Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Impressions [Possible Spoilers]

To be perfectly honest, I believe that this was the first Potter film that I actually enjoyed more than the book. The Half-Blood Prince book was dreary and lacked a lot of the heart and personality that the other books showed, but the film was able to keep things interesting with good pacing and fun dialogue.

Yes, some facts (mostly concerning a lot of the research Harry and co. does in their search to discover the identity of the Half-Blood Prince) are left out as per usual in book-to-film transition, but I didn't think that would have been necessary for the audience. The "revelation" is more suitable for the medium because it saves time and is no less significant.

Anyway, the air of mystery surrounding certain characters never failed to keep me interested, the acting was great, and the dialogue was witty and well done. My only problem with Half-Blood Prince was that the end felt a bit rushed and a lot less dramatic than the book described. Yes, I read that Yates had plans to move a "certain event" to the beginning of the next film, but I really think that the ending would have greatly benefited from the battle the Death Eaters had with the Order at the end of the book. It just seemed all too easy in the film.

I am awarding Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince four stars out of five for being interesting and well done, but lacking the drama and excitement that we see at the end of the book.

I have heard a lot of criticism from my friends about how they believed the movie was boring and uneventful, but I really just think that their problems stemmed from Rowling's writing and their own ideas rather than the film itself. When you make a movie that is based off of a source and you actually care about staying true to the source as much as possible (mainly due to time constraints) then there isn't much room to do tampering. I've seen that situation go wrong in films way too many times to condone it. But that's just my two cents.

This Day in Calvin and Hobbes: July 13, 1992

I lost my mind about four years ago. I thought about posting a reward for it, but I doubt I'd get any inquiries.

Blood: The Last Vampire Trailers

So when I first heard that a live-action Blood: The Last Vampire film was in the works, I groaned. Now I have seen the original anime film, read the manga based on the film, and seen the anime series that takes place in an alternate universe to that of the film, and I have to say... they were only mildly interesting. As some of you know, I consider myself to be a vampire enthusiast. I like reading about the mythology behind them and all of their different incarnations (sans Twilight's "take" on them). In the Blood: The Last Vampire universe, you can only loosely call the "chiropterans" vampires at all, though my problem with all of the said media comes mostly from the fact that too much time is wasted.

Anyway, Blood: The Last Vampire opened with a limited release this past Friday and I have no idea if it will be getting a full release anytime soon. I hope it does, though. It looks a lot better than I imagined.

Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin: Once Upon A Pixel

"Who says fairy tales can't include walking nuclear tanks?"


Best HAWP ever. Hands down. Not only is the artwork amazing, but subtract some of the comedic elements and add about thirteen (if you're new) hours of gameplay, dialogue, a few more bosses, and a proverbial legion of enemies then you'll have the first Metal Gear Solid game (I link to the Twin Snakes because it is vastly superior to the original Playstation version).

On a side note, you should all play Metal Gear Solid 1-4. Right now. If you don't, then I'll be forced to eat all of your lunches. Respectively, of course.

Push Impressions

To be honest, the only reason I saw this film was because I felt like renting something through Comcast On Demand and I just happened to remember it when I saw the title. I thought that the premise had a lot of potential and many of the characters were interesting (albeit vastly underused), but most of the events were just too random and the plot holes were large and numerous. Push comes off as more of a jumble of ideas than a coherent film. I just couldn't feel any connection to the events and the fact that everything resolved oddly made me feel more like I was cheated than anything else.

I am awarding Push two stars out of five for having potential, but failing to follow through. In truth, I liked this film a lot better when I had forgotten about it. Nothing to see here.

Our First "The Last Airbender" Trailer (With A Twist!)

So I saw this little "teaser" when it was shown before the new Transformers movie. I heard rumors about a live-action Avatar movie that would be directed by our favorite "what a twist!" master, M. Night Shyamalan, a while ago but I wasn't taken aback (and I didn't want to believe it) until now (because I really don't have a choice anymore). Now I just have to wonder what twists Shyamalan has in store for us? Oh, and which character he'll be playing. I'm betting on Sokka myself... or maybe one of the previous Avatars? Or maybe he'll just kill off Aang early on and make himself the new Avatar? Only time will tell.

Back From Disney World and Happy 4th!

So I got back from Disney World yesterday evening and I must say that it was both amazing and tiring. We went to the Magic Kingdom, the Animal Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM), and Epcot (twice). I took a ton of pictures (that I will probably be throwing up on Facebook at some point this week so if you want to see them search Jarred Lee), saw a bunch of cool things, and have a few hilarious tales to tell (to those who are interested).

As a note, if you ever go down to Disney World and you are staying at the Floridays Resort (yes, Floridays) then be ready to search out a wireless connection at one of their amenities. Seriously, a nice hotel like that doesn't have internet access in the rooms? Sheesh.

So anyway, enjoy your fourth of July everyone! My family is out of town so I have the whole house to myself for about a week, which I am still split on whether or not that is a good or bad thing. On the plus side, I get to basically do whatever I want without any questions asked (not that too many questions had to be asked before), but on the minus side I have to make sure my house doesn't explode or anything and that my dog stays fed and happy. Oh, and I'll probably be eating buttered rice, ramen, or whatever I can find for Fourth of July dinner. Sigh...