Brick Critique: Minifigure Birthday Set

Once upon a time, there was a minifig named Johnny.

Johnny's tenth birthday didn't go quite as he had imagined and hoped.

For one thing, Johnny's parents forgot their son was even having a birthday until the night before. Once they realized their error, they made a mad rush to throw a last-minute bash, but alas... all of Johnny's friends were already busy, and every decent entertainer in the city was already booked. Everyone, that is, except... 

Brocco the Clown.

Brocco, short for Broccoli, came highly unrecommended. Brocco's moniker had something to do with the vegetable-green wig he always wore. Or WAS it a wig? Some had their doubts. Brocco's act was simple: blast a bugle, dance on pies, and make the children laugh, whatever it took.

And so Brocco was hired to entertain at Johnny's birthday party, but Johnny's parents still had a problem. Birthdays required presents, and they had no presents to give. But they did have wrapping paper and some miscellaneous trinkets in the attic, and so, after Johnny went to bed, they wrapped up a few of the salvaged goods.

At long last (roughly eight hours later) the big day arrived. Johnny was thrilled to walk into the living room that morning and see a a bunch of balloons waiting for him, along with a white banner bearing... hmmm, that was strange... there was nothing on it. Puzzled as he was, Johnny chose not to mention it.

"Happy birthday, son!" his parents cried. "Boy, do we have a big surprise for you!"

"What is it?!" Johnny gasped.

"You'll just have to wait and see," his father said cryptically.

The doorbell rang. "Who could that be?" Johnny's mother sang. "Johnny, why don't you go see who it is?"

Johnny made a dash for the front door and flug it open. And then....

A primal scream could be heard throughout the neighborhood and into the neighborhoods beyond. 

"Be polite!" Johnny's father hissed to his son, as he elbowed him in the ribs. "We paid good money for this -- uh, I mean, he's a very special guest."

And so Johnny, not wanting to make his parents feel bad, pasted a smile on his face and forced himself to pretend he wasn't utterly terrified of the sight he saw before him: Brocco, holding a pie in one hand, a bugle in the other, his face shining with pure, unadulterated glee.

"Come in, come in," Johnny's father said to the clown, ushering him into the house.

For the next half hour, Brocco played his bugle, danced a jig on the pie, and performed several scenes from It.

Johnny's plastic smile wavered more and more with each passing moment.

Soon it was time for presents. From his parents, Johnny received several Christmas ornaments and some Kenny G cassette tapes. When he was finished unwrapping these gifts, Johnny looked to his parents. "Mom? Dad?" he asked. "Can I go take a nap now?"

"Oh, no, no!" cried Brocco. "There's still one present you haven't opened! It's from meeee!"

Fingers trembling with fear, Johnny took the colorfully-wrapped box from Brocco and began to tear the paper off. After removing multiple layers of wrappings, he came to the inside of the box. And there within, he saw something brown and fuzzy.

 "What is it, Johnny?" asked Dad.

Johnny gingerly removed the object from the box and held it up for everyone to see. "Um..."

"Why, it's a wig!" cried his mother happily.

"Try it on, Johnny!" Dad urged.

"But DA-AD! It's a GIRL'S wig!"

Johnny's father looked stern. "Now, Son, Brocco was kind enough to bring you a present. Don't be rude, now. Try it on."

Johnny looked at his father. He looked as his mother, who was nodding encouragingly. And then he looked at Brocco.

And then...

 he snapped.

That was the last anyone ever saw of Brocco, and Johnny and his parents aren't talking.

Now YOU can recreate the tragic story of Johnny and Brocco with Lego's Minifigure Birthday Set for only $9.99! It comes with Brocco, Johnny, presents, a paper banner, and a female wig. Johnny's parents not included.

Thoughts on Man Of Steel

Thoughts on Man Of Steel.

Welcome to Krypton, where there are... dinosaurs? And the TV images look like they're made out of molten lead. And there are babies floating under water in bubbles.

Meanwhile, a woman is having a baby and he's got a funny-shaped head and this is Kal-El.

Russell Crowe is this baby's father. He should be happy, but he is not because there is a new villain in town who kind of looks like Joaquin Phoenix and is one horn helmet shy of being utterly lame. This villain's name is General Zod.

Zod is dealt with (Phantom Zone! Buhbye!) but Krypton is doomed because its core is going to explode in a couple weeks, so Russell Crowe and his wife send their baby to Earth and he grows up to be a hot sailor named Clark Kent. 

One day, Clark jumps aboard a burning vessel, shirtless (but not... pantsless) to save some other dudes, and he's all on fire but the fire can't burn his chest hair or beard because it is just that badass. 

Seriously, why lose the shirt but not the pants? Are the pants flame-retardant? Oh well, so he saves the in-peril sailors and then he comes ashore and steals some guy's laundry so he won't be walking around all shirtless and buff (because that would be... bad?) Then he goes to work at a bar where customers are mean, but instead of punching the crap out of one of the meanies (as he did in Superman II) he simply ties the guy's truck around a pole. Funny. Mean.

Flashbacks galore! When Clark is a young boy he suffers from sensory overload issues that land him in a closet, ala that kid from The Sixth Sense. The other kids think he's a freak. Little Clark can't see dead people, but he CAN see your still-beating heart, Teacherlady, and that's pretty gross, so he'll go hide from you now. Martha Kent arrives to calm her son down. "Focus on my voice," she says. He does. All is well.

Later, Teen Clark saves a bus full of kids after the vehicle plunges into a lake. (Where were you in The Sweet Hereafter, Clark, I ASK YOU?) The other kids see that he has amazing gifts. They tell Clark's parents. Dad, Jonathan Kent, played by Kevin Costner, lectures Clark and tells him that it may be better to just let people die rather than reveal his secret because the world just isn't ready for big fat alien secrets. This turns out to be IRONY FORESHADOWING.

So then Clark is an adult again (beard!) and he's found out about some unusual thing up in Polar Bear Land, so he heads up to the area where the government yokels are investigating. Lois Lane is there, too, and when she spots Clark sneaking up into the top-secret... stuff... in the dead of night, she follows him. Turns out Clark has found a Kryptonian... ship thing... anyway, long story short, Lois almost gets dead but Clark saves her and then takes the Kryptonian ship and flies off with it. Oh, and Russell Crowe talks to him from beyond the grave and is all Kal... I am your father... here's a headless suit for you to weaaarrrr.... That's nice that Martha doesn't have to sew it.

Afterwards, Lois is intrigued because this dude with glowing red eyes has saved her life, so she decides to write an article about her "guardian angel," only Perry White, aka Laurence Fishburne, aka Cowboy Curtis from PeeWee's Playhouse, won't run the story because Aliens. Lois does some further investigating -- talking to a bunch of people who've witnessed miracles from a mysterious dude, and, without a whole lot of effort, finds her way to Clark.

Clark decides to flashback to how his father died. Apparently it happened when he was about 18. The Kent family's all driving along and Clark plays the "you're not my REAL father" card. Anyone who's familiar with Superhero movies knows that you might as well just kiss Dad goodbye at this point. So in comes the obligatory Killer Kansas Tornado and Jonathan tells Clark to take a small girl to safety, then he runs back to rescue their dog. 

But then he gets hurt. And Clark just stands there. Jonathan manages to stand up, but his leg is injured and here comes the tornado. Clark just stands there. Jonathan holds up one hand as if to say "I'm fine, don't save me, this is for the best." So Clark just stands there some more and watches as his father gets sucked up by a tornado because that's what his father wants. THIS IS DISTURBING. Why doesn't Clark have super breath in this movie? Just blow the tornado away. OMG why are you just standing there? Now you've killed him. Great. Happy Father's Day, everybody!

Back to the present. So because Clark accessed that Kryptonian ship earlier, General Zod is alerted to his presence and comes to Earth to find him. Zod hijacks all the TVs, Twilight Zone-style, and threatens everybody with certain doom if they do not turn in The Alien. Clark doesn't trust Zod, but he also doesn't want the Earth to be in peril, so he goes to Zod, and Zod demands Lois Lane as well. They go aboard this ship. 

Lois has to wear a special breathing helmet but Clark does not; however, Clark goes all ill because he's not used to this new environment. The baddies scan their brains and learn where Clark lives, among other things. Oh, and earlier Clark handed Lois a S-shield-shaped key thingie and she puts it in a slot which summons the ghost of Russell Crowe, who helps her escape. And then Clark escapes. And then he saves Lois who is falling toward Earth and things are all cute for five seconds, until Clark realizes oh no, Zod knows where Mommy lives, so he goes there and, yep, sure enough, the bad guys are there, so he attacks (you don't mess with mamas) and then fighting commences.

So for the next hour, we have Clark fighting the bad guys, one after the other, but mostly Zod and this other lady. Somehow they move the fighting to Metropolis. Oh, because I guess Zod is trying to reformat the Earth or something. Cars and things get sucked up and spit back out. Buildings crumble. People scream and run for cover. Well, most of them do. Some just stand there like "hey, that's kinda cool." WHAM! BIFF! POW! More explosions. Hey, wasn't this the plot of The Avengers? I'm tired of seeing these movies where cities are destroyed and thousands of people die. Like, how is this entertainment? Thinking of Dark Knight and the Iron Mans too. If these movies were all in the same universe (and I realize they are not) we wouldn't HAVE any more humans, they'd all be smushed and/or incinerated, but whatever.

Also, didn't Superman II have a helluva long scene where Superman fights Zod and they destroy a bunch of stuff? And wasn't it tedious and dumb then? Yes.

Okay, so while all this is happening, Lois is somehow managing to stay within eyesight of Clark. Oh, first she figures out a way to stop Zod using the ship Clark came to Earth in. That's good. So the government dudes work on that plan. Meanwhile we keep switching to the saga of "what's happening to the Daily Planet employees in all this?" 

Oh no, Jenny is trapped beneath some rubble! Wait, who the hell is Jenny? I think they changed Jimmy Olsen's gender. Why. Oh good, she's okay. Perry's okay, too. Whew, I guess. For a minute or two, things get calm and Lois and Clark kiss and it's cool and all but then he's like "NEED MOAR ACTION" so he leaves to go hulk smash Zod some more.

Superman finally gets the better of Zod by doing the one thing Superman is never ever supposed to do. (Sadface.) Now Zod is dead. And now everyone is safe... except half the city is in utter ruins. Huzzah?

Epilogue. Clark decides to become a reporter, so he gets a job at the Daily Planet (which is still, remarkably, intact), and, of course, Lois is already working there, and she totally knows who Clark is so this is a big change from the norm. Lois knows the secret! She is not dumb! Yayyy!

Yay....

So, I don't know what to make of this. Sorry I'm leaving out a bunch of things, but here's the gist: If you like movies where STUFF BLOWS UP, you will be all over this. If you're in it hoping for a lot of relationship stuff, you're going to get some, but not enough. 

High Points:

*Kevin Costner is awesome. Fact.

*Henry Cavill is hot. He looks great in the suit.

*Young, wayward, bearded-Clark stuff is fun to watch, even if it's short-lived.

*Lois gets to be smart.

Meh Points:

*Music isn't memorable. No John Williams fanfare-type stuff.

*Special effects are top-notch but some of the ships look goofy.

Low Points:

*Seemingly endless action and destruction.

*Awkward dad-death scene.

*Not enough relationship stuff.

But... sequel potential!

You know, in 3-4 years. :(

All About Everything - Week Of June 11, 2013

This Week's Topic: Warwick Castle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Warwick Castle (ⁱ/ˈwɒrɪk/ worr-ik) is a medieval castle developed from an original built by William the Conqueror in 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a bend of the River Avon. The original wooden motte-and-bailey castle was rebuilt in stone in the 12th century. During the Hundred Years War, the facade opposite the town was refortified, resulting in one of the most recognisable examples of 14th century military architecture. It was used as a stronghold until the early 17th century, when it was granted to Sir Fulke Greville by James I in 1604. Sir Fulke Greville converted it to a country house. It was owned by the Greville family, who became earls of Warwick in 1759, until 1978 when it was bought by the Tussauds Group.

        

The Warwick trebuchet

The trebuchet at Warwick Castle is the largest catapult in the world.

In June 2005, Warwick Castle became home to one of the world's largest working siege engines. The trebuchet is 18 metres (59 ft) tall, made from over 300 pieces of oak and weighs 22 tonnes (24 short tons).^[57] The machine, which was made in Wiltshire, is situated on the riverbank below the castle. It takes eight men half an hour to load and release,^[58] the process involves four men running in 4 metres (13 ft) tall wheels to lift the counterweight, weighing 6 tonnes (7 short tons) into the air. It is designed to be capable of hurling projectiles distances of up to 300 metres (980 ft) and as high as 25 metres (82 ft) and can throw projectiles weighing up to 150 kilograms (330 lb).^[58] On 21 August 2006, the trebuchet claimed the record as the most powerful catapult of its type when it sent a projectile weighing 13 kilograms (29 lb) a distance of 249 metres (817 ft) at a speed of 260 kilometres per hour (160 mph), beating the previous record held by a machine in Denmark.^[59]

* * *

My final term of college, I took a class called England's Castles. It sounded more interesting than it actually was. It was taught by this tiny little British guy who sometimes brought his dog, and sometimes brought his wife, to class. Most of his lectures involved detailed descriptions of how castle walls were fortified (curved walls = good, corners = bad).

One day, Little British Dude announced that a third of our final grade would depend upon a 17-page term paper written about a castle of our choice. The catch? We had to cite all our research, and none of that research could come from the internet. I decided on Warwick Castle, and I managed to get a bunch old, antique, ready-for-the-dustbin books on the subject via Inter-Library Loans. I wrote the paper, and I'll be darned if at least three of those 17 pages weren't made up of citations. 

Minor Fact: The overuse of the term "motte-and-bailey" that term led me to name my cat Baylie. True story.

Eye(s) of the Tiger

Judy Blume's Tiger Eyes was published when I was a baby. And when I picked up my first -- and then second, and then 11th -- Judy Blume book, Tiger Eyes was not among them. First I read the Fudge books (Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing, Otherwise Known A Sheila The Great, Superfudge, and Fudge-a-Mania). Then I read Are You there God? It's Me Margaret and Blubber. In middle school I was all over Just As Long As We're Together. In my late teens I got hold of Iggie's House, Starring Sally J. Freedman As Herself, Deenie, It's Not The End Of The World, Then Again Maybe I Won't, and Summer Sisters. And then, when all those were taken care of, I was left with just a few not-reads, and one of those was Tiger Eyes. 

The summer I first read Tiger Eyes wasn't a great summer. A friend had unexpectedly died a few months before. Nothing really made sense to me anymore. Then, suddenly, I was immersed in this book about a girl whose father has unexpectedly died. A girl who becomes a mess of grief, fear, and confusion. And then a girl who begins to heal, slowly, and find happiness again. It was deep, it was powerful, and it was exactly what I needed. 

Tiger Eyes begins as Davey Wexler's father has just been murdered, leaving her in a state of shock and emotional despair. Davey's mother decides to relocate the family (which includes Davey's younger brother, Jason) to New Mexico, to live with Davey's aunt and uncle. The relatives are well-meaning, perhaps, but Davey clashes with their strict rules and bizarre beliefs. Meanwhile, Davey's mother breaks down, and she isn't there for either of her children for quite a while. As the mother slowly starts to come back, she begins seeing -- and considering marrying -- a guy the aunt and uncle know. Davey is, of course, horrified. Not only has she lost her father, but she's lost her home, her way of life, and even the mother she knew. 

 But then there is Wolf. Davey has biked out to the canyon and there she meets this mysterious, cute guy, who, over multiple encounters, helps her begin to see beauty in life again. Through Wolf -- and the healing power of Time -- Davey starts to peel away all the layers of regret, hurt, and guilt that are keeping her trapped. Her heart begins to heal. She finds that she loves to sing.

Tiger Eyes is a hauntingly realistic book about surviving a horrendous loss, repairing your soul, and moving forward with your life. It's about reaching that point where you realize it's okay to feel happy again. 

And, for the love of all good things, it has now been made into a feature film. It was actually shot a few years ago, but it's taken a while for it to find a distributor, I believe. Tiger Eyes, the film, is currently playing in select theaters around the United States. On June 7th, it will become available on iTunes, Comcast's On Demand, and even more theaters (including one here in Oregon! Hurray!)

I have been waiting so long for this that I'm pretty excited about it.

Now, I know sometimes books don't translate into movies so well. But I'm not especially worried about this one, because it was made with Judy Blume overseeing things. Her son (who previously directed the TV-movie/special Otherwise Known As Sheila The Great) directed this film. And Willa Holland, who playes Davey, is -- from what I've seen -- pretty incredible. 

So yays all around. I'm going to go see it. Will you?

ETA:

Well, I saw it, and I liked it. Several parts made me cry. There are quite a few differences from the book, but... still, it's a worthy film and I'm so happy to have finally seen it. :) I hope there will be many more Judy Blume movies to come.

All About Everything - Week of May 28, 2013

This Week's Topic: Mood Rings

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

A mood ring is a ring which contains a thermochromic element, such as liquid crystal. The ring changes color in response to the body temperature of its wearer. The color is said, by some proponents, to indicate the emotional state of the wearer

How Mood Rings Work

How Long Do Mood Rings Last?

Mood Ring Colors And Meanings

---

So it is entirely possible that I watched the My Girl movies roughly 100 times during my youth. And because Vada Sultenfuss -- owner of an oft-black mood ring -- was my own personal hero, I bought myself a mood ring as a teenager, and another one (of a different shape) a few years later. 

My mood rings tend to rapidly cycle through the colors whenever I wear them, which may say something (unflattering?) about my innerworkings. However, I've never seen one turn black. Hmm. I should wear one to my next dentist appointment. The ring would probably turn black, then. And freaking explode.

In popular culture

Mood rings were a short-lived fad of the mid-1970s (like the pet rock) and were especially popular with young girls. In a 1976 Peanuts comic strip, Peppermint Patty gets so angry at Charlie Brown that her mood ring explodes.

See? It can happen!

Lego Projects: "The Burrow" (2012)

I was never happy with the official Lego version of The Burrow (aka the Weasleys' House) from Harry Potter. I just felt it was too small. Granted, the Weasleys are supposed to be poor, so they don't exactly live in a mansion, but there are nine of them, and it is said in the books that Percy, Ron, and Ginny all have their own bedrooms. Okay, right? So it should be fairly big. Or at least, bigger than... that. I'm not the only one who thought so, apparently, because a Google search of "Harry Potter", "lego", and "burrow" brings up many larger Burrows that people have designed (examples: here, here, and here.) 

But here's what I came up with....

Harry and Hermione are visiting. Harry, Ron, and Ginny are coming back from practicing/playing Quidditch...

Fred and George are practicing spells...

Mr. Weasley is home from work, and Mrs. Weasley is watering the garden using the aguamenti spell...

Hermione is reading. (Surprise!)



And Hedwig's just chillin', keeping an eye on things...

And finally, here we have a few of the Weasleys' animals...

This model went to BrickCon (Seattle) in 2012 (with a few differences, as you can see below.)

And now, I promise to try to avoid making any more Harry Potter-related posts until the convention next month!

My Top 14: Harry Potter Actors Who Should Come To Portland

It's time once again to talk about...

!!!

In a little over a month, my hometown of Portland, Oregon, will be home to Leakycon, a 4-day-long Harry Potter convention. Currently, the guest list is a little... well... how do I say this without insulting anybody? It could be more impressive? That's it -- thank you.

As of this posting, three actors from the films are scheduled to be in attendance. They are:

*The girl who played Pansy Parkinson in Movies 6-8.

*The girl who played young Lily for a couple of minutes in Movie #8.

*The guy who played Seamus Finnegan, he of the eyebrow incinerations, beginning in Movie #1.

And while I would totally be happy to see any of those people, and would graciously welcome them to Oregon, I just have to say... I mean, ask....

Could we maybe get THESE people, too?

My Top 14: Harry Potter Actors Who Should Come To Portland

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

14. Miriam Margolyes

Professor Sprout

Miriam seems like an interesting lady, and I quite enjoyed watching her in A Little Princess (1986) when I was growing up. So yeah. I'd dig meeting her.

13. Luke Youngblood

(Lee Jordan)

Luke disappeared from the radar after the first two HP films, but popped (pun intended) up again as a recurring character on NBC's Community a half a dozen years later. He played Magnitude, who was cool enough on his own, but even cooler when you realized that he's actually... a wizard. Pop, pop!

12. Pam Ferris
Aunt Marge

I will go on record as saying I do not like Aunt Marge. I do, however, like Pam Ferris as an actress. She's great on Call The Midwife. And Mara Wilson, who worked alongside her on Matilda, recalls her as being one of the nicest people to work with. So even though she's been known to play some intimidating characters, I feel she'd be a treat to meet.

11. Emma Watson

Hermione Granger

Why not Rupert? Why not Daniel? Well, I'd be thrilled to meet Harry OR Ron, but personally, I'm a Hermione shipper myself. She's the smartest person in the whole dang school and everybody knows it. Emma managed to play her as adorable in the first couple films, awkward in the next few, and then kickass-and-lovely in the last few. You go, woman.

10. Sean Biggerstaff
Oliver Wood



Because he's freakin' cute!
(The Scottish accent doesn't hurt, either.)

9. Gary Oldman
Sirius Black



I may be She Of The Unpopular Opinion, but I didn't exactly understand Oldman being cast as Sirius Black. (I also wasn't completely on board with Alan Rickman as Snape, or Maggie Smith as McGonagall, because I pictured -- and still do -- all their characters as being 20 years younger than what we saw on screen.) But you know what? If they were GOING to go with the character(s) being older, who better than Gary Oldman? Right? He's so dang cool. Everything he touches becomes doubly cool. That being said, if he showed up at a HP convention I would probably bring him a Batman Begins poster to sign. ;)

8. Bonnie Wright
Ginny Weasley



I always thought Bonnie Wright had one of the best roles in the franchise. She got to be in every movie. In movie two, she got to have a dramatic scene with Harry Potter. Then we just barely saw her in the next two movies, before she began to appear more often in five and six. Which is to say that Bonnie got to be a lead character without having to put in even 1/5th as much time as Rupert or Daniel or Emma. Some people complain that Ginny wasn't that interesting in the movies -- in the books she's a pretty headstrong chick -- but hey, I liked her, and I'd love to meet Bonnie.

7. Warwick Davis
Professor Flitwick/Griphook/Etc.

Warwick Davis may have the most eclectic Potter experience out of... well, everybody. Over the course of the series, he played two different goblins and two different incarnations of Professor Flitwick (one older dude, then a younger one who directs the creepy choir). But forget HP for a minute, and take a look at this guy's resume.... Star Wars, the old BBC Narnia series, Willow... what the heck, even the more recent Narnia series. Good gracious, this guy's practically a film legend!

6. Tom Felton
Draco Malfoy

On screen, he got creepier-looking and more sinister with each passing year. But in real life? Total cutie who's funny in interviews. Most likely to have a successful post-Potter film career? Putting my money on this guy. Aaand maybe Emma Watson.


5. Alan Rickman
Severus Snape



Because it's Alan Rickman, hello. Sure, in the books, Snape's supposed to be a little bit younger, but... but... oh who cares, the fact that they got Alan for all the movies is just awesome. I would love to meet him and try to get him to say a line from... the... films... really... sloooowllllyyyy.... Then get him to do that line from Robin Hood where he orders his minions to cancel Christmas. AND THEN... that line from Die Hard where... okay, well, you get the idea.

4. Matthew Lewis

Neville Longbottom

Poor Neville. He spends the first handful of books being bullied, ridiculed, pitied, and ignored. But then something begins to change, and by book seven, he's a freaking warrior. In a similar evolution, Matthew Lewis started out the franchise as this cute little kid, then hit an awkward phase we weren't sure he would ever emerge from, and then, wait what? All of a sudden, he got... really, really attractive. And then he totally killed that stupid snake. F*** YEAH NEVILLE!, indeed.

3. Evanna Lynch 
Luna Lovegood



Evanna did something with Luna I think is incredible -- she turned a ditzy, brilliant, crazy, oft-annoying character into a ditzy, brilliant, crazy, not-annoying character. There are quite a few characters in the books who got on my nerves (Rita Skeeter, Dobby, Professor Lockhart), and they ended up being just as aggravating -- or worse -- on screen. Somehow Luna just managed to sparkle. If Evanna Lynch is anywhere near as cool as Luna, I want to be her BFF.

2. Jim Broadbent
Professor Slughorn

There are few actors in the HP series who I feel were so good in their role that no one else could have done it (except maybe Colin Firth... because I'm determined he can do anything. ANYTHING.) Evanna Lynch is one of them. Jim Broadbent is another. In 30 years, when they reboot the franchise, I will put extra scrutiny on the guy they get to play Slughorn. And he will still never compare. Jim Broadbent, man....  I love the way he portrayed his character. Kinda slimy but ultimately lovable. When I re-read the books I can totally imagine him in the role, whereas with a lot of other characters I struggle to see the actor when I read the books, preferring to picture my own "actor". Does that make one speck of sense?

1. Jason Isaacs
Lucius Malfoy



Okay, so Lucius Malfoy is a total slimeball, but somehow I can't help but kinda love him in the films. Jason Isaacs is totally underrated, and that needs to change. If HP's the only thing you've ever seen him in, I beg you to seek out his other work, because underneath that (admittedly luxurious) blonde wig is a man of kickass acting skills. Have you seen him as Captain Hook?