Goblet of Fire
I'm not sure if anything is a spoiler anymore but just in
case...
I'm thinking they're going with "the easy". I'm aware these films are never going to be as good as the books and there's no Peter Jackson to bring the whole wizarding world in as accurate as possible but it's frustrating.
The first half was awful. I kept thinking it was the worst HP movie ever despite peoples' insistence on being the best one. The scenes were too fast pacing, there were no connection and continuity between them. We reached the chapter 16 (The Goblet of Fire) in 5 minutes. One minute we were in the Quidditch World Cup (without any quidditch), the next minute the Beauxbatons and Durmstrangs arrived. At least connect the scenes if we have to go that fast. I honestly think Prisoner of Azkaban was a much better movie for these reasons. What Goblet of Fire does better than PoA, is telling the bottom line story (The Graveyard and Voldemort), PoA brought up the whole story quite well to the end then screwed up the whole thing by not telling the damn story ie. Sirius, Snape,Remus connection, Marauders etc.
What I loved.
Ralph Fiennes. Excellent performance. I just loved the not too mental but downright creepy,powerful Dark Lord he created. His movement, his voice, fast but not jerky motions, slit nose, especially long fingers (kudos for that) and the way he holds his wand. Excellent. Yes, he doesn't have red eyes but I thought letting him use his own eyes was much better choice as he gives an incredible power to the character.
Do I really need to add Snape? We kept thinking if he was ever going to talk. He says just one sentence in the first half but you don't need him to talk to be totally captured by him. Just the way he looks at Karkaroff, Harry and the others gives you everything you need to feel. Many of his scenes were changed but I liked the "Veritaserum threat", scene worked great (and he climbed a ladder *squees*). The scene with Barty was great as well. Oh...he looks smashing especially at the Yule Ball. I hear there was a deleted scene where Minerva and Severus do tango. Now... I'd pay a good deal to see that ;)
Dumbledore. I love Richard Harris but Michael Gambon is a much better Dumbledore in my opinion. People tend to believe Dumbledore is just a big, soft hearted grandad to Harry, I simply don't agree with that. Dumbledore is a man who is very capable of using anyone for the greater good or his own ideals and favourites. Gambon gives me the right feeling.
Rita Skeeter. Just wonderful. Miranda Richardson does a splendid job with her. They don't conclude her story ( the beetle) but it's something I can let go with ease.
The Unforgivable Curses. Good lesson. One of the most accurate and good scenes of the movie and it works great. Only thing really bothered me was Hermione's over the top "Stop it!!!!" scream. But the way they wrote Hermione bothered me a lot through the whole movie anyway.
Neville. I don't like house elves, actually I detest them so how good it was to see more of Neville even it was adding stuff to the book. Great portrayal of him. *hearts*
The Twins. Too much of them annoys me but they were great in this one. Superb fun.
The ferret scene. Now I hate that whole scene in the book but I found it funny in the movie. I suppose it makes me hypocritical. Plus Draco on a tree is just too good to be overlooked as much as Draco in a black suit ;)
Lucius. So deliciously evil as always. Isaacs is just perfect for the role.
Cedric. Just like I imagined him except the maze scene but the whole scene was disappointing so no fault of him.
The Dark Mark.
No house elves and SPEW stuff.
Priori Incantatem. It was quite good. Watching Lilly tell Harry "Let go baby" just makes you cry.
Dumbledore's "Remember Cedric Diggory" speech. Moved me much more than the book did. Kudos to Michael Gambon.
McGonagall. Just because.
What I didn't like
They've changed the whole Barty Crouch Jr. storyline. Harry sees him casting the Dark Mark in QWC. He didn't look innocent in the pensieve and there was no clear sign just how long he has been "Moody"
Hermione in most of her scenes. Too bitchy, shouted at people right and left. I don't know why they felt they needed to write her in such a way. Only part I really liked her was in Yule Ball. (and that was an awful dress)
The tasks. Dragon is an incredible work of art but making the first task unneccesarly long forced them to cut the stuff from the second task. There wasn't time to show Harry worry about the other hostages although the cinematography of it was good. No creature from the maze was in the movie and I felt it took away a lot from the scene.
Why the hell Padma was in Gryffindor?
No Sirius. I'm not the biggest fan of the guy but when are we going to see him? His and Snape's forced handshake was one of my favorite parts of the book.
No mention of the Order.
No Snape in nightshirt or any conflict between him and Moody.
Snape's dark mark was also missing. It was the scene I was looking forward the most after the graveyard. His whole speech to Fudge was unforgettable, it's a shame they let it go.
Harry being well at the end. Ummm..How about his depression?
***
I'm very glad they've managed to straighten up the second half otherwise the movie was too bad. Obviously they've focused all their attention on the graveyard scene and the tasks. I must say the movie redeemed itself with the former. Must watch it again to make a better judgement of it. Daniel, it seems, has improved his acting a lot.
I'm thinking they're going with "the easy". I'm aware these films are never going to be as good as the books and there's no Peter Jackson to bring the whole wizarding world in as accurate as possible but it's frustrating.
The first half was awful. I kept thinking it was the worst HP movie ever despite peoples' insistence on being the best one. The scenes were too fast pacing, there were no connection and continuity between them. We reached the chapter 16 (The Goblet of Fire) in 5 minutes. One minute we were in the Quidditch World Cup (without any quidditch), the next minute the Beauxbatons and Durmstrangs arrived. At least connect the scenes if we have to go that fast. I honestly think Prisoner of Azkaban was a much better movie for these reasons. What Goblet of Fire does better than PoA, is telling the bottom line story (The Graveyard and Voldemort), PoA brought up the whole story quite well to the end then screwed up the whole thing by not telling the damn story ie. Sirius, Snape,Remus connection, Marauders etc.
What I loved.
Ralph Fiennes. Excellent performance. I just loved the not too mental but downright creepy,powerful Dark Lord he created. His movement, his voice, fast but not jerky motions, slit nose, especially long fingers (kudos for that) and the way he holds his wand. Excellent. Yes, he doesn't have red eyes but I thought letting him use his own eyes was much better choice as he gives an incredible power to the character.
Do I really need to add Snape? We kept thinking if he was ever going to talk. He says just one sentence in the first half but you don't need him to talk to be totally captured by him. Just the way he looks at Karkaroff, Harry and the others gives you everything you need to feel. Many of his scenes were changed but I liked the "Veritaserum threat", scene worked great (and he climbed a ladder *squees*). The scene with Barty was great as well. Oh...he looks smashing especially at the Yule Ball. I hear there was a deleted scene where Minerva and Severus do tango. Now... I'd pay a good deal to see that ;)
Dumbledore. I love Richard Harris but Michael Gambon is a much better Dumbledore in my opinion. People tend to believe Dumbledore is just a big, soft hearted grandad to Harry, I simply don't agree with that. Dumbledore is a man who is very capable of using anyone for the greater good or his own ideals and favourites. Gambon gives me the right feeling.
Rita Skeeter. Just wonderful. Miranda Richardson does a splendid job with her. They don't conclude her story ( the beetle) but it's something I can let go with ease.
The Unforgivable Curses. Good lesson. One of the most accurate and good scenes of the movie and it works great. Only thing really bothered me was Hermione's over the top "Stop it!!!!" scream. But the way they wrote Hermione bothered me a lot through the whole movie anyway.
Neville. I don't like house elves, actually I detest them so how good it was to see more of Neville even it was adding stuff to the book. Great portrayal of him. *hearts*
The Twins. Too much of them annoys me but they were great in this one. Superb fun.
The ferret scene. Now I hate that whole scene in the book but I found it funny in the movie. I suppose it makes me hypocritical. Plus Draco on a tree is just too good to be overlooked as much as Draco in a black suit ;)
Lucius. So deliciously evil as always. Isaacs is just perfect for the role.
Cedric. Just like I imagined him except the maze scene but the whole scene was disappointing so no fault of him.
The Dark Mark.
No house elves and SPEW stuff.
Priori Incantatem. It was quite good. Watching Lilly tell Harry "Let go baby" just makes you cry.
Dumbledore's "Remember Cedric Diggory" speech. Moved me much more than the book did. Kudos to Michael Gambon.
McGonagall. Just because.
What I didn't like
They've changed the whole Barty Crouch Jr. storyline. Harry sees him casting the Dark Mark in QWC. He didn't look innocent in the pensieve and there was no clear sign just how long he has been "Moody"
Hermione in most of her scenes. Too bitchy, shouted at people right and left. I don't know why they felt they needed to write her in such a way. Only part I really liked her was in Yule Ball. (and that was an awful dress)
The tasks. Dragon is an incredible work of art but making the first task unneccesarly long forced them to cut the stuff from the second task. There wasn't time to show Harry worry about the other hostages although the cinematography of it was good. No creature from the maze was in the movie and I felt it took away a lot from the scene.
Why the hell Padma was in Gryffindor?
No Sirius. I'm not the biggest fan of the guy but when are we going to see him? His and Snape's forced handshake was one of my favorite parts of the book.
No mention of the Order.
No Snape in nightshirt or any conflict between him and Moody.
Snape's dark mark was also missing. It was the scene I was looking forward the most after the graveyard. His whole speech to Fudge was unforgettable, it's a shame they let it go.
Harry being well at the end. Ummm..How about his depression?
***
I'm very glad they've managed to straighten up the second half otherwise the movie was too bad. Obviously they've focused all their attention on the graveyard scene and the tasks. I must say the movie redeemed itself with the former. Must watch it again to make a better judgement of it. Daniel, it seems, has improved his acting a lot.