Harry Potter

I am only slightly embarassed about being a Harry Potter fan. I've always been a sucker for fantasy. And the HP books are very well done. Having read the 6 published so far, I'd say they get better as the story matures and turns darker.

The Goblet of Fire marks the beginning of that turn. It's no longer a kids story anymore. Consider this movie a warning. Death and teenage angst are just the beginning. But that's another blog entry.

Remember In Finding Neverland, when the "special guests" at the Peter Plan play were children. Their mere presence changed the heart of the theater goers, and they were able to see life through children's eyes again. That magic was alive in this Harry Potter film, atleast for the first 3/4ths. The entire packed theater laughed and cheered and smiled big at all the right parts. Somehow the movie transfomed the audience made up of half women and half men mostly 24-42 yrs old. Maybe a dozen or so teens or younger in the audience at this later showing.

It was charming and I was caught off guard by the sheer joy and amusement of the audience.
The movie itself though, as readers know, didn;t even come close to the written story. I don't know how you could truly follow the tale without having read the book. And the grumbling I heard by my peers on the way out echoed my thoughts, they just couldn't do it justice. The movie I watched tonight was nothing like the amazing movie that played in my head when I read Goblet of Fire. But enjoyable still.

The dragons were amazing, Ron was annoying, Hermione was a bit too harsh, and Harry was alright. Snape not menacing enough, Dumbledore not convincing, and Moaning Myrtle was a bit too horny.

All that said, I can't wait for the next one.