A tale of two movies

I saw two movies this past weekend.

First was the latest blockbuster, Harry Potter and the Gobs of Cash... er, Goblet of Fire. Like the other movies in the series, it was enjoyable. Due to the length of the book, it's not surprising that so much was cut from the movie, but overall it hit the important parts. Now to reread the book.

That same day, I had the misfortune of watching the Tom Cruise version of War of the Worlds. Three unlikable characters run from aliens with unbelievable technology but no antibiotics. You know how the book ends, so you know how the movie ends. And I couldn't wait for the movie to end. It wasn't satisfying watching gratuitous destruction, since the main characters didn't get destroyed.

That's one of the things I like about Harry Turtledove's Worldwar series. The invading aliens aren't so powerful that a human victory stretches plausibility. Their technology is about 50 years ahead of humans.