Chamber of Secrets

Went out to see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets last night with a bunch of Columbia folks. Pleasant enough company, even if some of them seemed convinced that a group of fifteen people would get set upon by the denizens of 125th Street and Eighth Avenue if they so much as raised their voices. Ah, I’d have probably felt the same way at their age. Nowadays I stroll fearlessly through neighborhoods like that alone in the middle of the night.

The movie started out well. I liked what we saw of Ron’s family and house, and Dobbie was very well done. The story felt skimpy, though. I never really felt like as much time was passing as the progress of the holidays implied, and I missed the texture of life at Hogwarts. And the ending tries to cash in an emotional payoff that the movie hasn’t laid in the funds for. Just goes to show that even a 2.5-hour movie can’t do justice to a novel.

Today was spent at Lisa and Josh’s, playing CthulhuPunk+20. We seem to have solved the problem of giving one of my characters enough capability that she isn’t afraid to take part in the game action. I think she’s also gained a bit more motivation. Another of my characters has been left wondering just how she’s wound up in the position of dispensing parenting advice to elves.