Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Well, I finally went and saw the new Harry Potter movie last week. I'd already lost kudos with my Sunday School kids as they'd seen it within a few days of its release and three year old Charlie was proudly telling me that she hadn't been scared at all. It's never an easy task turning a book into a movie, especially a well known book with millions of fans who are sure to turn a critical eye to the endeavour. In the end the movie was well done but despite clocking in at almost three hours it didn't quite feel complete. The director is credited with saying that the problem was that there was toomuch material for one film but not enough to make two. I see his point, I do, but it's hard not to wish that that it could have been just that little bit longer. It's at the start especially that it feels like we're being shown snapshots of wider events and it's a shame they couldn't have shown a little more of the Quidditch World Cup. It's definitely an advantage therefore to have read the books beforehand so that you know the significance of the odd little comments made or moments shown, especially in regards to Snape who receives very little screen time in this film and will figure so predominately in the later books.

On the positive side the graphics in the film are brilliant and they had plenty to work with as the challenges allow them plenty of room to dazzle.The kids are still acting well, although Ron, Harry and Malfoy have already had their mid-teen growth spurt in real life so they look more like 16 yearolds than 14 year olds. The tension between Ron and Harry due to Ron's resentful jealousy of being best friends to a star is well played out and so is Hermione's fed-upness over them being completely oblivious to her being a chick. What did piss me off hugely however is the actor they have playing Dumbledore. I mean for crying out loud, how hard is it to find a remotely elderly male British actor of film or theatre? There's plenty of them and instead they have a bloody American playing a British headmaster and he's useless at holding the accent! He does okay in small parts but he keeps breaking out into this broad American twang that made me want to strangle the casting director.

It's the time for blockbuster's....King Kong and The Lion, the Witch and theWardrobe coming out within the next few weeks, both with Kiwi directors (Peter Jackson and Andrew Adamson respectively) and both shot here; let's hope the tourism market plays its cards right and uses these as good promotional tools.