Some Anti-Super Bowl viewing suggestions

Super Bowl Sunday is upon us this weekend and while you may want to check out the halftime show to see what Prince does(that should be worth a look), you may also want a little TV fest time of your own. Here to help as always are some DVD suggestions for your viewing pleasure:


Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets

With the announcement of the onsale date of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows(July 21),plus the anticipation of the next HP movie this summer,this is a great time to immerse/reimmerse yourself in Potter lore. Why Chamber of Secrets? Well,it's just before all the kids hit the teen years with a vengeance,Kenneth Bragnagh is hilarious as Professor Lockhart and scenes like this,where Harry gets to speak Parselmouth:



And,of course,Dobby. Dobby has a bigger role in the other HP books but his debut in COS is a hoot and a half. One of the best parts of the movie is when Dobby gets his walking papers from the House of Malfoy:



Aqua Teen Hunger Force,Volume One

After that Mooninites scare in Boston(what in the blue hell were the marketing people thinking of,planting those litebrites in tunnels and under bridges? Stupid to the 10th power!),you may be curious about the whole ATHF series. The best way to introduce yourself to it is with the first DVD set that features "Mayhem of the Mooninites"(a good title for what happened a few days ago)amongst other goofy gems:



Sparkle

With the recent success of Dreamgirls,this 1976 musical drama about a trio of female singers has been reborn on DVD. Starring Irene Cara,Lonette McKee and Dwan Smith as Sister and the Sisters,a group that goes from rags to riches with some hints of Diana Ross and the Supremes is a cult classic. I've been waiting to see this one for awhile(it's on a rather long wait at Netflix,last time I checked)but if you can get ahold of this one,I think you're in for a treat:



84 Charing Cross Road

There's plenty of chick flicks that'll be on this weekend and a couple in theaters right now but this movie has the advantage of being both sweetly romantic(in a platonic sense)and brilliantly bookish. It's the true story of Helene Hanff,a NYC writer who had a hankering for old school Brit lit (which was pricey and tricky to get locally) and took to having a long distrance relationship with a used & rare bookstore in England that started in post WWII years and sadly ended during the 1970s,when the shop was forced to close. Helene saved most of her letters to and from the store,particularly the ones from Frank Noel,a pivotal part of Marks and co.

84 CCR was not only a book but a stage play as well,which caught the attention of Anne Bancroft who brings alot of personal pizazz in her portrayal of Helene:



Well,whatever you watch this weekend-have fun!