Review Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part I review

Well, saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 this morning. It was the first showing (not counting last night's (almost) midnight showing). As it finished there was a discernable sigh and a few muttered curses from the audience. Why, oh, why did the makers split up the last book? Don't answer that: money, of course.

All the way through the movie I was on tenterhooks because I knew it would end before the finish of the book, and I was stressed out over this.

And .... the same problem as the last film (Half Blood Prince). It was too dark in colour! When I got the DVD of Half Blood Prince, I could hardly see what was going on on my tv screen. Judging by the colour pallette of this latest film, it will be the same. I don't feel like I even want to buy the DVD this time.l

There were a few script changes from the book and this surprised me. Most of everything was needed though. All the main plot points seemed to happen so fast that there was really no tension or 'soft' emotion as in the book.

It was terribly obvious that a lot of it was originally made with 3D in mind. A lot of repetitive swishing and swirling. I hope the makers of the final movie remember how subtle the 'Avatar' people handled 3D.

All in all, an okay movie, I'll see it again.

Oh, and my swimming...? Ho-hum, it's 'normal' now. Still cold, though.

November swims .. and author reverence

Yep, you got it right. The heading says 'swims'. Already 10 November and my friend and I have been swimming in the sea twice this month. The first time was on the 2nd and we were in the water at Hataitai Beach for 23 minutes. But it was a veritable traffic jam. There were five, repeat five, of us in the sea! How awful, we were no longer the top winter swimming dogs! From now on, I guess, the water will be a-wash with souls. Sigh, it's difficult to once again turn in to one (or two) of many. The water isnt so bad when we're in, but we're still at the shivering/cold toes stage for about fifteen minutes afterwards. But .... yippeeeee, summer's all but here, all's right with the world.

I've just finished reading the second book by the author of Julie/Julia (or Julie and Julia .... or Julia & Julie - God, it's awful when you read so many books, you can't remember titles and authors). In the first book, Julie was determined to cook, in one year, every recipe from the Julie Childs French gourmet recipe book. A hilarious book, taken from Julie's blog. It was turned into a film where the producers cheated a bit and added Meryl Streep as Julia Childs. Anyway, I've just read Julie's book two, "Cleaving" where our intrepid writer is learning to be a butcher. I'm in a state of shock to discover that during all the Julie/Julia stuff our so-called heroine was having an affair with a married man whom she still utterly, absolutely adores. Heavens, all that time she was stuffing live lobsters into steaming pots and working through Julia Childs' cookbook, and ostensibly a happy marriage ... she was 'carrying on' behind the readers' backs! Tut-tut, I'm shocked and disappointed, my trust has been betrayed. I will never believe anyone writing an autobiography ever again.