Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

Reviewed: 12.2005

This is the first of the Potter movies that I haven't already read the book. As I've said before, there's not enough time to cover every detail found in the books. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire transitions wonderfully from the chilling creepiness found in The Prisoner of Azkaban into a mature dramatic darkness. The movie forgoes the happiness and frivolity of the previous movies and replaces it with teen problems, epic action sequences and hilarious British humor.

Looking for a trouble-free year at Hogwarts for a change, Harry Potter finds himself unwillingly entered in the brutal TriWizard competition, up against a fellow Hogwarts student and two others from visiting schools. With the assistance of loyal friends Ron and Hermione, and the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Mad-Eye Moody (Brendan Gleeson), Harry seeks to reveal who has put him in harm's way yet again. As Harry struggles to stay alive during these brutal contests, his investigations and dreams lead him to Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), who is making new efforts to rise again and exact his revenge.

The cast continues to amaze...

Daniel Radcliffe makes me love Harry even more. He is vulnerable, angry, not always sure what to do, and has actually gotten quite good at comedy routines.

My favorite, Rupert Grint has really grown. He's lost the baby-round face. Ron's role as Harry's mate is not just for comedic relief this time. He gets jealous of Harry for getting into the tournament, and is tired of being referred to as "Harry Potter's Stupid Friend". I love the maturity Ron is taking and his 'bloody hells'.

Emma Watson continues her overly dramatic role. Her character is one bone of contention for me. It's a love/hate. Hermione is the know-it-all drama queen/student we love, but Watson has a tendency of over-enunciating her lines and being too melodramatic, which worked in The Sorcerer's Stone when Hermione was condescending and childishly bossy, but is annoying by this point.

The Phelps Twins are remarkable as Fred and George and entertain with their hilarious banter and excellent screen presence. No longer do they come across as wooden cut-outs just reading from a cue-card and instead they are able to show the mischievous spontaneity of the Weasley twins

Matthew Lewis was great at showing Neville's sensitive side without making him too klutzy. Ginny has a lesser role here than expected. And for the record, I REALLY don't want Harry and her to hook up. It just wouldn't be right.

Another favorite, Professor Snape is but a background note for most of the movie, but the one scene in his potion pantry is worth the price of a ticket.

Professor Dumbledore took a whole other direction and one I'm not to sure about. Gone is the wizened, calm head wizard we know. Instead, we have a frantic and unsure old man who seems to jump at every shadow and at one point, seizes Harry and interrogates him.

Of the few new characters we meet, all of them are welcomed additions.  The new Defense from the Dark Arts teacher, Brendan Gleeson's Mad-Eye Moody is creepy. There was not enough back-story on him for me to understand what role he plays, save for pushing Harry along. Rita Skeeter played by Miranda Richardson was the only one I could do without. Skeeter is truly as irritating in the film as in the book.

Also, we meet two new wizardry schools from Europe. Both provide the viewer a glimpse into the huge world J. K. Rowling has created.

Last, but certainly not least, Lord Voldemort. Ralph Fiennes hisses and rages as evil incarnate. He is genuinely terrifying as the evil Lord Voldemort. A suitably conniving Timothy Spall ably assists Fiennes in his wickedness and also the most fearsome set of nostrils to grace the silver screen since Hannibal Lector flexed his snout at Agent Starling in The Silence of the Lambs. Thought he was going to talk Harry to death, but I must say that the Dark Lord being beaten by a bunch of ghosts raised cheese issues for me.

The tasks of the TriWizard Tournament are perhaps the best thing about the movie. The story line adds character development, action, and density to the movie. Harry's round with the dragon is intensely scary but amazing. His second task, slightly less so, but the dragon was a tough act to follow. The maze is scary, easily a villain by itself. Think The Shining on crack. The finale will leave pretty much anyone with a soul breathless and crying.

Although the darkness is very well presented here, director Mike Newell scores by perfectly showing a usual teenager problem. He addresses the awkward teenage stage full on. The mid-movie Yule Ball sequence is where crucial moments of teenage lust and cruelty are showcased, finally giving the series an accurate portrayal of adolescence. Since the theme of the film is transformation, Newell gives time for the three leads to grow into awkward teenagers, complete with self-conscious behavior and bickering. Newell and returning screenwriter Steven Kloves (who deserves massive credit wrestling the J.K. Rowling world into semi-coherent films) use the ball as a setting for Harry, Hermione, and Ron to begin confronting their newly thorny friendship, and to a smaller degree, their burgeoning sexuality (also seen in a moment with Harry in a bath while Moaning Myrtle comes on to him). The sequence is also a rare chance for the story to take a breather and enjoy the characters and the surroundings. It's an unusual moment of pageantry for the series, but it elevates the characterizations away from the gee-wiz level they were stuck at, and lays the groundwork spectacularly for the hormonal trouble that lies ahead for the trio.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the best in the Harry Potter series, for now anyways. It shows the emotion and fear of the characters with so many memorable scenes. There's a phrase in the movie that could explain everything going on Harry's mind. Difficult times lie ahead, and soon we must choose between what's right and what's easy. It's the perfect definition for all that's going on Potter's mind. This human side of the powerful wizard makes the movie irresistible, and one of the year's best.

Addendum: 01.07.06

Having finished the book, there are a few issues I need to take up. Ok, so I'm nit picking...

• The echoes are cool and are WAY better than the whole ghost thing I had going on.
• Neville in the book is completely different from Neville in the movie and NOT in a good way. Dobby gives the gillyweed to Harry.
• Am I the only one who came away from the movie thinking Karkaroff was the one who put Harry's name in the Goblet?
• The ending of the book is MUCH better than the movie, but more importantly, I don't think the ending of the movie in anyway matches the seriousness found in the book.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Reviewed 12.2005

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third film in the series is more complex, just like the young stars.

It's late in the summer. Harry is still living with the Dursleys on Privet Drive. He's ready for his third year at Hogwart's. When an obnoxious relative drops by and demeans his father's memory, it causes Harry to lose his temper. As a result, Harry violates the rules of student witches and wizards, causing the offending aunt to inflate like a dirigible and float away into the night sky. It's a delightful opening to a film with far more serious issues to explore and frightening obstacles to overcome.

Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), imprisoned at Azkaban for complicity in the murder of Harry's parents, has escaped, and is looking for Harry. The soul-stealing prison guards called 'Dementors' (Latin for mind-removers) are searching for Black everywhere, but when he and Harry meet, there are revelations that change everything.

One of the greatest things about this film is the maturity level of the cast. Daniel Radcliffe continues to grow along with his character bringing with it a decided assertiveness and confidence.  Thankfully, Rupert Grint brings a more entertaining and believable Ron to the screen. He is both the joker and noble soul as he is portrayed in the novels. It's wonderful to see that Grint has a genuine sense of comedy about him, and has made Ron more than the one-dimensional, face-pulling joke he started out being.  Emma Watson as Hermione, grated in the first film with her occasional woodenness. Pleasingly, she has grown into herself as an actor and her performance here is much more mature.

Draco Malfoy continues to be a menace. Let's hope he branches out soon.
New cast members acquaint themselves well. The role of Sirius Black was tailor made for Gary Oldman - he has a requisite creepiness with just a dose of humanity to bring the character to life.

Dvid Thewlis is good as Professor Lupin, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts master who takes Harry under his wing. He is definitely a highlight of the film. 

Emma Thompson is irritating as Divinity Professor Trelawny with bad eyesight. She can see into the future but can't tell which students are falling asleep in her class!

Alan Rickman continues to walk the finest of lines between good and bad with his marvelous performance as Professor Snape. Has there ever been a better match of actor and character? Snape shows again that, while he may take occasional delight in making his students' lives difficult; he does have their best interests at heart - like any good teacher. He has some of the greatest lines in the film.

Richard Harris brought a wise frailty to Albus Dumbledore. Michael Gambon does a superb job stepping into Harris' shoes. Dumbledore takes on a new and heightened sense of authority and vitality in the film.

Dame Maggie Smith and Robbie Coltrane continue to shine as Professors McGonagall and Hagrid.

Stepping into the director's role this time around is Alfonso Cuarón. He succeeds in blending the screenplay, again written by Steve Kloves, and production design, into a creepy magical atmosphere that the darker story requires. There are edits and reshuffles with regard to the Azkaban's story compared to the book, both in terms of how the story fits together, and what information from the overall seven novel arc is in the film.

The cinematography though, is what makes the film so beautiful. There's barely a shot in the film that isn't utterly gorgeous. The scenes of the Dementors floating outside Hogwarts are inspired, the moonlight scene after the return from the Shrieking Shack, the flight scenes with Buckbeak, the first Dementor scene on the train; all are captured beautifully.

The unheralded thread of creative continuity in this marvelous series, as it moves from Chris Columbus to Alfonso Cuarón to Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) is screenwriter Steve Kloves. He and the producers have been true to Rowling's works and to Harry's fans, in ways that have always enhanced, not diminished, the author's incredible achievement.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban takes the world of witches and wizarding in a whole new direction. Can't wait to see where it ends!

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Reviewed 12.2005

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets picks up where The Sorcerer's Stone ended. We find Harry (Radcliffe) stuck in the Dursley household, waiting for his friends Ron Weasley (Grint) and Hermione Granger (Watson) to contact him after a summer away from the Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Trouble finds Harry in the form of a house-elf named Dobby, who warns Harry not to return to the school because evil will surely befall him if he tries. Harry ignores Dobby, returns to the school, and finds that an evil force has taken over the halls, immobilizing people in terror, and taunting Harry to find the source. It's year two for Harry and Company at Hogwarts and with it comes more adventures and many more characters to meet!

As with any sequel, there are many new things to enjoy. We spend quality time with Ron's family, take a ride in a flying car, meet Moaning Myrtle, a ghost who haunts the ladies room at Hogwarts, welcome new professors and meet Draco's deliciously sinister father, Lucius Malfoy, along with potting mandrakes, unleash pixies, discover a basilisk, Argog, and new magical delights, like Polyjuice Potion and Tom Riddle's diary.

Despite all this, the film remains focused on Harry, Ron, and Hermione and they are growing up fast. Now with mature voices and richer facial features, each actor is slowing coming into their own terms of developing the character's traits and emotional range. Radcliffe seems to have settled into Harry's skin. Grint provides more depth in Ron and perfects his comedic timing. Watson's Hermione has become much more than the whining know-it-all she is.

Kenneth Branagh as the vain Dark Arts professor Gilderoy Lockhart is spot on. He's perfect as the devilishly handsome, yet clueless professor.

Draco's father, overbearing and malevolent Lucius Malfoy makes his first appearance here and I'm hoping it's not his last. Brilliantly played by Jason Issacs, he provides another facet to Draco and you can't help but feel for him.

Meeting the Weasleys is a treat. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley compliment Ron, so well. The homey atmosphere and knick-knacks are just what you'd expect from Mrs. Weasley (delightful, Julie Waters). The flying car comes courtesy of Arthur Weasley (Mark Williams) who's fascinated by all things muggle. Ginny Weasley is pitch-perfect thanks to young unknown Bonnie Wright.

Wizard-mates Neville Long-Bottom and Seamus Finnigan are back, along with a new Gryffindor (and slightly irritating) Colin Creevy. Dobby, the house elf, succeeds in being annoyingly irritating, even more so on the big screen.

It's impossible not to be amazed at the returning cast of professors. Dumbledore comes across even more wise beyond his years. Professor McGonagill continues to delight. There is just not enough face time for Professor Snape. Unlike the book, the film does not really bring Harry and Snape's hate-hate relationship to the forefront.

The two pictures, though not interchangeable by any means, share the same production values, casts, and behind the scenes talent. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets easily matches the original film in ambiance and spirit. Directed once again by Chris Columbus, it has a more defined edge than the first, brought on by a bolder sense of film-making, the first picture's overwhelming success, and the creepy crawly story laid out by author J.K. Rowling, adapted here again by Steven Kloves. Chamber goes for scares and intrigue, where Sorcerer went for awe and fantasy. The darker tone of the movie is a welcome sight, proving that Columbus has far more trust in his family audience than anyone else would dare, always a sure sign of a good film.

All the ingredients that made The Sorcerer's Stone such a great time are here: The magic, the Hogwarts house battles, John Williams' beautiful score, the camaraderie between the three leads, and glorious set design. The dueling scenes were a delight making me wish they had been longer. Justin and Harry's run-in could have stood for more development, as well as the Parsel-tongue. Towards the end, Columbus must have discovered he was running out of film. Harry's time spent in the Chamber of Secrets felt rushed and didn't fit well with the pace of the movie. Quidditch returns, albeit briefly, with all the CGI problems that slightly marred the sequence in the first film fixed.

Sadly, missing from this film is the delight of the little details. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is interested solely in story, and remains feverishly locked in on getting the basics of the narrative out, and that's all. With a running time of 160 minutes, you'd think there would be time to search around the shadowy corners of Hogwarts some more, but Columbus doesn't set aside time for it. With Sorcerer's Stone being the origin story of Harry Potter, and most of the geographical work laid out in that film, The Chamber of Secrets doesn't have many scenes of discovery that aren't directly routed or paid off in the end.

Returning to the magical world of wizardary in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is great fun, but don't miss out on all the details. Read the book!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

Reviewed: 11.2005

In order to successfully review Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, I must separate the book from the film. Whereas the book takes you THROUGH the world of Harry Potter, the movie pulls you INTO the world of Harry Potter. Although two-and-a-half hour period is certainly not long enough to explore every nook and cranny at Hogwarts, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is beautifully done.

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) lives with his aunt, uncle, and cousin Dudley, the Dursleys. Having been told his parents were both killed in a car crash when he was very young, Harry is quite surprised to find out the truth on his eleventh birthday from a rather odd looking fellow. Harry is the orphaned son of a powerful witch and wizard. Besides the lightning bolt-shaped scar, Harry possesses unique magical powers all his own. He's been summoned from his life as an unwanted boy to enroll as a student at Hogwarts, the wizarding school for witches and wizards. Once there, he meets several friends who become his closest allies and help him discover the truth about his parent's mysterious deaths at the hands of a powerful adversary.

Daniel Radcliffe has the look, the mannerisms and the charm of Harry down pat. His strongest expressions are the bemusement that must be inherent at entering a world where science does not rule alone and the bravery that Harry shows in his achievements. He captures the pale innocents of his character with ease.

Emma Watson irritatingly overplays Hermione, but does so in a fully endearing fashion. By the end of the film, you understand her know-it-all ways and love her for it.

Ron Weasley delights. Rupert Grint has comic timing way beyond his years, hitting Ron's lines perfectly. He's everything I wanted as Harry's sardonic buddy.

Tom Felton makes for a stylish Draco Malfoy. Malfoy is perfectly sinister as Harry's nemesis. I'm looking forward to his, hopefully, continued character development.

Neville Longbottom suffers from character acceleration, so the finale does come as a slight shock. Fred and George Weasley are distinctively cheeky rather than proactive pranksters. Percy comes across with genuine authority. Oliver Wood is likable and an ideal Quidditch team captain.

Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) was everything I'd imagined. He is the single dominant adult character and his character is played for maximum laughs. The movie changes strongly exaggerates one side of Hagrid's nature and irritatingly so.  Argus Filch was a creepier personality than I had given him. John Hurt as Ollivander is an eccentric treat, giving a wonderful introduction to the Wizarding World.

The professors are uniformly excellent, though Richard Harris' Dumbledore comes off as disappointingly flat and labored until the end. Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) was unexpected, but certainly in a good way. Not overtly sinister, his character is delightfully understated. Wise choice. He brings life into the serious-toned teacher and he makes him sort of a borderline human being. Dame Maggie Smith was born to play Minerva McGonagall. Professor Quirrell was younger than expected, but it worked.

John Cleese (as Nearly Headless Nick) and Julie Walters (as Mrs. Weasley) have all-too-brief cameo roles. Let's hope for more from them.

Lord Voldemort, er, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named although only a crude face and creepy voice was much more menacing that expected. On the back of Prof. Quirrell, it was amazing. Can't wait to see this Dark Lord in human form.

The feel of the whole movie is everything fans could have hoped for. The dialog is intensely measured, the coloring is suitably epic, and the selection of what to leave in is really tightly considered. You get chills in your spine at the right places; you feel the triumphs as all-encompassing endorphin highs. It's clear down to the minute details that director Chris Columbus, writer Steven Kloves and the imaginative production team thought long, hard and lovingly went about the task of bringing Rowling's book to the big screen.

The Sorting Hat was by far the highlight of the CG. The harried Quidditch match was a disappointment. It felt off pace with the rest of the movie and looked downright crude. Overall, the film is just marvelous to look at. From the bustling wizard street Diagon Alley to the magnificently Gothic Hogwarts School and its Great Hall, to the dark and misty Forbidden Forest, it's a feast for the eyes.