rich_jacko | Entries tagged with harry potter

I had an enjoyable afternoon out with the goblin child today. We went to see Zootropolis, which was excellent. At it's core, it's a mismatched buddy cop movie, so not the most original idea, but everything about it is so well done.

It tackles contemporary issues about stereotypes, intolerance and the politics of fear (using a none-too-subtle allegory) in a surprisingly grown-up way. Judy Hopps is not your typical Disney heroine, either in the style of the princesses of old or their modern "Look how feisty I am" counterparts. She's much more rounded and interesting than that. In fact, that's true of all the characters, major and minor.

The world of Zootropolis itself may not stand up to scrutiny (Just what do the carnivores eat? How does the climate shift so radically between zones?), but it's as detailed and immersive as you could wish for. The gags feel effortless unlike so many cartoons where they come across rather forced. This is Disney reminding us why they're so successful and showing the competition how it should be done. I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's their finest film for a decade. There's some nicely subversive jokes as well: "Life's not some cartoon musical where you can just sing a song and start living your dreams. Let it go!"

After the film, the goblin and I hit Meadowhell, where we managed a successful haul of build-your-own minifigs and other goodies from the Lego store. Between cinema, shops and home we read a significant chunk of Harry Potter, debated with random strangers about the merits of being able to apparate versus being able to drive, and had lots of nerdy conversations about D&D and how castle designs evolved with the development of cannon. It was a good day, and thanks to Ed and Krissy for unexpected dinner at the end of it too. :o)

Current Mood: happy

This has been a pretty awesome Sunday. Took the Goblin to see minion-related silliness in Despicable Me 2 in the morning (Read some Harry Potter on the tram - grindylows and merpeople!), then off to Jacquie and Andy's in the afternoon for barbeque and beer in the sunshine, and eating strawberries and cream while watching Andy Murray make history :o)

Current Mood: pleased

Happy New Year, everybody! :o)

I was going to post this yesterday, but LJ seemed to be a bit broken. Figuring those Russians are a few hours ahead of us, I realised no work was going to get done to fix it for a little while. And I was right...

These end-of-year posts always make me sad, as so many friends always seem to post about what a crappy year they've had. I hope you didn't, and for those who I know did, I hope 2013 turns out to be a lucky number after all and a much better year all round. It certainly seemed to get off to a good start last night!

For me, I'm happy to say that 2012 seemed to be a year peppered with frequent doses of awesome. Well, maybe I'd rather forget the bit where I got attacked by a falling shop sign, but the summer was great and I really got caught up in the celebrations, going to a Jubilee hog roast, seeing the Queen and Prince Philip, watching the Torch relay (three times), hosting an Olympic party, and (best of all) getting to spend a day at the Paralympic Games.

Earlier in the year, I visited Cardiff, and then later in the year, I went back to (a different bit of) Wales and then the slightly more exotic locations of Geneva for work and Maastricht (and Valkenburg) for pleasure. I also gained a new niece (and, just before Christmas, a new second cousin), visited the seaside, and met J.K.Rowling. And I seem to have had a quite ridiculous number of pub lunches, particularly towards the end of the year...

In semi-traditional style, following my round up of films and books I devoured in the first half of the year, ( here's the same treatment for the second (not-quite) half of 2012. )

I stuck to my 2012 New Year's resolutions of starting/finishing work earlier and reading more books, and I aim to carry those on in 2013.

The last couple of rounds of the Christmas season went well, with going out for Dim Sum on the 22nd, Christmas Day with my parents, Boxing Day at my sister's, the traditional NYEE party/barbecue chez Nightingale, and seeing New Year in last night at Flat of Geek. A few glasses of Jura Superstition seemed like a good way to see in 2013 ;o). Then it was a round of pizza, games and movies this evening before it's back to normality tomorrow.

Best wishes to all for the coming year!

Current Mood: grateful

1) Watch out, Beedle's a Bard

JKR's latest is a great little collection of fairy tales/fables in the traditional mould, that stand up to the best of them whilst still being very Rowling in style. Enjoyable as the Tales are, the real joy is in reading Dumbledore's footnotes (and the footnotes to the footnotes!). These include such gems as the wizarding world's version of Mary Whitehouse, and the origin of the feud between Dumbledore and Lucius Malfoy.

I can't fault what's there; it's just a shame it's so short. There are only five tales, one of which we've read before. 'The Tale of the Three Brothers' is verbatim from Deathly Hallows. The other four tales are all about the same length, so it takes no time at all to read. Since you can pick it up for about three quid, I suppose you can't complain. It's a good stocking-filler really.

I (of course) splashed out for the shiny deluxe version. This is really only worth it if you're a die-hard fan, but there's a not inconsiderable amount of fanboy delight in holding a replica of a £2 million book and reading pages reproduced from JKR's own handwriting. It's a pity that only the introduction is handled this way, although the script used for the rest of the book, and JKR's drawings (10 more than in the standard version, plus separate larger prints) give it an old-fashioned hand-written feel that makes it rather special.

2) Minarets with bells on

On a totally different note, I saw After Rome: Holy War and Conquest this week, which I thoroughly recommend checking out.

This is a two-part documentary on the history of the turbulent relationship between Christianity and Islam, written and presented by Boris Johnson of all people. It doesn't gloss over any of the bloodshed and atrocities on both sides, but it also shows how (perhaps surprisingly) the two religions have often got on quite well at various times in the past. The focus is mainly on the Middle Ages and the Mediterranean (with some stunning locations), but there's also a lot of interviews showing how this history is viewed by people today and how it is relevant to the events of recent years. It's a fascinating insight, and impressively well-balanced.

Of course, how much you like the programme will probably depend a great deal on how much you like or dislike Boris. But even if you don't like him, give it a try - You might be pleasantly surprised. It's available on iPlayer until Saturday evening, so catch it quick.

3) Bittersweet symphony

I'm happy to report that dark chocolate Twixes are very tasty :o)

Current Mood: sleepy

I don't watch the Harry Potter films (From what I've seen of them, they don't get either the feel or the characterisation of the books right for me), but I still rolled my eyes on hearing this bit of news.

I can't help but think this is just a means to spin the franchise out further. There's absolutely no need to split this book into two. If they can cram the Phoenix tome into 138 minutes, there should be no problem with Hallows.

"The seventh book doesn't really have any subplots. It's one driving, pounding story from the word go," says Daniel Radcliffe.

Precisely. One driving, pounding story is not going to benefit from being drawn out to five hours and being chopped in half just as the tension starts to build up. There's no natural mid-point break.

( Spoilers for those who haven't got round to reading the book yet )

Ho hum, at least it might please the purists who can't bear to have a single page chopped out. I just reckon they'd be better films if they were a bit freer with the adaptation, and focussed more on getting the feel right than on the nitty-gritty of events.

Current Mood: cynical

(I really ought to change this icon; the question's been answered after all...)

I can think of several of you who will appreciate this, so if you haven't seen it yet:

There's another Potter Puppet Pals video up! (probably NSFW) ~8-D

No mention of Merlin's pants though ;o)

Current Mood: annoyed with work

I'm doing well for lard this week, what with mountains of cake and savouries at Evie's birthday party on Saturday, meeting Rob Kennedy and others in the Fat Cat for lunch on Sunday,

talma's birthday meal at Wasabisabi on Sunday evening, helping eat Evie's leftover cake this evening, and a Lard Club trip to Mei's this Wednesday. Mmmmm...... :o)

A couple of random interweb findings:

- Not sure how I feel about this: Only three new Doctor Who episodes in 2009. I guess this is to try to persuade David Tennant to stay on (which would be good), and obviously I'm glad they've confirmed the fourth series isn't the end. But... but... only three new episodes! :o(

- There's a lot of this kind of thing on YouTube at the moment, but this one in particular made me cry. *sniffle* (Harry Potter 7 spoilers)

Current Mood: calm
Current Music: 'Summer of Love' - Pat Robitaille

JKR managed to take it right up to the wire and resisted the urge to write half a dozen superfluous endings.

I, on the other hand, didn't.

This is just one of the many reasons why she is a best-selling multi-millionaire author and I am not :o)

( One more chapter - contains Deathly Hallows spoilers, obviously )

Current Mood: creative

Wow, who'd have thought that Voldemort would turn out to be Harry's dad? ;o)

Sorry, I'll stop. Here's my inevitable Book 7 review:

( May be considered slightly spoilery by some, nothing major given away, up to you whether you click here or not )

EDIT: It's entirely possible there may be spoilers in comments, over which I have no control - Naughty Ju! ;op

Current Mood: thrilled
Current Music: 'Make Tomorrow' - Peter Gabriel

Proper full post this time :o)

(BTW, can someone e-mail me and tell me how to do LJ cuts - I'd find them very useful for long posts like this!) (EDIT: Thanks Tony!)

In what now seems to be a tradition, I queued up for the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince outside Waterstones.

( Midnight sillyness )

Onto my thoughts on the book itself, and I'll keep my review spoiler-free for those who care:

( Rich's HP6 review )

Now, don't go asking me who dies, or who the Half-Blood Prince is. I've taken the Unbreakable Vow. You'll just have to read the damn book yourself if you want to know :op

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: The Time of the Turning - Peter Gabriel

Okay, I know it was obvious and I know (for plot reasons) why it happened and all but...

Why must she always kill off the best characters?!? Why?!?

Current Mood: tearful
Current Music: (would be spoilerific)