Deathly Hallows Review (SPOILER ALERT)

Let me start by saying my review may be skewed negatively because of the terrible seats we had because I never imagined there would be a full house on a Tuesday after the movie had been out for 4 days! It will also be skewed negatively because I am very protective of the books/stories/characters. Therein lies the problem with this movie, as in all the previous ones:

The books/stories are so full. I understand the movies have to leave something out, but why add things that weren't in the book and are misleading to boot! Two instances in this movie just tick me off: again SPOILER ALERT.

1. After Ron splits leaving Harry and Hermione alone, Harry tries to cheer Hermione by DANCING with her. If you've seen The Goblet of Fire movie you know Harry HATES dancing and doesn't do it well. It also made it seem as if Harry was thinking of MORE than dancing. The books made it crystal clear with whom Harry and Hermione were in love but the movies always try to show a weird love triangle that never existed. Again, wasn't in the book, adds nothing to the story.

2. The ending of the movie was the pits. SPOILER ALERT If you've read the book you know that Voldemort was not able to command the elder wand he took from Dumbledore's lifeless hands because you have to win the wand in combat or be given the wand. Yet the movie showed him using the wand to send a lightning bolt/pillar of fire (?) to the sky! Again, didn't happen in the book and will seriously undermine how the end works out! Why will Voldemort kill Snape if he can manipulate the elder wand? The wand is rightfully Harry's and should only work properly at his command. I may have actually given this movie a thumb's up if it hadn't ended this way.

3. We took my 9-year old daughter (a Potter enthusiast- we read/she read all 7 books. That was a prerequisite to watching the final 3 ---4 since the last book was made into 2--- movies.) Sarah had seen the previous movies so nothing really frightened her in this film. We all jumped when Nagini jumped out, but we were only a row away from the screen. It was almost 3D! Of all the things to add we had a scene of Harry and Hermione naked in an embrace. No specific body parts were shown, but it was enough. This was when Ron had returned and was attempting to destroy the locket and Voldemort's soul tried to hurt Ron by showing him Hermione preferred Harry,which of course was untrue-- but tell that to the screenwriter (see complaint #1). I think Sarah wanted to ask about it but wasn't sure how/what to say. Just like my mother, I don't allow Sarah to watch things like that. So that was a bit of a shock for us both to see.

4. Sarah noted this change: Narcissa Malfoy had black hair with a gray stripe a la bride of Frankenstein . In the books it was noted a few times how opposite she was of her sister, Bellatrix. In the previous movie Narcissa had blond hair. Little changes like that are annoying, too. I think it showed that she had a tiny smidgen of decency left in her- that fact she was opposite in looks from the crazy chick, Bellatrix. (I was incorrect. I put in HP and the Half-Blood Prince and Narcissa did have the bride-of-Frankstein 'do. I'm sure she appeared in one of the movies with blond hair.)

5. I really wish Kreacher had had more screen time. In the book when he decides Harry is not terrible and wants to be helpful is so touching. And when he wanted to doink Mundungus on the head with a frying pan- priceless. I'm really surprised that didn't make it into the movie. Dobby and his little boots-in the movie- was so endearing. Sarah knew he wasn't going to survive this movie but she still had a little sniffle when it happened. I think I even choked up a bit. I don't know if those who haven't read the book will feel that way because Dobby though present in most of the books was absent from most of the other movies!


I feel the same way about the lack of Fred and George Weasley and their pranks and their attitude towards life in general. They made the books so refreshing when the content was heavy. I think the producers had to decide which direction they should take these films: action or drama (dramedy would have been my choice.) It sure looks like they chose action.

A nice surprise was Xenophillius Lovegood. (Not sure of Xeno's spelling.) He looked like Lucius Malfoy in the early movies. I would have casted someone who looked a bit crazier, but he was appealing.

Since we're nearing the end of the movies let me just say I think Rupert Grint was the best cast out of all the main characters. He looks and acts the part exactly how I imagined Ron Weasley in the book would act and sound. My favorite actor was the girl who played Luna Lovegood. I think she was well cast in looks and actions.

I originally was not going to see this movie. I'm glad I did, but will not be lured to the theater for the last movie. I can wait for the small screen showing. I'm anxiously awaiting Dec. 4 when Eclipse comes out on DVD.

Hormonally yours,
Peg

HDTV PhD

Last night I heard an add for an upcoming news segment on a Pittsburgh station: " You pretty much need a PhD to buy an HDTV. "

I thought that was humorous because my husband and I are at odds about a TV purchase. We have a high def TV and it's big, but I honestly do not get any more enjoyment watching that than I do our old nonHD TV. The big old set is in the playroom attached to a dvd/vcr player. (We still have videotapes we, our kids, watch.) So when he told me he found this great deal I thought that meant cheap. No. It meant it comes with all sorts of add-ons that I don't want! We only let our kids watch 2 hours a day, maybe more for a movie on the weekends. This great deal includes a Blue Ray player. We don't have ANY blu-ray movies. ( I just looked that up-what IS a blu-ray???) I don't think he even knows what that means. But, and this is the worst, it can play 3D movies. The price for the 3D glasses are $199.00!!!!!! Yes, that decimal point is in the right place. Supposedly it comes with two of them. So that means when we watch a 3D movie as a family the kids will be OK but Tim and I will be in danger of seizures! I'm not making light of that affliction I have no doubt but we could seize.

Tim pulled up some reviews of this leviathan for me to read. I agree with the news program- we need a training program for us casual, non-techinical viewers.

Hormonally yours,
Peg

Hormonally Yours

I think I should rename my blog to this. I did not coin this phrase. It comes from a couple of wonderful musicians known as Shakespear's Sister who used it for their album name in 1992. When I lived in Erie in the early 90s my friend, who lived in the apartment above me, made me a tape of some of their songs. I really like one called Moonchild and tried to find an MP3 of it. The best/safest way I could procure this song was to buy a used cd. It arrived a couple weeks ago and I LOVE IT! The songs from this album can be found on you-tube. 16th Apology sounds a lot like me (in the early 90s). I didn't start this blog to be about Shakespear's Sister but the title of the album: Hormonally Yours.

It made me think of other words I could change by adding -ally to it like Mormonally Yours. That was my first thought. I don't know much about Mormonism so I'm not going to elaborate on that one.

My husband's blog should be titled, "KidneyStonally Yours." Those are the nastiest little nuggets! He keeps them in a little plastic container. I have never asked him exactly HOW he catches these tiny daggers. I'm pretty sure the procedure is one I don't need to know.

My son, Jacob's blog would be "Cyclonally Yours." It's quite the phenomena how Legos end up spread throughout our playroom. I just thoroughly cleaned this room today and was mortified everytime I moved a piece of furniture and found more tiny Legos in dust bunnies -- along with a lot of other not-so-tiny toys.

My daughter's blog would be "PiaNOnally Yours." She plays the piano so well but is so stubborn about NOT practicing. She's been working on White Christmas for at least a month. She can play the notes but can't keep a rhythm. My attempts to help her are met with the evil eye.

I think I'm going to start signing my letters...
Hormonally yours,
Peg

What Does Gay Mean?

"What does gay mean?" my 9-year old daughter just asked me. I said it depends on how it's used. Use it in a sentence. "Some kids at school say Justin Beaver is gay."

Let's go back 90 minutes. We went to Pizza Hut because Sarah had a Book-It pizza slip she was in the mood to use. On the table there were a couple games to play to pass the time. One game was to name 3 things in 5 seconds. One was name 3 pets you would not like to have. Another was name 3 states that border the Pacific Ocean. I asked my husband Name 3 Rappers. I was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to name one. But before he even opened his mouth Sarah yelled, "Justin Beaver!" I furrowed my brow and asked, "What did you say?" Again she said, "Justin Beaver." I looked at Tim and snickered. I explained that I didn't think he was a rapper and was pretty sure his name was Justin Bieber.

Well, at home, Sarah and I were in the living room; Sarah playing on her new DSi and I reading Entertainment Weekly. Out of the blue she asks this blog's title question. After she used it in the sentence I said when people use "gay" that way they think they're insulting someone. She then asked if it meant he goes out with other boys. I said yes. It's probably meant to say Justin Bieber is not very macho.

My daughter is much more knowledgeable than I give her credit for...last Saturday night when my friend, Julie, and I went to see The Kids Are Alright I called a new babysitter, Olivia. When I told the kids who would be watching them Jacob, 5, asked, "Who's Olivia?" And Sarah goes, "She's hot." I laughed and told Sarah that girls don't usually call other girls "hot." Sarah reponded, "But she is! I know boys would say that about girls."

I think I was more disturbed by her use of the word "hot." (I think of Paris Hilton when I hear "hot" used that way---not a role model I'd choose for my child.) Sarah's been trying out a few new words lately. She's been using the word "sucker" frequently. I just asked her to try not to say that. It just sounds so trashy. But then again I'm a word-bully. I'm currently trying to get my kids to say,"affirmative" instead of yeah/yes and "prognosis negative" when their answer is no. So I don't know how fired up I should get about their vocabulary choice.

Back to the title topic. I was hoping to put off conversations like this for a few more years. Sarah has asked if she can marry her dad or her brother. Those questions were easy enough to answer without much detail. Jacob has more questions about babies and if it hurts to have them cut from the belly. I finally just said it's more natural for babies to come out where girls pee. Oddly, or maybe not, he seemed more squeamish by the belly cut then the other baby-delivery route.

I don't think I even knew what "gay" meant when I was in high school.

Justin Beaver

The Funny Pages Aren't Necessarily the Comics

A few months back I saw the most hilarious article in my hometown newspaper. (See clip above. If you click on it it's big enough to easily read.) Even rereading it today makes me laugh. He wasn't trying to resuscitate a fresh possum, but a 'long-dead opussum.' Oh, how I wish I could have seen this. This was a local (western PA) story. I wasn't terribly surprised by this story, just highly amused. Today's paper featured a story about a Wisconsin man shooting his TV. This is in The Derrick today- page 16. Maybe you can read it at http://www.thederrick.com/ The headline reads, Wisonsin man accused of shooting TV over Palin dance number (That is one long headline.)

Steven Cowan, 67, came home from a bar, had a beer with dinner then sat down with his wife to watch "Dancing with the Stars." ( A reality show meant to get your inner fire roaring.) When Bristol Palin began her routine the man, " jumped up and began swearing..." He left the room and "reappeared 20 minutes later with his shotgun, 'raging with his face bright red, and blasted the TV.'" I don't know exactly why I find this so funny. I suspect its the use of the word "blasted." But he then tells his wife to go "fetch" his pistols. Good Lord, what's he going to do with the pistols??? I imagine an old cabinet TV with a big, jagged, black hole where the picture screen once was. Is he going to use a pistol on the big ceramic rooster clock atop the TV? [The following is verbatim from the article.] According to the criminal complaint, Steven Cowan's daughter recently took away his handguns for safekeeping. It did not elaborate. " He scared the bejebees out of me," she told detectives. ---I'm pretty sure it's the daughter's "bejebees" word choice that's funny. I don't think I've ever seen that word in The Derrick.

The wife told officers that about 15 years ago her husband had threatened her with a machete when he couldn't find some ammunition and threatened to shoot one of their cows. ---Now, was he looking for ammunition to shoot one of the cows or was he just so mad he was going to "blast" a cow because of the missing ammunition? I just snorted as I wrote that. Obviously this man has some mental health issues and possibly the wife does, too, if she offered this story with no "I should have left him then" comment.

The Possum CPR story is still funnier, hands down. but this one has some chuckle charm.

Are We Better Off Ted?

I have a love/hate relationship with TV. Certain shows I love and most of the rest I hate. I read Entertainment Weekly and one of the things that annoys me about [entertainment magazines] is that I always feel they're trying to tell me what I should watch and what I shouldn't based on one or two critic/journalists' opinion. Sometimes they get it right- like Modern Family a delightful show- and sometimes the get it wrong- Hawaii Five-0. (Sorry, I watched the first show and liked it until the female detective character was introduced. And I don't think it was HER so much as her dialogue.) One show I had seen mentioned in EW was Better Off Ted. It was labeled a good show that no one was watching. They said the same thing about Arrested Development. Tried to watch that and just didn't like it. Well...

Being in charge of the Fundraisers at my daughters school sometimes includes lengthy, tedious tasks that I can do while watching TV. So I went to Netflix- which I love- and watched the first episode of Better Off Ted. It still makes me laugh thinking about it. Now, what made me chuckle in this first show was a bit of a steal from a Seinfeld show. [When Jerry ended up with Kramer's blood and then ultimately Newman's for a transfusion and he screams, then Kramer screams, then Newman screams. Still gets a LOL from me. I've noticed a few Seinfeld steals lately in shows.] I continued to watch and must say I've never been disappointed by one episode and I'm almost through season one. Ted, played by Jay Harrington, is IMO the perfect character. You can't help but like this guy. I've never seen him in anything else and this role seems tailor made for him. Portia de Rossi is perfect as his unscrupulous, soul-less boss. The two inept but genius scientists are played to perfection, also. It is certainly not politically correct but that's the premise of the whole show.

Today's moral of the blog: What you read, including this, is not the gospel truth. Just one person's opinion. Be open to trying new things and forming your own judgements. You'll be glad you did.

Long Time, No Movie

Well, my friend Julie and I went on a "date" last night to see a lesbian movie. I put date in quotes because that was her word. Her husband, who wasn't invited, noted her word-choice and ribbed her about it. The movie was The Kids Are Alright and it was showing (for free) at our local college campus, where my friend is currently attending. Julie had asked me a few weeks ago---while picking up my daughter at HER daughter's birthday slumber party--- to keep this night open to see it. I was surprised she wanted to see this movie. We didn't have time to discuss it any further. I had read reviews of it and knew it was probably going to have some Oscar nominations in its future so I was more than willing to see it. We usually chat at our Monday yoga class but she had missed the last two sessions and so I never heard what had drawn her to this movie. We were the first to arrive at the mini-theater and I discovered she thought this was a comedy. It was mildly amusing...but also poignant and thought-provoking.

I'll say this right out: I have no interest in what someone's sexual preference is. I don't judge anyone. I may be mildly curious about how one's life unfolds with someone of the same gender. But I feel it is not a choice but an inborn trait that cannot be vanquished. So I was wildly- I WAS going to write "mildly"- surprised when one female partner cheated on her mate with a man. I think that will be fodder for those who are homophobic and believe it is just people choosing that lifestyle. While the women in the movie chose to give birth to children through artificial insemination, they each used sperm from the same donor. This made their children biologically half-siblings. I think that is a good idea. What is thought-provoking is these children, now teens, wanted to contact their donor father. This is what makes the whole story for this movie. This is just one instance and of course the whole situation is contrived but what about those sperm-donor kids who do go looking for their bio dads and find them entirely reprehensible? How would that make that child feel? Would they worry that they could become like that person? Can nurture overcome nature? I certainly don't have the answers but I think those are points that prospective parents might consider.

The movie was so poignant because the love of parents for their kids was so apparent and embarrassing. Just as it truly is and should be.

The ending was terrible. Julie and I both felt the SD (sperm-donor) dad got a raw deal. The kids brought him into their lives and then deserted him. Mark Ruffalo was the SD dad and he was very convincing. Julie was a fan of his. I could only think of one other movie I'd seen him in (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). I just added some of his movies to my Netflix queue.

Now some more delightful movie news: They are going to make a big screen remake of Dark Shadow and Barnabas Collins is going to be played by...Johnny Depp. When I told my hubby they were making a remake I asked him to guess who would portray Barnabas. His response was, 'the guy who played Snape.' I scoffed, but thought, you know, Alan Rickman WOULD be a good vampire! I think Tim had Harry Potter on the brain. He and our 9-year old plan to see The Deathly Hallows Part 1 at the theater when it opens. I refuse. I'm a HUGE fan of the books and NO fan of the movies. I've seen---and we own---them all. But the last movie just killed my interest in them. I understand they can't put in everything from the book, but why add things that didn't happen in the book and adds nothing to the progression of the story? That really ticks me off.

On the subject of movies made from books I just watched The Golden Compass the other night/morning. (Couldn't sleep so the movie entertained me from 12:30- 2:00.) I read all three of Philip Pullman's books a few years back and was excited when a movie was being made. Then the reviews were mostly negative. I hope they ignore the critics and make the next two books into movies because the first one was a pretty dang good. I can't remember specific details from the books but the feeling from the movie reminded me of the feeling I had while reading the books.