THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME NOW!

FULL-FLEDGED SPOILER WARNING.I am an intense Potterhead. This darker interpretation was far more appropriate for this tale of good vs. evil. The problem with this film, the choppiness of the screenplay. I know it's not easy condensing a 700-page novel into a 2 1/2 hour film (approx. 150 page script), The film did suffer.The journey to the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasley family, was great but the filmmakers skip the match, jumping immediately to the afterglow. The Death Eaters, Lord Voldemort's followers, who look very similar to a parade of Klansmen in masks creepier than anything I imagined while reading the novel, terrorizing the Quidditch fans, but for a total of about 3 seconds. This was an important scene, and glossing over it was inappropriate. It implied they were doing so on Voldemort's behalf, when quite the opposite was true, as Voldemort supporter Barty Crouch Jr thrust Voldemort's bat signal, the Dark Mark, into the sky in protest of the Death Eaters, as opposed to in conjunction with them, as the film implied. Well before you know it, Harry,Hermione and Ron, at Hogwarts are joined by a dozen teenage witches from the school Beaubatons, accompanied by Madame Maxine, and a dozen teenage wizards from the Bulgarian school Durmstrang, accompanied by Igor Karkaroff. Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore introduces the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody and announces the participation of the three schools in the Triwizard Tournament. Everything happens very quickly, and before you know it, we're at the first task. At this point Harry Potter, was mysteriously illegally entered into the tournament. But the tasks are what this film is truly about. Amazing, exciting action sequences, demonstrating Harry's potential as an incredibly powerful wizard. Ron becomes angry with Harry, who Ron believes entered the tournament without confiding in his best friend. Emma Watson, her major plotline from the novel, the formation of a lobbyist group promoting the liberation of house elves was omitted from the film. Gleeson was given a number of juicy moments, such as Moody's first DADA class in which he performed the three Unforgivable Curses on a spider (but unfortunately not the Imperius Curse on Harry as in the novel) The first task, Harry and the other champion must remove a golden egg guarded by enormous fire-breathing dragons. This sequence alone should have merited an Oscar for Visual Effects. The whole thing was so exhilarating. Task Two, Neville is given further character development, as the character's gift for herbology. The four champions embark upon an adventure underwater to retrieve a hostage each. The grindywalds and the merpeople were right-on. Task three, the labyrinth the most important scene in the entire saga.When Voldemort shows himself, it almost seems impossible to imagine this moment to live up to the build-up. He looked perfect! The duel between Harry and Voldemort was intense. What follows is the most intense and goosebump-inducing scene in all four films.Harry arrives back to Hogwarts with Cedric's corpse.Then we have the big reveal in Moody's office. Some problems,Severus Snape(Alan Rickman)role was trivialized. There was one line in the graveyard from the book that was positively needed. It’s special to see these three young actors growing into their own, improving their talent with every new installment. We already can’t wait until the next one.
So much to say no more space :)

"Fire" Flickers for book fans, Flames for movie-buffs!

"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" is the fourth movie in the Harry Potter franchise, based on the very popular children's book series. Please do keep in mind that this movie is based on the book, which means that as good as the movie is, reading the book is better.

Before I begin, I must make one point clear. There are 2 types of people who will watch this movie: the readers and fans of the books, and the watchers and viewers of movies. Each of these two groups will have a varying opinion of this story and that is due to their level of expectation. Almost certainly you will find that the fans of the book will not like this movie very much (as so much was edited out for time-constraints), but those who have not read the books almost all love the movie for it's action and adventure.

That having been said, this movie really races along in it's fast paced action. We begin with Harry and his friends excitedly attending a huge international sporting event. We do not get to see the actual event, just before and afterwards. During the post-game party, a terrorist attack by a group known as 'Death Eaters', breaks out. The plot moves along quickly to the beginning of the school year where Harry and pals are beginning their 4th year of instruction at "magical high school" Hogwarts. Immediately introduced are a gaggle of female students from a French wizarding school and a surly bunch of male students from a Bulgarian wizarding school. One student from each school will be competing with a Hogwarts student in an inter-school competition call the Tri-Wizard tournament.

But alas for poor Harry, a happy and carefree school year is not in the cards. Under very unusual circumstances, his name is drawn to also compete in the magical tournament...one that he is underage, underskilled and underprepared to compete in. Everyone is mad at Harry for "cheating" to get his name in the competition...even his best friend Ron. Luckily things pick up for Harry when he starts winning in the competitions and at least most people are not mad at him anymore...but he has other problems...such as the very awkward position of having to ask the girl he has a crush on, to the school dance. The plot culminates right where you think it would end...Harry wins the competition but is transported right into the arms of his most evil foe, Lord Voldemort, who now is reborn with a powerful new body. From this point on, the story gets darker, as Lord Voldemort and death go hand-in-hand.

To movie-watchers, this film is filled with fast-paced action presented at a break-neck speed. Excellent special effects male you feel that you are right in the story. To book-fans, you may feel that the characters in this story are oversimplified and presented in their very base terms. There is no complexity to their roles or to the story. The book that this film is based on is long and complicated and to film it just like the book would be near-impossible, however I feel this movie could have been better. But movie-only fans seem to like it.

Along with his DVD comes a bonus disk, which includes special features. Extra footage, a self-guided tour of the school, interviews with cast and crew and games and activities equal hours of interactive fun.

I hope that you enjoyed this review and that it has helped you in some way. If you found it to be insightful or helpful, I would kindly request that you vote "YES" (it was helpful). Thank you.

H.P. -Out of the frying pan and into the Goblet of Fire

"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" is an excellent film; in my opinion, it's the best yet in the series. I was a little worried when the series started that the later films might suffer from an acting standpoint; all to often, it seems that when young actors grow older, they become less likely to be able to give a performance of the caliber we have come to expect of older actors. There are exceptions to the rule of course: for example, Elijah Wood was a child actor in "Radio Flyer" and he went on to star in "Lord of the Rings," as did Sean Astin, who was a child actor when he was in "The Goonies." The cast who play the students of Hogwarts are also very talented, and they are all convincing as the characters that they play.

"The Goblet of Fire" is about the fabled Triwizard tournament, in which 3 schools compete for money, honor, and what looks like the Wizard version of the Stanley Cup. The goblet of fire picks the names of the competitors, all of whom are supposed to be over 17. Instead of 3 competitors, 4 are chosen. Can you guess the 4th? That's right, it's Harry! The problem is, he's only 14. The rules are clear though; anyone chosen by the goblet has to compete. Harry faces 3 challenges. He must get a golden egg away from a fire-breathing dragon, save his friends in a dark underwater lake, and finally he must find the goblet in a massive, sprawling maze, which is really quite breathtakingly large when viewed overhead.

Now while the other Harry Potter movies have be relatively light (they HAVE been getting progressively darker), this movie is heartpounding, intense and dark, and while there are many scenes that provide comic relief, on the whole it is much darker that any Harry Potter movie up till now. I've seen some sellers on eBay refer to this as a "family movie," and it CAN be enjoyed by the whole family, but be aware that it is PG-13 for a reason. This can be scary for younger audiences, and I urge any parent to use discretion when deciding whether or not this is appropriate for your child.

If your child is pretty brave or he/she has read the book version and is fine with it, the chances are that they will be fine with this. Still you might want to talk to them about it, and if your child is one who is easily scared, this may be to extreme for him/her. If they really want to watch it and you are concerned, consider viewing it for yourself before letting your child watch it. After all, who knows your child better than you? Some of the highlights of the movie (for me, at least,) included the Quidditch World Cup, the dance, the dragon challenge, and the climactic battle (which, btw, is perhaps the most intense scene in the movie). Sorry, I'm not going to tell you who the battle is with... if you don't know, I don't want to ruin the surprise.

As far as what dvd to go with, I'd go with the 1 disc version (I got the fullscreen copy :D). The sound and picture quality are outstanding, and are what you should expect from a dvd. There are no special features on the 1 disc version, but I rented the special edition 2 disc set, and can assure you that you aren't missing much. The deleted scenes were nothing to write home about, and the only upside to them is that it gives you the utmost respect for whoever decided to cut them out of the movie. The games are ok, but they don't merit buying the 2 disc set. I highly recommend buying the 1 disc set. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the Goblet of Fire!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

This is the 4th installment of the Harry Potter series that finds Harry going head to head with near certain death as Voldemort and his followers (Death Eaters) begin to resurface and practice dark magic. In a plot to get Harry, Voldemort's followers place Harry in a fight for his life by magically entering him into the legendary Tri-Wizard tournament with older, more experienced Wizards. This time around the help of Hermione Grainer and Ronald Weasly are not enough to help Harry face the deadly challenges of the tournament. Sensing the immediate danger and mystery surrounding Harry's magical entry into the tournament, Albus Dumbledore (the Headmaster of Hogwarts) enlists the aid of Alistair "Mad Eye" Moody to assist Harry in preparing for the tournament challenges. Much mystery and darkness surrounds Mad Eye and his true intentions are unknown to all. Is Alistair really Harry's friend or his foe?

The Goblet of Fire film is a great bridge to the impending return of Lord Voldemort and also shows the maturity of the key characters such as Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

If you are a fan of the Harry Potter series, books as well as films, this production does a very good job of putting Rowling words into motion picture.

Harry Potter 4

Ok, first of all, the movie is done as well as it could have been. It does leaves out some facts that the book felt was important to include. But miniscule things must be omitted. They did the best job possible that they could have done to eliminate less important plot lines. The opening scenes could have been allowed more time, and made it feel less rushed, but it worked out well. The acting in this movie is a definite improvement over those last 3 movies. You will applaud Daniel Radcliffe's performance. Emma Watson is as much of an amazing actress as she has always been, and I still think that she is underused. Her scenes at the Yule Ball were awe-inspiring. The effects, visual and CG, are amazing. You can feel as if you are there right now. Ralph Fiennes plays Voldemort beautifully and sends chills down your spine and makes you loath him from his first second on screen. Miranda Richardson really hit the nail on the head with Rita Skeeter. Her scenes are some of the funniest of the entire movie. The Director of this installment of the highly successful Harry Potter series was Mike Newell. He does an outstanding job. There are some scenes that are so cinematically amazing. The overall feel of the film is without a fast-paced action thriller. You fear for Harry's life every second of the film. I was thoroughly impressed with this film, and with the fifth book being my favorite, I am praying that the film works wonders