey, it’s not like I’m doing nothing. I’ve been doing oodles (how awesome is that word?) of writing and tons of school, not to mention lots of philosophical thinking on important subjects. Even if nothing much is happening Hollywood-wise, I still have thousands of topics to choose from!

Be sure to check back every once in a while, because I am now determined to write on a more regular basis. It should be fun!

~Morgan

Let me introduce you to one of my favorite authors (if you haven’t already heard of her), Libba Bray. She wrote the Gemma Doyle Trilogy, which I read last year and enjoyed very much, and I highly recommend it. She has a livejournal that she keeps up with on a regular basis, and I was checking the latest post. She summarized a topic that I’ve been thinking about ever since that ridiculous Prop 8 popped up in California: homosexuality.

I’ve got a lot–and I mean a lot–to say on this subject, including what a crime it is to deny people of basic human rights, people that are only trying to be who they are. However, I will hold off on a rant. Why is that, you ask? Because I’m already writing about it, and I’m hoping to get that published one day. Hopefully in the not-too-distant future, I will be able to get my views on homosexuality out there in book form, and you will be able to read it.

Now, don’t think I’m going to leave you without something more to read. The following is the aforementioned livejournal post by Libba Bray, which I must say, really moved me. She speaks the truth. Society, I say, listen to reason! Get rid of prop hate!

http://libba-bray.livejournal.com/48582.html

~Morgan

P.S. I forgot to confirm that twitter.com/morganyork is NOT me. It is a poser, who I’m guessing is just really bored or something.

I noticed while reading the guestbook that a couple of people were offended by my last post about President Obama and former President Bush. It was not my intention to make anybody unhappy (I mean, I’m sure Bush wouldn’t appreciate what I wrote, but I doubt he spends his time on websites for sixteen year old actresses, and even if he did, he probably wouldn’t care. There are people out there insulting him way more harshly). Remember, we’ve all got different political views, and I was only expressing mine. I’m an Obama supporter and I did not support much of what Bush did, so I’m pleased that Obama is our president now. Yes, politics can be a touchy subject, but we’re all entitled to our own opinion. It’s my decision to support Obama, but it might be yours to support Bush, and that’s totally fine.
P.S. (To the person who posted the Twilight comment) Interesting, and thanks for taking the time to do that. Although I fail to see where he actually says what he likes about Bella. All he says is that he will still love her after she’s a vampire, but what qualities of hers does he love?

I just have to say, President George W. Bush gave me the best sixteenth birthday present one could ask for. He left office. He’s gone!

Yeah, I am definitely on the liberal side of politics if you haven’t noticed. I am still completely overwhelmed by the fact that Obama is president and that I am sixteen. I had a blast on my birthday. I had all my closest friends at my house, and it was nothing HUGE, but still one of my most fun birthdays ever. And I loved your happy birthday wishes in my guestbook! Thank you so much!

Not focusing much on acting at the moment. Mostly writing. Keep your eyes peeled about any updates on my writing, because it’s a pretty big project that I hope to get out in the open at some point!
Morgan

Hey guys! I apologize for not having updated in so long, but I only like to write an entry whenever something really exciting happens to me. I didn’t think you guys would be very interested in what I’ve been doing lately, but here goes:

First of all, you definitely didn’t want to be in my house when I found out that the sixth Harry Potter movie was postponed until July. I was pretty angry, and it was made even worse when I found out that the Twilight movie jumped to take the Nov. 21 spot. Speaking of which, my friend and I saw the Twilight movie for laughs. Not to offend anyone who likes Twilight (my skepticism of it turned into this full blown hatred for it over the past few months, mostly due to how crazy some of the fans can be and the ridiculousness of the fourth novel). I think it should be nominated for best comedy of the year. It might have been good if it weren’t for the lack of chemistry between the two lead actors, the melodrama, and the fact that the movie took itself too seriously. If it made fun of itself a little bit, that would have been nice. Of course, the actors had very difficult roles to play (Edward and Bella don’t have much personality to work with), so I’m not claiming I could have done better.

Not very much has been happening acting-wise for me, but I have been focusing a lot on my writing. I won’t reveal just what I’m doing, but it’s a big project. In October I filmed another Hannah Montana episode that should hopefully be airing soon (Sarah obsesses over Jackson more, and I have to say, it was the most fun I’ve ever had on an episode!). There’s a possibility of me returning to the set next week, but it’s not for sure.

I can’t wait until the holidays, and I hope all of you had great Thanksgivings! To the non-Americans out there, I hope you’re just enjoying life in general.

Again, sorry about the lack of updates!

-Morgan

Thanks to Mugglenet, I have just discovered that the teaser trailer for the sixth Harry Potter movie is out! Oh, how I’ve missed the HP fandom, and I will most definitely be seeing it opening day (hopefully at midnight). Here’s a countdown:

If you want to watch the trailer, here’s the link: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince/27063/main*cue hallelujah music* Doesn’t it look amazing? I’m sure the movie will be wonderful. The trailer rocks compared to that horrible Twilight movie trailer–how awful!

Morgan

I decided to take the Caramelldansen video off. I realized that anyone could be watching it…anyone, so I thought it probably wasn’t the best idea, just in case any creeps out there tried to contact me. Also, if you do try and contact me through the youtube account, I can’t reply because I cannot interact with fans via the internet. Besides, even if I was allowed to talk to fans through youtube, I can’t–my messages won’t show up for some reason. Thanks to all of you who saw and commented on the video (even though we all looked pretty stupid, hehe…)!

Morgan

Hey, my sister Wendy and my best friend Miranda and I all made an incredibly dorky video! If you want, watch it, but I warn you, I look really bad. Anyway, if you know don’t know what caramelldansen is, it’s kind of a fad on youtube where people (usually anime people) dance in a certain way. Here’s the video:

[No Longer Online]

Be sure to comment and tell us what you think!!!

Morgan