The Sheila Variations

I couldn't get past his first sentence. Anyone who believes Prisoner of Azkaban "approach[ed] the pure goodness of the literary form" is obviously certifiable. It was HORRIBLE, so horrible that I am even leery of seeing Goblet of Fire.

I'm sorry, what? We aren't talking about Harry Potter? Sorry. That's the only geek ticket I have. ;)

Carry on.

Based on some of the uber-geek reports, I was terribly underprepared. Hundreds of folks went in their pajamas and dressing gowns as well.

I finally had the energy to leave the house today and I saw Hitchhiker's. Loved it. The additions and omissions were clearly to make it a movie that would appeal to those who hadn't read the book as well as those who had. Purists don't make up enough of a consituency to support the movie alone and the additions included more adventure, more humor and a much-needed romantic subplot for the underused Trillian.

In defense of the Azkaban movie, I suspect the people who hated it loved the first movie in the series (which I also loved - it remains my favorite). The first movie was virtually a word-for-word translation of the book. As the books get longer and the kids become teens, the director of Azkaban clearly saw the need to make a real movie instead of a filmed book. Purists will cringe, and I am a purist, but when I watched Azkaban as a movie (the second time around), I loved it. The Goblet of Fire was the longest yet. Purists will scream, but to put in the whole book would leave us in the theater for five hours. Let it be a movie.

Sheila,
I'd be willing, however, to wager that I was the only person in the world who went to the movie carrying a Jar Jar plushie.

"I'd be willing, however, to wager that I was the only person in the world who went to the movie carrying a Jar Jar plushie."

Nobody, but nobody, would take that bet, Emily.

Sissies!

Sissies who keep hold of their money.

Emily - Yes, this is true. But let's remember that Chris actually humped the Jar Jar plushie. In public. It was a truly disturbing moment.

And we are never going to let him forget it.

I loved Hitchhiker, saw it on opening night, but disappointingly did not see anyone with towels, bathrobes, etc....would be fun to get a group together to do that,however!

Carl,
You wouldn't have believed these wusses. We had, what? 15 people? And I was the only one who knew where my towel was the whole night. I was alone in my froodness.

Yes, as I noted at the time, I was disappointed in myself for not even having a digital watch.

A digital watch?

That sounds like a pretty cool idea.

A digital watch?

That sounds like a pretty cool idea.

Oh, bother. Sheila, I sneezed and I apologize. Please delete whichever pseudo-funny message you choose, as well as this one. I suck.

Well hats off to you Emily for being a the one brave soul!!!

Big Dan,

If you read this, and you're feeling up to it, check out my site. I'm going to write a post today about movies made from books I love. I want to talk about this, but don't want to clog up Sheila's comments.

I left my towel in the car, but some of the most important things in life I learned from HHG. I have never gone anywhere in the galaxy without a towel since 1982.

There have been surprisingly few reviews of the HHG movie on the net. I thought it was pretty OK - a good effort and nothing to really sneeze at, but not an out-of-the-park swing. I've been meaning to do a more elaborate post on "survival tips from HHG". Sort of an annex to the Earth chapter.

I'd love to read that, CW. Bring it on.

CW,
Where have you been looking, because I've seen dozens of reviews for the film on the net.

I was the only one with a towel at the showing I went to on opening night. It's good to know that in the larger sense, I was not alone...