Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2 hrs. 18 min.

Saw it this afternoon all by my lonely self, since everyone else had already seen it multiple times. It was a reasonably good adaptation--I only thought wistfully of a cut scene once. Bellatrix Lestrange and Luna Lovegood were beautifully cast, and of course the special effects were great.

I am still (irrationally) annoyed at Cho, though.

Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer

Eclipse
by Stephenie Meyer
629 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy/Romance/YA

I heard a lot of not-so-good things about this book early on, but I still jumped at the chance to borrow it from a friend (way faster than waiting for the library to finish cataloging). So let me say the non-spoilery things first. The story is told through tight prose, though the frequent inner monologues sometimes stumble. Meyer shines in the character development catagory like always--reader wish-fulfillment, certainly a good way to sell books.

( Spoilers )

Overall, an engrossing read if one ignores the flaws and switches into fluff mode. It didn't pass the tears test though, so Twilight and New Moon are ranked ahead (in that order). Recommended if you've been keeping up with the series.

IBARW 2: Final thoughts

In the extended debate recently at John Scalzi's blog, a slightly-disturbing thought came to me. Regarding anti-racism, it's "with us or against us." Being passively not-racist does nothing, and so those people are criticized for it and they get defensive. (I'm not speaking about Scalzi specifically, because he's been a great sport about everyone yelling at him to get a clue.)

It's just... sad. I wish the battle wasn't divided along such solid lines--and maybe I'm misreading everything and it isn't, but it feels like it is.

As I said to sethdickinson, and as I now say to everyone out there: Life isn't fair.