First off… HAPPY BIRTHDAY Christie! Hope you have a fantastic day! 🙂

Second… YaY CAL for winning the Big Game this past weekend. It was the first time I’d ever been to a Big Game and it was lots of fun. My ears are still ringing, though, from sitting in the student section with all the screaming fans.

Too bad I also got sick and had to stay home from work all day yesterday. I’ve been pretty miserable for the past few days but at least I caught up on TV. 🙂 There’s always a bright side.

And now… random HP GoF thoughts.

GoF is my favorite book of the series so far and I think it just might be my favorite of the movies as well. However, I still hold PoA to be the better movie… I found PoA to be a more interesting interpretation of the book and really, it was just visually stunning. Is it weird that I favor one movie but think the other is better overall? Cause it totally makes sense in my head.

I didn’t mind the changes they made in GoF… ie. Barty Crouch, Jr. appearing in the opening scene with Voldemort and Wormtail and Ron finding out about the dragons, etc. The changes made sense to streamline the story. I was even glad to see the house elves storyline go and normally I find it amusing when reading the book.

Anyway, my other thoughts in list form…
Things I Loved
1. Fred and George. They were hilarious. I especially loved when Fred asked Angelina to the Yule Ball. So great.
2. Draco and Lucius. They did such a great job casting these two. They’re gorgeous. I can’t wait to see who they’re going to cast as Narcissa.
3. Ralph Fiennes was fantastic. Creepy, dark and downright frightening. Really, the entire graveyard scene was pretty much perfect.
4. All the new characters were spot on for me. Cho, Viktor, Cedric, Rita Skeeter, Moody. I really enjoyed them all. I especially adored Cedric. It’s too bad we’ll never see him again. *sob* And while I thought Cho was super cute, she definitely does not look at all how I imagined. I love her accent, though!
5. Yes, I’m a Harry/Hermione shipper so OF COURSE, I totally loved their scenes… the nervous hug before the first task, the kiss on the forehead after the second task, Harry’s look as Hermione walked down the stairs at the Yule Ball… I know what’s to come in the next few books so I’ll take my shipping happiness where I can get it. 😉
6. The trio in general did a great job. ILOVETHEMSOMUCH. They get better and better with each film. Especially Dan. He was a little wooden in PS but he’s really improved. And surprisingly, I didn’t mind his long hair at all.

Things I Didn’t Care For
1. The mosh pit-like dancing at the Yule Ball. Uh, WEIRD.
2. Ginny. I like the character well enough but I’m sorry, Bonnie Wright does not impress me AT ALL. She doesn’t really have any screen presence and more importantly, she doesn’t seem to have any kind of chemistry with Harry. Or Ron. Or even the twins, for that matter. I wonder if the producers/director are going to consider recasting the role for the fifth/sixth movie?
3. Harry fighting the dragon went on for WAY too long. It was cool for the first minute but after that, I kept thinking the time would have been better spent on something else. Not to mention the fact that he would have totally lost the task cause he was taking too freaking long!
4. The ending was a little *too* happy and optimistic. I recently reread GoF and I finished it with a sense of sadness because the magic world is never going to be the same. Sure, the trio alluded to change in their ending dialogue but the impact of Voldemort’s return didn’t really resonate in their words.

I’m going to see the movie again with some co-workers next Saturday so we’ll see if I have anything more to say… Whee! Can’t wait. 🙂