utter randomonium

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: I loved this film. It is probably the least true to the book of all the Harry Potter films to date, but I felt very little was tossed that really needed to be in there. I really didn’t miss the Dursleys or the house elves, and the way this movie was structured the bad guy doesn’t seem to come out of left field quite as much as he does in the book. And I liked the changes: I like Neville’s dancing and the study hall scene with Snape and the flashy entrances from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. My main complaint is that because they had to squeeze so much story into 150 minutes, many of the scenes, particularly in the beginning, are kind of choppy and feel very rushed. Many of the characters don’t get the screen time they deserve. However, the overall feel of the movie is excellent. There is quite a bit of silliness, which some have said is almost “too funny,” but I felt the humor provided a good balance with the much darker parts of the film, thus avoiding depressing the audience too much. I’m glad they kept the same set from Prisoner of Azkaban; the Hogwarts of the first two films always felt more like a Disney park than a real place. I’m also glad they finally made good use of the Weasley twins, who really are quite funny in the books but had been largely ignored in the films until now. Again, I loved this film. However, I would only recommend it to people who already like Harry Potter, as this is not a standalone movie at all. You really need the backstory of the prior three films to appreciate it.