Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

We’ve been enjoying a Harry Potter marathon over the last few weeks with CareBear.  GadgetMan and I had decided long ago that our kidlets would need to read the books before watching the movies…on many of the made from books movies that seem to be so popular.  CareBear read through the Harry Potter books like a whirlwind…and we’ve had a blast watching the movies with her.

Skyline and Red Riding Hood

Two movies that GadgetMan and I watched over the last week.  Two movies I could have lived without.  Two movies…one left feelings of disappointment, the other feelings of incredulity.  Any guess as to which was which?

Barbie and Narnia

This week’s Netflix mailing included Barbie: A Fairy Secret and Narnia: The Voyage of the The Dawn Treader.  One was very disappointing and the other fun to watch.  Any guesses on which was which?

The Tale of Despereaux (2008)

The Tale of Despereaux is a cute animated movie.  It’s about a courageous little mouse who doesn’t understand the need to act like a mouse.  He’s banished for not being mouse enough, is rescued from the barbaric rats by a rat who doesn’t want to act like a rat.

Dr. Who

I’m going to make a guilty little confession. I love this sci-fi series! From the very first episode! Though I did watch the first episode with a lot of trepidation…all the advertisements for it sounded a lot weird. I admit that I like a “little” weird sometimes and I remember some of the original series…and I really didn’t have anything better to do at the time… But I was hooked before the first hour was over. Christopher Eccleston plays a Time Lord, known only as “The Doctor”, traveling through time and space keeping hostile forces in check. Along the way Rose Tyler, played by Billie Piper, becomes a passenger on his adventures. It was a lot of fun to watch…still is.

Pawns Prevail by Douglas Niles

I really enjoyed Pawns Prevail. The reading was simple and uncomplicated, but very fun from beginning to end. Yes it’s a “simple farm boy turn hero” kind of fantasy book.

WALL-E

I have to admit that I was slightly, slightly disappointed in this movie the first time watching it through. WALL-E is about a little robot that apparently is the last of a fleet of little robots created to clean up the waste on a devastated Earth. It appears that he’s been alone a very long time, and even though he dutifully goes about doing the job he was created for, Wall-E has developed a few human-like qualities. He has learned how to “survive” by replacing old and worn parts salvaged from the other now non-operational robots. His pet is a cockroach. He collects what he thinks are interesting things and saves in his cluttered “home”. And he has a fascination for a really old movie about music, dancing and love.

The Belgariad, Vol. 1 by David Eddings

Before Christopher Paolini with Eragon, Robert Jordan with The Wheel of Time and Holly Black with The Spiderwick Chronicles, there was David Eddings. He, Terry Brooks and Anne McCaffrey are three authors that introduced me to the fantasy genre and it’s been a strong friendship ever since. I’ve enjoyed other authors’ work, both in and outside of the Scifi/Fantasy realm, but I tend to revisit my original favorites every couple of years or so. Over this past weekend, when knocked flat with a stomach flu, I picked up David Eddings’ The Belgariad, Vol. 1 (Pawn of Prophecy, Queen of Sorcery, Magician’s Gambit)to pass the time and hide from the yucks. It was like slipping on a comfortable old pair of slippers and wrapping up in a warm familiar blanket. It’d been a while and I’d forgotten how much I enjoy this book.