Customer Rating:  
Summary: DELUXE Edition?
Comment: I loved the books and enjoyed the movies, and I do believe a great deal of information was left out of all the movies so far. What I want to know is why is this one called The DELUXE Edition?
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Major Rebound From Part 3.
Comment: Giving you a brief rundown of where I stand, I thought Part 1 was a phenomenal masterpiece. I didn't like Part 2 quite as much, but I think it followed Part 1 as well as could be expected. I did not like Part 3. (Believe me, I tried to like it. I gave it several chances before I realized I could not like it.) I consider Part 4 a major rebound. It starts with Harry, Ron, and Hermonie watching a spectacular circus act with some magical touches. We later learn that there is going to be a set of interschool magical olympics events that could be dangerous. (Perhaps someone could even get killed.) We learn one of the greatest hypocrisies of these interschool / international sport gatherings. (It's ok to have interschool or international competitions, AS LONG AS IT'S OUR SCHOOL OR COUNTRY THAT WINS.) While Harry is under 17 and too young to enter, his name ends up as a champion who must participate. Nice mystery to start things off. The cold hearted, but virtuous and trustworthy Professor Snape knows that something is not right. But he suspects that something is majorly wrong, and that it would be best to let Harry participate and see what the bigger picture is. Very quickly, I have to admit I kind of like the new Dumbledore (Michael Gambon). In this movie, we start to see some conflicts between the inseperable friends Harry and Ron. Later, Harry and Ron have a fallout with Hermonie. (They are getting older, and starting to have some differences.) But like true friends, they are willing to move on from their disputes. (Good thing seeing that the tensions in this 4th chapter are rising!) One thing that makes this 4th chapter great, is that we see that while Neville still bumbles, his intelligence is starting to be of use. He helps Harry come up with a plan for breathing underwater for an extended amount of time. With some Part 2 nostalgia, Harry stumbles onto a vision of a past event (that has some influence on his present). Harry again has a dispute with the cold hearted, but honorable Professor Snape. (Snape suspects Harry of stealing some of his ingredients for potions.) This leads to a bitter trade of remarks. The 3rd and final contests (find the cup in a possibly dangerous maze) leads to unexpected, and very dangerous results, topped off by the return of Lord Voldemort (whom we have not seen since Part 2). As on occassions before, Harry realizes that some people he really liked and trusted were not who or what they seemed, and AGAIN he realizes that Professor Snape is not a bad person. (One would think by now that Harry knows that whatever Professor Snape's faults are, he is virtuous and trustworthy.) Snape also discovers who has really been stealing his magical ingredients. A climactic conflict follows with Dumbledore and Snape at the sides of each other doing what they can to quell at least part of the situation. There is a notable sadness to the end of this 4th chapter. This sadness also hints at the corruption Harry, Ron, Hermonie, Neville, Dumbledore, and Snape will face in part 5 ("Order of the Phoenix"). If you read the book, you will notice that a large number of things have been 'snipped.' The whole House Elf subplot has been entirely deleted. You may also miss the argument Dumbledore and Snape have with the incompetent Cornelius Fudge, and the uneasy reconciliation between Sirius Black and Professor Snape. But overall, these people did a really great job of fitting this story into 2 1/2 hours.
Customer Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment.
Comment: I won't write a synopsis, I'm sure there will be hundreds of people who will after this review.
My family and I all love the Harry potter stories. They are rich and enjoyable. I find myself anticipating the release of Deathly Hallows. But the movies, I'm sad to say, have recently been lacking, and that continues with this one. It seemed to begin with Prisoner of Azkaban. After watching the interviews, and discovering how Cuaron cheated by having the kids write essays on their characters instead of reading the book, I was very disappointed and the butchery of the story for the sake of time and 'Hollywood' THEN made sense. They seem to be leaving things out, important things to the story. What happened to SPEW? What happened to Hermione knitting hats? These things may not have seemed important to the over all story as portrayed in the movie, but these little touches add depth and colour to the world of Harry Potter. they could have shortened the battle with the dragon in Goblet, perhaps put in a couple of two or three minute spots about SPEW, but they chose to go for the action instead of the human touches to these stories. My daughter plans to take me to see Order of The Phoenix for my birthday. And I'm sad to say, I'm only partially looking forward to it at this point, I keep hoping that they will pull it back together.
What makes this movie worth while? Not much. The acting is still topnotch from a lot of the actors, but it seems more like they're reading from cue boards than acting anymore.
What makes this movie stink? I outlined it above. The only reason I purchased the DVD was because my daughter adores the characters.
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