Movie Review - Harry Potter and the Juggernaut of Majyckal Revenue
I confess that I've read all the published books and now, seen all the films. Whilst not a fan per se I do quite enjoy the films and the books, but only during the actual reading/viewing experience.
If I cast what's left of my mind back I find myself quite unable to identify specific details with particular films or books, it has all been processed by my memory into a melange of events,
scenes and images with no particular distinction between any of them. I attribute this mostly to the formulaic style of the stories and (I suppose it's to the credit of the different directors) the consistent look and feel of the films.
Or maybe it's Alzheimers.
Anyway, since Mrs Stuffy and ChaCha wanted someone to drive and buy sweets I was taken to view the latest investment in the Rowling pension plan.
Stunning special effects, splendid actors (Rickman and Staunton were perfect) did I mention the effects ? It was an enjoyable movie experience but it's already sinking into the pot of memory chutney labeled 'Various Potterness'. The effects were, I seem to recall, impressive. The new book is out this weekend, Mts Stuffy has it on order and I'm guessing that will confuse and confound me even further before (and here's my bid for predictive immortality) Voldemort finally bites the ring off Harry's finger before plunging into the fires beneath Mount Doom. (remember, you read it here first)
Signs of the times ... A simple message ?
I spotted this sign on the fence of a large distribution centre recently and was intrigued as to the effect it might have on those I assume to be the target audience, I'm guessing the response might be "?"
Surveillance active both overt and covert
But the clarity and simplicity of the message faded when compared to this council sign I happened upon in Bloomsbury
"Bury Place closed to facilitate access"
Surely a grown up has to read this stuff before they order the signs ?
Third time unlucky ... again
So dear readers, the third Spiderman was messy and weak, and the third Pirates... was a plank too far. Mrs S and I had the joy of visiting our local cinematic field of dreams to enjoy a bag of sweets apiece and hopefully the final chapter in the Shrek franchise.
There was a chap in the cinema laughing uproariously at pretty much every gag, I was tempted to go over and see what film he was watching. The animation was, as expected amazing, but the things that I most enjoyed in Shrek 
1 and to a lesser extent in Shrek 2, the visual gags seemed weak and strained. In the first film there was a real interplay twixt Donkey and the ogre, the target was Disney, and you could appreciate that someone who really cared about poking fun at the Saccharine Kingdom was in the driving seat.
In the second film Jennifer Saunders, John Cleese, Julie Andrews and Antonio Banderas injected new interesting characters and the poking fun at Hollywood worked well. In this current outing we were left with Prince Charming, (bland) and various princesses, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinders, presumably intended to target Disney once more but missing by a mile. And here's a tough target for a film to parody, American high schools, ooh how original, sorry, I've never been to one but surely it's a genre that's had more than enough celluloid exposure, there was nothing new or amusing in this episode. The characters introduced including Eric Idle and Squeaky Timberlake were shallow and poorly crafted (with the exception of the enchanted trees who got the best lines).
And here's the kicker, music can make a film, the offbeat choices made in 1&2 were inspired and sent me into a frenzy of i-tuning after each film, I didn't remember one song (bar the frogs singing 'live and let die') once I'd left my seat.
Did Mrs Stuffy award it three snores? No, but only 'cos the nutter at the back kept reviving her with yet another hysterical guffaw at yet another imagined moment of hallucinatory on-screen hilarity.
scenes and images with no particular distinction between any of them. I attribute this mostly to the formulaic style of the stories and (I suppose it's to the credit of the different directors) the consistent look and feel of the films.
