Random ramblings on GoF

[cubfanbudwoman]

Re: missing scenes, good and bad.

GLAD Winky & Dobby were gone (though it made some adjustments to the 
story necessary, which probably made the story harder for non-fans 
to follow).

GLAD S.P.E.W. was eliminated.

DISAPPOINTED there was no "Snape shows Fudge his Dark Mark" scene

DISAPPOINTED there was no Molly hug nor Sirius-Snape handshake in 
the hospital wing.  I mean, I *knew* there would be no Molly hug, 
and I knew Gary Oldman's only "appearance" was in the flames, so I'd 
guessed the entire hospital wing scene would be eliminated, but it 
still bummed me out.  Yes, the "replacement" scene of DD with Harry 
in his dorm room was *excellent,* imo (Gambon felt very canon!DD to 
me in that scene), but still....

MISSED the actual "tasks within the task" of the maze.  I do 
understand why they eliminated them, and the way it was done was 
striking, visually, but I did so enjoy all of that in the book.

(Loved, btw, Diana's "cataract!Krum" -- hee!  A reasonable 
complaint, too, Diana.  Wasn't there another way to let the audience 
know that he was under the imperius?  Esp. after Mad-Eye's class 
lecture, talking about the difficulty of distinguishing the liars 
from those who had been imperioed.)

I'll second those who felt that it was a little "jumpy," especially 
at the start.  I remember thinking right as it happened that non-
fans would have a difficult time knowing what was even going ON at 
some points within the first 20 minutes or so.  Now, *I* enjoyed 
them very much -- the Quidditch stadium was AWESOME! -- but I 
figured there would be a lot of whispering going on for those Big 
Fans who came with Casual (or non-) Fans.

I also didn't quite get why they had the Beauxbatons carriage and 
the Durmstrang ship arrive *before* there was any explanation of why 
they were coming, or even any mention that guests were arriving.

I've seen a lot of criticism of the scene where DD grabs Harry and 
shakes him, seems angry with him, after his name emerged from the 
Goblet.  It *was* OOC for DD, absolutely.  But I definitely blame 
the Newell-Kloves team over Gambon for that.  It's the writer & 
director whose responsibility it is to make sure the characters they 
portray make sense, you know?

How did others react to the pensieve scene?  For some reason, I 
pictured the Wizengamot as being inside a CAVERNOUS, spacious 
area... and this scene made me feel very claustrophobic, very 
frantic about things.  That's probably what Newell *wanted* us to 
feel, but it didn't match my image at all.

Overall, I really enjoyed the film very much.  It was engrossing, 
entertaining, exciting, humorous, emotional, just all kinds of 
things.  It was an Experience, iow.  Dan & Rupert each did an 
excellent job, I thought.  Rupert was very convincing with venomous 
& hateful looks aimed at Dan when he believed he had betrayed him.  
Emma was a bit of a disappointment in some scenes (the DADA class, 
for instance, where she seemed inexplicably *too* upset and worried 
before Neville even got upset), but she did a very nice job, I 
thought, in confronting Ron after the ball and showing how "you 
ruined it all, Ron!"

I thought Ralph Fiennes was incredible.  I was, personally, grateful 
that the rebirthing wasn't drawn out at all.  OTOH, this made 
Wormtail end up looking more strong and stable than he was portrayed 
in the book.  He should've been writhing in agony, moaning and 
screaming and begging and whimpering.  Instead, he stood there like 
his arm didn't even hurt and like he was totally "together."  But 
Fiennes as Voldemort was truly creepy, I thought.  

There were two scenes with Dan, in particular, that I loved for how 
they spoke to Harry's character.  One, when he *thought* about going 
on towards the cup (and admitted it) but changed his mind and went 
back to help Cedric.  I think that spoke to Harry's being, at heart, 
Noble and True (capitalized on purpose).  And I think when he 
screwed up his face and stepped out from behind the gravestone, 
facing Voldy and saying, "Have it your way, then," it spoke to 
Harry's Bravery.  

Dan did a pretty horrible job of "crying" in PoA, imho.  This time, 
with Cedric, he truly contributed to the emotional whallop that that 
scene packed.  He was very believable, and that was a very difficult 
scene to endure (probably especially for any parents in the 
audience).

I loved the twins, I howled at some of McGonagall's scenes & lines, 
I enjoyed Mad-Eye, and I cherished every moment of the Snape 
appearances.  (They were too few, of course, but I think Rickman 
made the most of them, esp. the one when he confronted Harry in his 
potions store cupboard.)

I *almost* went back for my second show at 10:00 last night, but I 
figured I needed sleep!  I will definitely see it again this 
weekend, where I hope I feel a more strong "overall impression" than 
I do right now.  I mean, I know that I liked it very much, but I'm 
struggling to assimilate it all.

Siriusly Snapey Susan