Talkie Tuesday: Hogwarts Legacy

 

"Magic is no different than any power. What really matters is the one who wields it."

 

Hello everyone!

 

I promise, by this time next week there WILL be another movie review waiting, but I just finished watching a gameplay on Youtube from one of my favourites, Trev Martin, and I couldn't just not talk about it.

 

I'll admit, however, that I was wary going in.

 

I mean, Harry Potter was a successful franchise, and so too were Fantastic Beasts until people started complaining and other outside scandal erupted which certainly didn't help matters along.

 

Then, let's not forget the horrible would-be continuation of Cursed Child which I still pretend to this day doesn't exist (I swear if they actually make a movie we'll know it's just a cash grab, because there are FAN FICTION STORIES out there better than that drivel!).

 

So all in all, not an auspicious beginning, and honestly? I dragged my feet a little to start watching, but you get sucked in easily enough, and I've started my second watch via Nic's channel by now.

 

Without further ado, let's get our wands at the ready, shall we?

 

Hogwarts Legacy needs us to step up our game.

 

Talkie Tuesday: The Secrets of Dumbledore

 

"Do what is right - not what is easy."

 

Hello everyone!

 

We finally move away from the big names of Star Wars and the inner workings of that franchise, only to find ourselves firmly anchored in another.

 

Now it's been a hot minute since the previous movie was released, because filming for this was delayed and complicated with so many other things, from trials, accusations, to COVID, and yet FINALLY we have it here with us!

 

It's also arriving on HBO Max at some very near point in the future if I remember correctly.

 

But honestly, with so many other things to worry about in the world, isn't it fantastic to be able to literally turn your brain off for a little bit?

 

I think so, at least.

 

So without further ado, y'all better dust off your wands now, Muggles.

 

Because we're about to uncover The Secrets of Dumbledore, and you're going to need them.

 

Talkie Tuesday: Harry Potter 20th Anniversary Return to Hogwarts

 

"After all this time? Always." 

Hello everyone!

Happy New Year!

As is fitting, I chose something that I think most people have tuned into and loved to kick off the 2022 blog posts, even though I have some other topics and titles waiting on the backburner to be used and utilized.

BUT it's always good to take a look back memory lane, especially when it's something so beloved!

In case you haven't been paying attention, Harry Potter made a bit of a comeback recently, and it was SO much better than the book we won't even name.

No, seriously.

When you want to do something right, you go and do it in such a way that it actually makes sense and draws in viewers again.

Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts is just that.

Tome Thursday: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

 

Hello everyone!

 

Since September is now here I thought I would give you a review of probably one of the most beloved books of all time.

 

And, yes, I AM aware of how problematic the author portrays herself in the media nowadays.

 

I don't live under that big of a rock.

 

HOWEVER, as problematic as an author is, that generally won't stop me from reading their books - and I read these particular ones as they were being released back in the day. They are, to me, a trip down memory lane, something beautifully nostalgic, and just because the present has gone to hell doesn't mean I'll allow that to tarnish my enjoyment of reading them. 

 

I read the books for the story they contain, not for the beliefs the authors may have. What have those beliefs done for me? Nothing. What have the stories done for me? Everything.

 

So without further ado, I'm going to stop making modern day commentary when this is supposed to be happening back in the nineties, and the express has already left the station.

 

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is up next!

 

Harry Potter #2 (Booktober)

 

"Enemies of the Heir, beware!"

 

 

I mean, what would any self-respecting Booktober be without a Harry Potter book, am I right? We started out at Hogwarts last year, and this year we're back for round two! But do Harry and his friends get any sort of normal school year while attending this particular school of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Of course not. Because if it isn't trolls in dungeons, it's slithering snakes through the school pipe system (and we still don't know how that worked when there weren't ANY pipes to work with). Not only that, but can we please avoid overly-helpful house elves too?

 

 

 

 

 

Harry Potter is a wizard. He is in his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Little does he know that this year will be just as eventful as the last ...

(from book jacket)

 

xx

*image not mine

 

Troublemaker (Booktober)

The Lord of the Rings (Booktober)

Talkie Tuesday: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, P2

 

"Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived ... come to die."

Hello everyone!

Well, here we are.

After a great number of pauses, full stops and definite breaks while I was doing something else entirely, we've finally made it to the end of the Harry Potter franchise.

I consider Deathly Hallows to be the end, despite the whole Cursed Child debacle, because I haven't had the chance to see the show and I'm not particularly inclined to, given what I've read in the printed version of the script, anyway.

So this is where Harry's journey ends for me, and probably for a lot of others.

It's been a long and bumpy ride, and there's been some chaos along the way, but we're finally ready for the very last showdown.

After all, Voldemort is waiting. He's got what he's been looking for, and now all he desires lies within his grasp.

Why don't we stop keeping him in suspense? The Deathly Hallows, Part 2, is here.

Talkie Tuesday: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, P1

"Harry is the last hope we have. Trust him."

Hello everyone!

It's back to Hogwarts we go!

Or, well, that's the idea in theory.

Of course, considering it's been almost ten years since these movies were released, we all more or less know what's going on and who's going where, so we ALL know Harry Potter isn't going back to Hogwarts for his seventh and final year.

He said so himself at the end of Half-Blood Prince, anyway.

But considering everything that we have to cover in this chapter before ACTUALLY heading back to the old magical castle, we better take a deep breath.

This is the final stage before our resolution.

Patronus charms, enchanted lockets, travelling cross-country, heated arguments, a snake pretending she's alive, and that sort of ilk await us. 

The Deathly Hallows, Part 1, is calling.

Talkie Tuesday: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

"Why is it, when something happens, it is ALWAYS you three?"

Hello everyone!

With December just around the corner (literally!) I figured it was time to do the last sort of regular movie review before I dive off the deep end and start on my Christmas movies.

Yes, like I've done for the past two years or so, I'll be devoting December reviews entirely to the Christmas theme, so after tonight, the final two movie reviews of the saga will have to wait until after New Year's and for us to return in January.

I know, I know, I had that break in October as well, why couldn't I have planned this better?

I should have. But my math failed me and I didn't really calculate how many weeks there are left in the year, so there you have it.

I plan on getting the entire movie saga on here though, so don't worry.

It may just take a little bit more time.

But, as a last huzzah before being merry and bright, let's take a look at Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Talkie Tuesday: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

"There's a storm coming, Harry."

Hello everyone!

You didn't think we were actually done with magic, did you?

Things are only just heating up!

This week is all about teen angst, magical spiritual connections, and a whole lot of dainty coughing when all you want to do is strangle the person who's actually doing the coughing.

You have to love it when an author comes up with a character that you hate even more than the antagonist. There's a certain kind of magic in THAT, for sure.

Last week, we were dealing with some early adolescence, but this week that's a full-blown thing, and you can't escape it, no matter how much you may want to.

And of course, there's still a heck of a lot of a lot of magic going on.

Voldemort is back, people. And so is the Order of the Phoenix.

Talkie Tuesday: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

"Everything's going to change now, isn't it?"

Hello everyone!

It’s time to return to Hogwarts yet again, and honestly, time flies, doesn’t it? Fourth year means that the students are pretty much halfway through their schooling and will soon have to consider what they want to do in life, and where they want to go.

Before that happens, however, there are some other things that need to be addressed.

After all, it wouldn’t be Harry Potter if things didn’t go wrong, right? Right.

It’s a pretty much given thing that if your name is Harry there’s a fairly good chance you’ll end up in trouble somewhere, somehow, and you’ll have to get yourself (and your friends) out of it. Like Hermione asks in the movie itself, will they EVER get a quiet year at Hogwarts?

Probably not. Let's be real.

And since this IS fourth year, let’s jump right to it, shall we?

The Goblet of Fire awaits our name.

Talkie Tuesday: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

Hello everyone!

We're back to our regular posting schedule!

After a full month of nothing but book-related posts, it's kind of fun to get back to movies, even though I'm looking at my backlog at the moment and wondering how the heck I'm going to even get through all of these before December, when I have the Christmas list.

I'll probably be doing these in January still.

Sounds about right!

Anyway, I'm not sure if you guys remember, but the last time we were in movie land, we were trying to learn magic and how to transfigure a mouse into a needle. Or, alternately, we were trying to figure out how a snake can possibly slither through plumbing when it didn't even know plumbing existed.

You know I'm talking about Harry Potter.

And it's now time to add extra flavour in a Prisoner of Azkaban.

Harry Potter (Booktober)

"To Harry Potter - the boy who lived!"

 
Fans around the world hasten to King's Cross station on September 1 for their chance to board the train that might take them to a very magical castle, if they're lucky. Nobody knew how big Harry Potter was going to get when The Philosopher's Stone was first published, but it's safe to say no fall read would be complete without pumpkin juice, floating candles, and trolls in the dungeons.

Rowling sure knew what she was doing!

Also, fun fact, I picked the 'adult' cover version of the book. It's my favourite.

Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy - until he is rescued by a beetle-eyed giant of a man, enrols at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learns to play Quidditch and does battle in a deadly duel. The Reason: HARRY POTTER IS A WIZARD!

(from the book jacket)

xx

*image not mine

The Hobbit (Booktober)

Talkie Tuesday: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

"Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."

Hello everyone!

I hope you're well during this chilly September. 

And rainy. Never forget the rain. 

That being said, it's all very September-y and nobody should honestly complain about it. It IS autumn, after all, and it's officially so as well since it's in the last part of the month.

Which means it's time for some warm socks, over-sized sweaters, and warm mugs of tea.

It's also time to return to Hogwarts.

Last week we took our first train to the ancient castle, and this week we're boarding it yet again.

But what happens when the magical barrier that leads to Platform 9 3/4 is suddenly closed?

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. That's what happens.

Talkie Tuesday: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

"Ye're a wizard, Harry."

Hello everyone!

As you can probably tell from the title of tonight's blog post, you know exactly which movie I'll be talking about.

I recently had a marathon of Harry Potter movies back when I was at the seaside with my mother, so I thought to myself, what better time to go through them yet again than during the autumn months when the weather is basically PERFECT for witchcraft and wizardry?

After all, the return to Hogwarts is a thing now every September 1st at King's Cross.

Plus, with the prequel movies and all the other hype surrounding the books that are yet to come in this franchise, Harry is everyone's friend, and everyone knows him.

So why not join in the fun, right?

Grab your wands and follow Hagrid, first years!

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is just across the Great Lake.

Saturday Snippet: The Deathly Hallows

xx
*image not mine

Tome Thursday: Pottermore Presents, x3

Hello everyone!

Out of my holiday flux, finally, and currently reading a rather amusing tale about how a cyber parrott manages to pilot an actual spaceship in the middle of nowhere (it's a rather long story how I got to this point, but suffice to say Ed is quite the entertainer!), but I won't be going into more detail here since I might even review it later on.

Oh no, tonight it's another round with our favourite wizards from the wizarding world of Harry Potter, as I discovered that Pottermore had published, or at least released out into the open, several texts that go into a bit more detail about some of Rowling's work.

All written by J. K. Rowling, made all the better because it isn't anything new, so to speak, but mostly just a rehash on what we already know and love, just with some more knowledge this time.

So, I will be talking about, in order of appearance: Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies, Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists, as well as Hogwarts, An (In)Complete and (Un)Reliable guide.

It should be a fine ride, but please don't think I'll be telling you EVERYTHING there is in there - they're quite short publications so I won't spoil it all.

Talkie Tuesday: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

"My philosophy is: if you worry, you suffer twice."

Hello everyone!

So this past weekend, my friends and I decided on a group outing and went to see what was probably one of the most (if not THE most) anticipated movies of this month, which just goes to show that a little bit of magic can go a long way in any movie. 

I'm talking, naturaly, of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the screenplay of which was written by Rowling herself (as opposed to something I will not name).

I can honestly say that I'd only ever seen the one initial trailer for the movie proper, and maybe it wasn't even a trailer but a teaser trailer, before it sort of fell off my radar because I was a bit busy with a lot of other things, so I went into the cinema pretty much with no definite decision of what to expect.

Which is just as well, actually, seeing as I probably enjoyed myself a whole lot more because of this. Seriously, I tend to get my hopes up WAY too much.

But then of course, this movie also had Colin Farrell ...

I digress. I should probably start the actual review now.

Tome Thursday: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Hello everyone!

Right off the bat, I would like to warn anyone reading this blog that it's not going to be a positive entry, nor is it going to be lavish with praise or filled with the kind of commentary I've seen people gush out when it comes to the book I'm about to describe. This is, plain and simple, going to be a negative review, so if you feel like you disagree with me or if you don't want to read that kind of thing, stop now while you're ahead and come back next week when I'll be doing another, different book.

That now out of the way, allow me to say that, despite the fact that I haven't been one of Harry Potter's avid fans (I don't think I ever was), I do tend to go back to the books every once in a while, especially the first three, which remain ranked at the top of the list of the whole series.

This means that, when news broke there would be a continuation in the form of a play, and then that play was going to be published in an actual book version, I was as excited as the rest of the world to see what was about to happen.

After all, fans around the globe had banded together before to form roleplay forums, discuss ideas and questions, and come up with their own alternate storylines, among other things.

So obviously, when it came to the Cursed Child, expectations ran high.

Saturday Snippet: Bookshelf Tour, part 2

Hello everyone!

I may be a little trippy at the moment. Not because I've drank anything, or otherwise consumed anything of the illegal sort of variety - but mostly because staring at translation stuff and then on top of it all reading through Alice Clayton's Cocktail book series is seriously something to make your mind spin.

Ahem.

But I'm back with the second round of my bookshelf tour! If you've fallen behind, never fear, there'll be a link at the bottom of the post to the previous part.

Tome Thursday: The Little White Horse

Hello everyone!

So this week I had a little debate with myself about which book I should put in Thursday's blog post, since I finished a couple more than just one prior to writing it, but I decided to somewhat follow in the line-up I read them in, which meant that the others I finished (a short trilogy) will most likely be featured next week, unless I find and/or finish another book or short book series that annoys me about as much as that one did haha! Not even joking, but back to the book I'll be talking about today, it's actually a childhood favourite of mine. I had a couple of those while I was growing up, and have since then not picked that many again for a reread, but this one sort of happened once, by accident, and then I think my mother bought me the Slovene translation and it's been sitting on my shelf in paperback version ever since.

The book I'm talking about is Elizabeth Goudge's 'Little White Horse', as you could already tell from the title of this blog. It's not a long story, it's actually a children's book, and as such you're probably thinking what on Earth am I doing reading it? Well, as a sort of fairtyle, it's something I've always had a soft spot for, and it has horses in it. It was a good enough excuse for me!