there are very few experiences that are as bizarre as a midnight opening of a harry potter movie. i tend to see myself as a rather delightful geek. i have my weird moments. we all do. but the weirdness found at the harry potter premieres take on a whole new level. i love every weird moment - for - if nothing else, the fact that it makes me feel better about myself.

oh harry potter.

i could and will argue that the harry potter series is the world's greatest piece of modern literature. i know this is true because as i look around me in the theater...the mother of the witch dressed like a sexy hermione is every bit as excited as her child. the types of stories that can bridge these gaps are few and far between. its rare to come across a story so universal that everyone who reads it can find an understanding that is made up of:

1 part "the world"

and 2 parts "their inner being."

what i mean is - that on the base level harry potter is a story full of adventure and drama and it can be appreciated for that sole fact. but on a deeper level it is part of us. its the story of all of us. no matter who we are or where we are from...we feel like we belong in harry's world. we've all felt alone, abandon, confused. we know the pressure of friendship and love and the importance of putting those 2 things above all else. we all fight the battle between good and evil.

Here is my review of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

These movies have come a long way since they first began. i think this is probably the only franchise in history to manage to get better with each installment as opposed to embarrassing themselves. the half blood prince is an excellent movie.

really. the quality of the cinematography, the editing, the acting....is all an improvement.

the movies are starting to feel like actual movies. the half blood prince could stand on its own (if it wanted) - which is a very impressive feat. the story-line felt more true to the book than any of others have. maybe we're just getting used to seeing the sparknotes version?

Actors:

i was fairly impressed with daniel radcliffe's performance. he's been barely staying above water for the past 5 movies, but in this installment he is the one pulling his co-stars up. it's about time harry potter.

rupert grint (ron) and emma watson (hermione) are good...considering. they are not giving much to work with, so i will be excited to see how they take hold of their characters when it really matters. after being downgraded to serving as background and comic relief for the past few movies....i hope they both get the chance to let their characters evolve in the finales. 

michael gambon (dumbledore) and jim broadbent (slughorn) were both outstanding. tom felton (drako) did a wonderful job as well. as did the girl cast as lavender...while she was not what i was expecting, she was definitely one of the highlights of the movie. 

i was less impressed this time around by alan rickman (snape) and helena bonham carter (bellatrix). although neither got near enough screen-time to do anything. so i will forgive them. 

i was thoroughly creeped out by the adorable child they found to play young tom riddle. it was a fabulous casting choice.

bonnie wright (ginny), however, creeped me out too (and not in the good way). maybe its just me, but she has a strong, silent, "able to destroy a person with my eyes" thing going on. i wouldn't want anyone else to play her, but i would appreciate some form of emotion every now and then.

The Story:

oh....this is always the catch and always the main factor to my disappointment. 

however, this time around i am a lot less disappointed than i thought i was going to be.

first, my 2 main complaints:

1.) the mix between the muggle world and the wizarding world is not play out well at all. there is like a 10 second clip at the beginning of the movie and that is it. except maybe for one line hermione's says later one. i've always found this transition into muggle world a very crucial part of this story. it is what makes fighting this battle against evil important. it should be known that this is no longer an underground battle but that this evil is spilling out everywhere and will destroy the world - the world that is shared by everyone. 

2.) this is not a love story. this is a story about friendship. while i know the books deal with the passage into adult love. that was never the intended focus. this is the story of something deeper than that. unconditional love. the movie seemed focused on hormones rather than the actual important elements of the book. 

other than that i was please. i really enjoyed the "i killed sirius black" scene that wasn't even in the book. i thought it was a nice addition. it played out nicely on screen too. the scene of obtaining the horcurx with harry and dumbledore is waayy scary too. the person next to me screamed. i guess the PG rating has gotten lenient. 

i was also amused that they gave all 3 of the kids separate scenes where they had to act like they were either drunk or on something. on a side note did everyone hear that the kid who plays crabbe was growing marijuana in his mom's basement. niice. his jail sentence is not so nice tho.

overall i give it an A and a thank you for not letting me down. 

they say weed isn't addicting, however when its dealt by mary louise parker it seems to be...

season 5 of showtime's weeds starts on June 8th and can say nothing except....I CAN NOT WAIT. i have seen parts of this show over the years, but in the last few months i've watched the entire series straight through and the only word that comes to mind is mind-blowing.

this shows gotten high press over the years due mostly to its left wing story lines and emmy winning performances, but there is something else about this show that has really pulled me in. as americans we have a complex of being the winner, being right, being on top......and most television shows today are based on that. we have shows about policeman and undercover cops solving crimes, we have game shows that create "idols" for us, sitcoms about average jo being average and working his 9-5 job....

weeds is not any of that.

weeds is about being confused. its about doing what you have to and the contradictions in our lives.

loving yourself, but hating who you are

loving your family, but hating the burden they put on you

loving your big house, your bmw, your white collar town, but hating everything it stands for.

and mostly....hating your life, but enduring it all the same.

this is the reason i respect this show so much....because regardless of whether or not we are a suburban, 30 year old, widowed mother who has to sell pot to provide for our family on the outside....that person is inside of us. 

plus this show is just so damn funny. this is some good shit.

I can't deny my love for Harry Potter. To say you don't like (or at least appreciate) Harry Potter....would be saying that you don't like stories about good vs. evil. If that were really true your DVD collection would consist of from Justin to Kelly and the edited for TV version of Showgirls. 

Harry Potter is not a boy wizard out to battle Lord Voldemort in hopes of saving the world, he is the character embodiment of all the struggles that we face in our own lives. My favorite quote from any book or movies come from The Goblet of Fire:

"Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy." - Dumbledore

The reality is that we ALL will be faced with this question and what we answer will be what truly define us. We will fight all the same battles that Harry does, but most of us will choose easy over right. Thats just the way that it goes. If you think that Harry Potter is for kids, you are sorely mistaken. I can't think of any book that is more for adults. As a child we read the book and enjoy the sense of adventure....sure. But, it is only with age that we can look back and fully understand the difficulty of Harry's choice. Only then does the story really make sense.

If you couldn't tell I'm excited for July. Yay! for the only series of movies to get better over time. And for the Exhibit at the Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. Guess what I'm doing for Birthday 23?