The midnight show

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire comes out today. Last night I attended the midnight show. I love the midnight shows when movies come out because it's almost a garuntee that everyone there is *really* excited about the movie. There were lots of people dressed in the maroon and gold of the Gryffendor house. There was even a group of people dressed as just about every minor character there is in the books - there was a Lucius Malfoy, Victor Krum, Parvati Patel, Seamus Finnegan, and Luna Lovegood (complete with lion on her head.)

As for the movie, first I'll start out with my complaints. For those who haven't read the book but plan on seeing the movie, there are lots of spoilers ahead so don't read this if you don't want to know what happens. There's also a lot of book to movie comparison, so even if you've read the book but haven't seen the movie and don't want to know what's different then I wouldn't suggest reading it. Basically, this review is for people who have seen the movie.

The most major complaint I have about the movie is that the movie completely gives away the twist ending of the book. When I read the book there were hints throughout that Mad-eye Moody was actually Barty Crouch Jr, but they were only hints and didn't outright give it away. In the movie there's multiple mentions of polyjuice potion combined with the obviousness of Moody drinking out of his flask, then there's a time when Moody does this rather obvious tongue-flicking thing followed shortly by Harry's trip into the pensieve where he sees Barty Crouch Jr who does the exact same tongue-flicking thing. The whole thing about Moody drinking out of his flask is in the book, so I don't mind that. It's just that with everything combined it's more than just hints - it practically hands it to the viewer on a silver platter. "Hey, look! Moody isn't actually Moody, but he's really a bad guy!" If I were making the movie I would have left in some of the hints, but taken out the obvious tongue-flicking thing and Moaning Myrtle's mention of polyjuice potion.

My next complaint is that there is no mention of Veelas anywhere in the movie. I think the fact that Fleur is part veela adds a lot to her character in the book. In the movie, without her being a veela she's just some blond french girl that Ron has a crush on. She doesn't "shimmer" and she doesn't have that aspect of her character.

I really had hope for Hermione to not be so annoying from her performance in the last movie. In this one her eyebrows move up and down dramatically every time she talks. It's very distracting. But on the other hand, I was watching an "Inside Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" special on A&E last night, and in the interviews with Emma Watson she also moves her eyebrows up and down dramatically. So maybe it's not really Emma trying to act but one of her actual mannerisms.

I loved the dragons. Don't get me wrong, the dragons were cool. But in the book they make a big deal about how fast Harry was able to get the golden egg from the dragon. In the movie it's a very exciting chase scene that takes them all over the school. Although I enjoyed the chase scene I would have preferred that they show all four competitors' fights with the dragons and keep it true to the book.

Other things that I missed in the movie: The mention of Hagrid and the Beauxbatton's headmistress being half-giants. That become important in the next book, so I wish they would have set the stage for that in this movie. Then there's the fact that Rita Skeeter is an animangus and transforms into a beetle to listen in on conversations and get stories. Hermione uses this against her later, and also in the fifth book. I suppose they could leave that out of the fifth movie, but they'd either have to leave Rita Skeeter out or have her involved some other way. I also would have liked to see the scene where Mad-eye can see Harry through the invisibility cloak and rescues him from a situation with Snape. I think that would have contributed to Moody being a hero to Harry thus the ending being more of a surprise.

Now after all those complaints I don't know if you'll believe me that I really did like the movie. Ralph Fiennes pulled off Voldemort very differently than I imagined, but I think it works. Often times he is very proper and polite, but then you see the evilness of him showing through. Outside of Hermione's eyebrow thing, I think the kids have grown to be excellent young actors. Brendon Gleeson is absolutely genius as Mad-eye Moody. And I think the one thing I appreciated above everything else in this movie is that they eliminated the sub-plot about the house elves. I had enough of house elves in The Chamber of Secrets, and I couldn't be happier that they aren't in the Goblet of Fire.

I am definitely looking forward to The Order of the Phoenix. I know some people don't agree, but it's been my favorite book so far. (No, I haven't had the chance to read Half Blood Prince yet.) All my favorite characters that either weren't in Goblet of Fire or didn't have much to do all have bigger parts in Order of the Phoenix.

I love Alan Rickman as Snape. Well okay, I just love Alan Rickman. He's only got a couple of scenes in Goblet of Fire. There's the one with the mention of polyjuice potion, and then there's one really great one where he doesn't speak at all but he makes his point known. I loved that scene. In Order of the Phoenix he's got some scenes that really reveal his character a bit more, and I'd love to see those realized on the big screen. But until then, I'll just have to wait.