Watched three very different things recently

First was Shrek 3, which was great and a real break from the reality of reality, and it didn't matter that I hadn't seen number 2. Shrek's faux-Scottish accent was the worst thing about the film - the rest was excellent. I love Puss in Boots, always love Donkey, and even the fairytale princesses made me laugh instead of shudder.

Then came Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which is the first film I've seen in a very long time that I've wanted to watch all over again from the beginning right then and there. No, it wasn't the same as the book, but considering the length and detailed nature of the book there's no way it could have been. It was tight, well-acted (particularly by chappie who plays Harry and chappie who plays Snape) and had some spectacular scenes that were both the huge action ones and the tiny little emotional ones. I don't think I've got time to go to the cinema again before I go on holiday in a week, but if the film's still on when I get back I think I'll need to put a time in the diary to see it again.

And today I watched the first episode of Studio 60. Twice. Not because it was briliant right out of the gate (it really wasn't) but so that I could actually understand what was going on. The first episode felt like one massive f-you from Aaron Sorkin to the world of television, so utterly self-indulgent it was almost all I could see for the first viewing. On second viewing, all I could see was the slash between Matt and Danny, though, so I guess there's something there to keep me interested after all. *g*

On the reading front...

I read the Deathly Hallows and really liked it. I just saw the Philisopher's Stone a couple of weeks ago, so thought I'd start reading the series again with book two. It wasn't bad at all, but was definitely more of a kids' book than I remembered initially. Perhaps that's due to having just read the last in the series, where it's clear that JKR's writing has improved over time. It didn't help my reading that I dropped the book in the bath halfway through and had to read the last hundred odd pages with most of them see-through. Next would be the Prisoner of Azkaban, and again I'd just recently seen the film again. So that's Goblet of Fire, but... and of course there's Order of the Phoenix. Which takes me right up to book six, which the first time around I thought was a big waste of space. Of course, I can't remember the plot now, so I guess that's the next one to read.

I do have a whole load of books on my bookshelves that I've not yet read, so at least that should give me something to take on holiday with me that hopefully isn't too heavy. I'd like to take Deathly Hallows and re-read, but it weighs a tonne and there are no bloody ebooks to buy. What's wrong with ebooks, eh? I love real books in oh-so-many ways, but not when I have to carry the damn things around.