Harry Potter Book 7 (–update: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)

Posted on April 3, 2006 
Filed Under Books, All | 107 Comments

The Harry Potter books by JK Rowling are among the best I’ve read in a long time. Now that may seem like gushy fan praise, but hold that thought. For the past seven years I’ve read very little but children’s stories and board books. You guessed it; I’ve been reading these books to my now seven-year-old daughter. Before children, or BC as I like to say I was a ravenous reader. After my daughter was born, or AD as I like to say, soon followed by my son, my reading was greatly curtailed.

The Harry Potter books have been a wonderful point of connection for my daughter and me. But along with that they are also well-written, well-crafted stories. This has helped fill my reading jones, though now my foot is tapping for book seven.

To that end, since this post is about book seven it obviously isn’t a critique of the ending. No, this is my first predictive post and it is a tall order. The Harry Potter books are far from predictable, so I thought I would first lay out a list of directions I think she’s going in with percentages representing how strongly I feel about them. Then I’ll give you my ending.

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Flaws in the Matrix

Posted on February 25, 2006 
Filed Under Movies, All | 14 Comments

NEO

The Matrix trilogy had all the makings of really first rate science fiction: really good techno fluff, excessive action (can you say 20-minute car chase?), a huge special effects budget, and a hip, attractive cast. Other great science fiction movies have certainly had less going for them.

That’s why it’s too bad the ending stunk.

Right through the end of the second movie the Matrix Reloaded, I was pretty stoked about the direction the story was going. At the end, when Neo stops the machine while outside the matrix — I thought whoa, they’re still inside! Awesome twist and good example of machine-think: the machines lets all the humans who realize they’ve been inside the matrix think that they’ve escaped outside the matrix to Zion, while they’re really still inside another layer of the matrix. That’s exactly how a machine would solve the problem. Good stuff.

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Fight Club, more than just soap

Posted on February 7, 2006 
Filed Under Movies, All | 1 Comment

This was a movie that I had almost no interest in seeing. As a result my expectations were low, and quickly exceeded. To my surprise it was not the pointless bar room brawl I expected. Not only that, it was a movie that I didn’t sniff out the formula on, and predict the end within the first fifteen minutes. Which is rare. You could call it a study in existential irrelevance resolved through impromptu gladiatorial brutality. But that would be obnoxious and miss the point. This movie could more accurately be described as the illegitimate offspring of Office Space and Memento, with a little Kill Bill and Sixth Sense on the side.

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