*Cringe*
Who is this skunk-haired, harsh, old-looking woman (on the right) in this recent picture from the next Harry Potter movie? Certainly not Narcissa Malfoy!! Narcissa Malfoy has long blonde hair (clearly stated on pg. 22 of HBP)! Good Lord, WB, what are you doing to this movie?? Focusing too much time on the fluff parts of the book (the silly relationships), limiting the actual memories of Tom Riddle to 3, cutting out characters left and right, etc. I understand the need to cut some subplots out of the movies (though cut out any more Snape and I’ll seriously be angry) – no one but the hard core fans would sit through an 8 hour movie. And honestly, I’m super psyched that they’re splitting the last book into 2 movies so they don’t have to cut too much out. But is it too much to ask that they at least get the details correct?
And I’m mad
So apparently, Warner Brothers has decided to postpone the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from November 21 of this year to July 17th of next year. What the hell, Warner Brothers?
They’re apparently blaming the postponement mainly on “repercussions of the writers’ strike, which impacted the readiness of scripts for other films“. So because the writers decided to strike for so long, there aren’t enough movies that will be ready during the highet profit time of the year, the summer. Warner Brothers decided the best option was to use Harry Potter to fill the gap. Forget about keeping fans happy and releasing the movie when they say they will. I will refrain from saying angry things about the writers. I’m just mad. I want my movie.
A Mishmash of Things
It’s been a long week. My tooth is finally feeling mostly better and I’m able to eat most food on that side, although somewhat ginergly. I hope to have it fully functional by the time I need the permanent filling put in in a week or so.
While I was healing up, my hubby had to travel for business. It was only 3 days, which is nothing compared to the 2 years we spent apart while I was finishing up graduate school, but I still missed him a lot. A king size bed is awfully lonely with just me in it (even the cat only spent part of the nights with me! I think she missed him too). While he was gone, I was able to watch a few movies that he wouldn’t be into – 27 Dresses, Definitely, Maybe, and Fool’s Gold. I really liked 27 Dresses, but the others were only ok. Definitely, Maybe had a cute premise, but it seemed a bit cheesy at times and Fool’s Gold was funny and somewhat action-y but nothing special.
I also got in some reading time. I finished up The Hound of Rowan: Book One of the Tapestry, which was pretty good. I’d been looking for a new series to get into after finishing up the Harry Potter books, and this is one of a few series that I like so far. While I definitely got into the book and had a few nights where I didn’t want to put it down, I did find a few problems with the book. First, some of the chapter transitions could have been clearer. There were some points where I found myself thinking, “Wait, is this the same day or is this weeks, even months later? What happened with x? When is this??” I also found far too many similarities with Harry Potter. I don’t know whether or not it was intentional (I know the whole “kid discovers he can do magic” thing is pretty popular now), but I noticed it a lot, some of which just seemed like blatant rip-offs (instead of Quiddich, there’s a soccer-like game with magical obsticles, and of course, the main character, who has some sort of special magic about him, is surprisingly good at it for his age.) I will read the next one when it comes out in the fall, but I really hope it starts to take on more its own story.
The hubby got back around 11 am on Saturday morning (he had been working a mix of days and nights while gone, sometimes both in one day) and we decided to go see The Dark Knight with some friends. As expected, it was really good. I really like Christian Bale as Batman. And Heath Ledger was good as well; very creepy and quite scary at times – I had started to wonder if the Oscar nomination rumors were based solely on his untimely death, but I do actually believe he did a great job and deserves the nomination if he gets it. The plot was interesting, the action was good, and it packed a few surpises. All in all, a great movie. I won’t say anymore, to avoid spoilers, but I definitely recommend it. Once again, the hubby and I are in search of the original movies, which we don’t remember. Anyone know where to get them cheap?
Movie Reviews
The hubby and I have actually gotten out to a few movies recently, so I thought I’d make a few little reviews of them. Here ya go!
I’m so-so on the whole comic book theme (I seem to only like the big ones like Spiderman and Batman), so I really had no interest in seeing this movie. However, the hubby promised me a chick-flick of my choosing in return, so I went. And I really liked it. I didn’t think I was a fan of Robert Downey Jr, but I thought he did a good job. I didn’t even mind Gwyneth Paltrow. The story was pretty good, there was lots of action, and it had a few funny parts. Overall, I considered it good enough to withdraw my deal for a chick-flick movie, as it didn’t seem fair anymore to ask him to see Sex and the City when I actually enjoyed my part of the bargain. Don’t forget to stick around past the credits to see an extra little scene.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
I was really looking forward to this one, having really liked the original 3. If you go into it expecting it to be on par with the originals, you will be disappointed. This is not to say it was bad, though. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was entertaining, had the essence of an Indiana Jones movie, had lots of action, and the I actually mostly liked the addition of Shia LaBeouf (despite not being much of a fan previously). The problem was simply that it felt a bit forced at times. There were several points where it seemed like they decided to resort to copying scenes directly from the originals, like having a car chase through the woods. Harrison Ford also looked very old, and while he is actually supposed to be older in the story, it was almost sad to watch him attempt to be the same Indiana he used to be. Also, the explanation of the crystal skull seemed to fit into a different genre compared to the originals, though I won’t say anymore to avoid spoilers. Overall, go for the entertainment, just don’t expect the originals.
I loved the TV series. I used to watch it with my dad when I was younger and I thought it was really funny. The movie didn’t disappoint me. The characters are slightly different (Max seems a bit more competent and 99 seems a bit more surly), but overall it worked. Steve Carell was hilarious (love him) and as the movie went on, I grew to really like Anne Hathaway (I’ve also really liked her in Ella Enchanted, The Devil Wears Prada, and the Princess Diary movies). This was a great lighthearted comedy and I laughed really hard. Added bonus for those who watched the TV series – there are a few references to the series which are pretty funny, like the updated Cone of Silence.
Let me premise this by saying I love Disney/Pixar and I love most animated films. Having said that, I loved this movie. It had a great story with a good message and the main characters, though robots without much in the way of language skills, conveyed emotion well and seemed more human than most of the actual humans in the movie. It was quite funny at some parts, while heartwarming at others. It’s great for kids and adults. What else can I say? Go see it. 
Another comic book movie here that I had no interest in seeing, but our friends invited us, so I figured why not? I would still say Iron Man was better as far as comic book movies go, but I liked this movie. I’ll need to rent the original as I don’t remember it at all, but I think you can still enjoy the movie even if you hadn’t seen the original because they do a little background in the beginning. I don’t really understand why there was such a gap between the 2 movies, unless they didn’t originally plan to make a sequel. This was another movie with good action. I really liked the main enemy and the fighting was pretty cool to watch, though Hellboy tends to be a bit “HULK SMASH” at times. There was also love, but if you’re looking for a love movie, look elsewhere; it felt a little forced here. There is also hints at a possible sequel (or at least a storyline I’d like to read), but hopefully it won’t be 4 years out this time.
We’ve thought about seeing The Incredible Hulk, Wanted, and Hancock also. We may still see Hulk, but I’m not sure about the others – I’m not really a fan of Angelina Jolie (Wanted) and I’ve heard Hancock was pretty bad. The hubby also seems to want to see Kung Fu Panda, but I’m not sure about that either. We’re definitely looking forward to seeing The Dark Knight. I’ve also got some movies to watch while the hubby’s away next week for business – 27 Dresses, Definitely, Mabye, and Fool’s Gold. Gotta get my chick-flicks in while I can!
