All things Potter

broderic on November 21, 2005

Looks as if its boffo boxoffice numbers for a certain four eyed wizard with scar on his forhead. Yes, it’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire making bank this weekend. And of course I had watched it. And it was disappointing. The reviews lead us to believe that it was dark and a good rendition. I didn’t think it was. A death doesn’t make it dark. And it is not as good as the previous Potter movie.

I was somewhat bored. At least, I knew the story and where it’s going which kept me up.

3 of 5 stars.

And seeing the movie, I had to read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. And it was good. Very good. I am waiting for the last one. And I can’t wait. Rowling has basically abandonned the school story line. Harry going to Hogwart’s only as a prop to do his stuff. It has become more interesting and a little bit more mature. No longer concerned with daily school chores, Rowling has focused on telling the story. And what a story! The plotting in the last 3 books (from goblet of fire, order of the phoenix and half-blood prince) is very tight. She has weaved a very interesting story and the twists and turns are very hard to see. Yes, you all know that AD bites it, but that Horcrux twist was amazing. The only thing is that she kind of gets you confused when she has to describe a battle.

A+

Zathura

broderic on November 18, 2005

Zarutha was just like Jumanji except not as good. I believe it lacked the David Allen Grier laugh machine, the hot Bebe Neuwirth, and the eccentricities of Robin Williams. (I don’t believe I just said I miss Robin Williams in a movie!) What we end up with is Dax Shepard.

I always thought that Zach Braff was Dax Shepard. Or is it the other way around? Throughout the movie I thought it was Braff. I even waited until the credits to see if it was. It was not. Yet, I thought he went by a pseudonym to avoid being stuck in a stiff holiday film. Just look, Zach or Dax. They roll off the tongue the same way. Either way with that dude in it, Zathura was a snore.

It would’ve been better as a 4 player game same as Jumanji.

3 of 5 stars.

Prime

broderic on November 18, 2005

Prime. I thought the movie was written and directed by Ben Younger. who also did Boiler Room. I thought that he had starred in it also, because that would have gotten him close to fool around with Uma Thurman. It would have been his best chance.

Anyway, it was a nice movie. Not a full blown funny movie, but a charming film. It lost its way in the last third. In fact when a movie skips ahead a year, you know that the writer couldn’t figure out how to finish it off relying instead on a cliched plot device. The bittersweet ending was predictable, but still touching. I like it when the guy doesn’t get the girl. Put this in your NetFlix queue if you have the chance.

3 of 5 stars.

Old familiar names

broderic on November 13, 2005

BoingBoing links to a NYT article about stuffed animals tied to the front of trucks. The article quotes an old friend, Rob Marbury. Fellow ’89 Gilman graduate. Looks as if he’s doing things on his own terms. Good for him.

Show Tunes

broderic on November 13, 2005

The scuttlebutt out of Hollywood for those that care is that the ‘brilliant’ tv show, Arrested Development is in imminent danger of being cancelled. So what? With new and differing revenue streams abounding in today’s digital age, the producers should look to other ways to keep the show going.

They can try pay cable. Make the show more edgy and it might have a chance on HBO or even the second class Showtime television programming.

They can try DVDs. Those seem to be a cash cow. In fact, I spend more for television shows that I want to watch on DVDs than on regular movies. They offer more bang for the buck.

They can try iTunes. They offer television shows now. Supposedly a million videos have been downloaded in the couple of months the service has been offered.

It seems to me with the audience for television shows dwindling. Producers can take advantage of other mediums to showcase their stuff. I think people would buy it.

Commenters

broderic on November 11, 2005

Hello to all those visiting. It seems that my blog here is finally looking to generate some traffic. For all those commenters how the heck did you end up here? I know that virtually no one reads this blog (hey Walt! Hey Gerry!).

Please post how you got here in the comments. I sure do appreciate it.

I’ve heard it before

broderic on November 9, 2005

Once more and many more times until 2008, electing George W. Bush in 2000 was the worst. Mistake. Ever. As Herman Blume; so nicely said, “Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything but they can’t buy backbone. Don’t let them forget it.”