Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I went to see this movie last night.

It disappointed me very much that Richard Petty did not make a cameo appearance in this movie.

Other than that, I enjoyed the flick very much. Thought the writers and Mike Newell did well as they managed to streamline the story, cutting away a couple of the more unwieldy subplots to make for a quick 2 and a half hours.

Not quick enough for a couple of the toddlers sitting around me. Folks...please stop bringing toddlers to movies. When they get bored (and they will get bored...they have attentions spans something like your common housefly)...they don't know little things like not talking, not playing with their drink straw like it's a magic wand, flinging little bits of soda everywhere, and not headbutting the back of my seat.

It strikes me as quite unfair that if I had turned around and headbutted the kid, I'd probably have ended up in jail.

The movie was good, though.

Things I liked:

Brendan Gleeson just has fun with just about everything he does, even if he's playing a really cranky role...maybe especially if he's playing a really cranky role. He especially has fun in this Harry Potter movie. I really liked his Madeye Moody. Very manic.

I like the kid they've gotten to play Neville in these movies. Every now and then a moviemaker will hit the nail on the head, the image of the character I've been reading in the book. And the Potter People hit it with Neville, both in personality and appearance. I find myself rooting for Neville. A lot.

Jason Isaacs is another of my favorite actors. Granted, I've only seen him play snooty scum....but he does it so well. I like his Lucius Malfoy a lot, and I like the fact that we get to see that the rest of the world doesn't necessarily see him as this bad guy...even if he is. In the books, we see so much through Harry's eyes, and we know he and Draco are shits, but it often leaves me wondering how, if he's such a shit, he gets to wander around in polite society. Even if it was just a glimpse at the Quidditch Cup, and a little more in the graveyard, we see that it's not necessarily easy being a Malfoy....

Isaacs had such a short part in this flick...it got me to thinking about all the great actors you've got in these movies, a lot of them playing roles that don't necessarily getting a lot of screen time. Maggie Smith? Always good. Gary Oldman? Always great.

Don't get me started on Alan Rickman's time to be Severus Snape.

But then, my pro-Snape views are long documented on this blog.

Anyway. It's cool to see this ensemble of great actors backing up these three kids who've done little besides the Harry Potter movies....

It was a crowded show. The group we went as had to split up, which was frustrating, since we'd all gone to hang out. I don't like going to crowded movies. Too many people don't know how to act, nowadays. Whether it's reining in the kids, or turning off the cell-phones, or not talking, or not falling asleep and snoring loudly.....

Anyway. That's got little to do with the movie. Couldn't understand how you'd fall asleep...it's very loud and quite flashy.....

I liked it. Look forward to the next one....