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captainsblogRemember the dreary, sunless descriptions of all of England at the start of HBP? Yeah, that's pretty much us. The weathermen are blaming it on a southern-drifting jet stream that's keeping our usual Bermuda High (a weather pattern, not hippie lettuce) from settling in for the summer the way it usually does, and leaving us with that marvelous combination of cold and humid that makes air conditioning practically have to turn this place into a morgue slab to keep it dry enough.
The animals know something's wrong. Tasha, who hates rain year-round, has spent a lot of time under my desk or in other cowering spots- not that it stopped her from going walkabout on her own for the third time in the past few weeks when Stupidhead here let the garage door stay open after I'd pressed it closed. Michelle the cat, meanwhile, has been slamming into windows, knocking over assorted items in the kitchen, and about an hour ago managed to pull down an entire wall-mounted shelf of tsochkes in the bedroom- this fucker was held down with multiple stud-driven mounting hardware- breaking a Delft plate and shearing a Solas CD neatly into thirds. (We have it on the computer, Em; chill.)
Neko Case was in town to do a free Thursday at the Square show this afternoon, and it got rained out, as have a ton of other outdoor events in recent weeks. Co-workers and usually friendly store employees have been generally grumpy, and I'm really not looking forward to spending the next 40 days with them on a fucking ark if that winds up as the fate we seem destined for.
----
I should probably get to some comments about the HBP film, seeing how it's been a week since it came out and all.
Okay, ya right. They're all almost-grown teenagers by now and their hormones are raging. Yet somehow JKR managed to convey a sense of that in about 10 to 20 percent of the book without beating you soundly about the head with it the way so much of this film does. From the opening scene in the chip shop, to the ever-so-subtle shot of Draco leaning back to plot his next move being followed by a pan to about seventeen phallic gables, there was a lot of this film I'd rather expect to see on Skinemax rather than from a stable of such talented RSC alums.
Even so, it redeemed itself. Mostly. The ending was, I thought, better than the book- it was perfectly right remembering Dumbledore with just the flight of the phoenix, rather than the full-blown halftime show of mermen and whatnots concocted for the novel. The action was just about right, and I was fine with the added DE scenes that consolidated many of the pre- and post-term incidents referred to in the book. Broadbent was wonderful, the Wyrd Sisters seemed to be having themselves a heckuva time, and other than Neville getting seriously shorted in screen time, I didn't particularly miss any of the other mid-level characters who wound up on the writing or cutting room floors.
As at least one reviewer has observed, the shortest shrift in the film may have been to the backstory which provided its name. When the Half Blood Prince reveals his identity, it's a total toss-off line without any explanation of any of the background of it given in the book- a curious omission, given Snape's relative importance to both this book and the next.
But overall, it had a beat, you can dance to it, I give it a 78.
----
Tomorrow is Emily's last day at NYSSSA. We head down to move her out in the early afternoon, then have her farewell banquet, lecture/slide show and the student exhibition. Pictures will be tooked.
The animals know something's wrong. Tasha, who hates rain year-round, has spent a lot of time under my desk or in other cowering spots- not that it stopped her from going walkabout on her own for the third time in the past few weeks when Stupidhead here let the garage door stay open after I'd pressed it closed. Michelle the cat, meanwhile, has been slamming into windows, knocking over assorted items in the kitchen, and about an hour ago managed to pull down an entire wall-mounted shelf of tsochkes in the bedroom- this fucker was held down with multiple stud-driven mounting hardware- breaking a Delft plate and shearing a Solas CD neatly into thirds. (We have it on the computer, Em; chill.)
Neko Case was in town to do a free Thursday at the Square show this afternoon, and it got rained out, as have a ton of other outdoor events in recent weeks. Co-workers and usually friendly store employees have been generally grumpy, and I'm really not looking forward to spending the next 40 days with them on a fucking ark if that winds up as the fate we seem destined for.
----
I should probably get to some comments about the HBP film, seeing how it's been a week since it came out and all.
Okay, ya right. They're all almost-grown teenagers by now and their hormones are raging. Yet somehow JKR managed to convey a sense of that in about 10 to 20 percent of the book without beating you soundly about the head with it the way so much of this film does. From the opening scene in the chip shop, to the ever-so-subtle shot of Draco leaning back to plot his next move being followed by a pan to about seventeen phallic gables, there was a lot of this film I'd rather expect to see on Skinemax rather than from a stable of such talented RSC alums.
Even so, it redeemed itself. Mostly. The ending was, I thought, better than the book- it was perfectly right remembering Dumbledore with just the flight of the phoenix, rather than the full-blown halftime show of mermen and whatnots concocted for the novel. The action was just about right, and I was fine with the added DE scenes that consolidated many of the pre- and post-term incidents referred to in the book. Broadbent was wonderful, the Wyrd Sisters seemed to be having themselves a heckuva time, and other than Neville getting seriously shorted in screen time, I didn't particularly miss any of the other mid-level characters who wound up on the writing or cutting room floors.
As at least one reviewer has observed, the shortest shrift in the film may have been to the backstory which provided its name. When the Half Blood Prince reveals his identity, it's a total toss-off line without any explanation of any of the background of it given in the book- a curious omission, given Snape's relative importance to both this book and the next.
But overall, it had a beat, you can dance to it, I give it a 78.
----
Tomorrow is Emily's last day at NYSSSA. We head down to move her out in the early afternoon, then have her farewell banquet, lecture/slide show and the student exhibition. Pictures will be tooked.
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no subject
Date: 2009-07-24 01:08 am (UTC)I've not yet seen the newest HP, but most reviews I've read seem to fall in line with you. The last 2 books are the hardest reads by far, and I've always thought would be the most difficult to put on film.
I'm betting you can't wait to have miss Emily back in town!
no subject
Date: 2009-07-24 10:49 am (UTC)