I've read all the Harry Potter books and enjoy the series. I just thought it was a great line.
I have to admit I was disappointed after reading book 7, although the book itself was well-written. If it's okay to talk fantasy on a sci-fi thread, here goes:
Several of the plot devices were very clunky. in Prisoner of Azkaban, Dumbledore, Snape and Lupin all knew the Shrieking Shack was a hangout with a path directly to Hogwarts, but nobody thought to check to see if Sirius was using it. In Goblet of Fire, anything could have been used as a portkey, but Voldemort and Crouch work out a plan that requires Harry to win a tournament in order to get him to touch the Triwizard cup? Why didn't Moody (Crouch) just give Harry a detention one night and make him go out to dig onions and make the shovel a portkey? Even in small things, there are irritating inconsistencies. For example, in Order of the Phoenix, the twins are in Harry's room, and they hear Mrs. Weasley trying to sneak up the stairs, so they apparate, which creates a loud crack. Why can't she hear a loud crack when they can hear a soft step on the stairs?
Despite the flaws, Rowling writes characters brilliantly, and that's the strength of her work. The reader believes her characters are alive, even the minor ones are incredibly well fleshed out.
By the way, another thing that bugged me, besides the whole Dumbledore is gay thing, is that I read an interview where Rowling was relating a conversation she had with Daniel Radcliffe. It was after she'd seen him in Equus, but before she'd written book 7. She said she told him she was writing him a nude scene in HP 7. She ended up writing three nude scenes, one involving seven Harrys. She's like 40, and he just turned 18. That's a little creepy to me.
Finite Incantatum on that hex, retrokitten...
Okay, having read the prior posts, this has been a fun thread.
I remember being weened on Sci Fi as a kid, watching Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone. Lost In Space was a favorite, but the movie remake was horrible. The first Sci Fi movie to make an impact on me was The Andromeda Strain. I don’t know if it holds up as well, but I recall it was Critchon’s first movie?!!!
I hear they are making Speed Racer into a movie. A movie I would love to see would be Jonny Quest. It is a spy movie with a lot of sci fi technology. The remake in the 90’s was blah.
As for books yet to make it into movies would include Foundation Trilogy, Ringworld, Ender’s Game. I remember with great anticipation when the Dune the movie was being made and how disappointed I was. Then Sci Fi network did their own in a series of movies covering the first 3 books. It was much better. I think this was so because of the advances in CGI and film making. For this reason, I think most Sci Fi movies can now make the transition to film.
I really enjoyed the War of the Worlds remake and though it was Sci Fi, it was Tom Cruise as the dad that made the movie compelling. The ‘50’s version still holds up well and I was totally into the Blob the first go around. Very scary as a kid and gum chewing was never the same afterwards.
As others have commented, The Incredibles is a great flick, capturing Bond and FF in great reverence and parody. It even had some great lines paraphrased from Kurt Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron short story.
That picture of Ricardo Mountalban (sp?) as Khan is scary on many levels. I really can’t believe he was the inspiration for the business up front, party in the back hair style. I will never look at him, the movie, or mullets in the same way. Further, he obviously “borrowed” his pecs from Ahnold, perfection at a price.
Lastly, Terminator, the Sarah Connor Chronicles has held up very well. I especially like the ode to James C in naming the female terminator Cameron. Nice touch.