It would appear that I’m going to have to avoid contact with the internet for the next week until I’ve actually gotten around to reading “& The Deathly Hallows” after someone managed to get hold of a copy , scan it and publish it on the internet (and the pursuit of Bloomsberg’s lawyers suggests that it is the genuine deal). Now every crack pot with too much time on their hands and a grudge against society (and I use that term loosely) seems hell bent on posting spoilers everywhere instead of allowing people to actually read the book. All of these people are doing this because they claim “its funny”, but fail to realise the irony that they spent the first six months of last year crying because Optimus Prime was the wrong shade of red and that Michael Bay had raped their childhoods.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m under no illusions that Potter represents the pinnacle of Western Literature (to be honest, I’m not sure one book can claim that), but it is something that a lot of people, and more importantly a lot of kids, get a hell of a kick out of reading. For me its because it reminds me of the books I used to read (Potter being my one remaining guilty pleasure of kids books) and whilst I won’t be too mad if I accidentally come across a spoiler (or someone who’s read it blurts something out by mistake) the fact that some people are intending on having banners to spoil it for kids waiting for it on Friday night strikes me as neither big, nor clever.
Moving on it’s struck me that I haven’t yet commented on the new film, despite it being very, very good. The one sequel I’ve seen this summer that has been of any quality, Potter (the films) seem to be defying all expectations and getting better the further they go into the series. This is especially impressive considering that the book is possibly the weakest of the series (I say possibly because it’s the one I have the least memory of). Each director seems to be bringing something new to the mix (although this one has already been signed up for film six as well), the look is getting stronger, less overtly kid-friendly and even the kids seem to have found their roles finally and are no longer completely upstaged by the veteran thesps (although predictably both Gary Oldman and Alan Rickman romp away with the scenes they are in).
All in I liked it, and it restored my faith (a little) in the possibilities of sequels.
Midland Film Monkey 