Okay, I’m slightly behind, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s still the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11 and the moon landing. Great Time article about the astronauts.
Saw “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” on Sunday at the Cobble Hill theater. It was a decent adaptation. It’s not going to satisfy everybody, but it was good enough. (well, I had mixed feelings about the book in the first place, which was sad and left me really unsure about Dumbledore).
Alan Rickman – he was priceless as ever as Prof. Snape (but was barely on-screen). Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter is improving his acting chops – and I think he and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley could be the future Hugh Dancy or Hugh Grant, if they dare want to pursue romantic comedies (which I wouldn’t necessarily recommend if they do want to go down that route of a British acting career; they might want to consult with Damian Lewis or the current King of British actors in America, Hugh Laurie). Emma Watson as Hermione Granger was also very solid. I liked Michael Gambon – I kind of resented what Dumbledore did in Book 6, but Gambon played the humanity of Dumbledore very well. (and if you’re looking for the great tragedy of Book 6 to be exactly in the movie – well, don’t. Just don’t do it; adaptations are just that: they’re adaptations).
I did enjoy the trailer for the Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey, Jr., as Holmes. It just looked really good – even if it might not be a great movie, it looks like silly fun (well, okay, I am fond of silly Holmes movies – now there are tons of adaptations of that stuff!). Guess we got to wait until Christmas for this one.
The passing of Frank McCourt, author of “Angela’s Ashes” – and a memorable teacher who wrote (or writer who taught) – with a lasting impact for what he did for others.