The Owlery
A humble and unofficial Harry Potter news source.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets News
Harry's Back!
11/15/02: I have just returned from seeing Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I'm sure you'll all be shocked to hear me say this: it was excellent. It was as accurate as anyone could expect within reasonable time constraints, Hermione knew everything she should have, Ron made all the right faces (and voices), and Harry, of course, was everyone's hero. Richard Harris made his final role a memorable one, bringing Albus Dumbledore to life better than ever before. All the teachers were played well, especially Snape and Hagrid. The spiders and the basilisk were properly creepy, as was the Chamber itself. Top that off with a hilarious performance by Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart and you have an awesome 161 minutes on your hands. If you haven't seen it yet, you need to. Right now, if possible. Why are you still reading this? Go buy tickets! (No, Warner Brothers is not paying me.)
Harry Cubed
11/12/02: The Chamber of Secrets is so close you can almost taste it! (Not literally, I hope.) I've already secured my tickets, and I will, of course, have a report when I return Friday night. I think we can all expect great things!
I purchased Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for GameCube last week, and it's excellent! It surpasses the first great game in every way. The graphics are awesome, the gameplay is extremely entertaining, and the challenges at times make you want to rip your hair out. That said, I did beat the game yesterday, which means it can be finished in less than a week. However, I'm still trying to find all the secrets, and I'm sure I'll have to play it through several times before I actually uncover them all. While the storyline tends to differ from the book, I think they found a good way to condense it for the videogame format. The gameplay is similar to that of Zelda 64 and Star Fox Adventures, which for me is a very good thing. The music is atmospheric, and Quidditch and degnoming make for the perfect minigames. All in all, it's worth playing, even if it is a bit short.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix News
6/26/02: I was recently informed by a kind Jedi Master at my Star Wars site by the name of Brendan Young, A.K.A. Jedi Master Jaminus, that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will not be released until 2003. That's a huge bummer for everyone who's been expecting it, but hey, at least we have the next movie to look forward to. Again, if anyone can prove or refute any of this information, or can provide me with new info about plot or precise dates, please e-mail me.