Potter Pages Leaked in Web Hocus Pocus

Soul-sucking horror for boy wizard in new trailer

(NEWSER) - Desperation, death, and soul-sucking chills. And that's just a taste of what our boy wizard is up against in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, flying to theaters Nov. 19 . The brand new theatrical trailer for the Warner Bros. film reveals a blacker black from director David Yates, heart-stopping evil from Ralph Fiennes' Lord Voldemort and a crisis of faith for the three magical musketeers. Enjoy. More»

Fantasia ripoff is 'the opposite of alchemy'

(NEWSER) - Nobody is cheering for this Jerry Bruckheimer-produced pretender to the Potter throne, based (sort of) on the iconic scene from Fantasia. Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel play a sorcerer and his protege on a mission to ... do something—anything!—involving lots of spells and special effects. The result is anything but magical, critics say:

• A.O. Scott, the New York Times : The Apprentice is "loud, mechanical and uninspired." Cage and Baruchel "supply a measure of well-compensated eccentricity," but "their labors ultimately serve to emphasize the grinding mediocrity of the enterprise."
• Peter Travers, Rolling Stone : "The computer-generated effects come on like heavy artillery blowing away any hint of flesh and blood." The film ought to be "rated U for Untouched by Human Hands."

Rebecca James' debut has publishers seeing next JK Rowling

(NEWSER) - The publishing world is in a frenzy over a debut novel whose Australian author is drawing comparisons to JK Rowling (Harry Potter? Perhaps you've heard of it.). “Beautiful Malice was one of the most extraordinary manuscripts I’ve read in a very long while,” one editor with an insufficient bid says of Rebecca James’ thriller, intended for teens and up. “I'm still reeling over having lost it.” More»

(NEWSER) - Banning a book is a move laden with ironies that can make the banner seem dull-witted in the long run. For National Banned Books Week, 11Points.com lists "the most hypocritical, ignorant, and, based on the content of the books, ironic" bans:

• Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury: The sci-fi classic is about a future government that bans and burns books. 'Nuff said?

(NEWSER) - Harry Potter's saga may be done, but author JK Rowling's new book proves she's still a master storyteller. Her "charming" Tales of Beedle the Bard reveals anew that Rowling is a "genius with words, blessed with wisdom, a sly wit and an effortless prose style," writes Deirdre Donahue in USA Today. More»