Well, it's here. The second installment in the Harry Potter septology. Bet you didn't know it is a septology, did you? Well, Mr. Fancy Pants, it is. And this blog entry will probably make Greg's head explode, which is fine by me. But I just wanted to say that I really like the Harry Potter series. I have the books and the first movie. I'm going to see the Chamber of Secrets tonight. And I can't wait for the next book to come out in mid 2003. So, let's blow a little bit of server space by bringing you up to date on the Harry Potter series:
Harry is a young boy whose mother and father, who were both wizards, were killed by this evil wizard named Voldemort. Voldemort tried to kill Harry when he was a baby, the spell backfired and Harry survived with a little lightning bolt shaped scar on his head. Harry is sent to live with his aunt and uncle, who hate magic and don't tell Harry about his origins. On his 11th birthday, he is told about his heritage and taken to Hogwart's School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. Thus begins the story. The first part covered Harry's first year at Hogwarts, as he learned a lot of basic skills used by wizards. The first movie was mainly an introduction to Hogwarts and most of the cast of characters who are going to be carried throughout the series. Harry defeats the bad guy in the end (surprise surprise), and is sent home for summer break. The movie ended.
So now it's time for the second installment. Harry's a year older, has some friends, and is returning to Hogwarts. So why am I going to spend money on this movie? Because it's a fun, simple story. Some people dislike the Harry Potter books because they "promote witchcraft". I say that's pure bullshit. Any story that is fairly nonviolent, tells that a goodhearted character usually gets what he so richly deserves, and that inherently evil people get what is coming to them is OK in my book. These are not small books that kids are reading. The last one measured over 700 pages. And still kids swarmed out to read it. I say, good for them. I had Choose-Your-Own-Adventure and Goosebumps when growing up, and I'm sure folks like Greg and Jim had some sort of parchment or scrolls they could borrow from the village elder in their day. Whatever gets a kid to read (well, aside from the Anarchist's Cookbook) is OK in my book.
5 Comments
Screw you, Uber ... and on two counts:
a) bringing up the matter of Harry Potter on my site
b) we had Encyclopedia Brown back in my day and dadgummit ... we enjoyed it.
Worst movie review ever ....
It wasn't a review, you nit! It was a preview.
And I deliberately brought it up on your site JUST to irritate you. Kind of like the super-absorbant adult diapers you will be wearing, oh, anytime now. They're there just to irritate and chafe.
Oh, and another thing, how much fun is reading Encyclopedia Brown? You know it's always going to be Bugs Meanie. ALWAYS! And I bet Sally turned out to be such a butch in the later years. Kinda like that guy who always had 2 silver dollars in his pocket prolly turned out a little "5,6,7,8"
Allrighty Greg, how's this for a kick in the pants: I've never read any of the Harry Potter series - not because of this series in particular, but because I don't read fantasy/science fiction. My reading material is almost entirely historical, biographical, or scientific. I generally save the fantasy stuff for movies.
That said, mini-me has been reading this series and it delights her endlessly. We went to the movies last night and though I entreated her to pick something closer to my taste, I relented and we saw Harry Potter. Turns out, as Uber says, this is a heckuva lot of fun. Not overwrought, not overbearing, and, surprisingly, not entirely too whimsical. Seems to get all the sensibilties in the correct proportion. I took the kid to a 9:45 show, knowing it was a tad late, but having no idea the film is almost exactly 3 hours long! We got out at 12:41 but almost every minute was enjoyable (you could trim the last 15 "closure" minutes down to 5).
I tell you all this for 2 reasons:
1) It's always nice to be suprised, so one must sometimes keep an open mind.
2) I saw Karen there, so there was no way I could plead inncocent to having seen it anyway.
BTW, those Bertie Bott's Beans are vomitous. Seriously... they have vomit flavored... and it is. Dirt tastes like dirt, black pepper tastes like black pepper, sardines tastes like sardines... I am at a loss as to explain how they expect people to actually consume these, as they seem like dare-food, but who knows. I'm sure they will work their way into numerous drinking games.
Well, you young whippersnappers, all WE had in my day was the Anarchists' Cookbook and by gum, it was good enough for US.
Nevertheless, I too have no objection to youngster literature that's a measure more demanding and less harmful than copkiller rap; will check out the books and movies when I get a moment.
Also, Encyclopedia Brown was good for process; the culprit may have been obvious but to uncover the how and when and where was the the point. My personal faves were the Mad Scientists Club books, where they refurbished a VFW-post-displayed midget submarine, outfitted a haunted house with which to go on the offensive with the local punks, and came up with a great still built into an old fire engine... (oops - that last was a McHale's Navy episode I saw on a heavy steak dinner).