harry potter

Is 'Incarceron' the Next Harry Potter? Or the Next 'Inkheart'?

Mar 2nd 2010 1:02PM By: Jacob Hall

0 Comments

Oh, book industry. You never fail to make me feel behind on the times.

The latest adaptation of a book I've never heard of is Incarceron and because I'm an old man at heart who doesn't get what you kids like in your fantasy these days, I'll let Variety tell you what this one is about:

"Incarceron tells the story of a young boy who lives in a prison that is a complete society; outside the prison, the world is stuck in the 17th century and run by computers. The boy comes into contact with the warden's daughter, who lives in her own sort of jail, and they find a key that can change everything."

Now get off my lawn! And take your fantasy lit with you!

Apparently this book has been pretty big in England since 2007. And apparently its selling pretty well in the states since its release a few weeks ago.

My ignorance of modern-genre-literature-intended-for-children aside, this doesn't sound like a half bad pitch for a movie. Sci-Fi-fantasy hybrids about plucky kids in strange worlds who solve intriguing mysteries is, and has always been, a reliable premise. And you just know Fox wants to find the next Harry Potter. It's dangerous work trying to make the next hot, family friendly fantasy movie series. It's a path filled with expensive bombs, Chapter Ones with no Chapter Twos.

City of Ember? Inkheart? The Seeker: The Dark is Rising? Even the second Chronicles of Narnia movie bombed in its own special little way.

So, what's going to to happen to Incarceron? Beats me. I thought I told you to get off my lawn!

Filed under: News/Reactions

 EMAIL | SHARE

'Sorcerer's Apprentice' Trailer: Cage Rocks New Wig, Baruchel Fights Brooms

Dec 10th 2009 11:02AM By: Jacob Hall

0 Comments

It's only natural that Nicolas Cage follows up his bizarre, acclaimed work in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans by reuniting with his National Treasure director Jon Turteltaub to star in an adaptation of a ten minute Fantasia segment about an anthropomorphized mouse who abuses magic to create broom havoc. Because after all, everyone knows you follow up Herzog with Turteltaub.

Yeah, The Sorcerer's Apprentice was a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe written about 150 years before Fantasia borrowed it, but this new and improved CGI-athon is a Disney production and if you think a bunch of Disney execs sat around a big table and declared "Let's spend $100 million on a Johann Wolfgang von Goeth poem adapatation!" you are a crazy person. You can take a leap over to Apple trailers and take a peek at the new trailer yourself (or watch it after the jump), although only the title and a brief shot of Jay Baruchel (playing the part of Mickey Mouse) combating living brooms suggests any sort of relationship to the Fantasia segment.

Filed under: News/Reactions, Trailers/Clips

 EMAIL | SHARE

New on DVD & Blu-ray: 'Lost Season 5,' 'Half-Blood Prince,' 'Get Smart'

Dec 8th 2009 3:32PM By: Mike Moody

0 Comments

lost half blood prince get smart dvd

Looking for something good and geeky to watch? Check out this week's notable DVD and Blu-ray releases:

lost dvd blu-ray dharma setLost: The Complete Fifth Season (DVD & Blu-ray)
For the truly insane, the fifth season of the greatest show of our time comes packaged in a "Dharma Initiative Orientation Kit" seemingly stolen from the Dharma HR offices. You get the entire fifth season, on DVD or Blu-ray, a VHS Dharma orientation video, embroidered patches, detailed maps, a Geronimo Jackson CD, and some wonderfully retro packaging all for under $100 at most online retailers. Or you could go for the standard version, which is packed with extras like interviews with the cast and a behind the scenes feature with ol' Sawyer himself, Josh Holloway.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (DVD & Blu-ray)
There are way too many versions of this release to list here, so let's just say that Harry, who is growing up and lookin' for love, and his magical wand are available to thrill you in a number of different home video incarnations. There's also the Ultimate Editions and the Year 1-6 Gift Set, which should be pretty popular this holiday season.

Get Smart: Season 5 (DVD)
Don Adams' bumbling spy Maxwell Smart is back to help save the world and wipe away the memory of Peter Sagal's mostly bland big screen update.

Filed under: DVD Reviews, DVD News, Fan Shows

 EMAIL | SHARE

'Harry Potter' Takes Top Spot on List of Decade-Defining Books

Nov 23rd 2009 3:02PM By: Peter Hall

3 Comments

I cannot wrap my brain around it already being November of 2009. In less than 45 days we will all be living in the year 2010, which means that between now and then expect the Internet to turn into a breeding ground for Best of the Decade lists. The first I've encountered (via SFW) is The Telegraph's list of "100 Books That Defined the Noughties", and luckily for us, their list is quite friendly to fans of science fiction and fantasy novels. It's populated with titles like Cormac McCarthy's The Road, Phillip Pulman's The Amber Spyglass, Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, and Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife, but a bulk of their praise goes to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which took the number one spot:

"We've seen Harry grow from a spindly, messy-haired 11-year-old into a heroic young adult. Children have grown up with him, finding in his battles metaphors for their own. This volume alone sold 15 million copies in the first 24 hours after it was published. Whether wickedly skewering suburbia, or bringing Harry, Ron and Hermione into mortal danger, Rowling is never less than absorbing. Some may sneer at her books, but they are triumphant sagas about the defeat of evil that tap into our basic hunger for stories. Most importantly, she makes reading a 700-page book seem easy. This one even has a quotation from Aeschylus as its epigraph. It stands as a cornerstone of the decade, a melding of high and low culture that appeals to all ages and nations. "

Filed under: Fan Lists

 EMAIL | SHARE

Who Wants Their Own Authentic Harry Potter Wand?

Jul 21st 2009 11:02AM By: Sci-Fi Squad Staff

0 Comments



By: Elisabeth Rappe

With Halloween practically right around the corner, there are probably many of you who are looking to put together that perfect Harry Potter costume. Perhaps you just want a magical gift for yourself or for a diehard Potter fan in your life. Either way, you can't go wrong with an authentic Harry Potter wand from Whirlwood.

There are a lot of replica wands floating around (Noble Collection being the foremost among them) but this is as close as you'll get to shopping at Ollivander's. Not only are they actually handmade of wood as opposed to resin, but they're also filled with unicorn hair, phoenix feathers, tarantula legs, crystals, and all the other totems that power up a wizard or witch's wand. If you're lucky enough to meet the Whirlwood gang in person, you can give the entire line a swish and flick. Otherwise, you'll have to visit the website where you can find wands replicating those found in the movies (Hermione's is absolutely lovely) or copying the description found in the books. You diehard fans will know the difference. Oh, and speaking of diehard fans -- you lovers of Robert Pattinson will find a Cedric Diggory design made just for you.

If you ever read my posts and think "I don't know about this geek stuff, Elisabeth seems awfully cool," this Sunday actually found me at the Whirlwood shop doing a lot of swishing and flicking. The above wand was the one I kept going back to, and the Mr. Ollivander on duty said "That's the one for you. I see the connection." The original owner of the wand? Voldemort. Such is the power of the Dark Lord that I actually left the wand behind only to find it waiting for me the next morning thanks to my sister and her boyfriend who felt I really ought to have it. I've been practicing my Unforgiveable Curses ever since.




Filed under: Fan Made, Movies We Love

 EMAIL | SHARE

Captain's Log: Potter Wedding, Emmy Nods, Reynolds as Lantern and More!

Jul 16th 2009 5:41PM By: Erik Davis

0 Comments



Welcome to Captain's Log -- your (semi) daily round-up of sci-fi randomness from around the web. Here's what's happening today:

- In honor of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (which posted a whopping $58 million on its opening day), Brides.com has put together a little guide on how to plan the perfect Harry Potter wedding (see image above). An example: "Flying Favors: Wish you could use a Firebolt as your getaway vehicle? You can still give your wedding a high-flying flair by handing out Broomstick Fuel chocolate as favors."

- Nominations for the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards have been doled out, and representing SciFi we have Heroes and True Blood (Outstanding Art Direction), True Blood (Outsanding Casting for Drama Series), and Lost (Oustanding Drama Series),

- MTV has two more images from Shake Acker's freaky little movie 9, which was produced by Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov. [MTV]

- Moon director Duncan Jones talked more about his next film, Mute, with Empire. On the comparisons to Blade Runner, he says, "There's a connection with Blade Runner, but I've got some ideas that'll give it its own signature character. It's set in a future Berlin which may look like a German version of Blade Runner's Los Angeles, but with a European sensibility." Bonus: Check out Slashfilm's marathon video interview with Jones over here.


Filed under: Fan Made, News/Reactions, Fan Lists, Fan Shows, Fan Movies

 EMAIL | SHARE

'Half-Blood Prince' Changes the Book ... and Gets it Right

Jul 16th 2009 4:02PM By: Sci-Fi Squad Staff

16 Comments

By: Eric D. Snider

The release of a new Harry Potter film always means a deluge of complaints about how it failed to exactly duplicate every single word of J.K. Rowling's sacred text, and Half-Blood Prince is no different. (Adam Quigley from Always Watching tweeted this amusing screenshot of the IMDb message boards Wednesday morning that sums it up pretty well.) Not having read the book since it came out four years ago, I didn't remember it in great enough detail to notice any major changes in the movie -- until the climactic scene in the tower, when something did stand out. And it stands out as an improvement over the book.

Spoilers for the book and the movie follow!

As readers well remember, that scene has Draco Malfoy confronting Dumbledore with the intention of killing him, as ordered by Voldemort. In the book, Harry is under the invisibility cloak at this point, so no one knows he's there, and Dumbledore has stupefied him so he can't act. Then the Death Eaters and Snape come along, and Snape finishes the job that Draco can't muster the courage to perform. Harry is powerless to do anything until Dumbledore is dead, which cancels the stupefying spell.

The movie plays out essentially the same way but with one key difference. Instead of being stupefied and invisible, Harry is hiding silently below the floor where the action is happening. Why? Because Dumbledore told him to, having already extracted from Harry a promise that he would obey whatever directions Dumbledore gave him.

Filed under: News/Reactions, Discussion Posts, Movies We Love

 EMAIL | SHARE

Harry Potter Nabs $20 Million Opening Night!

Jul 15th 2009 12:44PM By: Erik Davis

0 Comments

UPDATE: The estimate as now changed to $22 million. Way to go Harry!

Just when you thought there was no way that boy wizard would take down The Bat comes word from Variety that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince nabbed a whopping $20 million in midnight screenings on Wednesday (according to early estimates), putting it ahead of both The Dark Knight ($18 million) and Star Wars Episode III ($17 million), earning it the highest midnight gross of all time.

To show a comparison, Order of the Phoenix (opening in the same exact spot) only grossed $12 million in midnight shows. That's nuts! Goes to show you that holding out a little longer for release meant that Potter fans were literally craving more as if the boy wizard were a drug. Kudos to you, sir Potter -- now let's see what other records this sucker can break.

Filed under: News/Reactions, Movies We Love

 EMAIL | SHARE

Ultimate Harry Potter Roundup

Jul 15th 2009 8:10AM By: Erik Davis

0 Comments



So you're heading out to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (buy tix here) at midnight tonight (or shortly thereafter), and you need something to get you in the mood ... am I right? Check out this roundup of all things Potter from across the fine AOL networks:

Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Cinematical Seven: Mocking Harry Potter

Insert Caption: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (win some very cool prizes by providing a caption for a photo from the film)

Moviefone's Interview with Daniel Radcliffe

Potter Cast Reflects on a Hogwarts Childhood

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Character Guide

Which Harry Potter Character Are You?

15 Things to Know About Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The Harry Potter Villains

Harry Potter Romances

The Five Best Things About Half-Blood Prince

Life After Harry Potter


That should hold you over for a few hours. Enjoy the show!

Filed under: News/Reactions, Movies We Love, Fan Movies

 EMAIL | SHARE

Watch This: Harry Potter: The Musical

Jun 23rd 2009 2:22PM By: Erik Davis

0 Comments

What happens when a group of University of Michigan students decide to stage a Harry Potter musical? Well, you can watch the results after the jump, as the entire thing has just arrived online for you Potter fans to devour. It's not a straight adaptation, so don't worry about calling these college kids out for screwing with Potter mythology; instead, it's more of a celebration of the character ... with a Lord Voldemort tap number thrown in fbecause, well, why the hell not.

Check out part one of the musical after the jump, and watch all the parts over on YouTube.

Discuss: Would you pay to watch a Harry Potter musical on Broadway?

Filed under: Fan Made, News/Reactions, Trailers/Clips, Fan Shows

 EMAIL | SHARE