Harry, Ron, and Hermione chased by Death Eaters! The Dark Lord and his minions taking over the Ministry of Magic! Muggles killed! Mixed blood citizens (“mud-bloods) persecuted! There’s no doubt that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the darkest of the Harry Potter movies. The movie does nothing to bring newbies up to speed, so if you’re new to the Harry Potter series, this is NOT the place to start. And, even though I read the book, I confess I didn’t remember large swatches of the plot. The movie sags in the middle while Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in the wilderness. But when there’s action, and the action comes suddenly, the special effects are first-rate. When Harry opens the Horcrux and releases its evil, I nearly jumped out of my seat! Of course, the movie ends in a cliffhanger and we’ll have to wait until July 2011 to see the conclusion. GRADE: B

The Last Hieroglyph is the fifth and final volume in Night Shade Books’ brilliant collection of Clark Ashton Smith’s short fiction. I’ve enjoyed all four previous volumes and have looked forward to this last book with a mixture of anticipation and regret. Some of Clark Ashton’s Smith’s best stories are included here: “The Death of Malygris,” “The Last Hieroglyph,” and “Strange Shadows.” These are amazing stories! Dick Lupoff provides an insightful “Introduction.” If you haven’t read Clark Ashton Smith, this is the perfect place to start.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
* The Dark Age
* The Death of Malygris
* The Tomb-Spawn
* The Witchcraft of Ulua
* The Coming of the White Worm
* The Seven Geases
* The Chain of Aforgomon
* The Primal City
* Xeethra
* The Last Hieroglyph
* Necromancy in Naat
* The Treader of the Dust
* The Black Abbott of Puthuum
* The Death of Ilalotha
* Mother of Toads
* The Garden of Adompha
* The Great God Awto
* Strange Shadows
* The Enchantress of Sylaire
* Double Cosmos
* Nemesis of the Unfinished
* The Master of the Crabs
* Morthylla
* Schizoid Creator
* Monsters in the Night
* Phoenix
* The Theft of the Thirty-Nine Girdles
* Symposium of the Gorgon
* The Dart of Rasasfa
(This completes the November 2010 portion of my Short Story Reading Challenge. I will read and review one short story collection per month in 2010. To find out more about the Short Story Reading Challenge, be sure to click: “http://theshortstorychallenge.blogspot.com/”>Short Story Reading Challenge.

Huey Lewis & The News picked some of the more obscure songs from the STAX RECORDS vault and the result is this cover CD. Plenty of brass, great backup singers, and Huey Lewis & The News sounding better than they have in years. If you love soul music, you’re going to want this album: 14 songs that bring back the Sixties. The most recognizable song is “Respect Yourself,” the old Staple Singers hit. My favorite song is “Just One More Day,” the Otis Redding hit. I love this music so I’m obviously giving this CD: GRADE: A
TRACK LIST
Don’t Fight It
Got To Get You Off My Mind
Free
Respect Yourself
Cry To Me
Just One More Day
Never Found a Girl
Soulsville
Little Sally Walker
I Want To (Do Everything For You)
Just The One (I’ve Been Looking For)
Don’t Let The Green Grass Fool You
Never Like This Before
Grab This Thing

This package includes three movie versions: the original theatrical release, the special edition re-release, and the exclusive extended cut not shown in theaters (the only thing lacking is the 3D version!). And that’s just what’s on the first Blu-ray disc! The set’s bonus features run more than eight hours and include over 45 minutes of deleted scenes, actor’s screen tests, on-location footage, feature-length documentaries on the film’s groundbreaking production, an interactive scene-deconstruction feature that lets you explore different levels of production for 17 scenes, a comprehensive guide to the world of Pandora, and more. If you’re a fan of AVATAR, this set has so many goodies, it’s irresistible! And it’s only $24.99 at BEST BUY! (The standard DVD version is $19.99) GRADE: A

Bruce Springteen, embroiled in a legal battle with his record company, feared his career was over in 1977. Finally, in 1978, Darkness at the Edge of Town was released and Springsteen became a superstar. But 21 of the songs Springsteen wrote for Darkness at the Edge of Town remained in the vault…until now. This 3 CD set includes all the original songs (remastered) and the 21 “forgotten” songs. If you’re a Bruce Springsteen fan, you’ll want this set (makes a great holiday gift…to yourself!). On the DVDs, you’ll find a documentary directed by Grammy- and Emmy-winning filmmaker Thom Zimny. The ninety-minute film combines never-before-seen footage of Springsteen and the E Street Band shot between 1976 and 1978, including home rehearsals and studio sessions with new interviews with Springsteen, E Street Band members, manager Jon Landau, former-manager Mike Appel, and others closely involved in the making of the record.

In addition, the set features more than four hours of live concert film from the Thrill Hill Vault, including the bootleg house cut (the footage that appeared on-screen at the concert) from a 1978 Houston show, and a 2009 performance of Darkness on the Edge of Town in its entirety from Asbury Park. The special performance in Asbury Park was shot in HD without an audience and successfully recreates the stark atmosphere of the original album. GRADE: A
Disc: 1
1. Badlands
2. Adam Raised A Cain
3. Something In The Night
4. Candy s Room
5. Racing In The Street
6. The Promised Land
7. Factory Listen
8. Streets Of Fire
9. Prove It All Night
10. Darkness On The Edge Of Town
Disc: 2
1. Racing In The Street (’78)
2. Gotta Get That Feeling
3. Outside Looking In
4. Someday (We’ll Be Together)
5. One Way Street
6. Because The Night
7. Wrong Side Of The Street
8. The Brokenhearted
9. Rendezvous
10. Candy’s Boy
Disc: 3
1. Save My Love
2. Ain’t Good Enough For You Listen
3. Fire
4. Spanish Eyes
5. It’s A Shame
6. Come On (Let’s Go Tonight)
7. Talk To Me
8. The Little Things (My Baby Does)
9. Breakaway
10. The Promise
11. City Of Night

Novelist Susan Hill, with a house full of books (much like most of us), decides not to buy any more books for a year and, instead, read the stacks of books she’s accumulated. What follows is a series of chapters of Hill’s reading experiences and tastes. For example, Hill has never been able to get through Proust (neither have I). She rediscovers her love for Dickens and Trollope and Hardy. There are chapters on her favorite travel books (by Chatwin and Patrick Leigh Fermor), her favorite picture books, her favorite pop-up books. Howards End Is On the Landing delights with the story of Hill’s life-long love affair with reading. After reading Susan Hill’s descriptions of Penelope Fitzgerald’s The Blue Flower and The Journals of Sir Walter Scott, I wanted to drop everything and read them! Although I’m not going to give up buying books anytime soon, this was a fun experiment to follow. GRADE: A

The only NFL team who hasn’t won a game this season is the lowly Buffalo Bills. Die-hard fans are weeping with frustration as the Bills have come close to winning the last three weeks (two overtime games!) but found a way to lose. A dreadful 0-8 record. But today, the Bills play the Detroit Lions whose quarterback is injured and will not play. Could this be the game that goes into the WIN column? Or will loyal Bills fans find their team remains winless. This game, astonishingly, is not a sell-out so I’ll have to listen to the radio coverage. Yes, I’m aware the game is available online and, if I was really motivated, being shown in bars across the border in Canada. But, I’ll just tough it out and listen to the Voice of the Bills, John Murphy, call the game. Go, Bills!

As I gradually replace my favorite DVDs with Blu-rays, I’m thrilled that BJ’s Warehouse is helping me out. This week they offered the Blu-ray version of Body Heat for a mere $9.99. I loved Body Heat when it was first released in 1981. I’ve owned the VHS tape, the DVD, and now the Blu-ray. Kathleen Turner, the sultry femme fatale and William Hurt, the obsessed pawn, generate sparks every time they’re on the screen. This Blu-ray edition includes lifted scenes; 3 steamy featurettes: Body Heat: The Plan – Screenplay and casting; The Production: Filming; The Post-Production: Editing, scoring and release, as well as vintage interviews with Kathleen Turner and William Hurt, and the theatrical trailer. For less than $10, this is a bargain!

Isaac Asimov died in 1992 and it’s hard to believe he’s been gone for nearly 20 years. I grew up reading Asimov’s science fiction especially his Foundation series. But I always liked the way Asimov blended whodunit plotting and SF in his robot novels. My favorite is The Naked Sun. I was walking through the North Tonawanda Library and my eye fell on the audio book version of The Naked Sun proudly displayed on one of the tables. I’m usually not a fan of audio books. I’d rather read books than listen to them. But, I checked out the unabridged audio version of The Naked Sun (6 CDs, 7.5 hours worth!) and listened to it. The narrator, William Dufris, does a nice job. If you haven’t read any Isaac Asimov lately, this is a good place to start. I also got a kick out of the fact this CD set was produced by Trantor Media, Inc.! Asimov fans will get this joke.