Harry Potter und der Feuerkelch

I did enjoy this movie, but being a huge fan of the books, I was frustrated with a lot of the things that were touched upon, but not really followed though with.

First things first, I give Mike Newell and Steve Kloves credit for finally giving Fred and George the screen time they deserve. I'm glad the movie audience finally got to see what truly great characters those two are.

Daniel Radcliff and Rupert Grint (Ron saying "Bloody Hell" when Hermione woke him up at the beginning was hysterical) play the perfect awkward teenage boys as well. They had great comedic timing in delivering lines and tripping over themselves around girls.

Cedric, Cho, Fleur, and Viktor were all perfectly cast, but had too few lines.

Alan Rickman, as always was Brilliant as Snape. It was also great to see Professor McGonagall as a more fully developed character. Neville getting more screen time was good as well.

Cedric's death and Voldemort's return was very powerful.

As far as things that were in and things that were cut, I think that the things that made the film should have been finished on. Like the Quidditch cup, the Stadium and campground were really cool, but why show all that then skip the match. I felt like the filmmakers were shaking a pop can and when they opened it, there was a mere hissing noise.

Why put Rita Skeeter in at all if they aren't even going to reveal that she is an animagus? That's important in book five. That would have been a much better way to end the movie than Hermione saying things are going to be different now aren't they? Gee Voldy's back, Captain obvious to the rescue! Oh and Ron's reaction to Fleur kissing him was great, but where was Hermione's jealousy. They put in the post Yule Ball argument, so why not enhance it? It would have taken two seconds to show Hermione's jealousy, and it would have been funny.

The wands connecting was important, but the Phoenix song was never explained, and are people who have only seen the movies going to remember the wand core thing from the first movie? And Hermione is a character I feel the filmmakers have not properly interpreted. I mean the Yule ball scene bugged the crap out of me the way she came down with that smug look on her face! Ugh! I liked Hermione better in the book when she was smiling sheepishly, she was just more endearing that way. And her dress and hair made her look more like a five year old playing dress up, as opposed to a blossoming teenager. They should have followed JKR's description when designing the costume. Periwinkle would have been more flattering than pink, IMO.

I'm glad Ginny got a wee bit of face time here, but she'd better not get the shaft in the OotP movie, if they give Hermione her lines there, I will be POed.

Anyway I did enjoy this movie overall, but being a huge fan of the book, I couldn't help but nitpick, LOL

I'd hate to face the task of condensing a 700 page book into a movie - even a two and a half hour movie, but they've managed pretty well with this installment of the adventures of Harry Potter.

For fans of the movies, you'll find this installment a little darker, a little grittier, and a little more involving. The characters are growing up and are now facing more adult situations with more adult outlooks.

For fans of the books, you should find this adaptation a commendable reflection of Rowling's tale. Naturally, some parts had to be modified or cut entirely - there's no way to avoid that without making it a 10 hour movie - but the parts that were cut were either not critical to the story line, or will be easy to account for in the films to come. Unless you're an obsessive nitpicker about every last detail, you should find this a satisfactory film version of Goblet of Fire.

Goblet of Fire works well as a stand-alone film, as a film version of Rowling's book, and is in my opinion quite easily the best Potter movie yet.

So this is the new, long awaited Harry Potter, the adaptation of the fourth part of the legendary magical book series. I've been waiting for this movie for, let's say a year now. And from what I've heard, seen in the trailer and the MTV Making of I was optimistic. Even more so because Mike Newell directed the film who also did one of my favourite films, "Four weddings and a funeral". And yes, I had high expectations.

The beginning is spectacular. I didn't mind that they left the Dursleys out – we had the Weasleys rescuing Harry from his summer holiday jail in the second Harry Potter film already. Then the film directly dives into the Quidditch finals and all the scary events surrounding it. Now, I thought, now we'll see the spectacular game! But would you believe it, after some impressions of the audience and a spectacular appearance of the two teams, the Irish and the Bulgarian, we are already taken away from the game. And so on, and so on. This is basically how the whole film goes: The director throws us into a situation and after some minutes takes us out of it without letting us time to understand or let it work. Don't get me wrong, the film has its moments. And Mike Newell shows that he has a good sense of humour. But Harry Potter is not a slapstick-comedy and we don't need a laughter every two seconds.

The fourth Harry Potter book has so many interesting moments and potential – the stunning Quidditch World Championship final, the dangerous tasks at the Triwizard Tournament and its tragic ending, the romantic moments at the Yule Ball. Those were the scenes I was most looking for and Mike Newell spoiled ALL of them. Where is the wonderful scene in the garden that takes place after the Yule Ball? Where are all (or at least some) of the great obstacles that Harry has to face in the maze when it comes to the final showdown between him and Cedric in the tournament?

In my opinion the best two adaptations of Harry Potter are still the first two films under the direction of Chris Columbus. Some say those films are way too kitschy, but they had something you love in the books but never find in the third and fourth film: A heart, a soul and – most of all – magic. Mike Newell himself said that the fourth book is a thriller. Yes, it is. But it is also a fairy tale and about magic. We can't find neither of these two qualities in the film. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" is nothing more than situations and impressions lined up after one another. Without emotion, without sense and without giving the viewer time to breath in between. So at some point you just lean back, switch your head off and watch the kids and adults work in their roles. But if this moment arrives during a film it's the worst thing this film can do. Besides, I don't want to criticize it just because I'm a fan of the books. I'm glad I read the book before seeing this film. Because if somebody sees this film without reading the book first he will get more questions than answers. For example – Harry's dream of the house, where he sees Voldemort, is never explained in the film. Yes, it is foreshadowing the ending but we all know that there is another link (and is explained in the book). If you don't know the link you ask yourself: Why the heck did he show this dream sequence? He might as well have left it out.

A word about the cast… Nothing to complain about the adults – they're gorgeous as usual. As for the trio – I really liked Daniel's performance – he's getting better with every film and this one was maybe his best so far. Rupert "Ron" Grint is the only one of the three who really goes through a change – he is no clown any more and not only a sidekick – he begins to question things (including his friendship to Harry) and to develop his own personality. Emma Watson – well, what shall I say? She's not a bad actress but thanks to the director she behaves like a hysteric little girl throughout the whole movie – which most of the time is absolutely unnecessary. In general I must say that the director really achieved making slapstick clowns of most of the cast. Hello, we're not in a Charlie Chaplin movie here! In my opinion the best performance of the film comes from a youngster that stayed in the background and was nothing but a laugh so far – Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom. He's basically the only teenager that could carry the character of the book to the screen and through the whole movie – he is a shy boy discovering the girls and maturing. His performance was really touching.. It's a good co-incidence and a good job by the young actor because in the next Harry Potter movie Neville Longbottom will play an important role. Nice performances also by the gorgeous and hunky Robert Pattinson as the tragic hero Cedric Diggory and the charming Katie Leung as Cho.

All in one "Harry Potter and the GoF" is a 3-hour-trailer: Scenes and people are introduced without letting them space to develop their character, we get hints and foreshadowings, surprises and impressions but you cannot really see a flow or a plot. So for everyone who doesn't want to think, doesn't care about magic or good cinema, this is the right film. I do and this is why I was very disappointed.

Mike Newell is forgiven for cutting out so much detail from the book, and JK Rowling is forgiven for writing wonderfully rich books. However, fans of the book cannot help but feel like riding a roller coaster that is so fast there is no time to enjoy the ride. I predict the huge void between book and movie will spur remakes in about 10 to 20 years. Even if the movies must be 5 hours long, Harry Potter fans are willing to sit through them. This movie doesn't get a 10 because it leaves me feeling like something is missing, but it does deserve a 9 for being the best possible portrayal of the book given a 2.5 hour limitation. All said and done, this is the shortest 2.5 hour movie I have ever watched.

I must say I am extremely sick of this movie, though not for conventional reasons. Nine reels is a lot to put together and screening a three hour movie can be exhausting, especially when you're trying to write several term papers during the same week it is coming out. You see, I am a projectionist and getting this movie ready for a midnight show was part of my job. I realize that the fact that I was paid $14.50/hr to watch this movie on Wednesday night might give rise to feelings of jealousy among some, but I am currently wishing I could manage to get more than five hours of sleep sometime soon.

All that said I must say this was by far the greatest Harry Potter film so far. Although it was long, it did not drag on. It had a nice, tight feel to it. It progressed from scene to scene with a smoothness that I find to be lacking in many movies adapted from books. The acting has noticeably improved from the first three, and the more adult feel to this one really drew me in. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this movie was the fact that it felt like a mix of genres. It had an epic feel to it. After all it is about good v. evil and battling the dark wizards, etc. This movie,however, also felt like a high school movie. It had the issues of coming of age, which makes sense as the characters begin to mature. Ultimately it came off a lot more loyal to the book in theme than I think the last one did. (The first two, while loyal, I found to be relatively campy and childish.)

This movie, like many, does have its shortfalls. I believe that Dumbledore was portrayed as a little too intense, like an old Al Pacino. Instead of the benevolent, kind, and good-humored old man I have always loved in the books. As someone that has read the books, I must say another shortfall is that this movie banks on familiarity with the story. Having read the books, I found it very easy to follow, but I could understand how one who has not read the books may feel a bit lost, as some important information was left out and some back-story was left mostly unexplained.

All in all I would say this is definitely the best movie in this series so far, and if the next three are on par with this one then I would be content.