BUU8800

Slow Start 1

Osomatsu-san 19 - 21

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Now this has always been my favorite of the books and films. I still remember the first time I watched it, it was a bootleg copy on DVD my sister's friend brought over for her at the old place we used to live. I borrowed it and watched it alone one weekend and was utterly absorbed. It was the last of the films I wouldn't actually see in the theaters. I absolutely adored the Voldemort resurrection scene. Oh I could still recite plenty of his dialogue from that scene as he's mocking Harry. Ralph Fiennes was brilliant, and that look....also brilliant. I loved Brendan Gleeson's performance as Mad Eye Moody. It's a close call between him and Jim Broadbent playing Slughorn for my favorite one-year/film primary role teacher. He's a great actor in general though. I did notice how there's a discrepancy between how Polyjuice Potion actually works between this and the Chamber of Secrets films. Mainly which voice the drinker has. From what I remember, it's been awhile since I've read any of the books, here got it right and Chambers didn't. I can't remember right now how this gets handled when Harry Ron and Hermione use is again in Deathly Hallows 1 but I'll find out Monday night. I also can't remember off hand so I could be wrong, but isn't Harry obsessed with Cho Chang way before the fourth book in the books? I was surprised to remember that this is her first film appearance. I know she plays an important role in Phoenix and then just vanishes for Ginny. More on that tomorrow I suppose. Not to belabor the point but in recent years I've read a lot of commentators on other sites use a scene from this movie to criticize Gambon's Dumbledore. Namely when he grabs Harry and growls at him about putting his name in the Goblet of Fire. Now I honestly never really thought much of that when I first saw the film or the first few times after. Admittedly it is a far cry from Harris' Dumbledore asking Harry if there was anything he wished to tell him in Chamber of Secrets. Quite the stark contrast between interrogating techniques huh? I meant to mention this yesterday but Flitwick has his makeover now too. I guess I prefer this look but I never really had a problem with the old one honestly. He's been playing the conductor role the last two films now. I moreso consider Azkaban the real turning point of the story as far as films go as I've gone over already but bookwise this is definitely the one I'd choose for that distinction. The middle child of the books, ending with Voldemort's rebirth and a death of a named character. This is where things get dark. Really dark. The movie honestly felt like a bunch of mini-movies come together. You've got the three tasks, Voldemort's revival, the Quidditch World Cup, the Yule Ball, etc...We also have the pensieve's introduction. That will play a large role in future installments. And Ron acting like something of an ass to both his friends. I had forgotten about how he initially suspected Harry of putting his own name into the Goblet of Fire. Not his finest moment. I'm not really interested in it but I should probably also mention that entire house elf subplot that got taken out entirely. Poor Dobby, still 2 more movies until he gets to return...only to die. This was a massive book though so lots was left out. And Phoenix is even bigger! But more on that film tomorrow night.

Osomatsu-san 17 Osomatsu-san 18

Toji no Miko 1 Osomatsu-san 16

Eh, with a calming slice of life show like that I took the plot as just learning about these characters and watching them interact. Plus enjoy their favorite meals together. Good enough for me. I only wished we'd gotten to spend even more time with them.

See I found myself utterly charmed by Restaurant enough to finish it in a matter of a day or two and put it on my best of the year list. But then I love those slow, comfy, character study shows. Or at least I can. Never got around to actually watching Ben-to. I wanted to at one point but just never did.

Interesting order Hunter. I'll reveal my order gradually as my rewatch gets closer to finishing. Osomatsu-san 13 - 15

I can't think of any I'd say suck. Of the ones I watched anyway. Koufuku Graffiti and Amaama to Inazuma were wonderful. This one it's too early to say sucks imo. What else? Hmmm....well certainly Soma got pretty bad in the neverending Azami arc though.

MAL seems to hold that consensus that it shoulda been a short too. As someone who hasn't read the source material the length didn't bother me so much, but I do get the nagging suspicion it'll be very repetitive very quickly. Which I don't really mind so long as I like it admittedly. But we'll see.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban I've always felt odd about this one because of the high regard in which it is often held. I know a lot of fans I've watched or read still consider this the best of the films but I've never really agreed. It's not even in my Top 3 honestly. It's a very good movie though, certainly. My god have the child actors grown! So much taller! It occurred to me in one scene that Harry looked as tall as Tom Riddle in the previous film now, who was supposed to be 16 then(played by a 23 or 25 year old too I forget) as opposed to the 13 Harry is meant to be now. Well it's probably not that dramatic a difference but still, pretty big growth spurt. Speaking of entering the teenage years Harry's pretty noticeably gotten an attitude of sorts here. Immediately noticeable in that opening scene at the Dursley's. Hermione does too actually, ah those raging hormones. Ron? Not so much. More of a scaredy cat again in this one like in Chamber. Getting the goofier reactions to things.That's not all that's changed of course. Michael Gambon could never really hope to fill Richard Harris' shoes as Dumbledore, and he doesn't really try to. Opting to play the character fairly differently. Gone is the soft spoken, yet powerful, somewhat mystical presence and we get a much quirkier interpretation of the character. It's not bad perse just different. I find it works best when he's being playful, like continuously distracting Fudge so Harry and Hermione can save Buckbeak. Speaking of, animals and time would probably be the two words that best describe this one for me. We've got 4 animals that take center stage for much of it, 3 of them primarily humans. Lupin, Sirius and Pettigrew are all welcome additions to the cast certainly. Lupin's probably my second favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher after next year's. The time aspect is well done. Reminiscent of Marty interacting with his past self in Back to the Future Part II. One can't help but notice though that the time-turners were conveniently written out after this film, playing far too big a potential deus ex machina for future installments. I noticed the colors are getting duller. Certain scenes reminded me of ones from later films because of the coloring alone. The last film in the franchise scored by John Williams, though his main theme will be heard again throughout the franchise. Despite the time shenanigans giving us two looks at the same day the film moves at a fairly brisk pace, especially compared to the previous two and next two. Good stuff, once again.

Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san 1 Yuru Camp 1(and no I don't know how to type the triangle symbol so I don't intend to.)

Osomatsu-san 8 - 12

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets For a long time this was a sentimental favorite of mine. It has the same charm as its predecessor, but with a darker and more serious story. I always tend to lump the first two films together and separate them from the rest in my mind. It's the cosmetic details and tone really I think. Richard Harris' Dumbledore, great again btw, plus the fact that it always felt to me like the kids in these first two movies looked more childlike than in the rest. They've definitely grown from the first down get me wrong, but it isn't as dramatic as we'll get from Azkaban on. I swear it feels like they all grow at least half a foot between the time when Secrets and Azkaban were filmed. That aside I love meeting the patriarch's of the Malfoy and Weasley clans, and while I do tend to separate this one from the later movies I do love the horcrux connection it has with them, even if we didn't know the specifics at the time. I love the theme of the power of memories, and the actor playing Tom Riddle was great. There are lines I'll randomly repeat to myself from time to time like Dumbledore's little choices line he gives to Harry at the end. I noticed something I hadn't really connected before. I always love in Death Hallows 2 when Dumbledore amends his help will always be given at Hogwarts line to Harry, but I failed to realize it's actually a callback to a line from Harris' Dumbledore in this film. He says it in Hagrid's hut to the invisible Ron and Harry. I guess the 2 different Dumbledore's just made a mental block of sorts for me. I'm pretty neutral on Dobby. I know he plays a much larger role in the books to come as opposed to the films. Ironic though that Harry asked him to never try and save his life again when we know how that will go in the future. This also seems like the last film where Hagrid feels particularly important. He has roles in later films of course, but I mean this one even ends with a big celebration for his returning.

Osomatsu-san 6 - 7

Is he getting that 502 error or whatever? Because from around Christmas until a few days later that was getting me too. Finally I had to delete my bookmark and just google search the place again and that worked. Note that this was not the first time I had to do that. It wasn't even a particularly old bookmark either but I dunno. This is the only place I go that does that kinda stuff to me.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Man now this brought me back. HBO is showing these all week and it's been awhile since I've seen them, especially the earlier ones. Harry turns 11 in this movie and I would have just barely turned 12 when this film came out. Of course it was actually my younger sister who was a big enthusiast when these were coming out. I remember she received the fifth book as a present when it first came out, had lots of toys and whatnot. I only started taking an interest in the franchise a bit later, but did eventually get around to reading almost all the books. Rewatching this film again was a trip down memory lane. I had forgotten just how much was stuffed into it! Certain lines stuck with me though, from way back when. And that John Williams score! Man, Richard Harris was so great, a shame he only lived to make two of the films. Couldn't help but notice how many actors in this are no longer with us now. Ollivander, Mr. Dursley, and of course Snape. Some of the CG hasn't aged well. The troll seemed to stand out particularly. A thought occurred to me that had George Lucas made these films he probably would have released a special edition of this one with Ralph Fiennes added as the form of Voldemort living on Quirrel's head instead of the original actor. Funny how they shot all the scenes with Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone twice. To this day I'm not really sure why they thought the change was needed for us here. I do remember there was a big backlash against these films by the christian community early on though. My religious nut Uncle nearly broke my sister's VHS copy of this one at the time. Sigh, thinking back makes me feel so old. Well maybe I'll watch some of the later ones as the week goes on too.

Osomatsu-san 5

Osomatsu-san 4 A Place Further Than The Universe 1

I watched the pirated way. The video quality was terrible and the player sucked though, so I wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I probably might have uninterrupted. Still the references were nice. Catching some Twilight Zone now. Time Enough At Last was just on and now one I've never seen, The Shelter. Followed by Living Doll and To Serve Man, both of which I have seen but may watch again.

Osomatsu-san 1 - 3

Overlord II 1

Tamako Love Story

hbgoo is that yoo?

Holy hell Bengals with the upset! Well good for them, and good for Buffalo. On a more somber note, it looks like our season will end against an NFC South team in 2 weeks. But which will it be? The Saints? Falcons? Panthers? Find out next week on Dragon Ball Z!