Cuparius.com

It has been brought to my attention by more than one person that the Cuparium is overdue for an update. It isn't much, but here it goes...

Visit AllRecipes.com and cook something new for the holidays. Thank you, Kathleen, for telling me about this one. (THREE recipes for hashbrown casserole! Hurrah!)

I am still reading The Gangs of New York, thanks to a largely self-inflicted schedule that prevents me from finding more time to read. With any luck I shall finish it before the movie is released in December.

On the 23rd I saw a 10:00 p.m. showing of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The special effects were superior to the previous movie, but the overall adaptation was inferior. One of the weaknesses of the predecessor was the lack of attention paid to the classroom situations. The lack is even more painfully noticeable here. I was also dismayed by the absence of Zoë Wanamaker, who plays Madam Hooch. As the legendary founder of her imaginary intergalactic fan club, I must emphatically state my opposition to any further Harry Potter movies in which she does not make a prominent appearance, and furthermore I demand that J.K. Rowling write a book (to be made promptly into a big budget movie) that focuses on the lives and adventures of the teachers at Hogwarts (including many classroom scenes), with special attention given to Madam Hooch. Blackboard Jungle meets Harry Potter, if you will.

Back to the subject of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, I had the feeling that many critical scenes were omitted for the purpose of later DVD sales. This is a devious and underhanded tactic. I believe that movies are purposely being released with missing footage to lure people into buying "director's cut" and "never before seen footage" versions on DVD. The result is that the movies seem incomplete and unfulfilling. This is a bad trend. Movie industry, stop it. Now.

I enjoyed the movie, and I shall see it again. I even enjoyed Kenneth Branagh's contribution, which surprised me. Och, and I must admit there was one omission for which I was very GRATEFUL, and that was the absence of Nearly Headless Nick's party. The less we see of John Cleese's uninspired performance, the better. He is without a doubt the weakest link in the cast.

Thankfully, Hack is still good. (In a recent episode, a character mentioned Ed McBain and his 87th Precinct novels. You know a cop series has class when they acknowledge the master of police procedural fiction. I haven't enjoyed a television crime drama this much since Michael Moriarty was on Law and Order.)

Hack is still on CBS on Fridays at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

What Gordon heard: "There's a cat in my trout!"

What Lisa said: "There's a scratch in my throat!"