By Grabthar's Hammer - A Sad Farewell to Alan Rickman

One of the downsides of getting older is watching inspirational figures from your life grow old and pass away, often before their time. Yesterday it was Alan Rickman.

I think the first thing I ever saw him in was Truly, Madly, Deeply. Not the kind of thing I'd normally have watched at that age, but it broke my heart (and is probably partly responsible for so many of my romances being so tortured and barely snapped back from the edge of tragedy only to fulfill the requirement of a HEA/HFN). It's the kind of story I love to write - the kind that will tear your heart out, rip it to pieces, and yet leave you tearfully happy at the end.

Other memories: my husband proposed to me after seeing Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves as we stood under a tree in the rain, and the theme song was played as our dance music at our wedding. Some of my favourite moments in that film came from Rickman's unique Sheriff of Nottingham: the threat to carve out Robin's heart with a spoon because it would hurt more, and cancelling Christmas. Also his awesome portrayal of an embittered Shakespearean actor whose most famous role was as a rubber headed alien in the scifi spoof Galaxy Quest (one of my all time favourite films even now) and the truly cold-hearted villain in Die Hard.

But it was his potrayal of Snape in Harry Potter that made me truly adore him: more of a hero than any other character because he spent so many years being hated and seen as a traitor. Yet he stuck to the cause for the sake of the woman he loved, even though she didn't love him. It's ironic that one of the most popular memes is his quote about being 80 and in his rocking chair reading Harry Potter, and when his family ask 'still?' he would say 'always'. Now it will never happen. Another tragic loss, both for those who adored the actor and his characters, and for his family. I just hope they know how much he was loved.

Truly, Madly, Deeply. Always.

The last of Harry Potter?

So, after much too-ing and fro-ing on Facebook, I finally managed to arrange to see the last Harry Potter film with a fellow fan. Wow. I had worried that the film would drag like the previous two, which were tedious to say the least, but this one kind of made up for it. :)

Okay, first a warning - potential spoilers coming up! If, like me, you've already read all the books prior to seeing the film, then you know the story. Of all the films this seemed to follow the book the most closely, although there were certain elements removed, and others that just seemed a bit of a bolt out of the blue or grasped from no-where if you haven't read the book. The story behind the Grey Lady seemed to have been seriously edited or lost along the way, which jarred slightly. The part of Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, had been hugely reduced. I had considered taking my nine-year-old daughter to see the film, but the final scene at Gringotts seemed far more bloody and grim than I remembered from the book - unnecessarily so. I think probably most Potter followers have already got the idea that Voldemort is a BAD man and I don't believe that needed underlying quite so graphically. It also came as a major relief for Hermione and Ron to FINALLY get it together. I've fretted that ten chapters is a long time to get two of my characters to realize they love each other - seven books to do so appears extreme! And if, like me, you're a bit of a sap, prepare to take a generous supply of tissues for at least one section of the film that almost had me bawling out loud even in a public cinema.

The action is pretty much non-stop and all the familiar favourites are there. The final battle over Hogwarts is impressive and heart-wrenching. Clumsy plant-obsessed Neville turns hero and there's a brief happily-ever-after section at the end.Overall I'd rate this an A and I can't wait to buy the DVD to complete the set. I don't think I'll bother watching Part One of the Deathly Hallows again though.