Darker & sinister

Harry Potter flirts with the dark side ...

The most awaited movies for the final quarter of this year would be Harry Potter (Goblet of Fire) and Narnia (The Witch, Wardrobe & the Lion … I think so).

So, in the hype & anticipation … I also lined up like the rest of the ‘happening’ folk and decided to watch the oh-most-read Harry over Sunday evening, rushing from my class to the cinema and buying a last gasp ticket at the 3^rd row from the front. Actually, I don’t mind things like this once in a while, especially when I am watching the movie alone (it’s harder to convince others to watch at such distance).

The movie was excellent and as I thought, it’s always better (& easier) to watch the movie without reading the book, for one, the books are horrendously thick (especially for this one & I hate books more than 100 pages thick) and the other would be of course that readers have a different expectation & interpretation of what the movie should be (I know cause I read the LOTR … miraculously though & that’s another story altogether, with lots of speed reading, skipping pages & reversing).

Ah, yes … almost forgot about the movie … well … I think the movie is quite different from the previous 3 instalments; first of all, with the cast growing older (lost the cuteness of early teens … with exception of Watson, the actress for Hermione, who’s a great looking chick) … portraying the coming of age, with teen angst (yeah, everyone talked about it in all HP book reviews) … elements of teenage crush, jealousy and (yes) death.

This also brings the return of HP’s nemesis (missing from the 3^rd instalment) with an open ended conclusion that he’s gonna be around (ok, I don’t read stuff like the order of the phoenix and the recent one, so I am an ignoramus)

My thoughts? If you are a HP fan, watch it for the effects; cut some slack for missing out parts cause no way you can fit the bulky book into a bite-sized movie buff palate. If you are not, it’s worth your watch because it’s full of effects; it’s a good movie for kids with all the magical elements and pomp. If not, at least watch for Watson cause since the previous movie, she has blossomed into a beautiful young lady. And also Katie Keung as Cho Chang cause I don't see a lot of Asians in HP until this one (also with 2 Indian twins, the Patels). For ladies, you can watch out for this guy, who acted as Diggory who’s ok (if you are into younger guys, hehehe).

Now, just sit back … and wait for Narnia … which is going to be better? Will be close …