Revisited: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

November 20, 2017 / / 3 Comments
Prisoner_of_Azkaban_cover

Scholastic

My family was a little late to the Harry Potter party when the books first came out in the late 1990s and I think we got into it right around the time Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban first came out. Interestingly, I was introduced to the Boy Who Lived by my father, who had discovered him through one of his colleagues. The series quickly became a family favorite, with all three of us tearing through the books just as quickly as we could, and then discussing everything that was going on.

But despite having not returned to the third Harry Potter book since its release in 1999, I found during my revisit that I actually remembered just about all of the key plot points. Read More

Revisited: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

July 26, 2017 / / No Comments
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Scholastic

It’s the 26th of the month, which means that it’s time for another installment of my Harry Potter read-a-thon! This time, I’m delving into Book 2 – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Unlike the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which featured a few angles that I didn’t really remember, there wasn’t anything “new” that caught my attention during this re-read. In fact, I didn’t take a single note!

Instead, it was only when I started watching the movie that things struck me a little differently – though this was mainly because it had been a while since I had read those parts of the book. Read More

Spider-Man: Homecoming

July 13, 2017 / / 2 Comments
Spider-Man_Homecoming_poster

Columbia Pictures

Wow. It’s been nearly a week since Spider-Man: Homecoming finally hit theaters and my thoughts about this latest film featuring the web-slinger have been on quite the roller-coaster ride.

First of all, after being somewhat skeptical of Tom Holland’s casting as Peter Parker/Spidey – as well as tired of all the reboots – I found myself really looking forward to seeing Homecoming as its release date drew closer. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but the flow of positive reviews in my Twitter feed certainly helped. Read More

Revisited: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

June 26, 2017 / / 2 Comments
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Scholastic

Growing up, there were certainly things that I was a fan of (Barbie and the Rockers: Out of this World is one particular example that comes to mind), but I don’t really remember joining a “fandom” until I was introduced to the wizarding world of Harry Potter.

I came to the series a few books in, but quickly got sucked into the story. I still recall waiting in line at Borders (which is really dating myself!) for the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, embarrassing my mother as I nearly ran over an elderly gentleman at Costco because I was convinced that he too was going for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and I fondly remember working the release party for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Read More

Movie Must-Sees: 2017

January 26, 2017 / / 2 Comments

As 2016 began to wind down last December and I started to recap the year, I realized something surprising: Of the five movies that I highlighted on my must-see list, the Mysterious Mr. C and I actually only made it to the theater for one – Captain America: Civil War.

While we – okay, maybe, mostly I – had been excited for all of them, as their release dates got closer and the lackluster reviews started pouring in, we got scared away. As I’ve mentioned before, it can cost us upwards of $40 or so to go to the movies, so we have to be really, really into the films to ignore the commentary and check them out ourselves. And in 2016, we ultimately decided the silver screen just wasn’t quite worth it.  Read More