Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire...

[Mechamaniac]

I saw it on Friday. It was MUCH better than POA in my opinion. Some thoughts I had...

Brendan Gleeson (Mad Eye Moody) STOLE THE FLICK. He was awesome!, the special effects of Moody's character were damn good, and he nailed the part.

Michael Gambon is growing on me as Dumbledore....a little.

It's sad to think that Richard Harris so brilliantly portrayed the ancient Albus Dumbledore because he himself was very sick. However, I still think Michael Gambon is a little too animated as Dumbledore. Remember we're talking about a VERY old guy here, somewhere around 140 years old according to JK.

Another thing that bothered me in this movie was his portrayal of Dumbledore's anger and frustration. After the Goblet scene, where he runs in and shouts at Harry "Did you put your name in the Goblet???!!!" and later, after Harry has discovered the Pensieve, and Dumbledore is sitting on the floor and expressing his frustration etc.

One of the coolest things about Dumbledore is that he doesn't get angry, and he would never express his frustration (weakness) in front of a student. Dumbledore is calm and composed all the time, which is why he is so formidable when he faces Tom in the Ministry in book 5.

I also didn't like that they showed Crouch Jr. in the first scene. I understand, cinematically that they had to dumb it down for those who have not read the books, but still,it irked me.

I wish they had shown MORE of the Quidditch World Cup, and I wish they had been a little more accurate about the Death Eater's attack following the World Cup etc.

They left out the ENTIRE backstory about Dobby, Winky, S.P.E.W. etc, and that kind of pissed me off. For fans of the books, this is an affront, but they successfully dumbed it down for the click and drool movie audience. One side effect of this was that they actually re-wrote the book and had Longbottom provide the Gillyweed for Harry instead of Dobby, MEH...

The Tri-Wizard Tournament was done very well IMHO. They left out some details in the maze at the end, but replaced it well I think.

The graveyard scene was VERY well done. I love the Death Eater's maskes and costumes, they were very scary looking. The only thing that let me down about that scene was Voldemort's voice. That is partly my fault since I have listened to Jim Dale doing Voldemort for years in the HP Audio Books, so I was a little disappointed that Voldemort's voice wasn't as high, shrill, and cold as the one Jim Dale does.

All in all, I really liked the film. It was MUCH better than POA.

[mikeszekely]

I saw it, and I enjoyed it the best of the four. I thought the first movie was disjointed, like they were having trouble squeezing a book into a movie, and I thought the second one was just stupid. PoA was significantly better, in my opinion, and GoF was better still. I think they did a good job of keeping the movie going at a decent pace, so that I didn't feel that it was dragging or rushing at all. In fact, the only overt sign that they might have had difficulty editing a book into a movie was the fact that the events of the movie seem like they could have played out in a few weeks, but when you remember that the film opens shortly before the new school year, and concludes at the end of the school year, you realize that the movie actually covers nine months or so.

cinematically that they had to dumb it down for those who have not read the books

but they successfully dumbed it down for the click and drool movie audience

I don't really think of it as "dumbed down." The Harry Potter movies are certainly more intelligent than your usual "explosions and car chases" summer fare. I think it's simply a matter of giving fans of the books something a little different than the story they already know exactly, as well as editing rather thick books down to a size that fits in the time constraits of a movie. As it was, Goblet was already 157 minutes... over two and a half hours.

[Chowser]

watched it with the family yesterday, other than the stuff you pointed out that they cut out, pretty much the best of all the films so far.

can't ask my wife or son now since they're not home, i'll ask you

did they cut out the part where Hagrid asks the big lady about her parentage?

or is that in the OotP or HBP book?

they better get started on the next few movies, the kids are getting older.

showing OotP in '07, with HBP in '08.

maybe they'll try to film both movies at the same time.

[jwinges]

We saw the movie on Friday. Liked it a lot. Was a little disappointed in how they handled both the quidich world cup and the first trial of the tri wizard cup. But I definitely liked it...would see it again.

Definitely the best of the harry potter movies.

[Mechamaniac]

did they cut out the part where Hagrid asks the big lady about her parentage?

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Yeah, they left it out. They alluded to it in the scene where Hagrid was telling Madame Maxine about his father being so small etc, and then he says "What about you?" or something like that. In the book, he was a lot more direct, and she got all kinds of pissed at him. But since they wind up going off together at the end of the book to rally the Giants, I guess the film makers saw fit to remove that little spat.

Was a little disappointed in how they handled both the quidich world cup and the first trial of the tri wizard cup. But I definitely liked it...would see it again.

Yeah, I thought they did a great job with it...right up to the part where it turned into a typical action adventure chase scene that never happened in the book.

[The Shade]

I saw it Saturday night. There were almost no kids, woohoo!!!

First off, I liked it. After stumbling in the last one. they seem to have caught themselves.

Mechamaniac, I'm glad they cut out the whole Dooby subplot. Dooby is so annoying, he's a hair short of being Jar Jar annoying. As Gollum said it during the MTV movie awards: "Dooby's a fu#&ing f@*!"

Actually, I'm was surprised they were able to keep as much as what was in the book. Of course, cutting out the boring parts helped.

Bring on "Order of the Phoenix".

[EXO]

My favorite actors barely had any lines in this one. Alan Rickman as Snape rules! Draco and Lucius needed some more screen time too. Oh well, I'll wait til the next one.

[Apollo Leader]

Haven't read the books, but I've enjoyed the movies so far. I agree that this one is the best one to date.

Does anyone know if they are going to continue with the rate of releasing these every year and a half, or are they going to return to releasing these movies once a year?

[EXO]

It looks like they're skipping 2006, but we'll get the Order of the Phoenix in 2007 and then Half Blood Prince in 2008.

[Stamen0083]

Saw it twice already. Freakin' AWESOME movie. Best of the four, definitely, even though Chamber of Secrets was already so awesome.

Funny how Cho had only three lines in the entire movie.

Ralph Fiennes is a PERFECT Voldemort. Deliciously evil, that guy seemed.

Edited November 21, 2005 by Stamen0083

[Seven]

Am I the only one who didn't like POA? I loved the first two movies, but maybe that's because after having watched the Star Wars prelude trilogy, the Matrix trilogy, and the LOTR trilogy in the last 5 years, I just enjoyed something more lighter that had a child-like sense of humor. It was a good switch for me. I didn't like POA because it was exactly the opposite of the other two being darker, and I just could not bring myself to like Michael Gambon as Dumbledore.

[Isamu Atreides 86]

A good movie. I really liked it. I haven't read the books, but I have been a fan of the movie series. I was incredibly pissed at ron throughout the whole movie...

[KiriK]

man.. i haven't read any of the books... so i've been excited to see each new movie....

GOF..... eh.... i dunno.... it seemed to quick for me..... they didn't really slow down the movie to show it taking place over a school year..... its just zoomed by.....

i guess i wasn't around when people were bashing POA... coz i loved that movie!!! of course, dumbledore wasn't as good, but everything else was great.....

As for this movie, i think they did a really great job at showing the age difference this time around. The upper classmen like Cedric towered over Harry and the others, so they seemed to put them in their place...unlike the previous movies where their growth sprouts made them seem like seniors in HS or something..... In GOF, they're about the age of freshmen in HS... rite???

all in all...i liked the movie... but not as much as POA... and i was wondering who voldemort was!!! Ralph Fiennes.... that dirty old bastid...haha... its funny to think of him as the Red Dragon... and then see him all gentlemanly in Maid in Manhattan..... and now he's the evilest baddy wizard of all time, Voldemort.... nice....

[Mr March]

I'm sure I don't need to yet again post my distaste for the entire series. If I have to say something positive about the new film Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire I can say that this is easily the strongest Potter picture yet.

Director Mike Newell (finally, a brit is directing a Potter film...about damn time) did a fantastic job creating the darkest and most grounded film in the series. Not only was there a strong sense that the Potter, Weasley, and Hermione characters were growing, but some genuine adolescent emotions and sexual tension helped ground the characters, providing some much needed development. Astonishingly, this also lead to a film that doubles as a coming-of-age story and a surprisingly moving tragedy. As a non-fan and constant skeptic, I was expecting Goblet of Fire to offer yet another formulaic, more-of-the-same tone as the three previous films. Rather than present a film trapped by the typical limitations of a middle act, Newell instead managed to push the story forward and forced the characters to deal with intriguing dramatic issues. The result was a more, dare I say it, realistic human drama and a more accessible film for those in the audience yet to be enraptured by the world of Potter.

While the other Potter films sit around one or two stars out of five, I'd give Goblet of Fire a fair three out of five simply for the effort.

[Ladic]

I didn't like the movie too much but Ralph Fiennes pwns!

[kalvasflam]

All I can say is, I wish Rowling could share some of her millions with me.

She is taking home bank with the Potter series. Heck, she'll probably make more than the heirs of Tolkien with the entire series at the end of the day.

Lucky.

[Stamen0083]

I liked pre 'believed the hype' Rowling better when she was just some inept mother on welfare who just wanted to tell a good story.

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Funny you should say that, because the first time I read Sorceror's Stone, I got a distinct Roald Dahl feel, which was nice. The later books.. not so much.

Someone I talked to said some interesting things about the movie. The standard "they cut too much out of the movie" was expected, but she was looking for more character development. I gotta go back and read the book again. Maybe that will change my thoughts on the film.

[Skull Leader]

I'm a huge fan of the series, and this movie was far and away the best to date (each one has been better than the last in my opinion)

High points:

-Triwizard Tournament was amazingly rendered, even if some things were left out.

-Wealey Twins. Easily my favorite characters in the books, there's never enough of them in the movies, but what little there is always manages to be funny.

-No mention of S.P.E.W.: It's a side concept that in no way advances the story. I don't think Hermione would've been any different had she not conceived this movement.

-Another spot-on delivery from pretty much the entire cast. I preferred Richard Harris as Dumbledore, but Michael Gambon does pretty well.

-The "learning to dance" scene between Ron and Professor McGonagall. Priceless!

-The "Defense against the Dark Arts" class and it's effect on Longbottom... a seriously moving moment in the movie. I was glad to see them play this part up. It shows that Nevelle is moving away from being the irresponsible, forgetful little boy into a young man with a weight on his shoulders that is almost as hard as Harry's. Expect his encounter with Bellatrix Lestrange in the next movie to be SERIOUSLY up-played (and well done at that)

That said, and like pretty much every book-to-movie adaptation, it wasn't without some pitfalls (some much more minor than others)

-The Quidditch world-cup: They set up some WICKED SICK visual effects for that whole thing, then it was over before it even really began. WTF?? (no "Wronski feint"? c'mon....)

-Hogsmeade? No visits in the movie? what gives?

-Needed more time spent in classes... sometimes made it seem like they were just hanging out at Hogwarts instead of attending classes there

-More Snape dialogue: Alan Rickman [4chan]winz [/4chan], it could always use more of him.

-Beauxbaton and Durmstrang "stepping" on their way into the great hall? What is this, Drumline II? That said, my frat could take a few lessons from the Durmstang guys (as an interesting sidenote, I believe "Durmstrang" is a play on the german phrase "sturm und drang",a musical trend in the 1800s which I believe translates roughly into something like storm and pain)

-Dumbledore getting mad at Harry? Nope, not like Albus Dumbledore at all.

-Lastly, am I the only one that thought the soundtrack on this one was decidedly sub-par? The last one was superb, and the ones before that were well done also.

These are my first impressions. It wasn't without a minor flaw or two, but that's to be expected from an adaptation. Everyone finds something they wanted to see but didn't. For those who don't have the inclination to dive into the books, I think it's an excellent "abridged" adaptation.

-Jeremy (waiting anxiously for the next installment both in book and in movie)

Edited November 22, 2005 by Skull Leader

[grss1982]

Michael Gambon is growing on me as Dumbledore....a little.

It's sad to think that Richard Harris so brilliantly portrayed the ancient Albus Dumbledore because he himself was very sick. However, I still think Michael Gambon is a little too animated as Dumbledore. Remember we're talking about a VERY old guy here, somewhere around 140 years old according to JK.

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Yeah, he's growing on me as well. Although when I first heard him speak I though I was listening to Sir Ian Mckellen a.k.a. X-men's Magneto and LOTR's Gandalf.

My favorite actors barely had any lines in this one.  Alan Rickman as Snape rules!  Draco and Lucius needed some more screen time too.  Oh well, I'll wait til the next one.

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Alan Rickman, as in the Hans Gruber dude from Die Hard?

OT:

My fave lines of his from that movie:

Hans: The following people are to be released from their captors : In Northern Ireland, the seven members of the New Provo Front. In Canada, the five imprisoned leaders of Liberte de Quebec... In Sri Lanka, the nine members of the Asian Dawn movement...

Karl: Asian Dawn Movement?

Hans: I read about them in Time magazine

Edited November 22, 2005 by grss1982

[Skull Leader]

My favorite actors barely had any lines in this one.  Alan Rickman as Snape rules!  Draco and Lucius needed some more screen time too.  Oh well, I'll wait til the next one.

346266[/snapback]

Alan Rickman, as in the Hans Gruber dude from Die Hard?

346415[/snapback]

That's the dude. Rickman can play a badguy like no one's business (and the more mental, the better). While I first imagined Snape looking a little different (a bit more like Raistlin from the "Dragonlance" series, if any of you have read that), the voice was always spot-on for me.

[Isamu Atreides 86]

Fiennes was, and never will be, more evil than he was in Schindlers list.

[EXO]

My favorite actors barely had any lines in this one.  Alan Rickman as Snape rules!  Draco and Lucius needed some more screen time too.  Oh well, I'll wait til the next one.

346266[/snapback]

Alan Rickman, as in the Hans Gruber dude from Die Hard?

346415[/snapback]

That's the dude. Rickman can play a badguy like no one's business (and the more mental, the better). While I first imagined Snape looking a little different (a bit more like Raistlin from the "Dragonlance" series, if any of you have read that), the voice was always spot-on for me.

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that's funny cuz I thought Fiennes would always make a good Raistlin.

[EXO]

Is it me or is Harry NOT learning any magic spells? He seems so clueless when a professor asks him a questrion... no I don't read the book so maybe it's suppose to be like that. But when that instructor asked him what were his strength and his only answer was he can "fly fast" I was thinking WTF? Shouldn't he be at least trying to live up to his fame or trying to prepare for the inevitable confrontations with Voldemort? Everytime he goes heads up against someone it seems like he's more about having balls than he is about being a great wizard.

[Seven]

Is it me or is Harry NOT learning any magic spells?  He seems so clueless when a professor asks him a questrion... no I don't read the book so maybe it's suppose to be like that.  But when that instructor asked him what were his strength and his only answer was he can "fly fast" I was thinking WTF? Shouldn't he be at least trying to live up to his fame or trying to prepare for the inevitable confrontations with Voldemort?  Everytime he goes heads up against someone it seems like he's more about having balls than he is about being a great wizard.

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So what you are saying is that Harry is the magical version of Naruto?

[EXO]

Is it me or is Harry NOT learning any magic spells?  He seems so clueless when a professor asks him a questrion... no I don't read the book so maybe it's suppose to be like that.  But when that instructor asked him what were his strength and his only answer was he can "fly fast" I was thinking WTF? Shouldn't he be at least trying to live up to his fame or trying to prepare for the inevitable confrontations with Voldemort?  Everytime he goes heads up against someone it seems like he's more about having balls than he is about being a great wizard.

346469[/snapback]

So what you are saying is that Harry is the magical version of Naruto?

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Naruto is more about magic than it is about being ninjas... lol. But yeah, that's a great way to look at it.

[Stamen0083]

Well, Harry's strength in the books is that he's good on the broom. At fourteen, he's not really supposed to know all that much. Even the Patronus Charm he learned was out of school.

In later books, he's supposed to learn more. Wonder if you've noticed that the only thing Harry had to use against Voldemort was Expeliarmus.

[EXO]

but you'd at least think he'd have a little bit more than expeliarmus... hell, I probably know as much as Harry... winguardian leviosa! ridiculous!

[Anubis]

That's probably one of the reasons behind having to be 17 to participate in the competition. Harry didn't even know the bubble spell the prefect and the girl were using in the water. He's only what, 14 now? I doubt they would have given them any of the juicy stuff yet. They're still in amateur phase. So for now at least it's the steel balls that save the day. He can use the spells has does have effectively though at least.

I liked the movie a lot. Better than the 3rd one. The graveyard part was great. Even though it was 2 1/2 hours I didn't get bored. I also liked the part with Moaning Myrtel.

I am glad to not sit though Dobby again. I haven't read the books either, but I'm glad they left that out. It gave a chance for Longbottom to be useful as well. A bone for him after being abused constantly.

[Stamen0083]

Neville's past will be revealed in the fifth movie. Actually, I wonder if anyone caught the little blurb about Crouch Jr. using the Cruciatus Curse on the Longbottoms, i.e. Neville's parents.

[Mechamaniac]

Is it me or is Harry NOT learning any magic spells?  He seems so clueless when a professor asks him a questrion... no I don't read the book so maybe it's suppose to be like that.  But when that instructor asked him what were his strength and his only answer was he can "fly fast" I was thinking WTF? Shouldn't he be at least trying to live up to his fame or trying to prepare for the inevitable confrontations with Voldemort?  Everytime he goes heads up against someone it seems like he's more about having balls than he is about being a great wizard.

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That's funny, because I remember reading an article one time that compared Harry to your average rich kid football bully. I can't remember where it was, but it basically said that because of Harry's fame, money, and skill on a broom, he didn't have to (nor did he try to) excel at anything else.

Even the Patronus Charm he learned was out of school.

Not quite. He learned the Patronus charm while at school from Lupin in book 3. Though not official lessons, Dumbledore asked Lupin to teach him, just like Dumbledore asks Snape to teach Harry Occlumency in book 5. It just happens that he winds up having to use it outside of school at the beginning of book 5 when the Dementors attack he and Dudley in the alley near Privet Dr.

As to him not knowing any of the dueling charms. Yeah, he doesn't. Again, we have to look to book 5 when they form Dumbledore's Army, and Harry starts teaching them REAL defenses against the dark arts.

That's also where we begin to see that Neville Longbottom is not all bumbling fool, as he takes to the DA classes very well. No doubt because of what happened to his parents.

I am glad to not sit though Dobby again. I haven't read the books either, but I'm glad they left that out. It gave a chance for Longbottom to be useful as well. A bone for him after being abused constantly.

Yeah, I didn't really miss Dobby either. Is it just me? or did anyone else imagine the house elves looking like the Me Want Honeycomb guy?

[Stamen0083]

Not quite.  He learned the Patronus charm while at school from Lupin in book 3.  Though not official lessons, Dumbledore asked Lupin to teach him, just like Dumbledore asks Snape to teach Harry Occlumency in book 5.  It just happens that he winds up having to use it outside of school at the beginning of book 5 when the Dementors attack he and Dudley in the alley near Privet Dr.

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I meant outside of school in that the Patronus Charm isn't part of the school curriculum, especially not for a third year. It's been a long time since I've read these books, but I think Occlumency, Patronus, and that thing with doing spells without moving your mouth aren't taught at Hogwarts.

[The Shade]

But when that instructor asked him what were his strength and his only answer was he can "fly fast" I was thinking WTF?

346469[/snapback]

Maybe he should open a flying delivery service?

[Roy Focker]

Harry Potter = Macross 7 = Gay

I don't get it.

Years ago I here these stories about some popular childrens book getting it's own movie. There a big buzz I think who cares. Now we have adults here talking ooh and awe about the latest movie. Who chopped of your balls?

[Stamen0083]

Who asked you to butt in? If you don't like it, stay off the thread and move on. As a mod, you should know better.

Edited November 22, 2005 by Stamen0083

[Mechamaniac]

Well, you have to crash other people's threads with the word GAY to stay in the AgentONE sycophant's club.