spousal duties

[realthog]

Oh, gawd, I'm being dragged orft to see Harry Potter and the Half-Cut Prince tonight. Wish me strength, folks.

Last night we likewise went out on a date, and we discovered a magnificent beer: Troeg's Hopback Amber. Now, if I could smuggle a few bottles of that into the cinema tonight perhaps it'd help with the ol' fortitude . . .

Comments

[avengangle.livejournal.com]

See, I was nasty and dragged my long-suffering spouse to a midnight showing, so count yer blessings . . .

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"count yer blessings"

I have told Pam this, and she is much pleased.

Do give Ben my sympathies . . .

[pds-lit.livejournal.com]

Way to go! Our local flea pit does not offer midnight showings so my Dearest did not get that pleasure. LOL!

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Oh, I dunno. With a midnight showing I might have been able to sleep through it . . .

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

I recommend Old Granddad for that.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

I got the bottled Troeg's after we'd come home. It's one of those extremely rare occasions when the bottled version is near as dammit indistinguishable from the draft: if I had the two side by side I could probably detect a difference, but as I'm concerned (and likewise a sampling Pam) the two are identical.

Unfortunately, the brewery declines to ship more than a few hours away from its home, so you'll have no luck looking for it in Atlanta. But if you're ever up in these parts . . .

[avengangle.livejournal.com]

Midnight showings make me feel old. (I'm 26.) It isn't so much the sleep deprivation but the CHILDREN. *sigh*

But yeah, it was pretty awesome. :)

[realthog.livejournal.com]

One of the kids just a few feet away from us at tonight's performance let out an ear-piercing scream at a frightening bit, and I leapt a yard in my seat. It was actually the scream rather than the frightening bit that made me jump; the kid's young eyes spotted the bit in question long before I did, so it was only during my descent, as it were, that I saw what it was she'd screamed at.

[mylefteye.livejournal.com]

Hahaha! So, did you jump twice?

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"So, did you jump twice?"

No! The frightening bit wasn't all that frightening, once I spotted it. It was the scream wot scared the bejabers out of me.

[alaneer.livejournal.com]

Ah, but you must take spousal duties seriously. Besides, Harry Potter is a very good movie. I've seen them all and read the books.

I'm seeing it Friday or Saturday with younger daughter and nephew.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"but you must take spousal duties seriously"

I do! I do! Not just seriously but downright grimly.

"Besides, Harry Potter is a very good movie."

Er, but you haven't yet seen it . . .

"I've seen them all and read the books."

You are braver than I am. I got through the first of the books and that was enough for me. The movies, obviously, have been compulsory, um, treats.

[alaneer.livejournal.com]

No, no, no. Not grimly. Grimly is in Lord of the Rings. *g*

I've seen the other movies and read all the books. You know, my juvenile side craves young adult books.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"my juvenile side craves young adult books"

So does mine, just not the Harry Potter books. But Pam reads them all eagerly -- from the UK editions, if she can get them, because the US publisher has done some dumbing down, alas.

[alaneer.livejournal.com]

I read them eagerly too. And it's true that the US editions are dumbed; we have two of the books in UK edition,(forget which ones) that we bought in Europe and they are different.

[thisplacehere.livejournal.com]

Loath as I am to admit it, I have read six-and-a-half of the books and seen four (or possibly three; I can't remember) of the films. Enough's enough. More than enough, actually.

[thisplacehere.livejournal.com]

Forgot to add: best of luck...

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"Forgot to add: best of luck..."

Thanks, guv.

[thisplacehere.livejournal.com]

What did you think of the film, then?

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Like the rest of them, it was moderately okay: good special effects, a couple of good performances, somewhat tedious, derivative plotting -- ya know.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Further to my last note, there's a pretty accurate review of the movie here: http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/movies/15harry.html?8mu&emc=mu. My only difference from the reviewer would be that I thought (Pam disagrees) Rickman wasn't up to his usual speed.

Oh, and the reviewer doesn't mention that some of the visuals were extraordinarily lovely.

[thisplacehere.livejournal.com]

Sounds like typical 'middle volume' fare -- characters hanging around waitin for the ending.

One of the things that's always annoyed me about the Harry Potter series is that it wants to be 'grown-up', contemporary, and have genuine danger; yet it's set in a quaint, old-fashioned, half-jokey public school world -- and the two just sit awkwardly together. This film sounds like more of the same.

And that's probably the most analytical thing I'll ever write about Harry Potter...

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"the two just sit awkwardly together"

I hadn't really been aware of this in the Potter movies (and anyway, as a general rule, I enjoy such dichotomies, as you know!) until this latest: there's some truly ghastly adolescent clowning (Ron swallows a love potion) smack up against some sterner stuff, and it really, really doesn't work.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

And you didn't pull your own head off even once?

[thisplacehere.livejournal.com]

No, but if I tried to read one these days, I might...

[realthog.livejournal.com]

I'd stick with the Glenmorangie instead, then.

[pds-lit.livejournal.com]

Now what are you grumping about? You get to hold my hand and steal kisses in a darkened theatre.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

The last time we did that we gotr thrown out, didn't we?

[pds-lit.livejournal.com]

Now that I don't remember, silly boy!

[mylefteye.livejournal.com]

He must be thinking of somebody else.

*makes stirring motions*

[realthog.livejournal.com]

It was Julie Delpy, I think.

[al-zorra.livejournal.com]

Oh noes!

I tried watching the previous Potter flick and got absolutely nowhere because it was relentlessly green and dark.

You will need the Troeg's, doubtless.

Smuggle away -- it's a magic potion to keep away the muggle.

I still, despite this Potter era, see or hear the word "muggles," and I think, "Ah, Satchmo, he's getting his maryjane!"

Love, C.

[al-zorra.livejournal.com]

Though I will admit that that Half-Blood Prince was the best of the 7 books, so maybe the flick will be better too?

[realthog.livejournal.com]

I read only the first book, and it was so "reminiscent of" Diana Wynne Jones that I thought I'd just stick with the original.

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

I've never been able to get through a Harry Potter book. I've watched some of the movies because my grandsons forced me, bless their hearts.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"I've never been able to get through a Harry Potter book."

Pam says that in fact they're not bad. Myself, as noted above to the foxy lady, I'd rather get my periodically necessary Diana Wynne Jones fix from, like, a Diana Wynne Jones book instead.

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

Just because I can't get through a book doesn't mean the book is bad. Rowlings has the vote of a zillion kids or more, so she's doing something right, eh? Lives in a castle, too.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"Rowlings has the vote of a zillion kids or more, so she's doing something right, eh?"

Like Macdonalds, Hannah Montana, Budweiser and cigarettes . . .

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

Ah, be nice. We use Budweiser for beer butt BBQ chicken . . .

[jongibbs.livejournal.com]

You loved it though, admit it :)

[realthog.livejournal.com]

As noted to thisplacehere further up the page: "Like the rest of them, it was moderately okay: good special effects, a couple of good performances, somewhat tedious, derivative plotting -- ya know."