am I a sheep for liking Goblet of Fire?
Nov. 19th, 2005 07:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aruanSo I was in a bad way when I got back to town Friday. Getting up at seven in the morning, spending the rest of it driving the hicktown backroads of Florida (and god, I am so done with all the nowhere alleys of this state after three extensive road trips through them in a week), filling out yet more job applications, being given the worst directions EVER to a hospital a bridge and three blocks away, and spending more than an hour on a floor that reeked vaguely of vomit and urine and antiseptic to take a drug test, which is so much more humiliating a process than necessary.
But then, City Editor Scott Butler of The Florida Times-Union took me out to lunch at The Jacksonville Landing, the party place for the Florida-Georgia football game. Our waitress had just done a line of cocaine in the bathroom before taking our drink orders, and Scott was charming, even with the business stuff. I even shared my theory that the new guard, i.e. the under-30somethings, will usher in a new, jeans-friendly workplace. The paper is a bit right-leaning and nation-focused, as opposed to the widely successful tactic of keeping it local, but it's a good paper trying to go in a new direction. Mostly, the guy who'd be supervising in Tallahassee (this is a Florida Legislature internship) is personable, knowledgeable and helpful and dude, state politics. I've become such a junkie in the past year with all the city/county stuff.
But then the other chief editor, Marilyn Young, had to go and put a damper on it all by having the most businesslike interview ever, wherein I felt like she was sniffing me like she knew I didn't belong and was waiting to catch that final telltale sign before snarling. I don't think she got it, but mostly, Scott walked me out and shook my hand and mostly was just himself some more, which was as I mentioned nice, then I got to drive home into the sunset on the freeway, extra mileage be damned, with gorgeous weather whipping my hair in my face.
I'd talked to Mike earlier, when I was strung out from bad directions and a worse hospital experience (seriously, I would sooner let a wound get infected than go to a hospital). Also, I'd talked to Krissi before leaving, who said she got us Goblet of Fire tickets for tomorrow night. Basically, I was feeling strung out and unhappy and he's all, come home, I'll buy you dinner.
Well, I did get home eventually (going up to 94 mph on the freeway does that), but made a detour on the off chance that Gator Cinemas would still have tickets for tonight. Which I find out they do, only to realize I'd left my debit card in the back pocket of the jeans I wore yesterday. Grr!
I scraped together $5 from my purse and car to buy one ticket, then busted it home, broke out my Gryffindor scarf (love to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pierydys), had Mike slap on clothes and hauled it back there to see if they still had any left. Well, as it turned out, they had EXACTLY ONE ticket left, and there was much rejoicing. Mike then made good and a half, buying me two Margaritas the size of my head at Don Pablo's, and we got in line drunk and happy right next to the offices of one Robert Crum (Mike hadn't read GoF, so I told him to keep an eye out as to why that amused me) to wait to be let in for the 11 p.m. show.
Caveats in place (no, I haven't had a chance to finish Half-Blood Prince; yes I suck at life), GoF if my favorite book. There's just so much plot and character stuff and exposition and intrigue - which is to say, I was worried. Needlessly, it turns out, as the film was a magnificent adaptation. That last one being the key word, of course, as good chunks of plot were left out (i.e. no Percy Weasley), but I don't remember a movie since Love Actually that had me as thoroughly engrossed, made me laugh so much, and kept me as riveted, especially since I knew what was going to happen. A little play-by-play of reactions, keeping in mind that I've seen it only once and likely to have forgotten many of the hundred wonderful monents:
-Barty Crouch Jr.'s subplot was set up so unambiguously. This movie made the mistake the first two did, in that they're being geared toward small children who the MPAA considers too young to even see it. Alfonso Cuaron did such a good job with PoA because his cinematography has so much style, it oozed off the screen and stained my jacket without detracting from the pace, whereas Mike Newell got a little lost in the details at points that took away from the impact of the scene.
-Lucius Malfoy is still deliciously evil. That's all that's needed to be said about that.
-The Durmstrang students' entrance was v. cool, with the sticks and the fire and stuff. And by that I mean mmm, boys.
-Michael Gambon's portrayal of Dumbledore continues to rub me wrong. He's just a bit too... physical, especially with the way he was mandhandling Harry after the goblet spat out his name. Not that Dumbledore is an old man in all ways in the books, but he's got a more internal energy to him, like he's gotten to the point where his body is less a way to channel his power and more of a hindrance to their full effectiveness.
-Not!Moody's demonstration of the Unforgivable Curses gave me chills. It was perfect, in the way that seeing Neville almost cry and focusing from the dead spider to Harry's face after not!Moody cast Avada Kedavra can be a pleasant experience.
-Speaking of which, I disregarded the exclusion of the house elves, whose plight has already been made clear to us in the last film, because it expanded Neville's role, whom I grow to love more with every passing minute.
-Alan Rickman had, like, three lines. But that was made up for by, again a bit out of character but damn it, watching him tousle Ron's and Harry's hair was toe-curling. And it wasn't just me - there was a healthy smattering of gleeful laughter in the theater. Snape's compassion about Harry being in the tournament was also a little jarring, but I have to remember that he had the same reaction in the book. Man, these wizards really are something reckless sometimes.
-The twins Weasley are awesome. Also, I needs the good fic about it like a hobbit needs his ring of power.
-Ron and McGonagall dancing? I, along with the rest of the theater, about died laughing. The whole notion of the ball was so adorably silly to all of them - though the Hermione/Ron conflict played well, through and especially at the end of the ball (though let's not let the ball go without mentioning how darling Harry and Ron looked rumpled in the middle of the mess of it all. It's one of those moments I've had and know that I do indeed have something in common with their world, you know?)
-But let's not also leave the relationship topic without mentioning that for a long minute there, we were really trying to set up the wrong relationship. Neither should we ignore Neville and Ginny dancing together. [heart]
-To the more purile among us, Cedric totally came off like he was propositioning Harry with the egg clue. Just us champions, Prefects' bathroom, whaddaya say? After the snickering at that subsided, which was right about the time Harry took off his shirt, the same good folks in the audience cheered and catcalled. Now, I was much too punch-drunk on endorphins and said alcohol to keep inside the plenty loud enough "He's fourteen" in response. At which the other half of the theater laughed while the rest catcalled some more. I [heart] opening night crowds.
-While my first reaction to the maze was that the kids weren't tested enough, we got to see Krum under the Imperius Curse, as well as Harry and Cedric be competent, compassionate wizards, which was the point of the exercise. And you know, that moment of hesitation on Harry's part.
-Then, the graveyard scene. Harry being held captive by that statue was one of the more frightening things ever. There were too few Death Eaters, but we'll leave that be, because Ralph Fiennes was spot-on as Voldemort. Personally, he would've been a lot more menacing if he'd looked human, but the whole point is that he's been so warped by all the methods he's had to resort to in staying alive that he well couldn't be just human. The duel was as unevenly matched and impossible as in the book, and my only wish, really, would've been getting to see Harry's parents more clearly.
-The end did a good job of setting up the big points of Order of the Phoenix - Dumbledore saying he should've told Harry more and his speech about friendships being the key to surviving the dark time ahead. But the movie dealt well both with keeping viewers in the moment while hinting at what's to come, plot and characters-wise, and perhaps as importantly, I was as entertained by it as by the book. Every critic on the face of the planet rightly loved it.
Quote of the Day
"What's the point of AA when you can be drunk?"
-me, after "a lot" of tequila
But then, City Editor Scott Butler of The Florida Times-Union took me out to lunch at The Jacksonville Landing, the party place for the Florida-Georgia football game. Our waitress had just done a line of cocaine in the bathroom before taking our drink orders, and Scott was charming, even with the business stuff. I even shared my theory that the new guard, i.e. the under-30somethings, will usher in a new, jeans-friendly workplace. The paper is a bit right-leaning and nation-focused, as opposed to the widely successful tactic of keeping it local, but it's a good paper trying to go in a new direction. Mostly, the guy who'd be supervising in Tallahassee (this is a Florida Legislature internship) is personable, knowledgeable and helpful and dude, state politics. I've become such a junkie in the past year with all the city/county stuff.
But then the other chief editor, Marilyn Young, had to go and put a damper on it all by having the most businesslike interview ever, wherein I felt like she was sniffing me like she knew I didn't belong and was waiting to catch that final telltale sign before snarling. I don't think she got it, but mostly, Scott walked me out and shook my hand and mostly was just himself some more, which was as I mentioned nice, then I got to drive home into the sunset on the freeway, extra mileage be damned, with gorgeous weather whipping my hair in my face.
I'd talked to Mike earlier, when I was strung out from bad directions and a worse hospital experience (seriously, I would sooner let a wound get infected than go to a hospital). Also, I'd talked to Krissi before leaving, who said she got us Goblet of Fire tickets for tomorrow night. Basically, I was feeling strung out and unhappy and he's all, come home, I'll buy you dinner.
Well, I did get home eventually (going up to 94 mph on the freeway does that), but made a detour on the off chance that Gator Cinemas would still have tickets for tonight. Which I find out they do, only to realize I'd left my debit card in the back pocket of the jeans I wore yesterday. Grr!
I scraped together $5 from my purse and car to buy one ticket, then busted it home, broke out my Gryffindor scarf (love to
pierydys), had Mike slap on clothes and hauled it back there to see if they still had any left. Well, as it turned out, they had EXACTLY ONE ticket left, and there was much rejoicing. Mike then made good and a half, buying me two Margaritas the size of my head at Don Pablo's, and we got in line drunk and happy right next to the offices of one Robert Crum (Mike hadn't read GoF, so I told him to keep an eye out as to why that amused me) to wait to be let in for the 11 p.m. show.Caveats in place (no, I haven't had a chance to finish Half-Blood Prince; yes I suck at life), GoF if my favorite book. There's just so much plot and character stuff and exposition and intrigue - which is to say, I was worried. Needlessly, it turns out, as the film was a magnificent adaptation. That last one being the key word, of course, as good chunks of plot were left out (i.e. no Percy Weasley), but I don't remember a movie since Love Actually that had me as thoroughly engrossed, made me laugh so much, and kept me as riveted, especially since I knew what was going to happen. A little play-by-play of reactions, keeping in mind that I've seen it only once and likely to have forgotten many of the hundred wonderful monents:
-Barty Crouch Jr.'s subplot was set up so unambiguously. This movie made the mistake the first two did, in that they're being geared toward small children who the MPAA considers too young to even see it. Alfonso Cuaron did such a good job with PoA because his cinematography has so much style, it oozed off the screen and stained my jacket without detracting from the pace, whereas Mike Newell got a little lost in the details at points that took away from the impact of the scene.
-Lucius Malfoy is still deliciously evil. That's all that's needed to be said about that.
-The Durmstrang students' entrance was v. cool, with the sticks and the fire and stuff. And by that I mean mmm, boys.
-Michael Gambon's portrayal of Dumbledore continues to rub me wrong. He's just a bit too... physical, especially with the way he was mandhandling Harry after the goblet spat out his name. Not that Dumbledore is an old man in all ways in the books, but he's got a more internal energy to him, like he's gotten to the point where his body is less a way to channel his power and more of a hindrance to their full effectiveness.
-Not!Moody's demonstration of the Unforgivable Curses gave me chills. It was perfect, in the way that seeing Neville almost cry and focusing from the dead spider to Harry's face after not!Moody cast Avada Kedavra can be a pleasant experience.
-Speaking of which, I disregarded the exclusion of the house elves, whose plight has already been made clear to us in the last film, because it expanded Neville's role, whom I grow to love more with every passing minute.
-Alan Rickman had, like, three lines. But that was made up for by, again a bit out of character but damn it, watching him tousle Ron's and Harry's hair was toe-curling. And it wasn't just me - there was a healthy smattering of gleeful laughter in the theater. Snape's compassion about Harry being in the tournament was also a little jarring, but I have to remember that he had the same reaction in the book. Man, these wizards really are something reckless sometimes.
-The twins Weasley are awesome. Also, I needs the good fic about it like a hobbit needs his ring of power.
-Ron and McGonagall dancing? I, along with the rest of the theater, about died laughing. The whole notion of the ball was so adorably silly to all of them - though the Hermione/Ron conflict played well, through and especially at the end of the ball (though let's not let the ball go without mentioning how darling Harry and Ron looked rumpled in the middle of the mess of it all. It's one of those moments I've had and know that I do indeed have something in common with their world, you know?)
-But let's not also leave the relationship topic without mentioning that for a long minute there, we were really trying to set up the wrong relationship. Neither should we ignore Neville and Ginny dancing together. [heart]
-To the more purile among us, Cedric totally came off like he was propositioning Harry with the egg clue. Just us champions, Prefects' bathroom, whaddaya say? After the snickering at that subsided, which was right about the time Harry took off his shirt, the same good folks in the audience cheered and catcalled. Now, I was much too punch-drunk on endorphins and said alcohol to keep inside the plenty loud enough "He's fourteen" in response. At which the other half of the theater laughed while the rest catcalled some more. I [heart] opening night crowds.
-While my first reaction to the maze was that the kids weren't tested enough, we got to see Krum under the Imperius Curse, as well as Harry and Cedric be competent, compassionate wizards, which was the point of the exercise. And you know, that moment of hesitation on Harry's part.
-Then, the graveyard scene. Harry being held captive by that statue was one of the more frightening things ever. There were too few Death Eaters, but we'll leave that be, because Ralph Fiennes was spot-on as Voldemort. Personally, he would've been a lot more menacing if he'd looked human, but the whole point is that he's been so warped by all the methods he's had to resort to in staying alive that he well couldn't be just human. The duel was as unevenly matched and impossible as in the book, and my only wish, really, would've been getting to see Harry's parents more clearly.
-The end did a good job of setting up the big points of Order of the Phoenix - Dumbledore saying he should've told Harry more and his speech about friendships being the key to surviving the dark time ahead. But the movie dealt well both with keeping viewers in the moment while hinting at what's to come, plot and characters-wise, and perhaps as importantly, I was as entertained by it as by the book. Every critic on the face of the planet rightly loved it.
Quote of the Day
"What's the point of AA when you can be drunk?"
-me, after "a lot" of tequila
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
if you're a sheep
Date: November 20th, 2005 05:31 am (UTC)Re: if you're a sheep
Date: November 20th, 2005 07:41 am (UTC)