firecat: damiel from wings of desire tasting blood on his fingers. text "i has a flavor!" (Default)
firecat (attention machine in need of calibration) ([personal profile] firecat) wrote2005-12-13 07:15 pm
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Saw it today with my folks.

It's really gorgeous to look at. But we all agreed it was "darker" in mood than the book and we were kind of disappointed by that. It edged into the horror genre, really. And although there was some humor, it seemed kind of tossed in and then quickly abandoned, and it didn't help the tone of the movie overall.

Some people might like this, of course. If I'd known what to expect, I might have liked it too.

If you posted about HPatGoF in your journal, I'd love it if you were to comment here with a link to your post(s). I skipped them all because I'm a stickler about avoiding spoilers, and I'd like to read them now, but don't want to go dig for them. :-)
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[identity profile] clawfoot.livejournal.com 2005-12-14 03:49 am (UTC)(link)
I would offer a link to my thoughts on the movie, but the same journal entry contains thoughts and spoilers for two other movies (Steamboy and A History of Violence), so I shall just copy & paste what I wrote here:

Okay, so I'm a total fangirl. I'd heard lots of criticism about the film, about what they'd cut and what they'd done and how it wasn't as good as past movies and so on, but the moment the movie started I think I just uttered one long SQUEE that lasted until the very end (where they added "No actual dragons were harmed during the making of this film" in the credits). It was only interrupted by the occasional EXTRA-squee, like "OMG, there's Snape in the background! SQUEE!" or "OMG, Hagrid in love! SQUEE!" or "OMGOMG! Ferret!Draco! SQUEE SQUEE SQUEE!"

They did a KICK-ASS job on Voldemort. And Moody. And of course, the regular cast just sparkled, as usual. Maggie Smith IS Minerva McGonagall.

So, yeah. I have absolutely nothing intelligent to offer on the subject of the Goblet of Fire. Just.... SQUEE! :)


(Oh, and [livejournal.com profile] fuzzpsych? You were right. Rita Skeeter was indeed played by Miranda Richardson, who also played Queen Elizabeth I in the Blackadder series.)
firecat: damiel from wings of desire tasting blood on his fingers. text "i has a flavor!" (Default)

[personal profile] firecat 2005-12-14 08:42 am (UTC)(link)
*grin* That's wonderful! And yes, Moody was fabulous!

[identity profile] pyrzqxgl.livejournal.com 2005-12-14 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
I posted one (http://www.livejournal.com/users/pyrzqxgl/68161.html). We also saw it a second time with some friends earlier this month -- not in the IMAX I mentioned but in a regular theater -- and I thought things fell much flatter without the support of an opening-night-full-house-of-people-whooping-it-up. Another thing I would complain about was the portrayal of Snape this time -- he's supposed to be able to be keeping the class cowering by saying cutting things and taking points, not just milling around whapping people in the head while they obliviously keep yakking as much as possible.
firecat: damiel from wings of desire tasting blood on his fingers. text "i has a flavor!" (Default)

[personal profile] firecat 2005-12-14 08:44 am (UTC)(link)
I agree with a lot of your comments, including the one about Snape.

I wonder if this movie is going to be released in an hour-or-two-longer version on DVD...

[identity profile] epi-lj.livejournal.com 2005-12-14 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
My Harry Potter spoiler post was here (http://epi-lj.livejournal.com/1021656.html). I dunno recall where the non-spoiler comments were. I'll try to look it up if you like.
firecat: damiel from wings of desire tasting blood on his fingers. text "i has a flavor!" (Default)

[personal profile] firecat 2005-12-14 08:49 am (UTC)(link)
The entrance of the girls school is utterly ridiculous; I seriously felt embarrassed at being in the theatre.

Oh YES. Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew.

[identity profile] jinian.livejournal.com 2005-12-14 04:49 am (UTC)(link)
I didn't post, but I did see it -- I didn't like it. Voldemort was lame and posturing, not scary at all, and Cedric's death was totally uninteresting. The Trials were pretty, especially the dragon, but they annoyed me too. The Beauxbatons choreographer needs to be smacked. Hmm, what else? I actually enjoyed the movie while it was going on, but afterward there was a growing feeling of "is that all?" that I suppose isn't unreasonable given how much they cut. As a whole, it's just not that much fun, and Harry Potter is all about the fun for me. No fun, no point.
firecat: damiel from wings of desire tasting blood on his fingers. text "i has a flavor!" (Default)

[personal profile] firecat 2005-12-14 08:51 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. Part of my disappointment was on my parents' behalf. They needed a fun movie today, not a dour one.

[identity profile] tesseract26.livejournal.com 2005-12-14 07:43 am (UTC)(link)
I also had objections. I know it was a really long book, but they could've done a better job of setting up the next movie. It seemed to me like they glossed or skipped a bunch of plot that was really important for later developments in favor of "oooooh, won't these trials be shiny and pretty?" And dammit, I want some quidditch!

But what really irritated me was how frickin' useless Fleur was in the movie. It set up this unpleasant gender dynamic where girls can either be cute and useless (Fleur, Hermione when she's gussied up for the dance) or smart/competent and sexless (Hermione the rest of the time). Grump.
firecat: damiel from wings of desire tasting blood on his fingers. text "i has a flavor!" (Default)

[personal profile] firecat 2005-12-14 08:54 am (UTC)(link)
I hadn't consciously noticed the ways that the movie was sexist (except for the annoying girls in the blue hats) but your comments and others' hit it on the head.
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