Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
I don't feel the movie is telling the story of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It's more like an adaptation of the story. So many different things, things which I feel are so crucial because it tells how brilliant the Potter world is. Really can not rely on the movie to know the whole story. I feel that for Potter lovers (readers) the movie didn't really satisfy our imagination. For non-Potter readers, I don't know if you can understand and appreciate the movie and find it enjoyable and amusing. I tried to watch the movie as a movie itself but I failed badly because my head kept on finding differences from the book. So many things were expected and yet it wasn't delivered nicely. Quidditch World Cup was such a let-down. I'm sure I am not the only one who actually want to see them play some quidditch. I wanted to see more dragon and yet there was only 1 and I feel it was rather small. The second challenge in the water, well, not that impressive for me. The last challenge, the maze, oH my God!!! Was it even a challenge? No nothing, no creatures, no female sphinx, the only thing there were plants and Krum under a spell. It was such a let down. Priori Incantatem could be better. If only they just followed the book and really lifted Harry and Voldermort of the ground. The ending...What was that? What was the climax? Am I dumb? They interrogated Barty Jr and the movie slowly ending with...I don't even know if people are happy with how things end. If you think that was the end of my review, then you are wrong
Harry Potter. Cheryl wrote in her blog that she thought Daniel Radcliffe still couldn't cry properly
Ron Weasley. I will always love Ron, but this time around, Fred and George stole the limelight in the funny department. Still, I like Ron the best. Ron and Hermione, I wish the tension was more visible.
Hermione Granger. Move over Keira Knightley, here come Emma Watson. I am sure I echo the hundred thousand of people out there who say Hermione is so pretty, she IS. However, I don't really like the way Emma played Hermione this time around. I feel she was over the top in everything, over anxious, over worry, over-scared, over angry (the fight with Ron). She's very emotional in this movie. I just think Hermione has a cooler head. Also, what's with her and Harry. For people who don't read, they may think that Harry will end up with Hermione.
Albus Dumbledore. Aaaargh...This is the person who people think can beat Voldermort, the wizard Voldermort ever feared. This is the person who Harry feels safe with and yet, Dumbledore showed fear and distress. He wasn't cool. He was also emotional. I think he faces the same case as Voldermort. Saying too much things and in a manner that didn't really show charisma.
The Dark Lord, Voldermort. There were fine moments by Ralph Fiennes but there was just so many wrong things for me. The movie start with Harry's dream of him and he sounded anxious and worry. Again, this is the dark lord, who suppose to be so scary that people don't even dare to pronounce his name and yet he wasn't that scary. He didn't command or give such charisma that made us fear him. Wormtail and the death eaters didn't show much fear. A case of you should talk less, so that your every words mean a lot. He is scary but not scary enough, not commanding enough. He didn't show reason why people should fear him
Cedric Diggory. He was so handsome, truly as the book said he would be. I thought I was gonna cry when he died but I didn't. Why? I suppose because not much connection or story being told about him. We didn't know much about him, did we? Aside from the fact that he was such a pretty boy, there just wasn't anything. Not when he died, not when he asked his body to be brought back. Still, I really like this pretty boy
Wormtail. Fear...Fear!!! I want to see the timid and coward Wormtail and he wasn't really so
Professor Snape. Small role this time around, but I have to mention him because I love him. After reading Goblet of Fire again, I really really really feel Snape is not evil, despite of the so many people who said he is. Dumbledore trusted him so much and I don't think he could be that wrong.
Neville Longbottom. He is actually taller than Harry but so skinny. I wish he could be fatter, he was the right way in the first movie. I wonder if his teeth are really like that. But man, this is a person who really made the best out of his character. So much sympathy for him. I think people will really fall for him in The Order of the Phoenix.
Draco Malfoy. Tall and skinny and being potrayed as a bit stupid
Mad-Eye Moody. He is okay, I think, but I just felt he supposed to be more fierce. He's an auror whose principle is "Constant Vigilance". I don't think he should be that comical.
Viktor Krum. Aaah...I actually feel that at some moment, he was pretty handsome
Fleur Delacour. When I first saw her in the trailers, I didn't feel that she was pretty enough. She is pretty but for someone with a veela blood, it's not really that captivating. Don't see her being so bitchy too, so I don't know what kinda of Fleur we will have in Half Blood Prince.
Cho Chang. The highly anticipated Cho Chang, I wonder if we were that happy in the end with her. She is quite pretty, I suppose.
Barty Crouch Sr and Jr. Tell me, for people who didn't read. Does it really make sense why Barty Crouch Sr died? I wonder whether there is any importance to make him died. Barty Crouch jr was being shown as evil from the beginning. They should have stayed with the original story, but I suppose not enough time.
Sirius Black. I wonder if Gary Oldman was still being paid to do Sirius when we don't really see him! One may forget that he was also actually being told in the movie.
Ludo Bagman. Disappointment. He looks so old. I thought he still have to look well-built? At least he should be younger?
Igor Karkaroff. I don't know why, I kinda sympathized him, maybe because I know what's gonna happen to him.
Hagrid and Madame Maxime. Well okay, can not say much about them. Tell me, is it obvious from the movie that Hagrid is half-giant?
Rita Skeeter. We don't hate her that much, not that we were given any reason for it
Fred and George Weasley. George and Fred Weasley. Love them. Funny guys. All grown up and I think much better with long hair.
Ginny Weasley. I honestly don't see this girl as being Harry's girlfriend later on.
It has been a very long post and I am tired. I can still complain more but I suppose I will just let the rest go. I just wished more. Dobby, Winky, SPEW, Fred and George, I just wish more could be told. Not really loving the movie that much, but I do want to watch it again.
PS (Added: Wednesday, 23/11/05): After much complain, I think I better say something nice
:) eKa @ 9:18:00 PM • 0 comments
Thursday, November 17, 2005
As I write this, I am thinking, what the hell am I doing? What am I doing?He saw me (I think...I'm pretty sure). He finally saw me though I don't know if it dawned on him that it's me, it's me! Anyway, this is how it goes. This is me and (if I can say) him. I see him. I just see him and today more so than the last few encounters.
God, what am I doing?
:) eKa @ 4:45:00 PM • 0 comments
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Went to watch Oliver Twist last Saturday. It was kinda a sudden decision. I was actually almost late for it, but I thought I just go and watched it. Bad me, I supposed to watch Io Non Ho Paura and yet I skidded my way out of it to watch Oliver.The choice of Oliver Twist was because it was one of Charles Dickens' famous work, it was directed by Roman Polanski (still haven't watched The Pianist, I think Felis was the one suggested it) and also because Ben Kingsley was in it. No introduction on Dickens, I guess people have heard of him. Polanski is a controversial director. His crime kinda make me lose interest in him but still he was supposed to be good, so I thought I give this movie a try. Know Sir Ben Kingsley from Gandhi and I also know that he garnered an Oscar nomination in House of Sand and Fog though I haven't watched it either.
I have never read Oliver Twist before but I'm sure that I had watched movies based on it on TV when I was younger. I remembered that they liked to steal handkerchief. Being the young me, I didn't understand why. Now, I think it was just an English thing. I also remembered that when they boys were trained, they were trained using a dummy with lots of bell in it. The boys must be able to take the things out the dummy without ringing any bell. I also remembered Oliver being revealed rich in the end of the story. My memory may fail me.
Anyway, I felt the movie was kinda long, well that maybe me trying to say that it was kinda boring. It was not that captivating. Ben Kingsley looked so different as Fagin. But I think it was more because of the make-up rather than the way he acted. Didn't find him that amusing either, though he was pretty interesting playing Fagin, just not too amusing. Oliver was weak, didn't really made much impact, didn't manage to arouse enough compassion in me. The story is a bit different. I didn't remember Fagin being so nice and after some googling, I was right, Oliver did find his relative in the story. All of these details was not mentioned in the movie. See, I suppose you can't really rely on movies if you are too lazy to read the books. Overall, the movie was dark. Polanski himself may have too much dark side in him. Really felt it's not really for children consumption and if it was intended for adult, then I think it's pretty boring. I wasn't that entertained, that's all.
Unexpectedly saw a few people on Saturday. Saw Vero, stupid me, I needed to think hard to remember her name (which I did in the end). Then Orlando. All these people actually saw me and called me first, instead of me seeing them. I guess, I just wanted to be invisible and carry on with my things. Saw another person in the bus, but this one is not worth mentioning. I was just glad that I wasn't seen.
Well, that's all peeps. Just felt that I should post about Oliver Twist, a really twisted Oliver.
:) eKa @ 8:03:00 PM • 0 comments
Friday, November 11, 2005
This morning, I thought I was gonna be blogging about depressing stuffs. What a morning it had been. Saw something and I was just sad (envious + jealous, to be more precise). Simply put, in a state of crisis. I knew that was what I would feel when I saw it and yet I was still searching for it so that I could see it. So I turned to Ayu, being the only person around. She tried advice/scolding and I couldn't say I felt better but I fully understood her words and so I stopped being miserable so that I wouldn't waste her time. On and on, I could go telling you all the details of this stupid feeling that I have (I'm still feeling it, by the way). But......there was lunch. Not hoping. Seriously and honestly, I was not hoping for anything but...there he was. It was just one of those things that happen to me with him (if such could be said), my eyes would just suddenly look somewhere and there he would be (This must sound so romantic, isn't it? Let's just agree that it sounds silly). So I let this girl next to me know his existence but we weren't near so she couldn't see much. However she said the nicest thing when I told her the story. She said something like it's so fated the so-many times I saw him. I hope people will think so also, especially him. I'm not stalking! No, I am not. It's just, I see you, that's all. God, let him see me.
:) eKa @ 5:18:00 PM • 0 comments
Thursday, November 03, 2005
I repeat:
You can recognize a warrior of light by the look in his eye. Warriors of light are in the world, they form part of the world, and they were sent into the world without saddlebags or sandals. They are often cowardly. They do not always act correctly.
Warriors of light are wounded by the most foolish things, they worry about trivialities, they believe themselves incapable of growing. Warriors of light sometimes believe themselves unworthy of any blessing or miracle.
Warriors of light often ask themselves what they are doing here. Often they find their lives meaningless
That is why they are the warriors of light. Because they fail. Because they ask questions. Because they keep looking for a meaning. And, in the end, they will find it.
Anyway, I bought the book in May and I finally finished reading it this week. Yes, I know it's far too long. Can I use Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince as a reason for the delay?
On Champions League: Arsenal won, people!!! wooHoo
So today is Lebaran. Happy Lebaran to all who celebrate it. Miss home and miss the food (basically just my mom's ketupat, I miss my mom). The holiday this week has been spent in a very boring manner. Well, at least I did clean my room though the dust have come back to haunt me (sneezing so badly now, am I going to get sick again? I can't). Spent some time in Borders today. Not much reading, except for 1 particular picture book which is too weird that I rather not mention it here. Quite abstract but I can imagine it to be quite an interesting Hollywood movie. Did a bit of shopping spree (tiny bit). Christmas is in the air, should start thinking on what to get people. Not much things can be said. My life is boring. What a waste...What a waste it is to just wait for time to pass. I am frustrated.
:) eKa @ 7:54:00 PM • 0 comments
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