Harry Potter-Thon

It's that time again! If you wanna play, head on over to Daily Mish Mash to either play or just read some great movie related posts!




So, I’m on a Harry Potter kick right now. I have no clue where it came from, but when I finished my last book, I had the urge to dive in to the Harry Potter series again. I’ve read every book at least twice. Some I’ve read more than 4 times.

I’m a Harry Potter geek. However, me being me, I’m really only a half geek. I know a lot of facts about the Harry Potter series. Seriously, I know a lot. However, after years of reading the books and watching the movies and reading online, I realize that there’s a lot that I don’t know about the Harry Potter series. And I’m OK with that. That’s not what this post is about.

Last week, when I was in the middle of the book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, I looked over at my daughter and asked her if she wanted to have a Harry Potter-thon. I explained to her, in response to her blank look, that that means we’d watch all 5 of the Harry Potter movies, back to back to back…well, you get the point. She enthusiastically agreed and the plan was set. We’d start them on Friday night and just watch til we couldn’t watch any more.

Then, to our surprise, my mom said she’d like to join us.

Now, my mom’s a big reader. In fact, all the books in the corner of my room that I haven’t read yet (all 200+ of them) are from her.

However, her taste in books doesn’t run to the fantastical. She likes grounded, real type books. The most “supernatural” or “fantastical” she gets is reading books by Dean Koontz or Stephen King. Otherwise, she doesn’t read it. No matter the rave reviews.

She hasn’t read the Harry Potter series yet but stated that she wanted to delve in to them at some point during her retirement.

I know my mom. I know that she will not get into the series (books or movies) but I gently push her to try them hoping that I’m wrong.

As much as I hate that she was going to watch the movies before reading the books, I gave her a big smile and told her “Great!”.

Friday night rolls around. We had decided to make it an appetizer night. You know, mini egg rolls, pot stickers, pizza rolls, chicken quesadilla rolls, etc…with all their sauces and some I mixed together for dipping.

I had been looking forward to this night for DAYS. I was so excited about this Potter-thon.

Well, as you can possibly guess, anytime you get THAT excited about something, it becomes sort of a letdown.

Light of my life kept asking me to pause the movie so she could pee/get dessert/get something else to drink/go to her room to get something/ask for a blanket/etc…..

Due to all the starting and stopping, my mom got frustrated and that led to her having these “looks” on her face whenever I would sneak a peek at her during the movie. I knew by those “looks” that she wasn’t getting into the movies. Of course, that made me more anxious. I then started stopping and starting the movie to explain to her about Neville’s parents and who Voldemort is and why Harry has a scar and why he lives with the Dursley’s.

About halfway through, mom decided she had enough and got up saying “I just don’t know where my fantasy gene is” and went to bed.

Light of my life and I finished the first movie and went on to bed after that.

On Saturday night, after my daughter got back from a late afternoon birthday party, we popped in #2 and watched most of it before we both fell asleep on the couch.

Yesterday afternoon, after lunch, we popped in #2 to finish it and managed to watch #’s 3 & 4 and start #5.

I had forgotten what a hottie Daniel Radcliffe was until I watched him grow up in these movies. I also didn’t realize how hot George and Fred Weasley were in the last two movies. When did that happen? And then, I discovered that the actor that played Cedric Diggory in the Goblet of Fire is none other than our own "Edward Cullen" in the Twilight movie that comes out in December. I can remember thinking Viktor Krum was much hotter than Cedric but I've since changed my mind. Yes, not only am I a twelve year old boy inside, but I'm also a boy-crazy 14 year old girl. Shut up.

I love watching these movies over and over again because I always learn something new each time.

For instance, in the Chamber of Secrets, when Harry uses Floo Powder for the first time, he slurs his words and Diagon Alley comes out Diagonalley. When my mom heard it, she said “Why did he say diagonally?” and a light bulb went on above my head. What a play on words.

And Knockturn Alley…where it’s the “darker” side of the magical world….could be considered “nocturnally”.

Is that not the coolest thing? I haven’t done any research on the internets to find out if this was intentional or just a happy coincidence, but considering the Genius That Is J.K. Rowling, I find it hard to believe that it’s anything but intentional.

Anyway, to wrap up this silly and very un-important post, despite the setbacks of the first night, we’ve had a blast watching our way through most of the 5 movies. Tonight, we’ll finish up (or at least watch until 9pm) the rest of The Order of the Phoenix.

Tonks, how I love you. You rock!

Later,

Mama Dawg

Movie Madness Carnival

Yay! It's another Movie Madness Carnival hosted by our lovely hostess with the mostess, Jen from Daily Mish Mash! She's also having a lovely giveaway that you can find here. It's a movie junkies favorite kind of giveaway! We're talking a movie gift card, popcorn and candy! Yummmmmm......

I love these! Movies (watching, not making) are my passion. Just ask anyone.

Last time I did a general post about movies but kinda focused on Dirty Dancing a bit.

I'm changing it up this time. Today, I'm doing a review. Boo, hiss, blech...I know, reviews can kinda suck but I felt it was necessary for this particular movie.

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!




Ok, let's get into this review.

Wow!

That's it.



No? That's not considered a review. Sigh.......

I really don't know exactly how I feel about this movie. It was a last minute grab out of the $5 bin at Wal-Mart.

I remember reading in my crackazines (US, People, Entertainment Weekly, etc...) about this movie and being intrigued with the premise.

I popped it in Sunday night after light of my life went to sleep. I had the living room to myself and thought I'd pop it in to see what it was all about.

Just FYI, it's a rated R movie, so no kiddos need to be awake to accidentally catch any of this.

It stars Ellen Page of Juno fame and Patrick Wilson of Little Children fame. Sandra Oh makes an appearance but for you Grey's Anatomy fans, if you're watching this just because she's in it, don't bother. Her appearance in this movie equal a whopping total of about 4 minutes.

If you like happy endings and all questions answered in your movies, this is not a movie for you. This is an independent film and you can tell.

I don't mean that in a negative way. It's just a powerful and unique film.

It starts off with Ellen Page's character, Hayley, and Patrick Wilson's character, Jeff, chatting on IM. It's pretty obvious that the conversation is between a teenage girl and an older male. Not to give too much away...they agree to meet.

The next scene sets it up to them meeting in a cafe. They start to talk and you can sense his attraction to her but you can also tell that he's not wanting to make it too obvious since he's in his thirties and she's, well, not.

She finagles an invite to his apartment to listen to a download of a song from a concert and he (instead of backing off) agrees.

They head over to his apartment and things start taking that uncomfortable turn that all parents dread in this day and age. It appears that Hayley initiates the sequence of events by pouring both of them some screwdrivers and asking Jeff to take pics of her (he's a photographer). She pops in a c.d. and takes off her shirt to reveal a sports bra and starts to dance on the sofa while Jeff starts to take pictures. A few minutes into the session, Jeff faints.

When he awakens, he finds himself tied to a chair with Hayley watching him.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is where the movie takes a hard left and never lets up.

Hayley is convinced Jeff is a pedophile and that he's had something to do with the disappearance of a local girl.

Now, normally, in movies and sometimes in real life, there's an obvious monster and an obvious hero.

But not in this one.

As much as you want to see Hayley as some vigilante who's out to rid the world of a pedophile, she's goes way beyond vigilantism and into torture.

And Jeff, well, as despicable as he seems, there's no clear cut answer to whether he had something to do with the disappearance of the local girl or even if he's a pedophile. Sure, he seems a little too interested in Hayley and the teenage girls who's modeled for him, but we never really get a definitive answer to this question. There are scenes set up to make you believe that he has something to hide (a secret safe hidden in a piece of art that contains photos including one of the missing girl) but since we never see any of the photos except for the one of the missing girl fully clothed, there is no scene that says "Jeff Kohlver is a pedophile and here are the pictures to prove it".

I'm not gonna give any more away because, really, you need to watch the movie to really grasp the pure terror of the psychological and physical torture Hayley puts to Jeff.

Neither character is likable in the slightest. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the most likable character in this whole movie is the one played by Sandra Oh as a nosy neighbor.

There are some surprises in store for the viewer and even though I'm not a man, there is one scene where even I cringed and felt for Jeff's character.

And really, that's what makes this movie so impossible to pigeonhole for me. I don't really have any one character to root for. During most of the movie, I feel for Hayley and support her but then there are times when I feel for Jeff.

Ellen Page is just so perfect for this part and so wonderful as a 14 (we think) year old girl. I really haven't seen too much of either her work or Patrick Wilson's so I have nothing to compare it to (I haven't watched Juno, yet) but the acting seems really tight and raw in this movie.

I really do recommend this movie. It's not a happy feel good movie but is, beyond a doubt, an interesting one.

That's it for my review.

Later,

Mama Dawg

"Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner"

The Daily Mish Mash is hosting a Movie Madness Carnival. Go check it out and participate if you'd like. There's a great give away as well.

Anyway, to participate in this Carnival, you need to write a post relating to anything regarding movies.

Ummm.....this is a Carnival right up my alley.

For those of you that know me, I have this little obsession of movies. Well, more like big obsession.

I personally own over 300 DVD's. That doesn't include my TV shows on DVD, my daughter's DVD's or all the VHS tapes I used to own (over 300 of those at one point, as well).

I "heart" movies. I love the feeling of disappearing into another World for approximately 2 hours. A World that I don't live in. A World that at times I'd like to live in (Princess Bride anyone?) and a World that I wouldn't like to live in (Donnie Darko anyone?). Especially Donnie Darko since it has Jake Gyllenhaal. I can't stand that kid.

I get this same feeling from books, but with movies, you actually get to see the stories played out in front of your eyes instead of having to use your imagination.

I love that when my daughter goes to bed at night, I can pop in "Sweeney Todd" or "Not Another Teen Movie" or "Schlinder's List"...whatever suits my mood and not have to worry about putting on a "family friendly" movie...you know, like "Grease" or "Footloose" or "Girls Just Want To Have Fun". My daughter's a freak for those movies. (the family friendly in quotations is meant to be sarcastic since these are definitely not considered "family friendly").

For the life of me, I can not remember the first movie I ever saw. I remember the first "adult" movie I ever saw. By "adult", I don't mean porn, I mean one that isn't meant for kids.

It was "Legal Eagles" and I saw it in the movie theater with my mom and her best friend. I think this wasn't too long after my mom and dad's separation which would probably explain why I was at the movies with my mom and her best friend.

I also remember the first movie I ever saw on VHS. It was "Dirty Dancing". That was the movie that HOOKED me forever on movies.

To this day, I will forever hold a special place in my heart for Patrick Swayze for the way he told those horrible, horrible parents of her "Nobody puts Baby in a corner".

Later,

Mama Dawg