Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire ~ the movie

I was a tad dissapointed with the movie but i expected it especially when i decided to read the book again before going to watch the movie. I mean i already knew a little bit more than the main details but after reading all the minute details it got stuck in my head and while watching i could tell that the minute details were kinda ignored(Parvati's hair is plaited, Hermoine's dress is powder blue not pink, Krum's nose is crooked, he slouches and duck footed) and even some of the major stuff(like Dobby being the one who gives HP the gillyweed not Neville, Beauzbatons and Durmstrung bring in an equal number of boys and girls for respective groups and not all girls and all boys respectively,Harry doesnt see the one who creates the Dark Mark, Barty crouch Jr isn't in HP's dream), there's loads more and once i get started there is really no stopping me so i shall sto here. However despite all this stuff being removed, the movie was seamlessly held together, there were no weird jumps or happenings,in other words Mike Newell really did a great job considering that he had to direct a movie that was filled with magical happenings and required loads more complicated and new technology CGIs than the other movies where the sets could be made easily and the CGIs were more or less easy to do as they included 1 or 2 people whereas this movie had to simultaneosly involve 4 champions through their tasks.

So a bit here and there was removed and it had to be done as the movie would end up being about6-7 hrs long(this is my guess...not proven or something) and very few people would be willing to sit for a movie meant for the kids(loads of articles had that and claim that LOTR appealed to a wide age range...i kinda agree with the LOTR part but i think Mike Newell did a really great job with this movie which doesn't really seem child fantasy-like). Mike Newell definitely did great but the actors were really good especially James and Oliver Phelps who play Fred and George Weasley:they weren't shunned to the corner this time and lived up to the mischievous glints and notorious antics from the book, the ability to act and make the audience laugh isn't an easy thing and they did just that(over imitating Ron when Prof McGonagall teaches the class how to dance, asking Angelina to the Yule Ball, taking bets and irritating the life out of Ron).

Rupert Grint who plays Ron Weasley according to me is better than Daniel Radcliffe when it come to acting, the reason is simple because Ron's character is a rather complex one with loads of relations with his family which is unique on its own, being Harry Potter's best friend, attracted to Hermoine but isn't able to do anything about it, is poor but lives life to its fullest and finally he is a really good and sweet guy below all the crappy jokes and useless arguements.

Daniel Radcliffe is no doubt awesome by being able to actually act out the entire underwater sequence for the 2nd Taskinstead of getting a stuntsman to do it for him( 2 of the largest water tanks in Europe were build for this and it was still squashy as it had to fit in the camera crew, the directors, the stuntsmen along with a couple of props and the actors involved. it took him 43 hrs to act out that scene and he didn't have an air mask with him if he ran out of air he couldn't possibly go to the surface as the pressure difference would burst his eardrums, so when Daniel signals a stuntsman goes down with the mask and bring him up slowly....i cant imagine doing it as typing all this out is already mind boggling). However when it comes to the emotional and funny lines his screen magic wears off (this is debatable) and looks dull next to Hermoine and Ron and the others.

Emma Watson aka Hermoine Granger wasn't as nerdy, but was very motherly like when she told Ron and Harry to go to bed after the Yule ball and very girly when it came to Viktor Krum. Stanislki(dunno the spelling) aka Viktor Krum was absolutely atheletic and gentlemanly, Robert Pattinson aka Cedric Diggory was just as charming and gentlemanly. Tom Felton who plays evil guy Draco Malfoy is still the Brylcream boy with his charm that kinda intimidates and give you the feeling that makes you wanna slap him....so in other words he really gets into the character on set and off he is a really nice guy. The Girls who were supposed to act as Parvati and Padma Patil aren't twins in real life but they were good. Katie Leung aka pretty girl-Harry's heart throb Cho Chang was ok and i seriously can't say much as she was only acting pretty and didn't have many lines besides asking Harry to repeat what he was saying.

Robbie Coltrane(Rebeus Hagrid) was jolly and funny and loving like always and David Bradley(Filch) was mean, horrible and pitiful (when he ran in that jerky way). Michael Gambon(Albus Dumbledore) had his all-knowing glint in his eye along with his caring nature and staely aura that commanded respect. Dame Maggie Smith(Prof McGonagall) was strict, tough yet motherly especially when she was teaching the boys how to dance. Actually when i come to think of it, there is very little i can say about the adult actors since many of them have won a couple of awards, been nominated for some and higly credited like in the case of the late Richard Harris who played Dumbledore for the 1st 2 movies and passed away after that.

The 3 tasks lived up to the imagination of the readers although Harry unneccessarily flies around the Hogwarts castle(something that was added for effects) for the first task. Besides that the Dragons were lethal, Mermaids were vicious and the Maze was deadly terrifying( onset these mazes were actually constructed, they moved like they did in the movie and the threat of being crushed was ever present so the fear that you see on the Champions' faces is genuine).

The Graveyard scene was simply two thumbs up. Ralph Fiennes who play Voldemort has the exact look according to the book and is just as heartless although he can work on his voice to complete the image as his voice wasn't shrilly,cold and high it was actually kinda calm and normal...it supposed to be the kind that freaks you out without seeing the owner of the voice and it didn't after he rises from the bubbling cauldron, it was shrilly before when he was in the body of that weird baby monster. The Death eaters' robes strangely reminded me of the KKK only they were all black with white masquerade-like masks instead of all white.

Its after Harry reaches back Hogwarts that tears just start rolling down my face with the likelyhood of my lens coming out. The way Daniel started crying, the entire atmosphere of the grounds was cherring before it became pin-drop silence, how Dumbledore forcefully has to pull Harry away from Cedric's body, Cedric's dad just falls apart, the final blow of learning the truth about the "Professor Moody" and Dumbledore's tribute to Cedric was especially moving. The farewall scene was heart-warming and the final scene where Hermoine asks if everything is going to change and Harry answers yes. The answer in itself is meant to be reassuring while at the same time it leaves a hint about the troubles that will come along with time.

The surprising thing is that i thought i was the only one who felt that way but during those scenes i realised that the entire theatre was moved although not everyone was crying, a heartstring or two were tugged when they come to realise how powerful the bonds of Love and Friendship are. Somehow I kinda feel that this movie had a subliminal message that was applicable to the materialistic world that we live in today that is filled with news and headlines about the ongoing conflicts between men, the impacts that it has on the innocent and how they are somehow directly or indirectly brought to be involved. That is the exact reason why the magical worls seems real as it is not only the fantasy magical world that is wishing for peace, many in the real world that we are living in are secretely, desperately wishing for world peace as well.