Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

[loxmyth]

I recall hearing from my sister (who studies French) that Voldemort is very close to 'Thief of Death' when translated... and Malfoy means 'Bad Thoughts'.

HTH!

 

[Richards]

If I remember correctly, "Voldemort" means "death of flying" or "flying death" or something similar. French, I believe.

Johnathan

 

[Ranger REG]

Although I didn't say so, it was said with all due respect. I was sorry to hear that he had died, as he was a great actor, but his death didn't make me dislike what he did with the Dumbledore character any less.

Oh, well. At least most of the HP fans, the children, has taken a liking to him.

 

[Horacio]

French is such a funny language...

"voler" is a verb that means both "to fly" and "to steal".
"mort" means "dead" or "death"

So Voldemort could be translated as stealing the dead or stealing the death, or flight of death, or flight of the dead...

"Malfoy" translates roughly as "Bad faith" (literally "mauvais foi", "mal" means "badly", "mauvais" means "bad"), acting with bad faith in French could mean something like making bad things knowing they are bad.

Horacio "Livving in France is sometimes useful" Gonzalez

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

I enjoyed the second film a lot compared to the first. I thought Harry was excellent, he's really started to come across as a strong character and a leader. Hermione is also gaining the ability to be an interesting character, not just a know it all.

However, someone obviously told Ron about acting, and his continual mugging and turning slowly wide eyed was pretty irritating to me...but no worries.

I didn't like the early car scene, but at least it was done quite well. Nicely cements Harry and Ron's friendship.

I liked Dumbledore! I thought Harris gave him exactly that kind of surface veneer of quiet gentility, with an undercurrent of real brilliance that only comes through when needed.

Moaning Myrtle was funny. Espcially when she offers Harry the chance to share her toilet if he dies...

Lockhart was fun, although too obviously an idiot. The best line was the "Terribly sorry. Fell asleep. Have I missed anything?"

Oh, and call me a terrible emotional idiot, but when Hermione had been de-petrified and she ran back through the hall to Harry and there was a big hug...that was nice. I liked that. Espicially when she then turned to Ron, and they both kind of paused, and didn't hug the same.

PS: My money is on Hermione and Ron getting together at some point, before she realises (at age 16-18, whatever) that she should be with Harry. Kind of a Xander/Willow -> Xander/Anya and Willow/Tara kind of situation.

 

[jasper]

in the book papa malfoy is up to some dirty dealings that Ron's father is trying to get the goods on him. The movie just drop this line. Hey didn't harry get weekend pass to the small wizard town near the school.
In the book i think the snake was about 20 ft long but normal thickness.
Deus the machine. Gee she uses that a lot in all the books.
Ghosts were individuals in all the books. Mostly cool and harmless but some will drop cat poop in your shoes during the night.
but a lot of flavor and detail are missing in the movies due to time constraits. So instead of the a,b, and c plots going and being tied together at the end. Plot A and snips of b and c are shown. And tied together at the end.

Also most people I know think the 2nd book was the weakest.

 

[Enchantress]

PS: My money is on Hermione and Ron getting together at some point, before she realises (at age 16-18, whatever) that she should be with Harry. Kind of a Xander/Willow -> Xander/Anya and Willow/Tara kind of situation.

I disagree. I firmly believe that Hermione and Ron do get together, but that it's the real thing. And those of us who have read the books know that harry does get a crush on a girl in the fourth book.

and Harry doesn't WANT to go back to the Dursley's. Dumbledore sends him back because he knows that Voldemort is still a threat, and that Harry will be safest in the muggle world where voldemort has the least amount of power.

P.S. I'm not opinionated, I'm just always right!

 

[Gumby]

On the Voldemort/Tom Riddle thing:

It seems pretty obvious to me that Rowling was took "Voldemort," from the first book, and wanted to devise a suitable anagram from it that would make sense in English. She was unable to do so, and had to cheat by padding the anagram to "I am Lord Voldemort," allowing her to put a couple more vowels in whatever Voldemort's original name was.

 

[Lurks-no-More]

Regarding Voldemort's name, why not make him Tom Dolver?

Sounds like a more or less plausible name to me. (But then again, I'm not the one who has to write these books. I just get to read / nitpick them... )

 

[Michael Tree]

It seems pretty obvious to me that Rowling was took "Voldemort," from the first book, and wanted to devise a suitable anagram from it that would make sense in English. She was unable to do so, and had to cheat by padding the anagram to "I am Lord Voldemort," allowing her to put a couple more vowels in whatever Voldemort's original name was.

Considering how much Rowling planned the entire series from the very beginning, I'd say it's extremely unlikely that she wrote herself into a corner with something so important and central to the plot as Voldemort's name.