Ranting and Raving

It kept me diverted through its duration. I did not like the cinematography - too much rapid zooming, shots into depths from heights and exaggerated perspective made for a vertiginous viewing experience. And the scene with the Hungarian Horntail suffered from EMPR* syndrome. Whereas Cuaron, in "Azkaban" took ownership of the material and delivered a solid, thoughtful film with a rich visual symbolism of its own, and Chris Columbus delivered two fun pieces of fluff, Newell appears to be uncertain of what to do with the material. Events seem unconnected, and I do not think the film could be comprehended without prior knowledge of the material in the book. Editing was full of rapid fire cuts and the visual equivalent of non-sequiturs. The entrance of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students was rife with spectacle that appeared pointless. And in the climactic scene it seemed my heartstrings should have been tugged at more than they were, and I suspect Cuaron would have managed it. But Newell was just . . . at a loss.

On the upside there was lots of solid humor, from Snape and Moody, and the ferret scene was priceless. They were all cheap laughs, but what the hell.

I'm holding out hope for OOTP. Yates' work to date seems to be more on par with Cuaron's oeuvre, so hopefully he will deliver the goods. It will be a challenge, because OOTP is not easy material to work with, so I shall be interested to see how it is handled.

There's lots in Goblet that a good director could have latched onto, just as Cuaron latched on to time and timekeeping in Azkaban, but unfortunately, they hired Newell

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