hopscotchee: emma watson score: 85.5 rating: PG-13 time: 157 minutes
ah!! literally how can someone not love harry potter? seriously. like, unless you're wiccaphobic (scared of witches and witchcraft) or rhabdophobic (scared of magic), it's impossible. especially harry potter and the goblet of fire. undertaking its fourth movie, it shifts away from the previously familiar, youthful mindset sincerely captured in the first three movies, yet still clings on to the same original curiosity as it begins to teeter into the darker and graver side of the wizarding world. impressively keeping up the epic hype of the franchise, only elevating it further, your same, adored characters take you on, yet again, another fantastical adventure, however, adding more spice and suspense to the potion of perfection that makes this film undoubtedly one of the best, if not the most entertaining, in true, cinematic magic known as the harry potter series.
lacking on very little, this movie's best attribute was obviously, obviously, it's story. we know. duh. but seriously, there is a reason j.k. rowling is richer than the queen, herself. perfectly enfolding into a twisty and enticing endeavor, diving deeper into the characters' plots and story's complex, back and forth between drama and action, this book was just made to be a movie!! and because it absolutely sucks when screenwriters take your favorite book and turn it into their sad, edited attempt to one up it (which it's like don't even try), we greatly, greatly appreciate that screenwriter, steve kloves didn't do that to this film. like any good spell, the script completely entranced you from start to finish, not letting scenes drag on too long, keeping the pace uptempo, throwing in heartfelt one-liners, and sneakily building the suspenseful story to leave the viewers intrigued 'til the very end. sure, you could say every movie in the series does this, but what makes this film stand out is the ending's pivotal shift that it has on the franchise. literally, (spoiler) the last line of the movie is hermione saying "everything is going to change now, isn't it?". despite this being such a - hashtag keanu - 'whoa!' way to end the film, you, as the audience, know just that, everything's going to change, significantly creating a perfect bridge between movies three and five in the series. though if we're gonna call out any of hermione's lines in the script, "i'm not an owl" should definitely me mentioned. it's probably the best, not to mention fun as heck and, like, so iconic.
which speaking about iconic, onto the yule ball!! all thanks to the impeccable pairing of set and design, (spoiler) the dreamy winter-themed, white and green ballroom served as a beautiful juxtaposition to the lovable characters' interactions as they enjoyed themselves or didn't, dancing or sitting off to the side at the ball. however, as much as the spectacular backdrop collaborated with the mood of the evening, the scene wouldn't have been the same without the amazingly stunning costumes, (spoiler) especially ron's wonderfully hideous suit. all dumbledore claps go to the costume team for this one, making this scene even more delightful, seeing ron cringe the entire time in his ruffly and undoubtedly itchy, hand-me-down suit. equally amusing, although not embarrassing at all, hermione's spotlight-gorgeous, jaw dropping entrance into the ball was interestingly contrasted from the earlier sweaty and gritty dragon fighting sequence during the triwizard tournament, making it a vibrant attraction in the film. this small interruption in the film's main plot only increases the viewer's interest in the mystery surrounding the triwizard tournament and allows them to be briefly distracted by something new - a dance, unseen in any of the previous films, only being further entertained. the elegant and light-hearted appeal brought by both set and design and costume makes this scene have the popular, everlasting impact that it does, monumentally standing alone in the entire franchise. but just as gracious and humorous as this scene is, staying true to the film's dramatic storytelling style, it is also a very emotional as it's the first time (spoiler) hermione alludes to her crush on ron, which is a joyous hands-in-the-air-big-win-for-the-team, unless you're a harmione (harry and hermione) shipper (like us). but still, regardless of who you support, hermione crying on the steps is still very crushing to watch, only adding to the swell of the film's gripping intensity.
which, as great as the previously talked about categories truly are, what really brings this film together is the editing. chucked full with lots of content and an underbelly of mischief brewing, it was super important that each scene cut to one another fluidly to pace the audience appropriately along, not overwhelming them with a long, extensive story but also not leaving them confused by jumping around too quickly. it's a very intricate process that results in either a hit or a miss on the editing room floor. however, not surprisingly, with the powerful minds behind this film, this was executed successfully. exactly so, scenes and a variety of eye-catching shot comp drifted from each other as you naturally expected them to. precisely timed, everything felt purposeful, making the little details just as important as the big ones, engaging the audience further in the film, in hopes to catch them all and engulf them in the story, as if they're in on the magic too. an example of this was seen during (spoiler) the final round of the triwizard tournament as harry potter enters and consumes himself deeper and deeper into the maze. as he does so, the festive and triumphant music from the excited and spirited crowd fades to a complete and utterly dooming silence. this ominous audio-fade-bled-into-an-audio-transition creates an eerie chill and tingly sense of creepiness to the film, a new kinda of sinister, unfelt in its previous films, forebodingly hinting to the unnerving force at play and enrapturing the viewer into the maze themselves.
in short, harry potter and the goblet of fire is fire.
-- thanks, emma xo