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Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts!
Nov. 18th, 2005 01:13 pmSince everyone else is in a kerfuffle to pitch in their two cents about
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (and since I haven't updating
since the Spanish Inquisition), this is what happened at the midnight
showing last night:
First, I got off work at 10 pm and went to Natalie's to get ready. I dressed up as Dobby the House-Elf (even though no house elves were featured in the movie) and Natalie went as Fleur Delacour. We got to the Providence Stadium 8 movie theater with just enough time to get in line for the front row seats. Luckily, the Stadium 8 has roomy seats and plenty of leg room, so I was basically curled up like a cat for the whole movie.
The previews started. Everyone was cheering for the new Superman movie and laughed at the Happy Feet trailer (something about penguins feeling good). Anyway the Patrick Doyle score starts up, the Harry Potter logo appears and we cheer. Then Nagini slithers out of those Pirates of the Caribbean skulls and I jump a mile in the air.
I don't think my hands left my face the whole time. The Riddle House scene was sufficiently freaky. Honestly, just hearing the voice of Lord Voldemort was much more scary than actually seeing him at the end, simply because you don't know what is speaking. Harry wakes up from the dream at the Burrow where everyone is getting ready to leave for the Quidditch World Cup.
The beginning is very quick. Scenes that took whole chapters in the book get about three seconds of screen time (thinking of the chapter "Bagman and Crouch"; well, Ludo Bagman wasn't even in the movie). The way they did the actual Quidditch match is strange, because all they did was introduce the Irish and Bulgarian teams. You knew that one of the teams was the Irish, but, unless you were looking for it, you didn't know that Bulgaria was in the match.
When I first saw the clip of Barty Crouch Jr. casting the Dark Mark over the campground, I was worried. But what they did instead was shift the plot of Barty Crouch being "dead" to merely have been in Azkaban for all these years and finally escaping to go back to Lord Voldemort. Barty Crouch is in Harry's dreams about Lord Voldemort and Harry sees him casting the Dark Mark. This shift in the storyline works wonderfully because it fills in what Winky and Sirius would have provided had they both played the roles that they had in the book. The one thing that is a problem is the fuss everyone made about Sirius Black escaping Azkaban in the third movie and wouldn't they have at least mentioned that Barty Crouch had escaped?
The movie finally starts to slow down and lets us catch our breath when the Trio is on the train. Apparently (in a deleted scene, I'm sure), Harry has told Hermione and Ron about his Lord Voldemort dream. It's Hermione who persuade Harry to write to Sirius, which he does. Also on the train, there is a glimpse Ron's money woes when he tried to buy a pack of Drooble's and some Licorice Wands, but doesn't have enough money for both. Harry offers to cover it for him, but Ron refuses. At that point, the matter gets dropped for the rest of the movie. They come close to it when Ron gets his dress robes in the mail, but the reason that Ron's robes are so hideous is because his mother had to buy them secondhand is never really brought up (maybe it was, I'll have to go for a second look).
There isn't much breathing room after the scene on the train. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrive just as the Hogwarts students do. There is no filler or downtime in this movie. It's as if they stripped the story to the bare bones and every second counts. The foreign schools are introduced, as is the Triwizard Tournament and the Goblet of Fire at the Welcoming Feast. They did manage to put in the part where Fred and George try to trick the Goblet of Fire, which I appreciated.
When Durmstrang gets to Hogwarts, you aren't sure what the big deal is about Viktor Krum. The whole thing about Krum being this great Seeker was hurriedly glossed over in the introduction and all the Quidditch fans were so loud, you really couldn't hear Fred and George's explanation of who he was. The point of Viktor Krum being this internationally known Quidditch player is so that when he is chosen as Durmstrang's champion, no one questions why. Krum is champion material because he is famous for his talent and confident in that talent. Harry is unsure of being a champion because (apart from not having volunteered for the Tournament), he never feels that he is champion material. Anyway, Krum's talent and his fame wasn't played up enough and his character gets slighted because of that.
Fleur's character is problematic too because the idea of Veela are never introduced. It's like everyone from Beauxbatons has that natural charm, but Fleur has it even more so for some reason that is never explained. She is pretty, but so are all the other girls from Beauxbatons (I'm still having a problem with Beauxbatons being an all-girls school and Durmstrang being an all-boys school in the movie. That makes Hogwarts, being co-ed, seem a little out of place. Why would three such school get together and compete in the Triwizard Tournament? Wouldn't they compete against other all-girl, all-boy or co-ed schools? I don't get it).
There is a scene that is only Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape (Mad-Eye's there too, but he doesn't do much). That is one of the creepiest performances I've seen Alan Rickman do as Snape (or maybe I'm just bringing in my prejudices against Snape because of Book 6). It's strange, because Snape argues that Harry should participate and McGonagall says he shouldn't. Dumbledore agrees with Snape, which doesn't sit well with McGonagall, but Mad-Eye is pleased (considering who Mad-Eye really is, it's not much consolation). Later, Dumbledore tells Harry it's his fault that Harry had to compete in the Tournament, which makes the rest of us wonder still about Snape. Granted, the movies and the books are two very different things, but it still lends itself to a character. Also, Alan Rickman has been told things about Snape by JK Rowling that will happen in Book 7, so that could have been a factor as well.
There is one BIG thing that bothers me about the fight between Harry and Ron. Ron sees the dragons before Harry does and tells Harry that Hagrid wants to show him something (he makes it sound very indirect). My problem is this: in the book, Ron didn't know about the dragons until the first task actually took place. It was then that Ron was willing to make up with Harry and be friends again because Ron had seen what Harry had to face in the Tournament. In the movie, Ron sees and knows about the dragons before, but still believes that Harry is just looking for attention. This is completely out of character for Ron (then again, since when are the movie people concerned about Ron's characterization?)
I will say this: the way Ron was protrayed in Goblet of Fire has vastly improved from the first three (especially the third, since Ron was such a baby in that one). Ron is finally allowed to give out information about the wizarding world to Harry (he pretty much introduces Mad-Eye Moody, for example). Ron is allowed to have real human emotion and not just shallow fears and stupidity. He doesn't bumble around as much and he has his serious moments, which he is supposed to have. Fred and George do shine more in this movie, providing the comic relief that they do in the books, which is so refreshing to me. They tease Ron, they cause problems for the teachers and they get away with it. This is what I have been waiting for. Hopefully we will be able to salute them triumphantly as they ride off in the fifth movie (no "Give her hell, Peeves", though. There's no Peeves to give hell. Maybe the students will do it for them).
Moaning Myrtle is terrible. Not terrible in that she was poorly portrayed, more like she is so mortifying to watch and hear, which is a good thing, since that's what they were going for. You feel so bad for Harry at that point because he's so shy at this point and Myrtle is just so straightforward about what she is going for (Harry's in the bathtub in the Prefect's bathrooom at this point, by the way). If Myrtle wasn't a ghost, I would have hit her.
I loved the Yule Ball. I was glad that not all of it was choreographed Rodgers and Hammerstien's "Cinderella" nonsense. They did have the Weird Sisters rocking out and all of the kids were having a great time (except Harry, Ron and the Patil sisters, of course. Those boys are terrible dates) The Ron and Hermione fight after the Yule Ball is just precious. As much service as the previews did for the Harry/Hermione shippers, the movie killed any of that sentiment. Ron's in a huff, Hermione's in tears and Harry's just here for the ride. Neville and Ginny were just plain adorable, as were Cedric and Cho (Katie Leung is such a cutie!) I loved that Neville is always practicing dancing for the Ball. It seems that his talents lie not only in Herbology :)
Speaking of Neville, the movie follows Barty Crouch's original plan for hte second task. Neville is the one who helps Harry with the gillyweed, which works wonderfully. Neville has so many great parts in this movie, though someone who hasn't read the books probably wouldn't get it. The look on his face when he sees Moody doing to Cruciatus curse on the spider in DADA class is just heartbreaking, as is Hermione's cry of "Stop it, don't do you see how much it's bothering him?" (or something to that effect). Matt Lewis (who plays Neville) knows that character. Hopefully, we'll see something truly fantastic in the fifth movie from him (please don't slight Neville, please).
Cedric Diggory...oh my freaking gosh...and that Maze. Everything leading up to the Maze had me on the verge of tears and I very nearly lost it when Cedric's father gives him a hug before they all go in. Cedric is a little too fierce for a kind-hearted Hufflepuff in the Maze (he shoves Harry when they're running for the Triwizard Cup), but that doesn't diminish what happens in the graveyard. I hate Wormtail, there is no getting past it.
The rebirthing scene was...disgusting. That's all I can say. But I thought Voldemort was going to be scarier looking. All he looks like is Ralph Fiennes with no nose. What Lord Voldemort lacks in fearsome appearance, however, he more than makes up for in freaking people out. The entire scene is fear, which is how LV operates. If you're not scared of Voldemort, you are an idiot. I have said before that Harry, to me, is like a brother or and extremely close friend. Watching him fighting Voldemort is heartbreaking, especially when when he comes out from behind that gravestone bascially saying "I have no defenses, but I'm going to try anyway and I'm going to die."
Then you have the Priori Incantatem and just...wow... I had it together until Lily Potter says to Harry "Everything will be okay, sweetheart". I lost it. I was sobbing at that point and Natalie was laughing at me. I kept crying, even as Harry got back to Hogwarts and Dumbledore told him that he and Cedric were both home now. Just the look on Harry's face and everything that he had been put through...for all the faults this movie has, that emotion and that delivery was what I was looking for. When Harry faces what has made his life what it is and to have his parents standing beside him while he does it, that's what made Goblet of Fire my favorite book and that is my favorite scene in all the movies to this point. Something about seeing Harry with his parents and every time Harry finds out something new about his parents is just really gratifying for me. I can't explain it. It's just the idea of losing something precious, but still having it with you hits me hard.
I Hate Barty Crouch. With A Passion. When he drags Harry off after he comes back from the graveyard, I wanted to beat the tar out of that bastard. I don't know what happens to him after Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape corner him in the movie, but the last thing you see of him is Snape jabbing his wand in Crouch's throat. Snape looked like he was going to kill the little ... but who knows.
One of the best things about the book is that everything has fallen to pieces, but everyone tries to get back to normal life. This happens at the end of the movie. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are going back (Krum asks Hermione to write him over the summer and Fleur kisses Ron goodbye) and Harry jokes about writing to Ron and Hermione every week over the summer. Life is as normal as it's ever going to be because the rest of us know what crap is in store for everyone.
Anyway, Goblet of Fire. Awesome movie. Not as good as the book, but we weren't expecting that. For having to squish 734 pages into 2 1/2 hours, they did a great job. Those are my thoughts. Maybe something else will present itself, but for an intial response, that wasn't too bad.
Love from,
Jenny Wildcat
First, I got off work at 10 pm and went to Natalie's to get ready. I dressed up as Dobby the House-Elf (even though no house elves were featured in the movie) and Natalie went as Fleur Delacour. We got to the Providence Stadium 8 movie theater with just enough time to get in line for the front row seats. Luckily, the Stadium 8 has roomy seats and plenty of leg room, so I was basically curled up like a cat for the whole movie.
The previews started. Everyone was cheering for the new Superman movie and laughed at the Happy Feet trailer (something about penguins feeling good). Anyway the Patrick Doyle score starts up, the Harry Potter logo appears and we cheer. Then Nagini slithers out of those Pirates of the Caribbean skulls and I jump a mile in the air.
I don't think my hands left my face the whole time. The Riddle House scene was sufficiently freaky. Honestly, just hearing the voice of Lord Voldemort was much more scary than actually seeing him at the end, simply because you don't know what is speaking. Harry wakes up from the dream at the Burrow where everyone is getting ready to leave for the Quidditch World Cup.
The beginning is very quick. Scenes that took whole chapters in the book get about three seconds of screen time (thinking of the chapter "Bagman and Crouch"; well, Ludo Bagman wasn't even in the movie). The way they did the actual Quidditch match is strange, because all they did was introduce the Irish and Bulgarian teams. You knew that one of the teams was the Irish, but, unless you were looking for it, you didn't know that Bulgaria was in the match.
When I first saw the clip of Barty Crouch Jr. casting the Dark Mark over the campground, I was worried. But what they did instead was shift the plot of Barty Crouch being "dead" to merely have been in Azkaban for all these years and finally escaping to go back to Lord Voldemort. Barty Crouch is in Harry's dreams about Lord Voldemort and Harry sees him casting the Dark Mark. This shift in the storyline works wonderfully because it fills in what Winky and Sirius would have provided had they both played the roles that they had in the book. The one thing that is a problem is the fuss everyone made about Sirius Black escaping Azkaban in the third movie and wouldn't they have at least mentioned that Barty Crouch had escaped?
The movie finally starts to slow down and lets us catch our breath when the Trio is on the train. Apparently (in a deleted scene, I'm sure), Harry has told Hermione and Ron about his Lord Voldemort dream. It's Hermione who persuade Harry to write to Sirius, which he does. Also on the train, there is a glimpse Ron's money woes when he tried to buy a pack of Drooble's and some Licorice Wands, but doesn't have enough money for both. Harry offers to cover it for him, but Ron refuses. At that point, the matter gets dropped for the rest of the movie. They come close to it when Ron gets his dress robes in the mail, but the reason that Ron's robes are so hideous is because his mother had to buy them secondhand is never really brought up (maybe it was, I'll have to go for a second look).
There isn't much breathing room after the scene on the train. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrive just as the Hogwarts students do. There is no filler or downtime in this movie. It's as if they stripped the story to the bare bones and every second counts. The foreign schools are introduced, as is the Triwizard Tournament and the Goblet of Fire at the Welcoming Feast. They did manage to put in the part where Fred and George try to trick the Goblet of Fire, which I appreciated.
When Durmstrang gets to Hogwarts, you aren't sure what the big deal is about Viktor Krum. The whole thing about Krum being this great Seeker was hurriedly glossed over in the introduction and all the Quidditch fans were so loud, you really couldn't hear Fred and George's explanation of who he was. The point of Viktor Krum being this internationally known Quidditch player is so that when he is chosen as Durmstrang's champion, no one questions why. Krum is champion material because he is famous for his talent and confident in that talent. Harry is unsure of being a champion because (apart from not having volunteered for the Tournament), he never feels that he is champion material. Anyway, Krum's talent and his fame wasn't played up enough and his character gets slighted because of that.
Fleur's character is problematic too because the idea of Veela are never introduced. It's like everyone from Beauxbatons has that natural charm, but Fleur has it even more so for some reason that is never explained. She is pretty, but so are all the other girls from Beauxbatons (I'm still having a problem with Beauxbatons being an all-girls school and Durmstrang being an all-boys school in the movie. That makes Hogwarts, being co-ed, seem a little out of place. Why would three such school get together and compete in the Triwizard Tournament? Wouldn't they compete against other all-girl, all-boy or co-ed schools? I don't get it).
There is a scene that is only Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape (Mad-Eye's there too, but he doesn't do much). That is one of the creepiest performances I've seen Alan Rickman do as Snape (or maybe I'm just bringing in my prejudices against Snape because of Book 6). It's strange, because Snape argues that Harry should participate and McGonagall says he shouldn't. Dumbledore agrees with Snape, which doesn't sit well with McGonagall, but Mad-Eye is pleased (considering who Mad-Eye really is, it's not much consolation). Later, Dumbledore tells Harry it's his fault that Harry had to compete in the Tournament, which makes the rest of us wonder still about Snape. Granted, the movies and the books are two very different things, but it still lends itself to a character. Also, Alan Rickman has been told things about Snape by JK Rowling that will happen in Book 7, so that could have been a factor as well.
There is one BIG thing that bothers me about the fight between Harry and Ron. Ron sees the dragons before Harry does and tells Harry that Hagrid wants to show him something (he makes it sound very indirect). My problem is this: in the book, Ron didn't know about the dragons until the first task actually took place. It was then that Ron was willing to make up with Harry and be friends again because Ron had seen what Harry had to face in the Tournament. In the movie, Ron sees and knows about the dragons before, but still believes that Harry is just looking for attention. This is completely out of character for Ron (then again, since when are the movie people concerned about Ron's characterization?)
I will say this: the way Ron was protrayed in Goblet of Fire has vastly improved from the first three (especially the third, since Ron was such a baby in that one). Ron is finally allowed to give out information about the wizarding world to Harry (he pretty much introduces Mad-Eye Moody, for example). Ron is allowed to have real human emotion and not just shallow fears and stupidity. He doesn't bumble around as much and he has his serious moments, which he is supposed to have. Fred and George do shine more in this movie, providing the comic relief that they do in the books, which is so refreshing to me. They tease Ron, they cause problems for the teachers and they get away with it. This is what I have been waiting for. Hopefully we will be able to salute them triumphantly as they ride off in the fifth movie (no "Give her hell, Peeves", though. There's no Peeves to give hell. Maybe the students will do it for them).
Moaning Myrtle is terrible. Not terrible in that she was poorly portrayed, more like she is so mortifying to watch and hear, which is a good thing, since that's what they were going for. You feel so bad for Harry at that point because he's so shy at this point and Myrtle is just so straightforward about what she is going for (Harry's in the bathtub in the Prefect's bathrooom at this point, by the way). If Myrtle wasn't a ghost, I would have hit her.
I loved the Yule Ball. I was glad that not all of it was choreographed Rodgers and Hammerstien's "Cinderella" nonsense. They did have the Weird Sisters rocking out and all of the kids were having a great time (except Harry, Ron and the Patil sisters, of course. Those boys are terrible dates) The Ron and Hermione fight after the Yule Ball is just precious. As much service as the previews did for the Harry/Hermione shippers, the movie killed any of that sentiment. Ron's in a huff, Hermione's in tears and Harry's just here for the ride. Neville and Ginny were just plain adorable, as were Cedric and Cho (Katie Leung is such a cutie!) I loved that Neville is always practicing dancing for the Ball. It seems that his talents lie not only in Herbology :)
Speaking of Neville, the movie follows Barty Crouch's original plan for hte second task. Neville is the one who helps Harry with the gillyweed, which works wonderfully. Neville has so many great parts in this movie, though someone who hasn't read the books probably wouldn't get it. The look on his face when he sees Moody doing to Cruciatus curse on the spider in DADA class is just heartbreaking, as is Hermione's cry of "Stop it, don't do you see how much it's bothering him?" (or something to that effect). Matt Lewis (who plays Neville) knows that character. Hopefully, we'll see something truly fantastic in the fifth movie from him (please don't slight Neville, please).
Cedric Diggory...oh my freaking gosh...and that Maze. Everything leading up to the Maze had me on the verge of tears and I very nearly lost it when Cedric's father gives him a hug before they all go in. Cedric is a little too fierce for a kind-hearted Hufflepuff in the Maze (he shoves Harry when they're running for the Triwizard Cup), but that doesn't diminish what happens in the graveyard. I hate Wormtail, there is no getting past it.
The rebirthing scene was...disgusting. That's all I can say. But I thought Voldemort was going to be scarier looking. All he looks like is Ralph Fiennes with no nose. What Lord Voldemort lacks in fearsome appearance, however, he more than makes up for in freaking people out. The entire scene is fear, which is how LV operates. If you're not scared of Voldemort, you are an idiot. I have said before that Harry, to me, is like a brother or and extremely close friend. Watching him fighting Voldemort is heartbreaking, especially when when he comes out from behind that gravestone bascially saying "I have no defenses, but I'm going to try anyway and I'm going to die."
Then you have the Priori Incantatem and just...wow... I had it together until Lily Potter says to Harry "Everything will be okay, sweetheart". I lost it. I was sobbing at that point and Natalie was laughing at me. I kept crying, even as Harry got back to Hogwarts and Dumbledore told him that he and Cedric were both home now. Just the look on Harry's face and everything that he had been put through...for all the faults this movie has, that emotion and that delivery was what I was looking for. When Harry faces what has made his life what it is and to have his parents standing beside him while he does it, that's what made Goblet of Fire my favorite book and that is my favorite scene in all the movies to this point. Something about seeing Harry with his parents and every time Harry finds out something new about his parents is just really gratifying for me. I can't explain it. It's just the idea of losing something precious, but still having it with you hits me hard.
I Hate Barty Crouch. With A Passion. When he drags Harry off after he comes back from the graveyard, I wanted to beat the tar out of that bastard. I don't know what happens to him after Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape corner him in the movie, but the last thing you see of him is Snape jabbing his wand in Crouch's throat. Snape looked like he was going to kill the little ... but who knows.
One of the best things about the book is that everything has fallen to pieces, but everyone tries to get back to normal life. This happens at the end of the movie. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are going back (Krum asks Hermione to write him over the summer and Fleur kisses Ron goodbye) and Harry jokes about writing to Ron and Hermione every week over the summer. Life is as normal as it's ever going to be because the rest of us know what crap is in store for everyone.
Anyway, Goblet of Fire. Awesome movie. Not as good as the book, but we weren't expecting that. For having to squish 734 pages into 2 1/2 hours, they did a great job. Those are my thoughts. Maybe something else will present itself, but for an intial response, that wasn't too bad.
Love from,
Jenny Wildcat
