Harry Potter: 2 to go

Spoiler free as far as I can think………

 

So, anyone else seen HP aTHBP yet?

I’ve been meaning to write a proper review but time is not my friend.  So here come the bullet points:

Good:

• Alan Rickman = Snape.  Best casting ever?
• Good sense of brooding menace.
• Funny.  Much more so than the others IIRC.
• Emotional – again, more so than the previous films and perhaps, the books.
• Acting.  Maybe I’m just getting old and soft but Ron in particular seemed a lot lot better.  Tom Riddle was excellent and I thought Malfoy did well given quite a tough part.

Bad

• Lacking action.  Blame this on the book but….
• Fumbled the finale.  Hard to go into without spoilers but this was an obvious set-piece for me – where did it go?  I thought the same about a few set pieces from the book but what was strange was they introduced other action themselves which worked well.  I’d love to know more about their thinking.
• The word “Tosser”.  I’m no Daily Mail reader but it just seemed really jarring.  I suppose the idea was to show they are normal kids but one word (used twice) in 6 films seems a bit token!
• It’s only setting up the next one….

Now I know that’s a cheap criticism given I’ve read the books but it really struck me as an interesting reaction.  I think on some level I gave the book some credit/leeway as setting up the Deathly Hallows but it bothered me as a film.  

I guess this could be a difference between my expectation for books and films but then there are plenty of “Empire Strikes Back” examples to counter that argument.  I think it’s more about pacing.  As the penultimate story it was fine… but its not the penultimate film and for some reason that made it irritating. 

So all in all a solid 3/5 from me.  I’m looking forward to the last one, just wish there were not two of them!

As usual, maybe I’m over-analysing – anyone else seen it?

1 vs 100

ok so it’s still technically games-based but it is at least based on a TV show.  I’m going to see Harry Potter this weekend so maybe I’ll branch out into film then.

Anyway, has anyone else played 1 vs 100 yet?  I logged on for about an hour and friday and thought it was really fun.  I’m always up for trivia but the promise of real prizes does add a certain je m’appelle beouf.  Also, I’m sure it will lose it’s dazzle factor pretty quickly but the idea you are all (I think around 60,000 of us) hooked into the same live game was pretty cool.  I’ve seen the future and it’s geeky.

It would be good to get a few of us playing together though – nothing like a bit of friendly competition.

Any thoughts?

Consoles come and go but fanboys remain the same

Another day, another million idiots ranting on forums everywhere. Get inside Ma, the Fanboys are coming….

An innocent sounding comment becomes a point of vital pride, becomes a full-blown argument, becomes a whirling tornado of rage. The sad thing is that I get it, I nearly was one myself. And I want to help.

My first console was a Sega Megadrive and I remember spending ages making that decision. Megadrive vs SNES. Sega vs Nintendo. Mario vs Sonic. I couldn’t have known, but I was right to choose wisely – that decision would sit with me for the next 10 years.

The course I was on led me to the Saturn and then the Dreamcast. By the time I owned them I was well aware that neither was the popular choice but it didn’t matter. This was Sega, I got to play Nights, Shenmue and all the others. Of course, I was missing out on so many good games (Goldeneye, Mario 64 and MGS spring to mind) but didn’t have the time or the money to really care.

And then everything changed. Suddenly, there was a real consequence of failure as the flow of new games on the Dreamcast started to dry up. I realised that I wanted but could not afford all 3 consoles. It was then that the fanboy took over.

Suddenly the other systems were the enemy, stealing market share and any future from my beloved system. Suddenly, the emerging mass-market were blinded idiots. Drawn in by clever marketing and rubbish tie-ins killing “my” industry with their undiscerning choices. I chose to ignore inconvenient truths. That Sega was already starting to disappoint as much as delight. That some amazing “hardcore” titles were coming out and doing well on the other systems.

After the Sega double-whammy I decided to play it safe and buy a PS2. This was by far the most sensible choice I’d made in a while and exposed me to some real classics. It also opened my eyes to the chance to engage girlfriends and family thanks to things like Eyetoy and Singstar. I’d finally backed a winner. Was it a better console? No. Did it have better games? No. Was I as passionate about it? No. What a great 5 years they were.
Now in an online world, the stakes are even higher. Now I am lucky enough to afford all 3 consoles but constrained by a lack of space, time and the patience of my girlfriend. Suddenly buying a console has also become a “prisoner’s dilemna” involving not just me but my friends too. For this reason, I now own an Xbox360. I love it but I still covet games on other systems, I just don’t stress it.

The thing is, I understand where the Fanboys are coming from. Consoles are pretty expensive and being stuck with a discontinued model and a collection of outdated games is no fun at all. It is great to rediscover a classic but an option would be nice. Combine that with the desire to be “right” and a passion for the games they enjoy and I can see why people get excitable.

The difference is that the internet allows that excitement to spill over into full blown abuse. The anonimity seems to encourage people to forget their logic as well as their manners. A preference becomes a belief. Even worse, a belief becomes a “fact”. Not only that, your rant is then posted for posterity. The only thing you prove? There is no “best” console, just the worst type of idiot.

So my advice? Choose wisely, enjoy what you have, and try not to miss or insult what you don’t. We all like to back the winner, but it’s more important to enjoy the race.