Harry Potter Archives

Movie Date: Fantastic Beasts + Where To Find Them

November 29, 2016 4 Comments

We Potterheads are all excited about the spinoff film from our most favorite wizarding world and cannot wait to see how the film adaptation of Jo Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them would look like. Good thing we do not have to wait much longer as it opened in local cinemas recently. I was grooming the little man to be another Potterhead so, of course, I tagged him along to watch the film 2 weekends ago. Good thing my siblings {who’ve previously seen the film} were keen on seeing it again and willingly tagged along with us.

The film was based on a textbook that Harry Potter and his friends used in school, so I did not know what to expect from its film version before I got to see the trailer. From what we’ve heard, this film will involve the book author, Newt Scamander’s adventure as he embarks on a trip to New York City and tells us of the exciting wizarding world in the United States.

When the film opened, the Potter world was abuzz with great reviews about the film with people raving about the story and the actors. The story re-acquainted us with the endearing creatures from Harry’s world, and introduced us to new characters we have not encountered before, including the thunderbird and the

Here is a brief synopsis I got from Wiki:

simple pleasures, movies, movie date, Harry Potter, Harry Potter world — image is from Google

books, mum reads

Revisiting The World of Harry Potter With The Cursed Child

September 28, 2016 No Comments

My birthday came early! ?? Thank you dear brother for this very early gift! Haha! ??? There are mixed reviews about the latest installment of our most beloved book series, but as for me, I am just simply delighted to read all about Harry and his friends again after sooo many years! The plot may have gotten ludicrous at some point, but it is still quite a good read, especially if you are a true blue #potterhead #harrypotter #harrypotterandthecursedchild #booklover #mumreads #myfavoritethings

A photo posted by Vix Parungao (@mumwrites) on Aug 4, 2016 at 5:39pm PDT

The world of Harry Potter is suddenly abuzz with the recent release of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child. I caught wind of National Bookstore’s pre-reservation promo and immediately told my brother Ken about it, which is a wise move as a lot of eager readers had trouble securing their copies on the release day. We got our hardbound copy a few days after the worldwide release and I was poring over its pages several days after.

I read a number of mixed and dismal reviews about the latest installment on the story of our favorite wizard, but I did not allow that to dampen my excitement. It wasn’t your usual Harry Potter book as only a small portion of it was written by JK Rowling and if you were expecting the same experience as with the previous 7 books, then you are in for more disappointment. On a lighter note, this particular book is a very easy read, divided into 2 parts, one can easily finish this in 4-5 hours. Veering away from the narrative, descriptive style that we’ve come to love from the previous Harry Potter books, this one is actually a special rehearsal edition script of the play with the same name that premiered at the Palace Theatre in London on 30 July, 2016.

Here’s a short summary of the book from goodreads.com:

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

Personally, I thought the book did not live up to the hype. Neither did it live up to the legacy its 7 predecessors left, but putting all that aside, it is still a good experience to actually hold a new Harry Potter book in my hands after so many years. Even though I believe they could’ve given Harry a better father-son relationship with his son, Albus, a small consolation after he willingly volunteered his life to save wizard-kind from Voldemort, and they sure could’ve given the adult Ron a better character, reminiscent of his heroic exploits in the last few chapters of the 7th book, I am still delighted to have read this book and revisited Harry Potter’s world. It brought me back to those nights many moons ago when I was younger and was just discovering the wonders of Hogwarts through these books. For allowing me to relive that beautiful experience, I give this book :yes: :yes: :yes:, and, yes, I am in the process of re-reading this book. I am done with the first part and would read the second one as soon as my busy mum schedule allows me or when I am done reading about MF’s tube stack.

mum musings

harry potter weekend + goodbyes

July 31, 2011 1 Comment

This is my entry to Techie She’s Lucky Blogger Weekly Giveaways Week 9. This week’s prize is $10 paypal credits from Lainy of Lainy’s Musings.

I guess you’ve probably figured out by now that we are a bunch Harry Potter rabids! What with me writing my musing about it here + there. +, if by chance you were just the same, you might as well check out this latest offering from our favorite author, JK Rowling on Pottermore.

I have been a follower of both the books + the films for almost a decade now + it seems to have been one of the most endearing adventures I have ever taken on. Every time I revisited a chapter (I have read the books several times over) + watch a film (we’ve also watched the first 6 films countless of times, Jared’s dad is even complaining “Harry Potter na naman?!” (Harry Potter, again?!) whenever I’d tell him exactly what we’re doing after he’d popped the question 😀

+ to know that we will be seeing the last of the films + thinking we won’t have any new ones to look out for or even a new book to wait for, brings bittersweet emotions. We will surely miss Harry Potter + the rest of the gang. We have practically became friends the first time we accompanied Harry on his very first trip at the Hogwarts Express + it is always very heartbreaking to say goodbye to an old friend.

I anticipated the much-awaited conclusion to this epic saga with mixed emotion, knowing that Harry did manage to win the heart of gazillions of fans the world over + succeeded to make converts out of all of us + aware that there will be no more sleepless nights waiting for a film premiere or a book release.

So when we trooped to the mall on the 16th to watch Harry on the big screen for the last time (my bro, Ken, who is the most addict of all of us, has seen the last film 3 times + is planning to see it on IMAX soon!), I was both jovial + melancholic. It turned out that the screening on IMAX was fully-booked until 8pm so I settled with the 3D one. I watched it with my cousin, Dennis, whilst my sis, Cecille roamed around the mall with my little one in tow. My 2 other siblings watched it a screening earlier.

We decided to take our lunch first before we went straight to the cinema + since I am with the little man, I decided to go to Kenny Rogers (my baby loved their soup there, so I am sure he’ll eat solids when we dine there ;)) + since it is a sale weekend, queues are long + it even took a longer time to wait for tables to be empty. Just so we can eat right away, we shared tables with a lonesome man sitting on a table for 4. Am only glad he did not mind!

As expected Jared did eat quite a number of spoonful + I could not be happier. He particularly favored their Chicken soup so I make it a point to stop by every so often so he can have some. We finished our lunch a few minutes shy of 2pm which is the screening time for Harry Potter + the Deathly Hallows Part 2. So my cousin + I rushed to the cinema so as not to be late.

Well, it turned out we were late indeed + the screening time originally slated at 2pm started a little earlier. I was very disappointed as my cousin even asked the usherette if the film has started yet + she said no, she even failed to give us our 3D glasses. It was a good thing we came back + asked to be seated to our reserved seating as the cinema is pitch black since the film has started already. But not after missing the opening part of the film, dang it! Well, at least we’ve managed to snap a photo of me in front of the movie posters (my only consolation in this mishap, but I can’t find the photo now so I’ll ask my cuz to send it again so I can post it here!)

The film is everything I’ve ever imagined it to be. Thanks to the producers and the director for keeping it as much as how it is done in the book. I simply love the film. I am glad to see my favorite, Sirius Black, returning one last time as a ghost. I also love the dueling part between Molly + Bellatrix, + that part where Professor McGonagall told Harry that she was glad to see him. It was really touching. A lot of the parts in this film are touching, maybe because I am aware that I will be seeing all of them for the last time.

My most favorite part would have to be the triumph of Neville Longbottom against the snake, Nagini. Neville is one of my most favorite characters + am only glad he was given the proper exposure this time around, it is a welcome change from the usual comic relief role he was assigned to on several films past (some of those scenes are not even part of the book :() It was only Voldemort’s decision that saved Neville from the fate that is now Harry’s, but it does not mean he suffered less. It would have been great if the films showed his parents, though, who have been living in St. Mungo’s Hospital ever since Bellatrix Lestrange set the Cruciatus Curse on them, the scene between Neville + his mum would have been a classic…

I love the film, I love how they depicted every part of the last book in this epic series + sometimes, I just can’t help but wish that one day JK would wake up with Harry Potter creative juice flowing again + she’d decide to write another book. Another one depicting how each character is doing 19 years after, in full detail, maybe..oh, well, maybe I can just keep on wishing 😉

A much as I hate goodbyes, I shall never say goodbye to Harry since I shall be seeing the film again (hopefully soon so I can catch it in the big screen one more time!) and will be revisiting the books one of these days when my time will allow me. I also look forward to reading these books as bedtime stories + watching the movies endless of times in my computer, when Jared is a bit older + has discovered his passion for Harry Potter, too!

So, yeah, definitely no goodbyes, just “See you later.”