Tag Archives: Books

Deathly Hallows pt.1 – Why I Love Harry Potter, Even the Movies

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I certainly created much excitement Thursday night, and needless to say, I printed out my tickets that I bought months ago and headed to Regal Fenway at 11:30 p.m.

Midnight approached… 12:01… 12:02… 12:03… 12:04… and finally, 12:05! Harrrryyyyyy Pottteeeerrrrrrr began.

Let me jump ahead and say, I absolutely LOVED the 7th movie. No matter what the anti-HP-movie crowd believes, HP movies are just as great as the books.

Honestly, it’s impossible to compare the books to the movies. If David Yates (HP7 Director) included every single detail in the book, we would have to watch a 10-hour movie, or a 5-part series. The way movies cut out certain plot lines and emphasize important ones that keep the story flowing smoothly both visually and artistically tells the journey of Harry Potter perfectly. Sure, I want to see Harry struggling to choose between the Horcruxes and Deathly Hallows, but I also want the movie to keep moving.

*Disclaimer: I do agree, however, with those who say the first two movies are not up to par. Sorry, Christopher Columbus, but Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets just do not compare to the greatness of Prisoners of Azkaban and on.

The illustration of the Deathly Hallows tale told by Xenophilius Lovegood takes the crown of my favorite part of the movie. The wand, the invisibility cloak and the resurrection stone. You cannot take your eyes off the cartoon images – but not quite, because they are skeletons – and their movements up and down the screen.

Another factor that makes this movie amazing? The casting. We all know already Helena Bonham Carter plays the part of Bellatrix Lestrange almost too well. She is deliciously evil and vicious. She makes you cringe. She is the perfect Bellatrix.

Ralph Fiennes, Lord Voldemort, is also perfect for his role. Especially when he says “Nagini, dinner,” he is Voldemort at his finest. His tone, facial expression and gesture portray everything evil.

The ending point of Part 1 is also well-chosen. Clearly the crew thought this out very carefully. It is a turning point in the story, and it makes you want to watch the Part 2 ASAP.

For the next movie, I am hearing it may come out in 3-D. Hmm… Not sure if I am a fan of the idea to be honest. The last half (or rather, 2/5) of the Deathly Hallows will be action-packed. There will be fights, spells and deaths. But 3-D, really? Selfish part of me also doesn’t want to pay the extra $5 to see the supposed “popping out action.” We get plenty of movements in the movie itself, so why is it necessary for us to watch it in 3-D? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

If you haven’t seen the Deathly Hallows Part 1 yet, what are you doing? Go watch!

The Magic of Kindle

I gave in. I bought myself a Kindle for my 22nd birthday. Other than joining the bandwagon of e-Reader owners, I thought it made a nice birthday gift to myself. And now, I am completely hooked.

Believe it or not, it is THAT tiny. The “graphite” color differentiates the latest generation from the older versions and iPods. (Am I the only one who remembers those first generation white iPods?) And in the green leather cover that resembles Kate Spade wallets, my Kindle now permanently resides in my bag.

Despite the number of companies that make e-Readers – Borders, Barnes & Noble, etc. – I went with Amazon because of its name. After all, Amazon came up with an e-Reader first, and Kindle is most well-known.

Kindle also in a way saved Amazon. Due to the rise of the popularity of online shopping, new websites, such as Zappos and Overstock, quickly became competitors of Amazon. Subsequently, Amazon releasing Kindle gave it a new boost.

All in all, Kindle as a gadget, I LOVE.

I do wish, however, Kindle had more features similar to those of iPads. Honestly, $500 for an iPad did not quite fit my budget. In the end, I am still a poor college student – also another reason why I settled for a Kindle. But sometimes I want to be able to surf the web without delay or play those awesome zombie games.

Nonetheless, a few reasons why my Kindle experience has been superb so far:

I can download select books for free. Who doesn’t love FREE things? In the past, I have spent way too much money on books – novels I want to read, required readings for classes, let alone TEXTBOOKS. Yikes. I am still quite bitter about dropping $100 on my statistics textbook. (When am I ever going to need this Elementary Stats book down the road?) Thanks to Kindle, I have acquired classics, including Pride and Prejudice, and historic novels for free.

Easy-read format news blogs for only $1.99 per month. I subscribed to the New York Times blog updates via Kindle, which automatically downloads the latest headlines and full-length articles. I am basically reading the hard-copy version of the Times on Kindle for significantly cheaper than annual subscription fee.

Word games, one of the best ways to kill time or procrastinate. Alright, fine, not as cool as slicing fruits or killing zombies on fancy iPads or iPhones, but Word Shuffle can still keep you occupied for hours. Finding words… entertaining!