Book Review: The Seventh Wish by Toby O'Day

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Years 1-4 Review - LEGO Harry Potter PlayStation Portable - PSP

Five years ago developer studio Traveller's Tales launched their LEGO adaptation of the Star wars saga - a first in what was to be become one of the most successful range of games targeted for a younger audience. Since then Traveller's Tales has tried their hand at rethinking Indiana Jones and Batman, and the time has finally come to re-create every ones favourite sorcerer, Harry Potter, in bright and shiny plastic blocks.

Harry Potter Lego Review 2010 - Hogwarts Castle Set 4842

Harry Potter finally made its return to Lego in 2010, after five years of absence in which it was sorely missed by fans. With six sets in the initial wave, the largest and most distinctive is the iconic building, Hogwarts Castle.

Lego has produced 3 previous versions of the famous castle over the years (interestingly coming out every 3 years from 2001 onwards) but this latest one is without a doubt the definitive version. At 1290 pieces and with 10 minifigures it is the largest Harry Potter Lego set ever, having almost double the amount of pieces as the original castle.

New figures in this set include Professor Flitwick and Argus Filch (along with his creepy cat Mrs Norris). Other figures include Lord Voldemort, Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and two Dementors.

Rather than having the set coming from one film, it seems to cover a few different films. For example, it features appearances from "He Who Must Not Be Named", who only came to Hogwarts in the final book, as well as a tile featuring Sirius in the fire (from the fourth film). Other notable features include a printed Sorting Hat, Gryffindor's Sword (silver!), a Basilisk fang, Harry's invisibility cloak, sliding stairs and too many more to mention.

There are features aplenty in this set and, for true fans of Lego and Harry Potter, an amazing amount of unique printed pieces. Notable amongst them - a copy of The Marauder's Map, The Daily Prophet ("Mass Breakout From Azkaban"), The Qubblier ("Harry Potter Speaks Out At Last") and the Hogwarts Crest.

While there are a number of great printed parts there are also stickers (but not too many) including ones for a shield featuring the name of Harry's father, James, as Gryffindor Seeker and the Slytherin and Gryffindor great hall hangings. The school owls and Mrs Norris all come with fully painted faces as does the Sorting Hat and many of the figures some with full torso printing, leg printing and/or double sided head pieces.

Rooms include Dumbledore's office, the restricted section of the library, the Room of Requirement (featuring a vanishing cabinet), the astronomy tower, Slytherin and Gryffindor common rooms and of course the Great Hall complete with food and seating areas.

Honestly there is so much playability in this set and Harry Potter fans will go crazy over the amount of detail the designers have put into this latest (and last?) castle. Lego have really outdone themselves here and set 4842 is well worth the $129 price tag. I imagine this set will sell like Chocolate Frogs.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Movie Review

Facebook.com - Become a Fan! Twitter.com - Follow Us! Harry Potter finally premiered. We've got the Deathly Hallows Part One review. Hello everyone -- especially HP fans! I'm Dana Ward chilling at the ClevverTV studio. Welcome back to Harry Potter week! ... So it was an exciting midnight showing for the first installment of Deathly Hallows -- earning 24-million bucks. Impressive sales indeed, but the one figure that actually broke box office records was HP's 1.4-million in sales at IMAX theatres. You muggles did a good job. Moving on to the Part One review. Fans of the book series might be happy to hear that this flick does a good job of re-telling the first half of the book, exactly as expected, and it especially keeps with the dark, desperate situation for our main trio, as they seek out to destroy the horcruxes which are protecting Voldemort's soul. We think Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint all played their closely followed characters extremely well, especially as the story shows them in a more mature, grown up, intellectual light. In fact, it was interesting to see a different side to the Ron Weasley we've come to know through the franchise. But even with the character development, there's some intense action as the evil lord is hot on the trail of HP and crew, wanting to battle to the bloody end and causing destruction for everyone in his path. Watch out for one of the saddest moments of the entire film:The death of one fan favorite might just cause a ...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSHErjr4NkQ&hl=en

Artemis Fowl and The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer - Book Review

It's still not clear to most of us why Harry Potter became a rage among the readers and Artemis Fowl did not (though a strong fan following for the later series also cannot be denied). We should be just glad that we got both the series almost at the same time. There are, of course, some similarities between the two characters. Both of them live in a world of magic though it's secret (the magic world) and has to remain that way. The way J K Rowling has written Harry Potter is slightly conservative, but Artemis Fowl innovates his way out of trouble (and creates anarchy).

Don't Miss Out On the Fun

Artemis Fowl And The Time Paradox is the sixth book in the series and is just joy and nothing else. The only drawback is, it would be great if you have read the earlier parts in the series - otherwise you'd need time to grow accustomed to the characters. You'd be missing out on some fun also (if you don't know what happened in the earlier books).

The Secret World Should Remain Secret

In the first book, the hero comes across a secret world where he captures Captain Holly Short so he could get out of magical siege (and get ransom for his future endeavors). Most of the supporting cast started their lives in the first book of the series itself, therefore many jokes and dialogs are shaped by what happened in the earlier parts, so you need to read those books if you want to enjoy The Time Paradox fully.

Amazing Supporting Cast

All the supporting characters are just amazing, including Butler (the bodyguard of Artemis Fowl), Julius Root (Capt Holly Short's boss), Foaly (the tech support person) and the flatulent dwarf, Mulch Diggums. In one book Artemis was up against Opal Koboi, who was trying to provoke a war between the People and humans. With time Artemis Fowl has become more mature, and his arrogance has reduced from the days when he was a new character in the first book itself.

Have You Ever Met Your Younger Self?

Even the relationship between Capt Holly Short and the hero has become complicated. He was also in trouble later on due to the fairy enhanced supercomputer which he sold to the mafia. The time paradox storyline is set in the time just after The Lost Colony, in which the hero is back from an adventure but he is three years late (than what he expected). His mother has been diagnosed with a rare disease which had almost finished The People once - Spelltropy. The only possible cure is through the animal Madagascan silky sifaka lemur which became extinct due to Artemis Fowl himself, some years ago. The only way he can save his mother is by going back in time and confronting his younger self to get that animal.

Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Express Review

The latest Lego collection has been released and it's sure to be hugely popular amongst Lego and Harry Potter fans alike. Just in time for Christmas 2010, the new collaboration between Lego and perhaps the most popular series of Children's books ever - these sets are clearly going to be in high demand.

Lego Harry Potter depicts some of the most iconic scenes and places from the HP series, including Hagrid's Hut, Hogwarts Castle and the two sets we are reviewing today, the Hogwarts Express and The Burrows...

Join Harry and Ron at the point where they meet Professor Lupin on the Hogwarts Express, Lego 4758 includes Hogsmeade Station, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Professor Lupin and a Dementor! You can lift off the lid of the passenger car and place Harry and Ron inside or pull the steering house cable to reveal a secret compartment!

A highly detailed set, the Lego Hogwarts Express is pure magic! There's 646 pieces that go into making this majestic set which is so fun to build! I built it with the help of my nephew, who was in awe of the vibrant red colour and took great pleasure in creating the Hogwarts Coat of Arms. A five years old he's at just the right age to appriciate how satisfying it is to finish a Lego build!

The second set we put together was The Burrow; a scene from Order of the Phoenix, featuring the Weasley's Christmas gathering, when they were forced to abandon their home following the arrival of the Death Eaters! A less complex set, The Burrow is a three storey asymmetrical house that features a pig pen, bedrooms and kitchen. As with all Lego sets, it comes with intricately detailed mini figures - six in total; Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Molly Weasley, Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback...and a little pig!

Made up of 568 pieces it's a little time-consuming to put together and not as quirky looking as I'd hoped. I was however, once more impressed with the level of detail and all the little extras that were included...like the flames and reeds!

All-in-all, the Lego HP sets are fantastic value for money and beautifully detailed. Kids and adults will really enjoy creating these sets together.

Harry Potter Lego Review 2010 - Set 4736 Freeing Dobby

The Harry Potter Lego set, Freeing Dobby is part of Lego's 2010 wave of Harry Potter sets, the first from this licence in five years. This set is the smallest of the sets in this wave and is a re-release of the Chamber Of Secrets set called Dobby's Release (set 4731) which came out in 2002.

The latest version includes Dobby the house elf and Lucius Malfoy, both of whom were in the earlier version, and adds a generic Harry Potter figure. The latest versions of the Dobby and Lucius minifigures are definite improvements, particularly Dobby. Like most characters that have abnormally shaped heads Lego had previously created them as moulds only, with none of the facial features painted in (Yoda is another famous example).

This time around Dobby has painted eyes, and it makes a huge difference. Now he looks more like his movie counterpart than a generic elf. Malfoy also has changes on his headpiece, with a regular painted face on one side and a death eater's mask on the other. Both heads are flesh colored as is standard in Lego sets these days.

The Harry Potter figure is in his usual Hogwarts uniform but with printing on both sides of the torso. He has a fairly young looking face (this is from Chamber of Secrets after all) with an angry/determined expression one side and happy Harry on the other.

The rest of the set is fairly standard. The previous release had more detail in the small building that accompanied the figures and the one offered her is fairly bland. There is an action feature that propels Lucius forward. Its nothing special but might appeal to kids briefly.

Overall it's a cute set and worth purchasing if only for the unique figures, notably the updated Dobby and Lucius Malfoy minifigs and the double sided Hogwarts uniform.

Film Review - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2009)

BOTTOM LINE: The sixth film in the series continues on a darker narrative path, with a very even and mysterious tone with glorious visuals. However, as with the other films in this franchise, this is very light stuff indeed story-wise, making it hard to recommend to any one looking for a story with a bit of meat on the bone or a genuine cinematic experience.

THE GOOD: The Harry Potter films have become just as big a gold mine as the novels they are based upon and "The Half Blood Prince" continues this tradition with a much richer visual texture, darker overtones, and a somewhat quieter and subdued tone that is both welcome and unexpected. This time out Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is entrusted by Dumbledore to find out more information about his nemesis Lord Voldemort and his connection to new wizard teacher Professor Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), all with the unexpected help of a text book formerly owned by the "Half-Blood Prince". As with the other films, the twenty odd minutes specifically devoted to the Harry-Voldemort story line are quite fascinating, and subsequently set up a rather interesting climax to come in subsequent films. All round, the recurring cast are becoming rather good in their roles. Radcliffe looks quite comfortable as Harry, much more assured and confident as he has ever been in the role. Grint and Watson are likewise as strong, as are the entire supporting cast. The film is quieter, taking on a more sombre tone and has a moment or two that could be classified as scary; the cursed female student frozen in mid-air by an evil force certainly sends tingles down your spine. The film looks absolutely glorious visually, and is perhaps the first of the films to not look overly CG-ish and more natural. The appeal of these films is certainly for kids, although adults do enjoy them as well and on this front, this new Harry Potter film works.

THE BAD: The story is very light for a feature film. Not having read the books I cannot say if scenes have been omitted or not, but my general impression of this film, and the others before it, is that they have about a 20-30 minute section which holds the meat of the story (which is actually quite interesting), and the rest of it is devoted to the uninteresting teenage games played between the characters and the requisite and boring Quidditch match. As a result, unless you are really in to this stuff, there is hardly any meat on the story-bone. Despite the immaculate attention to visual detail and the overall good execution of performance, direction and editing, the base material barely qualifies as a cinematic experience. Harry Potter fans will probably be up in arms over this analysis, particularly given its appeal, but not every one is a fan.

Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince - Movie Review

The Premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince made quite a stir. Even in the small town of Cobourg there was a very long line-up to get in to the 2nd showing of the movie on it's opening day. Was it worth the wait? Honestly I can't really say it was. It was a good movie as part of the series, nice to see old familiar faces and new ones, but the story lacked depth.

This was supposed to be the steamiest and most romantic of the movies but truly none of the love storylines really followed through. In fact, most of the storylines had very little follow through at all, they all seemed to just co-mingle with the other storylines without really satisfying the viewer in any of them. It is a very long movie, likely in hopes of pleasing the audience who have read the books by not missing any major details. Sadly though, it made the movie seem rushed at times. Perhaps it would have been wiser to do what they plan on doing with the next book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" and break it into a two part movie.

On a brighter note about the movie, the cinematography was wonderful. From the beautiful scenery to the action filled Quidditch match and amazing costume design, director David Yates brings it all together for some pretty awesome visual stimuli.  It was easy to see that they are catering to an older audience, for as Harry and the crew grow-up, so do their fans. The comedy in this movie far beats any of the others and adds some light to a very dark film. 

The actors are all fantastic and play their roles wonderfully. The characters have great depth and Alan Rickman, who is one of my favorite actors, really comes through in this one. Helena Bonham Carter also deserves a very honorable mention as the seductively terrifying Bellatrix Lestrange. I very much missed Ralph Fiennes appearance as Lord Voldemort in this film, though Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (Ralph Fiennes Nephew) quite convincingly plays a hauntingly dark 11 year-old Tom Riddle. 

All in all, I look forward to the movie coming out on DVD. I plan on buying it and watching it again. It's one of those movies that may be more rewarding watching it a second time when you already understand the plot. (Note: I did not read the Harry Potter novels and therefore did not know what to expect, nor would I have gotten the same thing out of it that those who have read it would.)

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince PSP Review

Today we're looking at the hand held version of the new Harry Potter game. This time people at Hogwarts are plotting against Dumbledore (the old headmaster) to get darkness into the school borders. Of course this isn't as easy as it seems and quickly Harry starts to suspect  several people after a series of unusual events. It is safe to say that the movie is a great success but can the video game follow in its footsteps?

The first thing you will notice about the PlayStation portable version is that the Hogwarts school is mapped in 2d with 3d elements. Which means that the environment looks 3d but doesn't move around your character. Even more reason for concern is that you walk to different rooms by walking past invisible gates, after which a loading time of about 2-4 seconds occurs. This wouldn't be a big problem if it wasn't for the insane amount of searching and walking that is required in this game. 

In this game you are Harry, not really a bombshell, and you have to search for various items around the castle. You do this by talking to different people, they will mention that they've seen the item in a curtain part of the castle. After this conversation you can navigate yourself to this room and get the item. Unfortunately these items are mostly owned by schoolmates and you have to get it by trading with some of your possessions, this can be chess pieces or some plants. It's a pretty painless experience as you can locate the necessary items by hitting select. A navigation arrow to the item will appear, just like how you found the person in the first place. However sometimes you need to get something by trading something rare, which can be difficult. These rare items don't have the same navigation and pretty much require you to search the whole castle before you can proceed in the story. This is a real pain and together with the 2d Hogwarts rendering not much fun to do either.

The story will proceed when you find the items you were required to find. But you will find little satisfaction from it. A few dialogs that you need to read, it isn't voice recorded by the actors, and some mini games that aren't too great either.

The bottom line is this: the game isn't much fun to play and isn't very well executed. Graphics wise and gameplay wise it is a disappointment and even for children the experience can be a little dull. You are better off watching the movie instead (and the movie only!). Or the book as well. I guess that's fine too.

Will Real Estate Prices Rebound?

After years of hyper appreciation, the last 18 months has seen a major cool down in the real estate market. Given this change in direction, will real estate prices rebound?

Well, of course they will. Real estate has always been viewed as a good long-term investment. Nothing has occurred that changes that basic assumption. The short-term situation is a bit rocky, but it is only because we are going through a correction after watching the real estate bubble expand and expand for six years. Predictably, the air is coming out of the bubble, but at least it did not burst.

The more relevant question for people in the real estate market is not whether prices will rebound, but when? Ah, here we enter the realm of the mystic. The Harry Potter of real estate if you will.

The bold faith truth is nobody has a clue when they will rebound. On the positive side, we are starting to see things even out a bit across much of the country. On the negative side, financing for real estate purchase is tightening up as lender begin to realize they probably should not be giving money out like candy on Halloween. In the case of subprime lenders, the game is up for many of them and bankruptcy court looms.

At its financial heart, the real estate market is just a product market. Many people fail to take this into account when sizing up real estate opportunities. A home is a place you live in and raise a family. When it comes time to buy or sell, however, it is really no different than buying or selling a car. Yes, you had some good times with it, but now it something to be moved.

If you can wrap you mind around the idea a home is a product, you have a better chance of predicting when prices will rebound. Why? Well, it all comes down to inventory. When there is more inventory than demand, prices drop. When demand out paces inventory, prices go up.

At the moment, there is an absolute ton of inventory on the market and only modest demand. During the booming real estate market, developers where building homes as fast as they could. As the market cooled off, developers kept building like there was no problem. This has resulted in a glut of properties in most cities and high population areas. Developers are now offering very attractive deals to move the homes, but the market will not rebound till most of these are gone.

It is important to understand that inventory is important, but the number of houses sold is less so. If you see reports that the number of homes being sold is picking up, it is good news. That being said, it may not be great news. Such reports can be misleading because they do not take into account the reason a home is sold. If more homes are being moved because sellers are cutting prices, it does not mean that prices are on the rise again.

Will home prices rise again? Of course. You just need to be patient and watch the inventory.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling - Book Review

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" was perhaps the most anticipated book ever. It certainly received a lot of media attention this year, before its release. The final book in the series, it was expected to provide an answer for all the many questions Harry Potter fans were speculating about. Would Harry survive? Would Voldemort win? What about Ron and Hermione - would they be alright? Would Harry and Ginny get back together? Was Dumbledore's faith in Snape justified?

I was amongst those who had pre-ordered the book to find out all the answers. It was with mixed emotions that I received it on the day of its release, because I knew that after this there would be no more Harry Potter novels to look forward to. Of course, that didn't stop me from settling down with the book immediately.

In this seventh installment of the series, we find Harry once more at Privet Drive, ready to say farewell to it for the last time. This year, he won't be a student at Hogwarts. He has a task to complete - he needs to locate and destroy the remaining Horcruxes. Harry being Harry, he is determined to go alone rather than risk the lives of his friends. Things work out a bit different than planned, and soon he is on the run from the dark powers of Voldemort with Ron and Hermione at his side.

Like most Harry Potter novels, friendship, courage and hope are at the centre of the storyline. As I followed the characters on their near-hopeless quest, I felt despair on their behalf and I do admit I shed a couple of tears when everything got very bad.

The grand finale of the book and the inevitable confrontation between Harry and Voldemort is like a tightly woven web. Everything comes together in the lead up to the conclusion, and I found myself satisfied with the way it turned out.

Afterwards, we catch a glimpse of the future and get to find out what happened to the various remaining characters. I found this to be a nice bonus and closed the book with a smile.

There are only a couple of negative sides to "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", in my opinion. My main grievance is the editing. It feels rushed, there are quite a few errors and there are many run-on sentences. I spotted one sentence of more than 90 words in length. This could potentially cause difficulties for some readers. There were a few instances where I felt the lengthy sentences took away from the tension, especially at crucial moments in the plot. Additionally, there was a lot of repetitiveness in description.

The second "issue" I have is that there seem to be some inconsistencies in the plot. Some aspects do not add up. Perhaps, to a casual reader, this will be unnoticeable but the editor in me made me flick back several times and re-read paragraphs. This did somewhat hinder the overall reading experience.

For parents wondering whether or not this book is suitable for younger children, I would advise you to give the book a read first. There are darker moments and a few characters do find their end. Some of them are popular characters, which could cause some upset.

Overall, I did enjoy this installment and I would certainly recommend it to others. J.K. Rowling is an excellent author who knows how to hold a reader's attention. The plot is interesting and the characters are so believable you can't help but feel for them and care for their fate.

According to the author bio, J.K. Rowling has written fiction since she was a child. She wrote her first "book" at the age of six. Her Harry Potter series is known throughout the world and loved by readers of all ages. Apart from the main series, Rowling has written two companion books, "Quidditch Through The Ages" and "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", both in aid of Comic Relief.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" was first published in 2007 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, with ISBN 978-0-7475-9105-4.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Book Review

It's the FINAL BOOK, folks! After ten years, we finally come to the grand extravaganza that is The Deathly Hallows by J.K Rowling and boy! was it a ride and then some. Harry is now set to hunt for the Horcruxes and goes with his best friends Ron and Hermione. However, the sudden knowledge of something called 'The Deathly Hallows' causes our hero to re-think Dumbledore's plans on defeating Voldermort. But hold on! What's this about Dumbledore not being all that he's claimed to be? There's a new book out that purports our favorite headmaster as a man with a lot of secrets. Not only that, Professor Snape has even more of a back-story that's bound to shock the reader. In the end, the great battle is fought, all our favorite characters make their return - lives are lost, new ones begin and by the time you're through, you feel you've been there with these characters from the beginning!

I especially liked Harry's development in this book. He's definitely matured (even though there are moments of childish whims) but one can see that he has made an effort to become a better young man. I also liked his relationships with Ron and Hermione and a few other characters in the book. My absolute favorites were the final battle scenes. J.K Rowling did a wonderful job!

I didn't like the sudden deaths of Lupin, Tonks and Fred (well his death was expected but it came as a shock to me all the same). I also didn't like the character development of Ginny Weasley. Her characterization and mannerisms were quite unlike the Ginny we've come to know and seemed quite out of place. Also, the epilogue, I could have done without. I did not see the need for it, and even if J.K Rowling had to use it, I'm sure she could have written it in a much better way. It was quite confusing and made no sense to me as the sudden appearances of new characters created a chaotic finale.

However, I recommend this book because it is a finale that was just about done right...there are a few questions that were still left, but J.K Rowling has promised an encyclopedia of sorts to answer them. That I have to pick up once it comes out.

Last but not least, with all the hoopla made about this, all things considered it was a good book and a good way to end things for Harry and his friends. I would have liked to see a few things changed around, but that's just me. Definitely a must read for all Potter fans who have grown up with him over the years!