The Cup Overfloweth
I saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire twice this weekend: Saturday with my older brother, his wife and kids, plus my younger brother and sisters; then on Sunday with my mom, brother and sister. I will not bother reviewing the movie, but I will say the following things:
[1] I wished there was more of the Quidditch World Cup—that sequence was wicked! Plus I thought that the stadium was amazing. I’m not really a fan of the Quidditch in both books and movies, but that World Cup sequence made me want to see more of the game for the first time.
[2] Frankly I was disappointed with Lord Voldemort’s appearance. Ralph Fiennes is a great actor, and I’m sure he had devilish fun doing the role (he said in an interview that it was impossible not to go over-the-top with Voldemort), but his appearance was underwhelming. I like the idea of making him snake-like, but I was hoping he’d be more frightening, maybe more skeletal-looking. Well, that’s the problem when one brings to the screen a character that’s basically created in the readers’ imagination—the actual often pales in comparison to the imagined.
[3] Cedric Diggory has that awkward, I’m-not-a-boy-not-yet-a-man good looks—at certain angles he’s not cute at all, but at other angles he can charm your pants off. But I find his sleepy eyes attractive. Viktor Krum is hulky, but I think he lacks the brooding intensity of the book’s character; still, no matter. My brother did observe that if Goblet were cast with Filipino actors, then Viktor would be played by Ramon “Monching” Christopher and Cedric would be played by Jojo Alejar.
[4] SPOILER ALERT! Anyone who hasn’t read the book nor watched the movie is probably an illiterate hermit and may skip this paragraph. Otherwise, read on. After watching the movie, it occurred to me that Barty Crouch, Jr’s plan was too convoluted, too elaborate and too risky to actually be believable. He disguises himself as Mad-Eye Moody so that he can transform the Triwizard Cup into a portkey. Then as Moody he had to make sure of the following: [a] that Harry’s name be included in the Triwizard Championship; [b] that Harry will survive the three tasks; [c] that he’ll be the first to get to touch the Cup. Why the elaborate plan? Why not just transform, say, Harry’s Firebolt into a portkey and be done with? Heck, why not turn Harry’s glasses or blanket or books or spoon and fork for that matter? I’m just amazed at myself that I never realized that woozy of a plot device after reading the book. It took several years and the movie to come out before it occurred to me. I guess that’s a testament to J.K. Rowling’s engaging writing that I forgot all about the main plot and focused instead on the death of Cedric. What a magical sleight-of-hand trick, Ms. J.K.!
Speaking of Ms. Rowling’s writing, haven’t you noticed that she’s not particularly good at describing the setting—particularly the spatial surroundings—of a particularly busy fight scene? In Order of the Phoenix I had a hard time figuring out the action within the Ministry’s walls: where was it happening, how big were the rooms, who was where at what time, etc. And it was the same in the final fight scene within Hogwarts in The Half-Blood Prince. She needs to improve her writing of fight scenes. Heck, she’s so rich maybe she should let another writer take a look at her fight scenes.
[1] I wished there was more of the Quidditch World Cup—that sequence was wicked! Plus I thought that the stadium was amazing. I’m not really a fan of the Quidditch in both books and movies, but that World Cup sequence made me want to see more of the game for the first time.
[2] Frankly I was disappointed with Lord Voldemort’s appearance. Ralph Fiennes is a great actor, and I’m sure he had devilish fun doing the role (he said in an interview that it was impossible not to go over-the-top with Voldemort), but his appearance was underwhelming. I like the idea of making him snake-like, but I was hoping he’d be more frightening, maybe more skeletal-looking. Well, that’s the problem when one brings to the screen a character that’s basically created in the readers’ imagination—the actual often pales in comparison to the imagined.
[3] Cedric Diggory has that awkward, I’m-not-a-boy-not-yet-a-man good looks—at certain angles he’s not cute at all, but at other angles he can charm your pants off. But I find his sleepy eyes attractive. Viktor Krum is hulky, but I think he lacks the brooding intensity of the book’s character; still, no matter. My brother did observe that if Goblet were cast with Filipino actors, then Viktor would be played by Ramon “Monching” Christopher and Cedric would be played by Jojo Alejar. 
[4] SPOILER ALERT! Anyone who hasn’t read the book nor watched the movie is probably an illiterate hermit and may skip this paragraph. Otherwise, read on. After watching the movie, it occurred to me that Barty Crouch, Jr’s plan was too convoluted, too elaborate and too risky to actually be believable. He disguises himself as Mad-Eye Moody so that he can transform the Triwizard Cup into a portkey. Then as Moody he had to make sure of the following: [a] that Harry’s name be included in the Triwizard Championship; [b] that Harry will survive the three tasks; [c] that he’ll be the first to get to touch the Cup. Why the elaborate plan? Why not just transform, say, Harry’s Firebolt into a portkey and be done with? Heck, why not turn Harry’s glasses or blanket or books or spoon and fork for that matter? I’m just amazed at myself that I never realized that woozy of a plot device after reading the book. It took several years and the movie to come out before it occurred to me. I guess that’s a testament to J.K. Rowling’s engaging writing that I forgot all about the main plot and focused instead on the death of Cedric. What a magical sleight-of-hand trick, Ms. J.K.!Speaking of Ms. Rowling’s writing, haven’t you noticed that she’s not particularly good at describing the setting—particularly the spatial surroundings—of a particularly busy fight scene? In Order of the Phoenix I had a hard time figuring out the action within the Ministry’s walls: where was it happening, how big were the rooms, who was where at what time, etc. And it was the same in the final fight scene within Hogwarts in The Half-Blood Prince. She needs to improve her writing of fight scenes. Heck, she’s so rich maybe she should let another writer take a look at her fight scenes.
posted by joelmcvie at 6:10 PM
6 Comments:
ey! i saw you again... last night at gb3! i was walking in front of you, i saw you when i looked around the people behind me... you were with a girl kaya i didn't say hi... ;)
SAINT EROICA: Ay talaga?! I was with Katski, we were going to watch the 10:50 screening of Goblet of Fire. That's three viewings in three days na for me. :-)
SAINT EROICA: Oh yeah, belated Happy Birthday! (Found out from Nelz's blog, hehehe.)
goblet of fire was a tad disappointing for me--i like prisoner of azkaban better. you're right about the quidditch world cup--the audience needs a little bit more of that. the scenes seemed hurried. i think the graveyard scene with lord voldemort was the highlight of the movie--it was really thrilling.
viktor krum is malinamnam! can't get enough of him in the second task heheheheh!
Krum is soooooo, yeah what nelz said ehehe
I think the readers would have to assume that the firebolt that harry uses goes under magical scanning before each game so as to avoid unwanted advantages (or sabotage) so thats a no, no portkey. As for spoons and fork, there no guarantee that Harry would use the said utensils, there are no designated seats in the hall so no again. As with the others, I think the idea is to make absolutely sure that Harry and only Harry gets to touch the portkey and not some by some twist of fate, another person or house elf. But yeah, there could've been a more simpler way but you know how plots go, usually by way of the old 007 movies. ahehehehe
[1] "I think the readers would have to assume that the firebolt that harry uses goes under magical scanning before each game so as to avoid unwanted advantages (or sabotage) so thats a no, no portkey"
People would assume that Harry would use his broom during a Quidditch game, but that wasn't a Quidditch game. He used his broom for the first of the three Triwizard tasks. No one was expecting Harry to use his broom except Harry, Hermione and Mad Eye.
[2] "As for spoons and fork, there no guarantee that Harry would use the said utensils, there are no designated seats in the hall so no again."
As Mad-Eye Moody, Barty had access to Harry anytime and anywhere in Hogwarts. He could easily hand over any Portkey object, be it spoon, fork or book to Harry anytime.
Portkeys are activated only at a precise chosen time, so Mad Eye/Barty can just hand it to Harry just before activation.
[3] "As with the others, I think the idea is to make absolutely sure that Harry and only Harry gets to touch the portkey and not some by some twist of fate, another person or house elf."
Eh hindi nga ba palpak ang paggamit ng Cup as Portkey dahil hindi lang si Harry and only Harry ang nakahawak nun?! If Mad Eye/Barty wanted an object only Harry can touch, the Cup isn't a very wise choice, obviously.
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