Two Ladies & Their TVs

We love our shows so much we created a blog for it.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

We went to the 5:30 showing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  I don't think I'll do a linear review of it; just whatever pops into my head.  I'll try not to spoil things, either, til the other Lady sees it.

Being an avid reader of the series, and having read GoF more times than I can count, there are so many details from the story stuck in my head.  Therefore it's pretty jarring to view the movie, for the opening scenes seemed quite disjointed.  There was so much missing that I felt almost as if I were viewing the on-screen version of Cliff Notes.  The Quidditch World Cup wasn't so bad, as I found alot of that boring (no sports fan here, real or imaginary) in the book, but the absence of the Dursleys as well as the Weasleys' house were a bit missed.  After arriving at Hogwarts, the movie moved more seamlessly, and although the beginning of the movie delivers the beginning of the darkness and the scares, like I said, too disjointed.

Let's talk about the f/x.  They are terrific.  I've never found them lacking in these movies, and although there were a ton more in GoF than in the previous installments, they were just as good: the dragons (including the little ones), the Dark Mark, the merpeople, Moody's first DotDA class... no disappointment there.

The movie's rated PG-13 for good reason.  Like Daniel Radcliffe says, each movie is darker than the previous, and this one lives up to the ominous nature of the book.  I jumped quite a few times in my seat.  The scariest part for me was the third task.  That is one hedge maze I'd NEVER go into.  And although I know all about the Unforgivable Curses, I was extremely tense during Moody's demonstration of them.

Now we're up to the acting.  Since the movie had to whittle the story down to just concentrate on the TriWizard Tournament, it's much more action-packed, and we all know that in most movies, acting has to fall by the wayside a bit.  There just wasn't as much acting here, so I can't really say if the kids have grown in their skills.  DR seems to be able to cry better, but Emma Watson still does that annoying thing where she inhales before each sentence.  She did better in the third film, so perhaps she's lost some mad skilz.  Brendan Gleeson was terrific, as he is in everything he's been in (although in this house, he's best known for his role in 28 Days Later), and Moody is, even for those who haven't read the books, a memorable character.  I'm sad to say Alan Rickman/Snape wasn't in it much, but there's one satisfying and hilarious scene that more than makes up for his lack of screen time.

Emotional Impact: I've never cried twice during these movies.  I don't think I've ever bawled before.  This one... I teared up once, and cried once.  In fact, I had to offer a tissue to OD right next to me during that same scene.  It's horrible, it's so sad, and if you've read the book you can probably figure out when I had the tears rolling down my face.

Now, I couldn't review this movie without mentioning that which lurks behind all the stories, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, could I?  About Voldemort, I will say this much, because I was very careful not to spoil myself on this, so I won't spoil anyone else: I was... surprised.  His mannerisms were not what I had envisioned.  And there you go.

Mike Newell did a terrific job here.  There wasn't a doubt before this that he's an excellent director (he, in fact, was offered The Sorcerer's Stone but turned it down), but that he can go from a powerhouse character-driven piece like Donnie Brasco to this is a real testament to his talents.  To get away from comparisons to the book, the movie is a great one-- they really do keep getting better.  Hollywood, take note: that's how sequels are supposed to be.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

Posted by: athenawj at 05:46 | link | comments (3)
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#1  19 November 2005 - 12:22

 

Ah, I should've told you earlier that R and I were going to see HP first show this morning, so you could just run away with the review!

One CNN reviewer didn't think that this movie was as good as the previous ones, that it tried to do too much in too little time and couldn't really accomplish all. I sort of agree with him, and agree with you that they really had to cram a lot of information into this movie. That just may get worse with each book because they get longer and longer. I did feel like many of the characters didn't get the exposure they should've had.

I've only read GoF once, so I've forgotten quite a few bits of it, but I tend to remember the little details that obviously didn't make it into the movie, i.e. Madame Maxim getting offended when Hagrid asked her if she's half-giant, and Rita Skeeter getting caught in a jar. I don't miss the Dursleys, but there is a reason why the opening didn't feel very Harry Potter. That, and the music.

Loved Moody. I last saw Brendan Gleeson in "Troy" but have seen him in a number of things, and agree that he's an excellent actor. Ralph Fiennes...I love him in everything he does, and he's also a fine actor. But I think he was given a script and was constrained to follow that script, which did portray Voldemort in a very odd, unexpected way. Didn't realize he was supposed to be so...action-packed just moments after his rebirth. Felt like he was twirling around doing martial arts in some segments...

Cried, yup. Twice as well. One in the same place you did, I'm pretty sure. Let's say they both surrounded the death, which came more suddenly than I had remembered. Sigh.

You know what creeped me out, though? The second task. Ron, Hermione, et al. floating around in the water looked so much like corpses. Ew. Kept reminding me of my favorite MST3K movie ("Clonus: The Parts Horror") as well. Ew.

But, I still really enjoyed the movie - very tempted to stay and watch another showing! Alas, we did not. With finals coming up I'm not sure if I'll get a chance to watch it again, but I'm sure as hell going to try.

One thing that bugged me: Even with the PG-13 rating, there were a lot of young kids there, and some of the pre-preview ads showed portions of video games that are rated "Teen" and "Mature." The teen-rated one was much more disturbing to me, as it involved soldiers in trenches, getting blown up by bombs, and then shooting at people. The mature-rated one, on the other hand, was less realistic, but apparently had that rating because the protagonist was scantily dressed. Crazy.

merserene

#2  20 November 2005 - 04:50

 

I'm pretty comfortable with the screenwriter and director choosing one plotline and running with it, considering the length of the book(s), but that didn't start working til after they left the Quidditch Cup. Actually, it was weird seeing the Durmstrang and Beauxbaton ships coming in right after the Hogwarts students arrived, too.

You and I felt the same way about how Voldemort acted. I expected him to be more smooth... even suave, if you can imagine, so I was really surprised by his swift pacing. I guess it came down to choice: the Voldemort in the book really drew things out, and took his time to get to the duel; RF's Voldemort was anxious, and the scene was much shorter. I have to believe that to get the scene to work, heh.

Yep, I cried at Cedric's death... actually, when Harry brought him back. That scene was extraordinarily done-- the shock, the realization, his father's panic to get down to see what had happened... But the other scene I teared up at was when Moody was demonstrating the Unforgivable Curses. The way Neville was acting, and knowing what we know about his parents, coupled with the torture of the spider (yeah, I know it was CGI, but I didn't like seeing it tortured) really upset me.

BTW, useless knowledge: that was an African Cavedwelling Spider. How do I know? Fear Factor.

Ron, Hermione, Cho, Fleur's sister-- those definitely were some creepy-looking... things. Ron's almost looked like a dummy. Krum's shark coming in was a jump for me.

We didn't get any video game previews. Just too many damn trailers, as usual.

athenawj

#3  21 November 2005 - 15:34

 

Oh yeah, that reminds me too - I always imagined the Durmstrang chariots and the Beauxbaton ship to be much larger than they were portrayed. Didn't the entire schools come rather than selected groups?

Same with Victor Krum. My image of him wasn't so...Bulgarian. Totally forgot he transformed into a shark until that scene was over.

I understand the necessity of condensing stories and upping the pace, though the kneejerk reaction was still, "That wasn't the way it happened in the book..."

BTW, forgot to mention the Deatheaters. They looked an awful lot like the KKK but robed in black. I'm sure that was intentional because they're "racists" in their own right, but did the book have them in tall pointy hats?

merserene

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