Movie Review with Kevin Paquet:
Harry Potter's Back

The interesting thing about the Harry Potter books is that I can remember exactly where and when I read them.

Another, more annoying, thing is that I have a rather poor memory of the contents of the books themselves, which is why I always have frustrating moments each time I get a new Harry Potter book ("Who the heck is ‘Tonks’?") that tend to hamper me through the first hundred pages or so.

Conversely, this is actually a help to me in the movies, because Warner Brothers has rendered each book—and we’re up to "Goblet of Fire" this week—down to its barest details. Some people might complain about the intense condensation that’s required here, but for those of us with lesser memories, this is actually a blessing because you only have to remember the really important bits to get the plot.

The movie begins with Harry’s bad dream of his nemesis, Lord Voldemort, lurking in a building somewhere, biding his time. Harry then awakes, shaken, and goes off to see the World Quiddich Cup with his friends Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and the rest of the Weasley clan. The Cup goes horribly awry when the Dark Mark—a skull and snake symbol—appears in the sky overhead, and the fan encampment site is torched by the Death Eaters, Lord Voldemort’s minions.

Harry and his friends then return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for another hair-raising academic year of close encounters with death. Oddly enough, Dumbledore is actually happy that Hogwarts will now be hosting the Triwizard Tournament, wherein three schools will compete for a trophy by putting their names into the Goblet of Fire. The three winners—one from each school—will then risk their lives in three rounds of magical combat.

Let’s just recap: Harry almost died in a live magical chess match in his first year. Harry broke an arm playing Quiddich in his second year. And now this. Don’t wizards have any safe sports, like, say, bowling?

And that’s Harry’s free time. Classes have gotten even more lethal now that "Mad-eye" Mooney is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Mooney’s three predecessors, incidentally, died, got brainwashed, and took early retirement, respectively. Mooney takes time out of the first class of the year to demonstrate the three Unforgivable Curses in front of the students. You’d think he’d at least have everyone put safety goggles on for something like that.

Meanwhile the school is stunned when Harry’s name pops out of the Goblet of Fire, even though he didn’t put it in, meaning he has to participate in the tournament. Which opens up the disturbing questions of who put his name in? And why?

"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", the fourth movie in the franchise, drew the largest opening crowd I have ever personally been a part of.

Bonus points for Argus Filch trying to run, Ron’s dress robes and the Yule Ball. Kevin gives it four stars out of five.