Harry Potter - Goblet of Fire

[thalia_seawood]

Some impressions behind the cut.
rayakina, this contains one big spoiler. Read the book first, then read this entry. :-)


All in all a very entertaining movie, a feast for the eyes, so to speak. I don't get the urge to analyse it though, unlike after watching Prisoner of Azkaban.

- There's lots of eye candy: Cedric Diggory and Victor Krum are very handsome each in their own way.

- There's slashy subtext even though I was not looking for it actively. (Ron has a crush on both Hermione and Viktor Crum. And Cedric telling Harry to use the Prefect's bathroom... Well, half of the audience gave a little gasp.)

- Most special effects are amazingly beautiful, e.g. the arrival of the Durmstrang ship,

- The screenplay mostly finds my approval. Goblet of Fire is the book I like least in the HP series so I haven't reread it really and consequently have forgotten many details. However, it seemed to me that the scenes they left out were chosen well. E.g. we don't get the big breakup between Hagrid and Madame Maxime or learn how Barty escaped from Azkaban. While these scenes would have been nice to have, they are not necessary for the plot. We don't get to see Narcissa which is understandable, even though I'd loved to have seen her introduced.

- As someone interested in Draco's character I was a bit disappointed in this regard. We don't get to see him talking to the trio when the Death Eaters attack. We get the ferret scene and here I was unhappy about the change they made: In the book, Draco attacks Harry when Harry insults his mother. In the movie, he attacks Harry when Harry insults him directly. Hm. I know it's a tiny change, but I always found it so telling that Draco gets upset because of the insult to his mother. This also gave us a neat connection to book 6.

- Neville gets a bigger part this time around. I approve.

- Ginny is very mousy. I wonder how they will turn her into Super!Ginny in the next movies.

- I thought Ralph Fiennes did a good job with playing Voldemort. Despite not looking his best, Voldemort has a certain appeal. He moves graceful in a creepy way.

- Miranda Richardson as Rita Skeeter has lots of fun with her part. So does Maggie Smith as McGonnagall. Argus Filch and Mrs Norris provide wonderful comic relief as well.

- Cho is okay, but her part is tiny. The Patil twins gets some lovely scenes; they don't talk much, but the glances they exchange are neat.

- The director is very good at catching all the teenage situations: The awkwardness, the giggling and the moaning, the mortification of first love. One lovely scene is Viktor Crum briskly walking along the lake - being followed by a bunch of giggling girls who are swooning over him.

- Most moving scene for me was Harry bringing back the corpse of Cedric and Cedric's father grieving for his son.

- The final scene between Harry, Hermione and Ron left me unimpressed. Not sure about Emma Watson's acting here. What emotions is she trying to get across? She feels happy, but this totally doesn't fit.

- The music is by Patrick Doyle for the first time. Patrick Doyle has written some lovely scores, but this one didn't stick to my mind at all. The visual impressions in this movie are so strong they override everything else.

Comments

[rayakina.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the warning, will revert to it after I have read it. Actually, I have almost finished Chamber of Secrets now and will take the third book with me on holidays.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Take Goblet of Fire along as well. Prisoner of Azkaban is a relatively fast read. GOF is much longer than POA.

[rayakina.livejournal.com]

I'd like to take it with me but unfortunately Christine has not yet finished reading it herself...! ;-(

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

You can borrow my book if you want to and have time to come by briefly.

[rayakina.livejournal.com]

Sounds very enticing...! Well, perhaps I really should and although we are both quite busy the moment, a brief chat would be nice...!

[reposoir.livejournal.com]

Mmmmyes...I expect much Cedric/Harry after this movie, including from me.

Soooo good....

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

I certainly wouldn't mind. But how about a bit of Viktor/Ron? :-)

[reposoir.livejournal.com]

Or Viktor/Hermione/Ron? ;D

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Absolutely! :-) It's practically canon...

p.s. I love your dancing milk icon!! I want to cuddle the milk package and never let go. (I have to admit I'm back from a party and drank a lot of red wine. So my judgement might be impaired. But milk! So good! :-))

p.p.s. May I use your milk icon once in a while? Pretty please?

[reposoir.livejournal.com]

I suppose you could use the milk once in a while, since I stole it, but apparently a lot of people associate with me now, so you might confuse them. ;) It's the icon I use for Happy Birthday and other very special things. :)

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

I will probably just use it once in my LJ. The entry will be called "Watch milk dance" or something equally inane. And whenever I feel gloomy I will watch the milk shake. :-)

[berne.livejournal.com]

- Ginny is very mousy. I wonder how they will turn her into Super!Ginny in the next movies.

*snort* Make-up, heels and rock music, probably. :S

- The director is very good at catching all the teenage situations.

That's what I thought. He made it all very human; I felt myself warming to the actors much more in this film.

Most moving scene for me was Harry bringing back the corpse of Cedric and Cedric's father grieving for his son.

Amd there was the horrible, oblivious irony of the spectators all clapping. It really was very painful, that scene.

[rayakina.livejournal.com]

As I have now both read and seen it... Yes, the 4th book is the one I also like less so far but I can't exactly tell why. Perhaps there are too many great events (quidditch, tournament, ball...) and not enough "school story" for my taste or perhaps it's just that I had expected something different after the third part (my favourite so far, book as well as film)? Anyway, I still enjoyed it very much, I just liked the other parts more. As regards the film, I really enjoyed it very much, as you've written, a feast for the eyes, amazing effects and not a single moment boring. The Horntail was absolutely gorgeous (and this from someone with a certain draconologic background, grins; I am very critical here!), the arriving of the schools, etc.
And Hagrid, the big teddy bear...I have developed a soft spot for him right from the start, so cute how he looked at Mme Maxine and danced with her...! He's my favourite character so far, well, after Lupin... ;-)

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

I really like Lupin, but am not very fond of Hagrid. He always has this creatures and sets them lose on the students and also Harry, Hermione and Ron. I know he means well, but he's a pretty scary teacher. The type that kills you by accident. :-) If you die in Snape's class, you at least know he meant to kill you.

[rayakina.livejournal.com]

The director is very good at catching all the teenage situations: The awkwardness, the giggling and the moaning, the mortification of first love. Indeed, this was what I thought quite outstanding, as well...! As regards the Yule Ball, I was reminded of my first dancing lessons, as well. Like Cho, I then was asked first by someone else and not by the one I preferred to go. This one wanted to go with me to the lessons, as well, but was just not quick enough to ask me first. Was a really difficult situation then...yes, film and book really plucked a string there!

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Yes, all the giggling awkwardness is there!