Harry James Potter and the Gigantic Goblet of Flaming Fire
Soooo... I know there aren't nearly enough reviews of the new HP out there on people's livejournals. :) Since I'm feeling particularly magnanimous tonight, I will bless you with my humble opinion. I will also be equally nice and put it under an lj-cut, in case you can't stand reading another one.
First off - I did not expect the movie to come anywhere near the book, in terms of quality, length, or coherence. That being said, I was still surprised by how fragmented and oddly edited the film seemed. I remember reading a professional review somewhere, possibly in the New York Times, and he said something along those lines, basically that it seems more like a series of scenes than an entire movie.
Curiously, most of the characters seemed a bit flat somehow. Ron was too huffy, Hermione too weepy, Barty Jr. too in-your-face evil, Voldemort too human (although I thought it a rather daring choice), and...and... Fleur wasn't pretty enough. I still cried, though I can't remember exactly which part. I also thought that the general hormonal confusion was portrayed quite nicely. Cho and Cedric were surprisingly refreshing, and I thought Harry did well in some scenes. Rita Skeeter cracked me up, and Moody was pretty cool if a bit OTT. Fred and George were actually kinda cute. And funny. And damn, I'm glad they left the ferret scene in.
Time for nitpicking:
-The introduction of Beauxbatons (which, by the way, should be "BeaubaTON," not "BeauBAt'ns") and Durmstrang. What was up with the weird choreographed routines? And was it ever explained why they were there in the first place?
-What happened to the Animagus!Rita Skeeter bit? Isn't that a rather important plotline in the next book? Are they doing away with it completely for the next film?
-I was not pleased with how they chose to portray Sirius' head in the fireplace. His face should appear in the flames, not be made out of bits of coal. And I was looking forward to the secret meeting with Snuffles.
-The Prefect's bathroom. (By the way, was it just my smutty little mind, or did Cedric's little speech about "taking your egg and mulling things over" sound positively pornographic? *snicker*) It looked far too cold and castle-y and uninviting. I imagined a warmly lit, marble-tiled, gold-tapped setting, with a low ceiling and a Raphaelic mermaid painting. Moaning Myrtle was bothersome too, although maybe because I know the actress is a lot older than the character.
-I was confused about the part where Barty Jr. said "Show you mine, if you show me yours!" (yet another opportunity for the dirty-minded among us *cough*Who, me?*cough*). I thought he was talking to Snape, but then it looked like he was talking to Harry, which makes no sense, because Harry never gets a Dark Mark - does he? Is this a hint from JKR? *lapses into pondering possible outcomes of the series*
And finally, scenes that made me happy:
+The Quidditch World Cup. It wasn't at all how I imagined it, but it was still awesome.
+Tortured (no pun intended)/Dancing/Herbology Nerd!Neville
+Ginny was barely touched upon, yet I could see potential for her to be a really cool character in the remaining films.
+Naked Harry (I know, I know, I sound so pervy. But it's so funny too).*
+Normal-looking Professor Flitwick (as opposed to weird goblin-creature Flitwick).
+Love-smitten Hagrid (the ass-grope! Ha!).
+The Yule Ball. Yes, even with the choreographed dance and the Weird Sisters crowd-surfing. Hermione looked so happy with Viktor too. Meh, who cares if her dress and hair were different than in the book. (Although I found it surprisingly Harry/Hermione-supportive when she first descended the steps and he was looking at her. Where's the Ron/Hermione love?)
+The "he's more physical" dialogue between Harry and Hermione (honestly, who couldn't like that? It's oddly gratifying to see the characters recognizing and laughing at their own mistaken innuendoes).
*Oddly enough, I felt more maternal towards ickle Harry than with any of the previous films. He's so confused, and so alone, and has so much more hardship to come... *sigh*
wtf? Have turkeys kidnapped my brain? &8>P
And to add to the general Harry-ness...
be sorted @ nimbo.net
(Hmmm, I usually consider myself more of a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff type. Maybe I've changed since I've started college.)
First off - I did not expect the movie to come anywhere near the book, in terms of quality, length, or coherence. That being said, I was still surprised by how fragmented and oddly edited the film seemed. I remember reading a professional review somewhere, possibly in the New York Times, and he said something along those lines, basically that it seems more like a series of scenes than an entire movie.
Curiously, most of the characters seemed a bit flat somehow. Ron was too huffy, Hermione too weepy, Barty Jr. too in-your-face evil, Voldemort too human (although I thought it a rather daring choice), and...and... Fleur wasn't pretty enough. I still cried, though I can't remember exactly which part. I also thought that the general hormonal confusion was portrayed quite nicely. Cho and Cedric were surprisingly refreshing, and I thought Harry did well in some scenes. Rita Skeeter cracked me up, and Moody was pretty cool if a bit OTT. Fred and George were actually kinda cute. And funny. And damn, I'm glad they left the ferret scene in.
Time for nitpicking:
-The introduction of Beauxbatons (which, by the way, should be "BeaubaTON," not "BeauBAt'ns") and Durmstrang. What was up with the weird choreographed routines? And was it ever explained why they were there in the first place?
-What happened to the Animagus!Rita Skeeter bit? Isn't that a rather important plotline in the next book? Are they doing away with it completely for the next film?
-I was not pleased with how they chose to portray Sirius' head in the fireplace. His face should appear in the flames, not be made out of bits of coal. And I was looking forward to the secret meeting with Snuffles.
-The Prefect's bathroom. (By the way, was it just my smutty little mind, or did Cedric's little speech about "taking your egg and mulling things over" sound positively pornographic? *snicker*) It looked far too cold and castle-y and uninviting. I imagined a warmly lit, marble-tiled, gold-tapped setting, with a low ceiling and a Raphaelic mermaid painting. Moaning Myrtle was bothersome too, although maybe because I know the actress is a lot older than the character.
-I was confused about the part where Barty Jr. said "Show you mine, if you show me yours!" (yet another opportunity for the dirty-minded among us *cough*Who, me?*cough*). I thought he was talking to Snape, but then it looked like he was talking to Harry, which makes no sense, because Harry never gets a Dark Mark - does he? Is this a hint from JKR? *lapses into pondering possible outcomes of the series*
And finally, scenes that made me happy:
+The Quidditch World Cup. It wasn't at all how I imagined it, but it was still awesome.
+Tortured (no pun intended)/Dancing/Herbology Nerd!Neville
+Ginny was barely touched upon, yet I could see potential for her to be a really cool character in the remaining films.
+Naked Harry (I know, I know, I sound so pervy. But it's so funny too).*
+Normal-looking Professor Flitwick (as opposed to weird goblin-creature Flitwick).
+Love-smitten Hagrid (the ass-grope! Ha!).
+The Yule Ball. Yes, even with the choreographed dance and the Weird Sisters crowd-surfing. Hermione looked so happy with Viktor too. Meh, who cares if her dress and hair were different than in the book. (Although I found it surprisingly Harry/Hermione-supportive when she first descended the steps and he was looking at her. Where's the Ron/Hermione love?)
+The "he's more physical" dialogue between Harry and Hermione (honestly, who couldn't like that? It's oddly gratifying to see the characters recognizing and laughing at their own mistaken innuendoes).
*Oddly enough, I felt more maternal towards ickle Harry than with any of the previous films. He's so confused, and so alone, and has so much more hardship to come... *sigh*
wtf? Have turkeys kidnapped my brain? &8>P
And to add to the general Harry-ness...
be sorted @ nimbo.net
(Hmmm, I usually consider myself more of a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff type. Maybe I've changed since I've started college.)