Guess What I Did Saturday Afternoon?

Why, the husband and I took our neighbors---a family of Potter heads if there ever was one---to a preview screening of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

If you are interested, read on after the jump.

*THERE WILL BE SPOILERS INVOLVED SO DON'T TAKE THE JUMP IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW.*

For some strange reason, the husband is on this company's mailing list. Methinks its wishful thinking, but who knows. Somehow he got on their mailing list and for years we've been getting mail from them. Usually their mailers go into the trash, because, quite honestly, do we look like fractional jet owners to you? But this time the husband opened it up and saw that they were inviting us to a preview screening of the latest Harry Potter. We figured we'd go and when we won the lottery we'd send some of that money NetJets way. And we will, too. We're all about keeping our word. We just need to win the lottery first.

So, feeling a wee bit like frauds, we walked over to the local movie theater (we didn't even have to drive anyplace!) with our neighbors, who we invited to come with us, and after noshing on free food and getting free sodas and popcorn for the flick, we settled in for the latest Harry Potter.

Anyway, a few observations about the movie, and in no particular order...

• The PG-13 rating is there for a reason. While I think a ten-year-old could probably handle it, I wouldn't let anyone under ten see this movie. It's very dark, and there are some disturbing themes. The least of which is Moaning Myrtle trying to get a look at Harry's junk when he's in the bath.
• I wished there would have been a wee bit more to the Quidditch World Cup. What they showed was cool, but it left you wanting more. Like an actual game.
• I enjoy how non-politically correct this world of wizards and witches is. I love that students are asked to put their names forth for a tournament in which they might die. How cool is that? I love how when Barty Crouch, Sr. says that Ministry of Magic is forbidding anyone under the age of seventeen from entering the kids complain. Also, it should be said that the movie doesn't pull any emotional punches, either. At the end of the tournament, when Harry returns with Cedric's body after his wand battle with Lord Voldemort, you felt how truly traumatizing the whole thing had been for Harry. I give credit to the director for showing the confusion and dismay of the scene and allowing it to progress to a natural conclusion. It was the right thing to do, even if it didn't produce the politically correct, kiddie-friendly scene that would have, perhaps, produced a PG -rating.
• Brendan Gleeson is wonderful as Mad Eye Moody. Just wonderful.
• And while we're on casting choices, Ralph Fiennes was an inspired choice for You Know Who. Highly evil and loving it.
• The husband and I rented Prisoner of Azkaban on Friday night, just to get up to date on things, and I have to say I was surprised at how much I like Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. He seems up for the challenge, where I always thought Richard Harris, while also very good, seemed like he was more of a thoughtful Dumbledore.
• Does Hogwarts have a hard time keeping a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, or what? These kids just aren't going to be able to defend against anything if this keeps up.
• Ben, our neighbor's son, said nothing crucial had been deleted in the conversion from the book to the movie. And he would know---he'd done a reread of all the books last week, you know, to get fired up for it. He was very pleased with it, on the whole, as were his parents. He didn't know, however, if he was going to tell his friends what the plot entailed. He'd told them he was going to see it, but he didn't know if he should spoil it for them if they asked.
• There was one very awkward cut during the Yule Ball sequence that had the husband and myself wondering if, since this was a preview screening, that they'd deliberately omitted it to spoof anyone who might have snuck a camera in. Not that anyone could have snuck in a camera---there was a security firm searching bags outside of the theater. I wasn't pleased when the guy asked me to open up my purse so he could take a look inside, but since I had a guest with me I wasn't going to raise a stink about it. If I hadn't, well, that would have been a different story: I don't care how much Warner Brothers is worried about piracy, this was a sales promotion geared to bring in new customers for NetJets---and they should know it's not a good idea to treat potential customers like thieves. Particularly not this set of potential customers, if you take my meaning.
• Alan Rickman makes excellent use of the word "regrettable" in one scene. He's always sooooo good.
• It's pretty obvious that puberty has hit the gang quite hard, although the kid who plays Ron might want to ease back on the weightlifting, because I have yet to see a fourteen-year-old with biceps like that. This is the first movie of the series where the much ballyhooed "age race" has made itself obvious.
• On the whole, it's yet another good Harry Potter film. Those who have read the books, I have been assured, will like it. And those who haven't will watch a film that's entertaining in its own right. I liked it, and I will say this much---this is the first Harry Potter film that's actually given me the itch to read the books, to see what's going to happen next, and it's the same with the husband.

And that's all she wrote, kids. If I think of anything else, I'll add on to the post. If you're not going to last until Friday and are desperate for information about something, throw your question in the comments and I'll do my best to answer it.

Posted by Kathy at November 14, 2005 12:48 PM | TrackBack