GOF Reviews, Thoughts & Whatnot - SPOILERS

[Me]

I liked the fact that the movie had a slighter darker atmosphere.

Now time to tear it apart.

I do not like the manner in which Gambom portrays Dumbledore. He just doesn't give an aura of trustworthiness.

The ending was too light considering the subject manner. I didn't expect for everyone to act suicidal but everyone was jumping up and down saying goodbye and stuff.

And Cedric's mother wasn't shown... it was always his father.

I was disappointed because we didn't get to see any Quidditch. When they showed Krum he was acting like a celebrity at the Quidditch World Cup, and I just never envisioned him to be that sort.

They shouldn't have left out the part about Rita Skeeter being an animagus because it will be a major part in OotP when the truth about Voldermort's return comes to light.

I didn't like how they omitted nearly all the challenges that lay within the maze. That disappointed me because it took away from the effort Cedric and Harry made to even reach the Cup.

I would have to say I enjoyed watching the movie, but there were too many gaps. I understand that had they included everything it would have been much longer though.

I like to addition of dance lessons for the Yule Ball and that they made Neville an able dancer. He deserves to have some talents.

[Ritsu]

Okay, my turn now. In general topics which I'll probably get to later, but it's really late now and I'm starting to feel sleepy. I just got home from the theatre. So, from the beginning:

- Why Barty Crouch Jr. in the beginning? He would've appeared in the Pensieve and everything would add up from then until the end. I think he just wasn't needed in that scene. Voldemort makes reference to him in the book, saying his "faithful servant" would return to Hogwarts. Things just would resolve themselves naturally. I didn't get it. It didn't make me mad, but I didn't get it.

- The actor who played Barty Crouch Jr. was darned cute. Too bad they made him have that annoying nervous twitch with the tongue, although that was okay for people who didn't know the books and had to figure out that he was in Moody's skin. Or... transformed into... nevermind.

- I agree with Izzy, I didn't like how they sped up and cut all those chapters. The beginning of the movie has this stupid, extra-fast sense to it. I think even people who haven't read the book realized how fast things were going. I liked the Portkey journey though. And the whole scene around the Portkey, with all of them around it in that hill and... yeah.

- Daniel Radcliffe. Oh, man. TrapDoorians have followed the evolution of this guilty crush I have but I'm coming out today. Yes. I'm one of them. I gave in. He's just impossibly handsome.

- I agree with whoever said (sorry, so so sorry) that Krum wasn't the type who acted like a celebrity and he was acting like one in the Quidditch World Cup. I agree. In the book, I got this impression that he enjoyed what he was doing but didn't like the fame that brought him. And he also didn't like being Karkaroff's protegée and being thrown by him into all sorts of things just because he was "the best Seeker in the world". I think he's someone who wants to do what he does but live peacefully. And in the movie he was just a big bloke who enjoyed the attention and looked too rough and "I'll-hit-you-if-you-won't-write-to-me-Hermione". Oh, and I missed the "Her-my-oh-ninny".

- Why didn't Fleur speak? I was so eager to hear her accent and see how Clémence played that arrogant air of hers, and she barely opened her mouth. Now that made me mad.

- What also made me mad was the lack of Sirius. Why did they even bother of putting him on the movie? If that was the way he was going to show up, better transform the fireplace scene into a letter Harry received and that was it. It was stupid, really. And I wanted to see his and Snape's handshake in the end. I wanted to see it so badly. I do hope they don't cut off their kitchen fight in OoTP, or else, blargh!

- That fight between Hermione and Ron after the Yule Ball was so obvious. So tender and so obvious. It left no doubts that all they want is to jump on each other and get on with it. I felt sorry for her though. She was really hurt by him asking her as a last resort, which means she really likes him. And Emma cries so well. I know this isn't a good thing to say about an actress, but she is a darned good cryer, and it made the scene more believable. I felt so sorry for her. I just wanted them to get on with it, like, skip Book 5 and Book 6 right there and move to Book 7 where they're finally gonna be together. I'm not making any sense.

- Bill? Hello?

- Charlie?!

- Mrs. Weasley?!?!

- Daniel Radcliffe *swoon*

- Cedric was brilliant.

- And what about Moody? I loved the way Brendan Gleeson played him. Loved it! Nothing else to say on this topic, since I'm *very* sleepy now. I'm forgetting things I wanted to write about.

- Like Voldemort's nose. Why doesn't he have one? Maybe I'm not remembering the way he looks like too well, but I thought the only snake-like thing he had were the eyes? Something about the nose and the nostrils, yes, but I'm sure JKR mentioned a nose with small and long nostrils somewhere. It was confusing to see Ralph Fiennes - one of my favourite actors - without a nose. He was great. Absolutely great. The eyes... oh my, the eyes.

- I felt like crying in some scenes, too. Specially in the Priori Incatatem one, when Harry's parents appear. I already felt emotional about it when I read the books, but actually seing it... Lily calling him sweetie... or something like that. And Cedric begging him to take his body to his father. It was so

- I'm so glad that they decided to make Ginny appear more often. She's so cute and she's going to be such an important character in the upcoming movies that... well, shame on them if they didn't.

- Fred and George! At last!

- The Weird Sisters. I wasn't expecting that. And I laughed so hard with the lyrics. Dance like a hypogriff.

- I thought this movie, apart from being a lot darker, was a lot more human, and it's also, in my opinion, the most funny of them all. It's much more realistic when it comes to a boarding school environment and relationships between colleagues. There's like a constant tension and a steady rythm. I loved it.

I really liked the movie. I've learnt to think of the movies and the books separately so I won't end up disappointed, and it's been working so far. It made me love this movie and not pull my hair off because they didn't put more of certain things into it or make up scenes that JKR never wrote to begin with. It makes me feel uncomfortable, true, but... you know, I'm glad that they finally made a serious movie about HP. The first two were too childish (they had to be, though, H+R+H were only 11), the third one sort of marked the way onto a more serious theme and this one confirms it. Maybe people over here will stop thinking once and for all that Harry Potter is not for children. Because they do. It's the ruling stereotype around here.

*keeps a certain scene in a certain Prefect bathroom vivid in mind and dozes off*

[Nie]

Like pretty much everyone else here, from what I can gather from skimming through posts, I was pretty disappointed with the fourth Harry Potter movie when I saw it today.

To start with, where was the suspicion for possible suspects that our loveable trio always have? They were meant to be suspecting Karakoff of putting Harry's name in the goblet and for making all the recent bad events happen. I didn't see any of that.

There also weren't any clues brought up for the audience to try and work out what was going on. Where was the Maurauders Map and Barty Crouch showing up on it rummaging through Snape's office? Why wasn't it pointed out that Barty Crouch Sr was under the Imperius Curse up until his death? And why wasn't his death treated more seriously? He was, after all, meant to have been suspected of acting a little strangely, or at least he was in the book. Why wasn't it explained that the reason Barty Crouch Jr was never suspected of doing anything wrong was because he was meant to have already died in Azkaban? So many crucial things were left out that needed to be left in.

And what about Rita Skeeter? Where was the discovery that she was an unregistered animagus? And why didn't she turn up and cause as much trouble as she was supposed to? She was supposed to reveal Hagrid as being part giant as well as a whole load of other things.

The Maurauders Map was left out too. It was one of the things that pointed suspision toward Barty Crouch Senior, and almost had Barty Croush Junior discovered. Wasn't it also confiscated by Dumbledore in the end? I really should have re-read the book before seeing the movie. Or, maybe not. I probably would have ended up more disappointed.

Harry was meant to be far more seriously accused of casting the Dark mark in the sky at the Quidditch World Cup. It was meant to have been his wand that was used to cast it. They left out Winky as well.

There were so many other things they left out too. So many things that would have made watching the movie far more enjoyable and entralling.

Overall, the entire movie felt choppy and rushed. I really didn't like the way it was cut at all. It didn't feel polished. It almost felt like there was no real continuity to the film. Nothing was lingered on at all, even for a moment and there were so many things that needed a moment to really get the audience paying attention. This film should have fallen into the mystery film category, but it felt more like a race to get to the end.

[Sphi]

If I'm one of the only people that liked the movie, I guess I might as well do my job to defend it.

I think the first thing that you have to keep in mind is that the book is more than 700 pages long, so you can't really blame the filmmakers that it was sorta choppy. I know why everyone would say that, but honestly, it wasn't so choppy that you didn't understand what was going on.

About suspecting different people, I think the movie showed that the best if could (like that shot of Karkaroff sneaking into the Great Hall at night), even if it couldn't include the trio themselves going through possible suspects. I think it's fair that the filmmakers wanted to emphasize how Ron felt left out and how Hermione felt concerned for Harry's safety. I thought this movie was meant to heavily emphasize the relationship between the trio, not in the sense of the larger plot and the danger, but in the sense that they have very basic, adolescent feelings.

I don't think Rita Skeeter needed to be that important in the movie. They used her well enough in the interviews and photo shoots; to add all the Animagus stuff in would be unnecessary considering the length of the book.

Something that I really thought was true about this movie, probably more than any of the others, was that it's more of a supplement to the books. You can't compare every single detail, because of course you're going to find things that are different or missing. For people who've read the books and keep an open mind, the movie just brings to life certain elements of the book, which I think is what we should really be looking for.

[Isbister15]

^ Well said, SP.

Okay, maybe it's wrong, but I am the lucky owner of a bootleg copy of the movie already. Actually, I got it less than a week after the movie premiered. You can bet your buttons I'm still buying the DVD the day it comes out, though.

So, having seen it twice in the theater and multiple times on my TV, I can honestly say that I LOVE it. ;D I was somewhat disheartened after my initial viewing (as I'm sure is evident in my first post in this thread) but once I was able to separate the book and what I *expected* to see from what was actually in the movie I was really, really happy with it. Sure, there are still a few things that irk me (like the Nigel character and the fact that Padma has apparently seceded from Ravenclaw ), but overall I think the movie is great. Like SP, I really like how they showed the changing relationships between Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

One thing I will never be able to stomach, though, is Gambon as Dumbledore. At first I thought maybe he was more bearable in this film, but he's just not. I have no idea how they'll pull off the sixth movie if he continues the role. It just won't work.

((*End note - KG is the one who realized the Padma thing and I would be perfectly pleased with the Nigel boy if his name was actually Dennis Creevey. ))

[Sphi]

Why thank you.

Yeah, that Nigel kid was a bit random. As I was watching, I assumed that he was one of the Creeveys; I don't know why they made up a new character for no reason. And I've already mentioned this, but I still agree about Gambon. Dumbledore is a big role to fill, and unfortunately, Gambon doesn't quite cut it.

I wish I had a bootleg copy. I would be rewatching and rewatching all day. ;D[/size]

[KoNeko]

Ahhh, Netflix. How I love thee.

Okay, so many, MANY months after everyone else, I finally watched GoF tonight.

I've read what everyone's said, but still... even if the book is 700 pages, you can tell a story WITHOUT it being choppy. I was completely fine with Dobby and Winky and Charlie (and, to a much lesser extent, Bill being taken out of the story. But yeah, there are several things that don't stay true to the book and the annoying thing was that I found that in several places, if I hadn't read the book, I would have absolutely no bloody idea what was going on. Imagine all the parents who sat through this with their kids.

-Mad Eye Moody's eye. Why does it have that robotic swivelling sound when it rotates? There are no electronic devices at Hogwarts, yes, but why does it have that weird robotic sound?

-Since when were Pavarti AND Padma both in Gryffindor?

-If Michael Gambon doesn't stop talking with a semi-American accent as Dumbledore, I'm going to smash my computer over his head. And the speech when they get back after Cedric dies? "Today we acknowledge a really terrible loss"?! "A really terrible loss"?! What an understatment!!! I mean, I know that's the scriptwriter's fault but still. What is this?! A boy just died.

-That Nigel kid. Who's Nigel in the books?! If the Creeveys had a third brother that might have been ok. He's in another scene later getting an autograph from some Durmstrang guy.

-Wormtail's silver hand. Kinda cool effect, but I was hoping for a prosthetic silver hand, not a silver hand that has all the mobility and flexibility of a human one. Maybe that's just me. And I love how his hand chopped off so easily into the pot.

-I cried when Harry brought Cedric back. I cried when Amos was crying for his lost son. Then I saw Cho and wanted to strangle her because she was so... superficially sad looking.

-Why do the death eaters look like members of the ku klux klan but just in black?

-This is a really minor gripe, but the scene in the graveyard with Voldemort really annoyed me because of Voldie's nostrils. I couldn't stop looking at it. What the heck is wrong with his nose? Why doesn't he have a nose and he just has a little bump with sideways slits in it? If the rest of him is human looking, where is his human nose? Just because he's the dark lord doesn't mean he has to be nasally impaired.

[hermoine]

koneko said:

-This is a really minor gripe, but the scene in the graveyard with Voldemort really annoyed me because of Voldie's nostrils. I couldn't stop looking at it. What the heck is wrong with his nose? Why doesn't he have a nose and he just has a little bump with sideways slits in it? If the rest of him is human looking, where is his human nose? Just because he's the dark lord doesn't mean he has to be nasally impaired.

Just wanted to comment quickly about that. Note that JK does in fact describe Voldemort as having slits for nostrils. I didn't really like the CGI on Ralph Fiennes all that much myself...I don't know why, that scene just bugged me for some reason.


And about Cho, oh gosh Ko I agree with you completely!! But I guess one must also take into consideration that this was the first time for Katie Leung in an acting part of any sorts. She's coming back for OOTP mind, because there's been a lot of "buzz" going on regarding Dan and Katie's kiss which is supposed to be shot in the next couple of days/weeks.

[KoNeko]

Ok, I thought he could still have a functioning nose and slits in his nose, not how he just didn't have a nose at all and had slits in his face. It reminded me of that pokemon in that movie.

Okay, apart from the "I am looking sad" shot of Cho, I think Katie did an ok job, considering she doesn't have any acting background. Her accent kind of put me off, you know that scene at the owlery when Harry asks her to the Yule Ball and gets shot down? But otherwise she was ok.

[Nie]

I'm glad there's someone else who thought the movie was really badly strung together. I suspect that someone spilt coffee all over the footage reels and they just ended up splicing together the little footage that wasn't damaged and called it a movie.