Preview Reviews - SPOILERIFIC

[Lolua]

*********** TOP PART OF THIS POST IS SPOILER-FREE ***********

News started circulating on Thursday, via an Italian movie news website called Bad Taste and the forums on a Johnny Depp fansite (reputable sources, I know), that the as yet unfinished working cut of the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire film would be shown on Saturday at a theater, probably one owned by AMC, in Chicago. Naturally I jumped at the lead and worked for a couple of hours on Thursday night trying to figure out exactly when and where it would be shown and how to get tickets. But not being devious or clever enough to figure it out (and telling myself that with HBP in my hands after this weekend, I could wait another four months for the new movie), I resigned myself to not seeing it. The rumor probably wasn't true in the first place, I reasoned.

But apparently, it happened. Screenings took place at 3pm and 6pm on Saturday at Pipers Alley (where BB and I watched Al Pacino mope his way through The Merchant of Venice a few months ago and got stranded when the bus stopped running earlier than we had thought). The screenings were apparently supposed to occur at AMC River East 21, but due to unexplained reasons, were moved to Pipers Alley.

I now know this beause someone who attended the screenings has been posting their comments and remarks on the boards at OscarWatch.com. User Equipoise, though challenged left and right by other forum users as to the credibility of her remarks, says that her screening pass was given to her when she went to see the animated film Howl's Moving Castle but that she was only told the passes would be for
"a new family movie from a major Hollywood studio, scheduled to be released in theatres some time later this year." She was hoping for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but having seen the existing Potter films and read the first book, she was pleased along with everyone else to get a sneak peek at the next installment of HP.

Anyway... on with the review!

******** SPOILER WARNING *********
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www.oscarwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4230&page=1&pp=15

Major differences from the book (compiled by me from comments by Equipoise):

• Dumbledore replaces Bagman in the top box at the Quidditch World Cup. He starts the game off with an announcement and conjuring the Quaffle. They don't show much of the game at all. Oh, well, I guess I expected as much.
  
• In order to make Ron and Harry's fight more believable, Kloves invented some shortcut exposition to make up for Movie Ron being such a cardboard character in the last three films: while aboard the Hogwarts Express, Harry tries to buy Ron anything he wants from the sweets trolley. Ron is too proud and refuses. Well, that's strikingly original. --_--
  
• The DADA lesson with the Imperius Curse is apparently in. Equipoise describes it as "spooky" and Neville, not Harry, is the victim, which seems like an interesting way to tighten up that part of the plot. It's also verified that Neville does indeed step into Dobby's socks as the source of information for the Second Task, so good on the Oracle for noticing him in those location photos! Neville does seem to have several other adorable bits, including "a charming scene where he was teaching himself to dance". It looks like Neville's starting to come into his own, opening the door for his blossoming in OotP. Yay!
  
• Instead of just getting beards from the Age Line, Fred and George "turn into little old men" in what will undoubtedly be a cool bit of CGI. If there's one effect that consistently impresses me in these movies, it's the morphs. See PoA for the Lupin-to-Moony morph and the boggart shifting during the DADA lesson.
  
• I'll let this tidbit speak for itself:
  

  Malfoy didn't do much except sneer and get turned into a ferret. Oh, and get that insect that Moody had sicced on him like the facehugger in Alien.

  
  *eyebrow quirk* Facehugger bug?
  
• The Klovesian gag invented for Rita Skeeter is apparently that she continually lists Harry's age as 12 when he is really 14. *sigh* That's not even in the same league as saying he's dating Hermione or losing his mind. Thanks, Kloves, and don't let the screening room door hit you in the butt on the way out.
  
• Snape reveals his Dark Mark, but not to Fudge. If I'm reading Equipoise's comments correctly, Snape reveals it when Dumbledore, McG, and Snape come to rescue Harry from fake!Moody. I'm not quite sure, plotwise, why Snape rolls up his sleeve just then -- maybe he's showing Dumbledore evidence that the Dark Lord has returned. As if he needed any. It also seems like in order to keep the audience from sitting through Crouch Jr.'s confession while under the influence of Veritaserum, all of that exposition has been cut. Looks like Marauder's Map Syndrome strikes again. *sigh*
  
• Again, no Dursleys, no Bagman, no Percy Weatherby, no Dobby or Winky, no S.P.E.W. Crouch Jr.'s trial is in, but it's unclear whether the Lestranges are also present or if they make it clear that the crime in question is the torture of Frank and Alice Longbottom.
  
• Apparently striving for light-heartedness in an inappropriate place, Hermione's instruction to Ron to ask her "not as a last resort" next time has been moved away from the Yule Ball and to the end of the film. Does this remind anyone else of what Cuaron did with the Firebolt scene in PoA?
  

[Lolua]

Page 1 comments by Equipoise:

I just got back from a test screening, and I thought it was very good! I still like the 3rd one best, but this was almost as good, and definitely better than the 1st two (which I thought were both alright). I haven't read any of the books except the 1st one, so I have no idea how faithful it was or whether fans will be screaming bloody murder.

....

The music track was temporary, but I thought it sounded just fine. I have no idea what it might have been from. I'm sure others will pop up with more information. The special effects weren't anywhere near done, and I thought it was fascinating to see what was essentially a work print, with many scenes in front of green screen, several effects in wire frame, colored dots on actor's faces, and flying scenes where the wires were not yet digitally removed.

Without having read the book and not knowing anything about the plot, I was able to follow it fairly well. It made me want to read the book, to get more detail. The pace was good, the acting was good, and the 14-year old in me has a terrible crush now on Ron, who I think is much cuter than Harry. Hermione didn't have nearly as much to do in this one, which was my only disappoinment. I didn't look at my watch at all, before or after, so I don't know how long it was, definitely over 2 hours though. It could have been longer though, because I find that world interesting. I guess I really should read the books.

Harry, some big hulking Russian-type guy, a girl (both from another school) and another kid from Hogwarts were in the 3rd part of a wizard tournament. This consisted of finding a prize (a crystal goblet-like thing, I forget what they called it) in a maze. Harry saves the life of the other Hogwarts student and they reach for the goblet together and are both transported to a graveyard. The rat-like guy from the last movie was there, holding a thing that looked like a wizened baby. He cut off his own arm, and took blood from Harry's arm, and mixed them with some other things, dropped the baby-like thing in and out came Voldemort (these special effects weren't done yet). Voldemort and Harry get into a wand fight. His parents appear and help him get away. He grabs the kid who'd been killed by Voldemort and grabs hold of the goblet, then they appear back in front of the school where everybody is waiting. Harry is taken away by Brendan Gleeson, who turns out not to be Brendan Gleeson, but some guy's son who's helping Voldemort (Gleeson is being held prisoner in a series of locked trunks. Snape and not Richard Harris and Miss Brodie show up just in time to keep not Brendan Gleeson from killing Harry. Hermione tells Ron to just ask her to the dance next time, ok?

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Ralph was GREAT! Very scary. I don't know what he'll look like in the end, because Feinnes had green dots all over his face, so I'm sure they'll CGI something that looks pretty horrific.

I was kind of snarky with my description, but that wasn't meant as being directed toward you cbrownjc. I was just too lazy to go look up the character names, sorry. A lot more happened than that (for instance, Malfoy's father was there at the graveyard too, no big surprise to me, even without having read the books). If anything though, it was too edited. I could have stayed in that graveyard longer. The whole movie could be longer and I wouldn't mind.

There were no ending credits.

I think Alfonso Cuarón is a genius, so I was predisposed to adore the 3rd one. This one *felt* more like the 3rd one than the first two, very dark and forboding. The whole wizard world felt more dangerous, like someone actually could die (and someone did). I was amazed at the dangers that the wizard tournament put these students through. Parents must be very different there.

Golightly, not having read the book, I'm not sure what you mean by "fight." They don't physically clash, but they become estranged, because Ron (and many other students) think that Harry put his own name into the Goblet of Fire, when the rules had stated that you had to be 17 to take part in the tournament.

Miranda Richardson is a hoot as a reporter who keeps getting Harry's age wrong (she says 12, when he's actually 14). I get the feeling they cut her part down though. It seemed that she might have had more to do than just interview him once.

Corleone, I thought the movie was very exciting, but I'll just bet that certain scenes were cut down by necessity. The dragon fight, for instance, seemed short. As I said, everything could have been longer and I wouldn't have minded.

[Lolua]

Page 2 Comments by Equipoise

I don't feel the need to defend myself because I know where I was tonight. I thought about going to AICN, but that place scares the nuts out of me. I feel brain cells popping every time I break down and go there. I had to tell somebody though, so I chose you guys.

Depending on how many places there are for special effects, this could get one of them, but not instead of the other biggies. One special effect that did seem pretty much finished was near the beginning, when a whole wizard camping area is wiped out by demons. A huge part of the sky is taken up by the face of a ghoul. THAT was scary! (a little before that was a funny bit...they-Ron's dad, sister, brothers, Ron, Herminone and Harry-go into a tent that from the outside looks like a tiny pup tent, but from the inside looks like a palace. Also, the bunk beds there are floating above each other.)

They chose about 20 people to stay for what I guess was a focus group, but they didn't choose me. They rushed everybody else out of the theater. We did get to fill out forms with our impressions, what characters and scenes we liked, things we didn't like. The security was intense. They checked everybody's bags (and wouldn't let people bring in cell phones) and wanded people, and they had things set up at the front that were probably infrared cameras to make sure people weren't recording. There were several big bouncer-looking guys dressed in black, not the type you'd want to be on the bad side of.

The screening was at Piper's Alley theater (right next door to Second City) in the big theater there, and it was pretty full, but not completely full. I sat in the 3rd row center and there was only one other person in my row and no one in front of me.

They'd had another screening earlier. When I got given my pass, I was asked if I had any kids to bring, especially between the ages of 9-12. Those passes were for 3pm, while ours was at 6pm. The screening was originally supposed to be at the River East 21, but it was changed to Piper's. I don't know why.

I tried to guess what the movie would be. I thought sure it would be Chicken Little. I was hoping for Narnia, but figured the special effects weren't anywhere near done. Harry Potter never even crossed my mind. When a guy went to the front and said that we were among the first to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, everyone cheered. There was also clapping when it was over, so most people seemed to like it.

I don't know how long the movie was because I didn't have a watch with me. The pass said to get there at least 45 minutes early for a 6pm start. I got there about 5 and there were already a lot of people in front of me. The fella who told us the name of the movie talked about the special effects not being done, and that the soundtrack was temporary. I don't know how long after 6 it actually started. I didn't leave immediately because I filled out the form, and went to the bathroom, but it was 9:06 when I walked out of the theater and looked at the bank clock across the street. Whatever, it was probably at least 2 and a half hours. I should have brought my watch.

The ball was in the movie. Ron asks Hermione as a last resort but she'd already been asked by the hulking Russian-type guy. Harry asks a cute Asian girl, but she's already been asked by the other Hogwarts student who's in the tournament. Harry and Ron finally go with a couple of Indian girls who end up finding Harry and Ron excruciatingly boring.

Originally Posted by WarriorKeira
Can you tell me if certain regular character reveals his Dark Mark (face of a ghoul) to Fudge, Dumbledore, Harry and some other people at the end? I`ll be very pissed off it that scene didn`t make it in the movie.

I don't know who Fudge is, and I can't remember a scene like that. Weird faces that I remember are Sirius, who only appears as a face made out of fire in a fireplace (very good special effects there), the son of someone important* when he changes from Brendan Gleeson to himself, several guys in the graveyard who have ghoulish masks on (Malfoy's father being one of them), and Voldemort, before he turns into Ralph Feinnes. Brendan Gleeson's face was pretty messed up, lots of scars and a fake eye that moved. His makeup was very well done.

*I don't know who that person is. Someone from Azkaban is being interrogated and names someone who claims innocence and who seems to be one of the judge's son, because the judge says something like "I have no son" or something like that. I don't remember exactly how it went. Harry was there, but not really there. He had been looking into a cauldron, and fell in and fell down into the middle of the proceedings, but no one could see him. That whole section was a bit confusing to me, and I'm sure is much clearer in the book.

I don't remember what the final shot was, sorry. I know that sounds dodgy, but I can't think of what it was. The screen went dark and everybody clapped, and then they were passing out the forms to fill out. Scenes from earlier in the movie have been playing in my head so whatever the last scene was, it's been driven out. If I think of it I'll let you know.

Post by WarriorKiera
So there's no scene where Snape pulls up his sleeve and reveals dark mark on his arm?

WarriorKeira, he was there when not Brendan Gleeson revealed that he was not Brendan Gleeson (Professor Moody, I just looked it up), but I don't remember him showing a mark on his arm.

Even though I can't remember the last scene, the atmosphere of the ending seemed dark, like dark times are ahead. They didn't show what became of Voldemort, and I do know enough to know there are 3 more books, so I assume Harry's in for a lot more problems in the future. It certainly didn't end on a light note, other than Hermione reading the riot act to Ron about just coming out and asking her to a dance rather than waiting until she's been asked by someone else. I don't remember what came after that.

[Lolua]

Page 3 Comments by Equipoise

Brendan Gleeson/Moody made a big impression. The scars on his face and his horrific eye, and just the fact that he taught how to counter dark arts, made you know that his was a deep character who'd been through a LOT. There was one point when he had a run-in with Malfoy and turned Malfoy into a ferret. He said something like "I could tell you stories about your father that would curl your hair" (paraphrased) and I thought to myself I WANT TO HEAR THOSE STORIES! One of the reasons why I said I now wanted to read the book was to hopefully learn more about his character. Whatever his story is, I'll bet it'd make a great movie by itself. I want to see this movie day one when it opens not only to see what the final special effects will be like, but to see Moody again. I'm a big fan of Gleeson's anyway (The General is my favorite of his movies) but I didn't even realize it was Gleeson until the middle of the film. I was shocked at myself, because normally I tend to shift for a second when a known actor comes on (oh look, there's Emma Thompson! hey, that's Miranda Richardson!) but I didn't do that with Gleeson, someone I know well.

I take it the Fudge that WarriorKiera mentioned is the guy who was transforming himself into Moody? He was good for the short time he was on-screen. I was impressed with everybody, really. The acting keeps getting better and better I think. Fiennes wasn't there long enough, but his Voldemort was scary in that short time, and I assume the role is much bigger in the upcoming films. The woman who played the teacher of the girl's school was fun. They must have used special effects on her because she was very very tall. Hagrid didn't have much to do besides show Harry the dragons in advance, but he and that teacher seemed to get along famously. I love Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. I was disrespectful by not going to look up names earlier, so I just did it to make sure I got it right. He deserves much better than "not Richard Harris." Maggie Smith didn't have much to do in the movie. Shirley Henderson was back as Moaning Myrtle (what a creepy character, I'm not sure I like her). I'm not sure who else is who, regarding actor and character names. The teacher of the hulking Russian-type students was good, and I wonder if he has a bigger role in upcoming films. I'd like to see him again. I think he was born to play Rasputin, if he hasn't already.

sethsherwood, it's pretty dark, and characters do die. I have never understood the Hollywood rating system, so it's hard to say. I wouldn't be surprised to see it get a PG-13. Then again, what was Azkaban rated? It's about the same level of darkness.

The tournament was shocking in that the mom side of me kept thinking HOW CAN THEY PUT THOSE KIDS IN SUCH DANGER?? Not knowing what was coming made me very empathetic toward Harry, because he had no idea either. There were 3 parts, and all 3 came off very well, if too short (though I suppose they probably don't want to release the 4-hour movie I'd prefer). There were minature versions of the dragons when they each reached into a bag to pick which dragon they'd fight. Those were awesome. The only full-sized dragon you saw though, was Harry's, and it was terrifying. Harry didn't fight the dragon so much as hide behind rocks and then fly away on his broom, with the dragon chasing him around the Hogwarts grounds, then thwarting the dragon by a fancy manuver between that cool bridge. That whole scene was exciting. A lot of the special effects weren't done, and much of it was in wire frame. I can't wait to see the real thing. Er, "real" thing. I think it will have just about everybody on the edge of their seats.

The 2nd part was under water, in the lake, and had them looking for something that was precious to them. I was shocked again when I saw what those precious things were!! (is there no government agency regulating these schools?!?) I assume they were the same things that were in the book, so you know what I mean. The mermaid-like creatures who tried to stop the students were in the previews, but were much scarier in the movie. That whole section could have been longer too. I was a bit confused as to how Harry got out of the predicament he was in.

The maze sequence, again too short, was unfinished. I mean, most of the special effects were unfinished. I think it will be awe-inspiring in the final print though. I have a deathly fear of being lost in a maze (silly of course, since it's highly unlikely I'd ever even see a maze big enough to get lost in...it's just one of those weirdass dream fears, like waking up on a ledge over a Grand Canyon-like chasm) so that part of the movie will be excrutiating to me when I see it. Since it was unfinished I wasn't bothered too much. What was shown was exciting though.

The more I think about this movie, the more I think it's even darker than Azkaban, so yeah, it'll probably be PG-13.

Originally Posted by Corleone
Isnt there supposed to be a Sphinx somewhere in thi s movie?

A Sphinx like the ones in Egypt?? I didn't see anything like that.

Posts resume the following morning....

Originally Posted by WarriorKeira
Can you tell me if certain regular character reveals his Dark Mark (face of a ghoul) to Fudge, Dumbledore, Harry and some other people at the end? I'll be very pissed off it that scene didn`t make it in the movie.

WarriorKeira, I don't think you have to be pissed off. I think it *was* shown. I woke up thinking about a scene in Moody's office near the very end, someone's arm, with a creepy tatoo, and the tatoo was moving and shifting. You have to understand that so much was happening at that time and my mind was preoccupied, thinking it was over after the graveyard, then it not being over, then coping with the terrible thought that Moody was going to turn out to be a bad guy, then Dumbledore, Miss Brodie and Snape rushing in...What's happening? What are they doing? What just happened? What's next? Who's that? Where's the real Moody? Just racing back and forth. The movie is packed with so many little (and big) details that it's not easy for me to remember. I think it was him though.

They showed the beginning of the world cup, with players being introduced. That was the first you saw of Krum, yes, flying out on his broom. They talked of him being the best seeker(?) in the world. I do apologise for my being so casual with names. I'll call him Krum from now on. I don't remember dancing Leprechauns, but there was mention of an Irish team, and they conjured up colored clouds in the shape of a giant leprechaun after they flew out into the stadium. Very little of the game was shown. I don't remember anything after it being declared open and the headmaster waved his wand and out of the end of it came a flying red ball. The next scenes I remember are in the tent with everybody talking, then after they're asleep, Ron's father waking them up and all hell is breaking loose outside, with the tent village being destroyed.

[Lolua]

Page 4 Comments by Equipoise

There was a very funny scene, was it in the book? where Ron's brothers are going to try and put their names (written on pieces of paper) into the goblet of fire to try and get into the tournament. There's an "age" ring on the floor around the goblet. Hermione says it was put there by Dumbledore so he would know if anyone under 17 tried to put their names in the goblet. They both drink a potion to try and thwart the age ring. They get through it alright and put the pieces of paper in, but the goblet spits them out, then Ron's brohters turn into little old men.

Other random details, not in any particular order: Ron's mother sends him a package, an outfit to wear at the dance. It's an old worn coat with frills and lace. Ron is mortified.

On the train to Hogwarts, Harry tries to pay for something that Ron wants from the candy lady, but Ron refuses. You can tell he's very proud.

Harry wears the cloak of invisibility when Hagrid takes him to see the dragons.

Herminone is drop-dead gorgeous in her dance outfit. She's going to be a heartbreaker. It's obvious that Ron does have a thing for her, but doesn't want to admit it.

After Harry is chosen for the tournament, the kids all wear "Potter Stinks" buttons. Very mean, surprisingly mean. I was shocked that Ron and the other kids didn't believe Harry when he said he didn't put his name in the goblet of fire. It's not like he's a known liar, or am I not remembering something from one of the earlier movies?

I just did a Yahoo images search to find out the name of a character, Neville Longbottom. Neville had some very good scenes. First he was a victim of one of Professor Moody's spells (a spooky scene, not a funny one), then he had a charming scene where he was teaching himself to dance, then it looked like he was having a blast at the ball. I really liked him. When I go back and watch the other movies again, which is something I'm planning to do, I'm going to pay special attention to his character now.

Speaking of watching the other movies again, I have been pouring over the cast lists trying to put names to faces (why oh why don't all actors put their images up on IMDB?? ARGH!) and I noticed that Fudge is in the previous 2 movies. I didn't see his name in the first movie's credits. Shows how much attention to other characters I've been paying...not much. I must have sounded like a real dumbass when I said I didn't know who Fudge was, since this is like only the *3rd* movie in a row he's been the same character in. Well, I warned that I was far from the ideal person to have seen a test/sneak screening.

I love Julie Walters (Educating Rita is a favorite film) and she was not in the film. The rest of the family was, but not her.

There were no Dursleys in the film either. I don't remember the very first scene, but it all pretty much started with Mr. Weasley urging Harry to come on, come with them, and they climb a hill and take hold of an old boot, and then they're transported to the world cup.
....
"they're" being Mr. Weasley, Ron, Ron's brothers, Ron's sister, and Hermione. And Harry, of course.

Holy nuts! 1,734 Views?? Now I'm very embarrassed about my early posts, and I'm wishing I'd taken the time to go look up names instead of using snarky-sounding names like Miss Brodie. I didn't mean any of it in a nasty way. I'm not like that. I just want to assure people that I do have more respect for the world of Harry Potter than maybe I came off sounding. My embarrassment almost makes me wish I hadn't posted at all, but not really, just that I'd been a bit more serious in how I wrote. I mainly wanted people to know that one non-book reader (a temporary situation) really enjoyed the movie.

At this point Equipoise started posting over on the Leaky Lounge, TLC's forums, in an existing thread established to discuss the screening.

www.leakylounge.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?s=afb415148d8010ef4b4099398e444472;act=ST;f=22;t=5534;st=0

Others who saw the movie have posted there, so I suggest if you're still reading ths and angling for more, you should head on over to LL via the link above.

[Lolua]

MuggleNet has posted a review from their reader Hope. It contains a decent play-by-play account of the movie, though there is little detail on certain parts that I would have liked clarified (e.g., the discovery that Moody is not Moody). The review is positive, but there is a slight complaint about the way the movie ends. Have I not said for the last year that Mike Newell was going to ruin the ending??? *sigh*

Anyway, here's a link to the review, which is definitely worth a read:

www.mugglenet.com/movies/movie4/gofreview.shtml