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A friend of mine once lamented at how easily adults let go of things that made them happy when they were a child. Such things might be enjoyable to them even now, but they wouldn’t even consider it because they are now “adults”. I guess I’d always agreed with that lament. Anyone whose living came via a continued love of animation can’t be riding the “cartoons are for kids” line, ne? But now I try to do a better job of giving kid related things more a chance to touch my inner child. I’ve seen the joy my friend gets from such things, so I decided to follow her good example. ^_^ Of course my inner child is usually playing five card draw with deuces and one-eyed jacks wild, but I can get him to put the beer down and tone down the profanity for at least a little while. ^^

This brings me to Harry Potter. Or more specifically to last night’s midnight showing of Harry Potter, my first venture into the HP mania. The previews for the film looks great, so I’d planned to check it out. Then I got the heads up on the midnight showing. I became curious to see what a midnight showing of a “kids” film would be like, so I made my way to the theatre. There were a few kids (and young adults) dressed to the nines in HP or more general magic/wizardry styles. No Dr. Frank N’ Furter as far as the eye could see. ;) But the majority of the crowd was over 16. Even large groups of adults visibly over the age of 40 (with no children in site) were spotted. I got the feeling I was in for not your usual kiddie fare.

What a richly vibrant and wondrous world that was layed out before me. I found myself sinking deep into my seat and was so fixated with the screen that I barely noticed the little girl behind me fucking with my hair. Nor did I notice until I got in my car to go home that 2 1/2 hours had passed. 2 1/2 hours! Hell of a chance to take when your average kids flick is barely over 90 minutes long. (Can ADD kids handle this? Film at 11!) The performances were quite enjoyable, child and adult alike, especially the main Potter trio and the giant sized Rubeus Hagrid. Utterly fantastic special effects from the exciting game of Quidditch to Fluffy, the vicious, giant three headed dog.

To you adults out there without kids…go see this movie! It so rich and endearing that you’ll wish that Harry Potter had come out when you were a child…so that you could experience such wonder thought your original inner child. It’s a classic. Pure and simple.

And here I thought I would have to wait for Lord of the Rings to get a great chunk of enjoyable fantasy. Time to go buy the books. ^_^

The theatrical film year has officially come to a close for me (like how the corporate year ends in March…my theatrical film year ends in October). As with most of life: “A few winners; A whole lot of losers”. :)

Ze Top Ten

1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (4 Stars)
2. AI - Artificial Intelligence (4 Stars)
3. Memento (4 Stars)
4. Finding Forrester (4 Stars)
5. Thirteen Days (4 Stars)
6. The Others (3 1/2 Stars)
7. The Anniversary Party (3 1/2 Stars)
8. The Road Home (3 1/2 Stars)
9. Unbreakable (3 1/2 Stars)
10. Shadow of the Vampire (3 1/2 Stars)

Worst Movie of the Year: Dungeons and Dragons

(Jeremy Irons should have his agent dragged out into the street and pistol whipped for even suggesting this movie. Pootie Tang gets a strong honorable mention for this category.)