Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire

During the closing scenes of this film, Lord Voldemort is reborn. It's the turning point of the whole saga --- the point at which it stops being all about Harry and his little adventures and becomes about stopping this great evil from regaining power. As I sat in the cinema, surrounded by hushed teenagers and frightened children, and saw Voldemort's form regrow itself from darkness and pain, I looked upon this evil creature's face and thought "Voldemort's got no nose. How does he smell? Terrible!", and it was then I began to suspect that I wasn't really getting into the spirit of things. →

The Mao of Harry Potter

This weekend was nice in that it didn't exist. It crept up on me as I suspected that it was the weekend of the 23rd, so I was fairly pleased when I discovered that a weekend of the 16th even existed. It was a free weekend, one that I hadn't planned or budgeted for. →

Azkaban, Revisited

There's a worthwhile article at Culture Snob discussing the recent Harry Potter film release and a wider look at the series:

"Unfortunately, I fear it will become the series' The Empire Strikes Back — the pinnacle that shows the bankruptcy of the rest of the entries. And for that, we should thank the good executives at Warner Brothers."

Nice bit of Columbus-bashing as well, which I always approve of.

Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban

I admit quite freely to loving the Harry Potter series of books, and any criticisms of them always seemed a bit weak to me. Yes, they’re children’s books, and as such are not the most challenging texts you’ll ever read, but is that really so bad? Surely it’s better that people – adults and children alike – are reading any book than reading none at all? →