Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Discussion Thread

[Beefy]

Don't get your hopes up for Movie 5 - some TV director who has never done a feature before has apparently been given the reigns.  It's like the studio doesn't care who does what with the films anymore because they've established their cash cow.

[Mr. Ubiquity]

Heading out tonite to see Harry potter.    Talk to you all later.

[Bennyhana]

I think I may be the only person in the US that will never see this movie.

Nope.  I am not going to see it either.  I have never seen a HP movie or read the book.

I wish I were with you guys, but I'll see it because I have a choice of seeing either that or Rent.  And I'd rather see Harry Potter than Rent.

[Gamplayerx]

I think I may be the only person in the US that will never see this movie.

Nope.  I am not going to see it either.  I have never seen a HP movie or read the book.

I wish I were with you guys, but I'll see it because I have a choice of seeing either that or Rent.  And I'd rather see Harry Potter than Rent.

I'll see it when it comes on cable.

[cnamon]

I think I may be the only person in the US that will never see this movie.

Nope.  I am not going to see it either.  I have never seen a HP movie or read the book.

I wish I were with you guys, but I'll see it because I have a choice of seeing either that or Rent.  And I'd rather see Harry Potter than Rent.

We are going to see Walk the Line.

[Beefy]

It's official - not going to make it to HP4 tonight.

The good news is, my mom is willing to risk it, so it looks like I may go see it tomorrow afternoon.  Which is cool, cause she'll be all spazzy about the Superman trailer, too.

[Gamplayerx]

Sorry, Beefy.  Feel better.

[Beefy]

Sorry, Beefy.  Feel better.

No worries.  It's not that bad.  I just don't want to risk jeopardizing everyone else's night.

If I can wait three days to see Star Wars 3, I can wait a day to see HP4.

[Listener]

On the spoilers: Yeah, normally I do make them small... but I think everyone knows how it ends. 

We should make a discussion thread where we can discuss with spoilers.

What's the time limit?  One week?  Two?

[ReBurn]

On the spoilers: Yeah, normally I do make them small... but I think everyone knows how it ends. 

We should make a discussion thread where we can discuss with spoilers.

What's the time limit?  One week?  Two?

Beige.

[eo000]

There was no superman trailer at the imax theater.

I liked the movie, thought it was good.  Kayla loved it.

[Mr. Ubiquity]

Saw the movie.  Saw the superman trailer.   Wasnt too impressed by either of them.

Superman - just a bland old trailer, nothing to catch your eye or hold your interest

HP --  maybe because i didnt read any of the books beforehand, but they didnt seem to ahve the magic / spirit of the first ones.   Yeah, its a darker movie because of the teenage years but the story seemed to also skip around a bit.  none of the little side stories seemed to fit in together at all. 

[Mr. Ubiquity]

whoops, i guess 6 pt font is still too large.  oh well..

[Listener]

Saw the movie.  Saw the superman trailer.   Wasnt too impressed by either of them.

Superman - just a bland old trailer, nothing to catch your eye or hold your interest

HP --  maybe because i didnt read any of the books beforehand, but they didnt seem to ahve the magic / spirit of the first ones.   Yeah, its a darker movie because of the teenage years but the story seemed to also skip around a bit.  none of the little side stories seemed to fit in together at all. 

Yeah, I agree with that.  This movie, you HAD to have read the book to understand it.

[Mr. Ubiquity]

Saw the movie.  Saw the superman trailer.   Wasnt too impressed by either of them.

Superman - just a bland old trailer, nothing to catch your eye or hold your interest

HP --  maybe because i didnt read any of the books beforehand, but they didnt seem to ahve the magic / spirit of the first ones.   Yeah, its a darker movie because of the teenage years but the story seemed to also skip around a bit.  none of the little side stories seemed to fit in together at all. 

Yeah, I agree with that.  This movie, you HAD to have read the book to understand it.

true.  maybe i should read the book, that way i would know more of  the story.   was it me or did it seem that they rewlly jumped back and forth with the sotry without any true flow?  they had the cup, then the dance that was a few sdays away, then something else...   Jackie said when the death eaters came and destroyed the quiddich cup thing and burned everything to the ground, that was too fast and simple.   

[Listener]

Well, it was too fast, and it was far too abbreviated, but they had to make a lot of cuts to fit 800 pages into 2.5 hours.  Plus, I've noticed that that particular facet has received short shrift in all three previous films, despite the fact that in Prisoner of Azkaban, it was one of the most important parts of the book.  If they give it short shrift in Film Five, I can only imagine how they're going to cover certain plot points.

There was far more jumping around as well, and very few transitional scenes -- Chris Columbus and Alfonso Cuaron both had ways of creating good transitions, such as long shots of the castle and the changing of the whomping willow.  Mike Newell seems to have sacrificed those as well.

[meredith]

absolutely no explanation for the term priori incantatum, unless they are assuming the audience knows latin.

[Listener]

absolutely no explanation for the term priori incantatum, unless they are assuming the audience knows latin.

Of all the things you could've complained about, that was the best you could come up with? 

Actually, it IS pretty obvious.  But I see your point.

[HELIX]

priori incantatum
not speaking latin....it may mean prior incantation...or....before spell
am i right?

[Listener]

priori incantatum
not speaking latin....it may mean prior incantation...or....before spell
am i right?

Prior incantation -- the previous spell.  It's used to explain why Harry saw Cedric, Frank, and his parents after the fight with Voldemort.  But Dumbledore doesn't actually explain anything; he just names the spell and moves on.  Very weak.

I seriously believe that Michael Gambon does not grasp the POINT of the Dumbledore character.  In Film Three, he was very mysterious and powerful, but in the special features, he shows that he's just doing a job; he doesn't actually seem to know or care very much about Dumbledore.  Rather like the stories of Stuart Baird as he directed Star Trek 10.  In Film Four, Gambon, who is normally quite a good actor, does a terrible job with some of Dumbledore's more emotional scenes.  As the Dumbledore role expands in Film Five and ESPECIALLY in Film Six, I worry for the portrayal.

[Beefy]

I enjoyed it.  It was messier than the previous three, but that was inevitable with trying to condense that behemoth of a book.

The three kids were finally tasked with some actual acting and each one rose to the challenge.

I didn't have a problem with the humor being inserted in.  Without it, the movie would have been overwhelmingly grim.  And it was grim enough.

I also didn't have a problem with Gambon's Dumbledore.  In fact, I'd go even further to suggest that his take on the character is more realisitic at this point in Harry's story.

Fienne's take on Voldemort was... odd.  I'm not sure anyone could pull off that role with the weight that has been built up about that character.

I didn't think Cedric's death was given the powerful moment it deserved.  But then, when you're reading you can stop and really think about the turning point the death represents, but on screen there is no way to stop it.

I thought the whole sequence around the Yule Ball was done well.  This film really gave the cast a chance to act like real teens would.

The second Tri-Wizard challenge didn't feel like it held as much weight or peril as it should have.

So yeah, it was messy, but I enjoyed it.

Seeing the Superman trailer on screen gave me serious shivers.  No one else in the auditorium seemed to care.  They were more interested in laughing at the dreadful previews for Cheaper By the Dozen 2, The Shaggy Dog, whatever the hell that computer animated Weinstein Bros. thing was, and that animated penguin thing.

[dc]

I enjoyed it myself, but I started thinking about all the omissions and condensing they had to do.  I realized that a lot of it made sense to me because I had read the books, and I'm wondering if they either got lazy or had to rely on that because of the length of the story they had to deal with.  Did they skip certain elements because they assumed that the viewer would know what was going on (or would have someone to explain it to them)?

However, they did skip entirely over something that may be important to the end of the story.  But that's just my suspicions as to how it will all end out, and may not be true.  I'm convinced that a certain aspect that has been viewed as comic relief will prove to be very important to how the entire story turns out.  Maybe they should have at least touched on the house elves.

[ignom]

It was ok.

[Jessie]

It was ok, except for the screaming, seat kicking, turn their seat into a rocking chair brats in the theater.

[nishi]

It was ok, except for the screaming, seat kicking, turn their seat into a rocking chair brats in the theater.

after having three teenagers literally climb over me from the row behind me during the last HP movie (and when i yelled "what the FUCK are you doing, you fucking idiots?" one of the twit/twatgirls said "you shouldn't talk like that!". deplorable behavior followed by shock at the word "fuck" seems to be a theme in louisville...), i am adopting a Take No Prisoners approach this year. i am buying a couple of very large beverages, and the first person to fuck with me is going to be wearing one. the other is for backup.