Will Charlie fall victim to Harry Potter?

If Charlie and the Chocolate factory doesn't perform up to expectations this weekend (ie. it doesn't make as much money as predicted and cause more industry analysis about a "slump", which is all BS anyway) it has one person to blame: Harry Potter.

Well, I suppose, it could be blamed on J.K. Rowling. But still, I think kids (and adults alike) will opt to stay home and plow through the 652 page tome rather than dragging the whole clan out to the theaters this weekend. Friday, the film did well, but at midnight, July 16th, the 6th installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, was open for sale to the public.

I'll admit it, at 12:15 I was at a store in Burbank picking it up for myself. Luckily (and surprisingly) there was no line of rabid fans gnawing at each other to pick up the book. I walked in, bought the book, and walked out, all in a span of five minutes. I had seen people lined up at the Barnes and Noble around the corner, most dressed in costume (and most my age or older) waiting anxiously to buy the book as I left. Suckers. They should have gone to the great discount book store around the corner, and helped them out a little bit. (They are going out of business, but I'm told this always happens there).

Anyway, I came home and started reading the damn thing. 2 hours later, I'm a third of the way through, and that includes time spent helping a friend move into his new apartment, going to another friend's goodbye party, AND writing up an interview for the site. (It will be up soon, but it's long, and really difficult to transcribe my notes and the tape).

So only a third of the way through, and the book is kicking a lot of ass. It's like the Revenge of the Sith of this series. It's dark as hell, and things are happening that just break your heart. (I refer to the second chapter, but that could wind up paying off differently, as these books have been known to surprise me). Gone is the innocent whimsy of the first few books. this is a book about a time of war, but life still moving on. It's great. So far, anyway. Who knows, it could really screw up the landing horribly and wind up shitting the bed like no one's business (*coughattackoftheclonescough*). But as it stands thus far, it's a great read.

So kids, keep reading, and contributing to the mythical slump. Because your imaginations (and mine) are better than anything Hollywood can come up with to take your money for a 2 hour period this weekend. (Except for you loser children who have no imaginations. You know who I'm talking about).

I'm gonna knock off a few more chapters before bed. Hopefully I'll have a full review for you in the next couple of days.

The Dude
Uber-Writer for MoviesOnline