soulscape

Sometimes the ol’ movie buff in me wakes up. I used to obsessively follow the progress of movies in production. In recent years, I haven’t been as interested in the development of movies, and have also really slowed down the rate at which I watch movies.

In 2008, which is already almost halfway over, I’ve only watched three movies: Cloverfield, Planet B-Boy, and Prince Caspian. (All three were pretty good, with Planet B-Boy being my favorite). Compared to my friend Rob Cowell, three is probably a lot, considering he’s probably watched less than three movies in the last three YEARS, but it’s not a lot for me, considering I have been interested in other movies such as the recent Iron Man, Forbidden Kingdom, and … er … well … I guess the pickings have been slim so far this year.

Last year was a turn-off for me because of all the dark movies that were coming out. At this point, I don’t desire to come out of a movie depressed and gloomy.

Anyway, all that to say there are a few movies I’m very excited to for in the coming years. Here’s just a few that comes to mind:

3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Yes, I’m a big fan of the seven books. None of the movies have really stood up to the quality of the books, but I thought the fifth one was the best effort yet. I guess the producers agree, because the director of the fifth movie, David Yates, has been asked to come back to not just direct Half-Blood Prince, but the seventh and eighth movies also (they are splitting the seventh book into two movies). This is exciting news because the sixth and seventh books are amazing, and I’m very excited for the November 2008 release of Half-Blood Prince.

2. The Watchmen: Unlike Harry Potter, I have not read the source material of this movie. But, I did buy it online, so I do have a copy of the Watchmen graphic novel, which is hailed as one of the greatest pieces of work in this genre. Before the movie comes out, I will read it, since Time Magazine did name it one of the “100 Best English-Language Novels since 1923,” calling it, “A work of ruthless psychological realism, it’s a landmark in the graphic novel medium.” Better yet, the movie is directed by Zach Snyder, who also brought us 300. It’s slated for a March 2009 release.

1. Avatar: It’s been over a decade since James Cameron’s last narrative movie, a little pic called Titanic. You go further back, and you find that Cameron’s done great sci-fi epics such as Aliens, Terminator I, and Terminator II. And since I’ve always been into sci-fi, he’s one of my favorite director. He’s also an incredibly intelligent man and every interview I read of him I enjoy. His latest work has been long in the making and utilizes the most advanced 3-D digital technology available. Yes, so with Avatar, we will sit in a movie theater and watch it in glorious 3-D. There will be a ton of CGI also, but he promises they will be “photoreal animation,” unlike a lot of the standard CGI you see in today’s movies. I won’t even go into the story of Avatar, though I’m sure it will be entertaining. Regardless of how good this movie turns out, it will be a technical break-through for movies, and an evolutionary event in entertainment. Unfortunately, my number one anticipated movie won’t be out until December 2009. He’s actually has wrapped principal photography, and is already editing, but it’s such a complex project that it will be another year and a half before it’s released.

Can I just say that I’m quite impressed with myself? As I talked about in my last posting, it seemed for a while there that I had lost my ability to finish a book. And yet, here I am, having just finished another book in the month of July. By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Cried went down first in June, but that was just a teensy book.

Then on July 1st, I started Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth book in the seven-volume series. It was finished by the July 5th and then the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was finished by the 7th. I ordered the last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but would have to wait for it to be delivered on the 21st, which was the release date. (And yes, I admit it! I considered going to one of the midnight bookstore parties to get a copy faster, but it was a good deal cheaper online).

On the 21st, which was this past Saturday, I had a wedding and another party to attend all day, so I didn’t get home until around midnight. I had to get up at 5:45am the next morning, but still, I stayed up just a bit longer and read the first two chapters of the book.

On Sunday, I danced at Mosaic’s morning gathering on the Westside, and snuck about three more chapters in during the actual gathering, after we danced (heehee). Then I was sidetracked again, as I went to the reunion party for the South Africa trip I went to in late May/early June. It just so happened that some friends wanted to go see the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix MOVIE that evening, so I went. More on that in a bit.

By the time I got home, it was once again around midnight. I started reading again, but only got a few chapters along. I was just too tired, having averaged around 4-5 hours of sleep the previous two nights. Of course, Monday meant I had work. After work, I started on the book again and plowed through a good section. I tended to some other things I needed to get through that night, and so it was around 11pm by the time I settled down once again with the book. I had probably read about 300 pages of the approximately 780 page book. The next few hours flew by, as the pacing of the book picked up, and then it was suddenly almost 2 in the morning! I made a decision — I was going to finish the book.

I did indeed finish it, at around 5:40am this morning.

Don’t worry, no spoilers here, I wouldn’t want to ruin anything for anyone. I will just say that I enjoyed the last three books of the series immensely, and especially books six and seven. Book seven was packed with action, it almost seemed like it had as much action (and violence) as the first six books combined. It was also different from all the other books in that most of it took place outside of Hogwarts, the “wizarding school” that is the main setting for the other six books. So lots of action, and also lots of backstory on a couple of the characters.

And once again, perhaps even more so than in the other books, everything got tied up neatly at the end, but this time, there is no next book.

As for the movie that also came out this month — I was pleasantly surprised. Perhaps the most well-rounded movie out of the five that have come out. I knew the director, David Yates, had already been asked to come back to do the sixth movie, so I figured he had done a decent job. I hope he continues his great work because the sixth and seventh movies SHOULD be the best movies in the series.