[Movie] Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The Harry Potter series are perhaps the most satisfying ‘books into movies” for me so far; either because J.K. Rowling has written the books very vividly or because she was involved in the movie production. Unlike my first experience of watching this movie, this time I watched the movie right after I’ve finished the book, so I still got quite fresh memory to compare both.

Overall, from castings, story and plot, and setting and costumes, I have only little to complaint. Emma Watson and Rupert Grint are only few of the stars who blend in the characters in the book very well. Maybe my only complaint is for Daniel Radcliffe who plays at Harry Potter. I always think Daniel is much too ‘sweet’ for Harry. The movie setting are also fabulous; the way they made Hogwarts castles as what we’ve always imagined it, is just one of the many thumbs-up settings in this movies. If I have one critic, it’s for the Yule ball. With the girls wearing evening dress like we all wear, it had lost the ‘wizarding’ touch. It’s just weird to see boys in their dress robes dance with girls in their evening dress, it made the party looked like a Muggle’s party.

So now, about story and plot; most of Harry Potter movies’ plot follows the story from books, only here and there they were cut and slightly changed to make it compact for a movie. In this Goblet of Fire, there are little changes of the details; some of them do not alter the sense of the story, but some do. For example in the Triwizard Tournament—at the point when Harry and Cedric met in the middle of the maze and finally decided to go for the cup together. In the book, I remember Harry was the one who was limp because he strained his leg, however in the movie Harry was the one who helped Cedric from the roots which strangled him (I also did not find this one in the book). In the book it’s Cedric who must fight his ego to grab the cup and leave Harry behind, but in the movie it’s Harry who suffered it. Maybe it’s to give credit to the main hero, that he was not selfish.

I must admit that the cinematographer has done a good work here, and so I’m happy to grant 8.5 to 10 stars for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie!

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I watched this for Books Into Movies Monthly Meme #4

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire [Re-Read]

Goblet of Fire turns out to be one turning point for Harry Potter series. It is where Harry Potter is no longer children literature, and from this fourth series on it would become much deeper and darker. Even amidst the splendor and glittering of Quidditch World Cup, Rowling slipped for the first time the Dark Mark signal. Things are now getting serious, especially for Harry when the Triwizard Tournament takes place in Hogwarts. But the real blow is the rising of Voldemort, Cedric Diggory’s murder and the chaos in wizardry world after having been in a prosperous era for thirteen years. No wonder there are people (and most of the wizardry world) who denied the idea that Voldemort has returned. It’s not only about accepting ideas, but Voldemort’s rising would turn over the whole aspects in their world. It’s enormously difficult for greedy people like Cornelius Fudge to admit it, because it would mean a disaster for himself. And that’s why this book should be read by adults or young adults at least, who deal much with the real life, because what happens in this story might happen in the real world.

Like always, I would share my random thoughts during my re-reading of this book. Frankly speaking—except for the Quidditch Cup and Triwizard Tournament—I have forgotten almost the whole story. So, this second reading worked as refreshing and rekindling my feeling about it.

Speaking of the much darker theme of this book, even in the first lesson of the Defense Against Dark Arts class, Harry—in the midst of his cheerful moments in Hogwarts—must have thought painfully about his parents’ die. Here’s a child who never knew and couldn’t even imagine how his parents had died. From the beginning, Harry’s life was already full of violence…. :(

Now speaking about the Triwizard Tournament, it’s a real spicy bonus from Rowling. It’s a pity that the tournament turns out to be only Voldemort’s tool to get Harry, and thus it’s far from fair. I don’t think Harry would even be a strong competitor if he doesn’t always get clues from others before the tasks. One thing I’m wondering though…we know how Fleur and Krum got their clues for the first task—the dragons; but how do they get to know the second one? I don’t think Cedric would tell them, he told Harry only because he owed Harry the first task’s clue. Now, do you think the fake Moody would bother to tell them? I don’t think so, because it’s going to be easier to let Harry win if two of the champions fail. Do Fleur and Krum find it out themselves only minutes before the task? But that would prove they are really good. I can imagine Krum as a talented wizard, but Fleur…. I doubt it, considering her failing on first task. So, is this another Rowling’s flaw or do you have better idea? :)

I consider this book as the Harry Potters turning point, not merely of the dark theme, but also the touch of humanity Rowling sprinkles into this story. I’m talking about Hermione with her SPEW campaign and elf issue. Actually we have been familiar with the similar issue with pure blood and mudblood issue from the previous series, however here we get some action, some momentum to fight the social injustice. More than status, elf issue means slavery. And from how the elfs (except Dobby) resist to be freed, I’ve been thinking that the real human slavery, as well as colonialism, can go on hundreds of years because people get used to the treatment; until someday, only when there would be someone who’s sensible and brave enough to fight for their independence, they would be fully independent.

And then this came to my mind, how hard it is for us to accept transformation; how difficult it is to make us think outside the box. Being in the comfort zone would always be most of our choices, although we also keep complaining of life being so hard, etc. Wizards don’t want to hear that Voldemort is back; Elfs don’t want to be freed; both because they can’t afford to have their comfort zone to be ripped out from them and to be replaced by something new they know nothing about. That’s pathetic!

Now we come to the sentimental aspects of this book :) Although Cedric’s tragic death seems to be the scene that shed tears the most, it did not touch me the way I did on first reading. On the contrary, scenes of Hagrid in the bitterness of being a half-giant, or Ron of being poor, touched me deeper than anything else throughout the book.

Here’s Hagrid’s wise quote:

“Yeh know what I’d love, Harry? I’d love yeh ter win, I really would. It’d show ‘em all…. Yeh don’ have ter be pure blood ter do it. Yeh don’ have ter be ashamed of what yeh are. It’d show ‘em Dumbledore’s the one who’s got it righ’, letting anyone in as long as they can do magic.”

What a lesson that is, ‘You don’t have to be ashamed of what you are!”. Bravo Hagrid!!

And my most heartbreaking scene came from the following passage, this time Ron’s speaking to Harry when they both knew that Leprechaun’s money was fake, it’d disappear after few days. Ron just realized that the Leprechaun’s money he got from Quidditch World Cup, which he gave Harry to pay for the thing Harry bought him (I forget the goods, is it Sneakoscope?), never existed. And Harry never told him about this.

The thing is, although he is very poor (and this applies to the whole family, not only in Ron), Ron never asks for pity or begs from others. This is not just a snobbish proud, but a noble principle. The Leprechaun’s gold coins are perhaps the only treasure he has ever possessed; and yet, he gave it to Harry to pay for the gift so that he’d never owe anything to Harry. Ron is so proud that he can give his treasure to his wealthy friend, whom he always secretly envies. So I can imagine how it feels for Ron knowing that he had given Harry false gold coins; and most of all because Harry never mentioned it that just highlighted Ron’s poorness. It hurts so much when people emphasize the fact that you are poor; even when it’s the truth, really! So, when Harry gives Ron an indifferent answer that he never realized about the missing gold coin, Ron breaks down. These passages scratched my heart deeply….

“Must be nice, to have so much money you don’t notice if a pocketful of Galleons goes missing.”

“I didn’t know Leprechaun gold vanishes. I thought I was paying you back.”

“I hate being poor.”

Oh…poor Ron, and with all you must have gone through, being a friend to a wealthy famous Harry Potter, you are a true friend till the end. Really, it’s you who should be called a great wizard, not Potter! Potter got all of it from friendly circumstances, you do all of you’ve done in spite of unfriendly circumstances!

Four and a half stars for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

And to end this review, as usual, I’m summoning Dumbledore here to share his wise words…

“It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!”

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*I read ebook version for:*

4^th book for Hotter Potter

9^th book for What’s in A Name Challenge 2013

My Flourish and Blotts’ Wishlist: Hotter Potter April Meme

This is perhaps the most interesting month for Hotter Potter Meme, when all the participants—and they are all book bloggers!—will talk about… books! Because this month’s prompt is:

“If you had a chance to visit Flourish and Blotts, what book (only one) would you bring home?”

(Jika kamu berkesempatan mengunjungi toko buku Flourish and Blotts, buku apa yang akan kamu bawa pulang dari sana? Pilih 1 (satu) buku saja!)

I have created several of my own book wishlist, both at Goodreads—for keeping a record of those good books—as well as in online bookshops like Amazon and The Book Depository. So, if I were a witch, and  Flourish and Blotts has a wishlist feature for us, I might create one too… :)

Now about the book I’d like to buy from Flourish and Blotts. From all the books that you would find in it, I think this one has intrigued me the most:

The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts

Here is the Introduction to give you some nice teaser of it….. :)

“Darker times have always seemed to create darker energies. When people aren’t happy with their lives, they can become angry and they can become vengeful. While this does not always happen, it is easy to see why some people would turn to darker magic in darker times. They wanted a way out of their current religions or their lives, and so they looked to create dark magic in order to alleviate their feelings and to make their lives better. But the truth of dark magic is that it’s not always as evil or as clear cut as it seems.” [source]

Interesting, eh?

And to know more about what this book contains, here are the chapters….

#1 - The Argument about the Dark Arts

#2 - The Darker Ages

#3 - The Fall of the Dark Arts

#4 - Today’s Dark Arts

Lately I’ve had a new interest in history; I’ve even bought ‘The History of the Decline and Fall of Roman Empire’ by Edward Gibbon. It’d be interesting to learn how a once-biggest civilization in the world could fall. I think, for witches and wizards, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts would be as interesting as that; and what’s more, it’s also important to learn the signs of the Dark Arts rise and fall, so we could use it to protect ourselves. Dark Arts is an undivided part of wizardry world anyway, thus all related to them must have an influence to our world…. if you live in the same world as I do…the wizardry world. Or…ehmmm…is it? Or is it muggle world? Well, wherever we are, this is definitely a tantalizing book! *drooling*

Books Into Movies Monthly Meme

For one year, Maria from Hobby Buku’s Classic is hosting an interesting monthly meme: Books Into Movies. Of course, it’ll all be about reading books, watching the movie adaptations, and posting our thoughts about them. And what is more exciting is, that we can pick books and movies from any genre! I have several movies from books in my shelf, ready to watch, so these are what I’m going to have for a year…

Apr ’13

A Christmas Carol - have read the novella, will re-watch the Jim Carrey’s animated movie

The Three Musketeers - have read the book, will watch the 2011 movie adaptation
Les Miserables - have read the book, will watch the 2012 movie adaptation

May ‘13

Romeo and Juliet - will read the play for Let’s Read Play, and will watch the 1996 (Leonardo Di Caprio’s version) movie adaptation
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - have read (and re-read) the book, will watch the movie adaptation.

I will also do these until March 2014, in random order….

The Great Gatsby - will re-read the book, and—hopefully—the newest movie adaptation will reach Indonesia soon!
The Cherry Orchard

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – have watched the movie adaptation (Brad Pitt’s version), will read the novella (or is it a short story?)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas – have read the book, will watch the movie adaptation

The Call of the Wild – will read the book, and watch the movie adaptation

The Rainmaker (John Grisham) – have read the book (might re-read), will watch the movie adaptation

The Picture of Dorian Gray – have read the book, will read the movie adaptation

The Importance of Being Earnest – have read the play, will watch the movie adaptation

Gulliver’s Travels – will read the book and watch the movie adaptation

The Day of the Jackal – have read the book, just need to post review of movie adaptation :)

Greyfriars Bobby – will read the book, and then watch the movie adaptation

Gone With The Wind – have read the book, will watch the movie adaptation
Life of Pi - have read the book, will watch the latest movie adaptation

That’s all for now, it might expand or altered from time to time when I find the movies or read more books.

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban [Re-Read]

The third book in this series turns out to be more mature and much darker than the two previous books. This is where we are introduced to the dementors, the dark signs (Trelawney’s prophecy and the Grimm superstitious), as well as the fear which was pervading in the wizarding and in muggle world from Sirius Black’s escape from Azkaban.

This book was opened, as usual, with Harry’s troubled relationship with the Dursleys, although this year was also his happiest birthday in his entire life; he got gifts from Ron, Hermione and Hagrid. His days in Diagon Alley—where Cornelius Fudge placed him after he had run away from the Dursleys—were perfect too. I am a fan of entertaining myself alone; the freedom of watching or shopping anywhere I like is very enjoyable; and that’s why I could appreciate Harry’s feeling at his last weeks of holidays there. Writing essays while enjoying the flowing ice-cream at Florian Fortesque, isn’t it the most awesome holiday in the world? :) And it was topped by the arrivals of the Weasleys and Hermione to join him before starting their third term in Hogwarts.

However, it is in this third series that my liking of Harry was slightly reduced. Here is the hint of his snobbery, because he was ‘the boy who lived’, because he has escaped Voldemort’s attack thrice before. “Did they think he (Harry) couldn’t look after himself? He’d escaped Lord Voldemort three times; he wasn’t completely useless…” Harry must have forgotten that in those three events, he was helped by others? Other might said he was a lucky boy, but I think it’s not merely lucky, but because he was destined to do big things for his world and humanity.

Obedience—or in this case, disobedience—was also Harry’s weakness. I know that as teenager, we don’t like to be told to do or not to do things, teenagers like to do things in their impulsive and foolish way. But I find that aspect is quite overdose in Harry. It’s not just bravery, but more than that. Harry felt that “I don’t go looking for trouble, trouble usually finds me”,  that might be true at first, Harry didn’t ask to be Voldemort’s sparing partner in the first place, but he was often carried away to meddle in other things that’s not his concerns. Maybe Harry inherited it from his father James—whom, I admit, was one I dislike most of all protagonists in the series. Harry has many great qualities, but those two—snobbery and disobedience—were not in it.

Among his great qualities, his loyalty in friendship is what I admire. But in that case, Ron and Hermione have their equal shares too. When the Hogsmeade’s weekends came, Ron and Hermione put off their quarrel because Harry was sad of not being able to enjoy Hogsmeade’s festivities. I was amazed when the three of them chased Scabbers—who was chased by Crookshanks—then the black dog attacked them, Ron put himself in Harry’s place by pushing Harry aside and let himself being exposed to the dog. It was an impulsive move, where you don’t have even a second to think, and by that, we know that Ron—despite of being always Harry’s shadow, and I know there’s a bit envy in him—cared so much for Harry, that he sacrificed himself to save his best friend. Isn’t amazing? And at the age of thirteen! Well that, I think, that made me liking Ron more than Harry from this series on…

But I think, the friendship of the ‘Moony-Wormtail-Padfoot-Prongs’ group is more distinguished in this series than of Harry-Ron-Hermione’s. It amazed me more how Sirius, James and Peter—when they knew that Lupin was a werewolf—instead of abandoning Lupin, they share Lupin’s unbearable moments by being Animagi. And they have put great efforts to secretly exercise to perform Animagus. Like Lupin said:

“They couldn’t keep me company as humans, so they keep me company as animals.”

What a huge sacrifice they had done for one friend! This was probably the most touching part for me in this book.

If there is one single thing that I can criticize from Prisoner of Azkaban, it is how quickly Harry put trust in Sirius Black. One moment he was so sure that Sirius has killed his parents, and just after Sirius told them the truth, Harry was suddenly trust him? While he was so difficult to trust Snape—it took years for him, till the end actually—despite the fact that Dumbledore trust him so much? Well…I think it’s rather too quick to believe. But apart from that, I love this book! Four stars for The Prisoner of Azkaban, which I must label as to be read for teenagers of 14 years above, and….can’t wait to get to number 4!

Favorite quotes or passages:

"You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don't recall them more clearly than ever in time of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly when you have need of him." ~Albus Dumbledore

"You know, Harry, in a way, you did see your father last night... You found him inside yourself." ~Albus Dumbledore

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*I read ebook version for:*

3^rd book for Hotter Potter

9^th book for What’s in A Name Challenge 2013

3^rd book for Fun Year Event with Children's Literature

If Only I Could Meet A Phoenix: Hotter Potter March Meme

Harry Potter series have been introducing a lot of exotic magical creatures, either from myths or merely J.K. Rowling’s fantasy. This month Melisa, our host for Hotter Potter reading event asked us an intriguing question:

From all magical creatures/beasts in Harry Potter series, which one you want the most to meet in the real world? What’s the reason?

[Original version: Dari semua makhluk/hewan ajaib yang ada di buku Harry Potter, apa yang paling ingin kamu jumpai di dunia nyata? Jangan lupa alasannya!]

From all the series, I think Fawkes the phoenix has intrigued me the most. I was amazed by its ‘majestic’ manner when Fawkes appeared for the first time in The Chamber of the Secrets. Later on, I admire it more for what it represents. In Greek mythology, Phoenix is a long-lived bird that is cyclically regenerated or reborn. Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor [from Wikipedia]. Fawkes was first introduced to us when Harry saw it suddenly burst into flames and burned down into a pile of ash in Dumbledore’s office, before being reborn from the ashes. What a lovely scene that would have been. It immediately reminds me of Christian’s resurrection!

Phoenix is representing loyalty and sacrifices. When Harry was facing danger from Tom Riddle and his basilisk, Fawkes came in from nowhere. Fawkes came to rescue because Harry—without realizing it—had summoned it by his brave declaration of loyalty to Dumbledore. When Tom Riddle boasted that he is the greatest sorcerer in the world, Harry snapped him, stated bravely that he’s not the greatest sorcerer in the world, but Dumbledore IS. Harry’s loyalty to Dumbledore summoned Fawkes to the Chamber of Secrets. And by immediately flying to Harry, it proved also the phoenix’s loyalty to Dumbledore, for it would unquestioningly help those who were loyal to its master.

And when Harry was injured from the basilisk attack, Fawkes shed its tears to cure it. As Dumbledore had said to Harry, phoenixes can carry immensely heavy loads and that their tears have healing powers. I am quite touched by this; and as tears representing grief, it’s as if Fawkes wants to show us that its grief and sorrows healed us. Does that sound like a sacrifice, like giving itself for other's sake?

This description, when Fawkes came to rescue Harry, seemed to be something unearthly, pure and even sacred…..

“Music was coming from somewhere. It was eerie, spine-tingling, unearthly… Then, as the music reached such a pitch that harry felt it vibrating inside his own ribs, flames erupted at the top of the nearest pillar. A crimson bird the size of a swan had appeared, piping its weird music to the vaulted ceiling. It had a glittering golden talons...”

How wonderful it would be if I could meet a phoenix, listening to its eerie music, watching its red and golden colors, and touching its feather, oh….I believe there would be a wave of joy flowing from it into my soul. If only I could meet a phoenix in this real world, what a joy it would be....

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets [Re-Read]

Of the seven series of Harry Potter, this second series is probably the one I have forgotten the most. I did not remember anything about what is The Chamber of Secrets or what was inside it, so I entered this story quite like a total stranger. Flowing with the story, I began to remember why I loved this story when I first read it years ago, and why—unlike most of serial stories—I didn’t find this second series boring. From the early pages, important things have already emerged, one by one, while Rowling took us to remember few details from the first series.

In this second series, Dobby opened the whole story with his warning to Harry to not going back to Hogwarts, because something dangerous has already waited for him there. I don’t know why I’ve never liked Dobby from the beginning. I know, he ought to be cute and kind, but he annoys me often with his excessive adoration to Harry. Dobby seemed to think only of himself and his own kinds when he created dirty tricks to prevent Harry from going back to Hogwarts; tricks that in the end put Harry in dangers. He did it because the elfs were afraid of their future if Voldemort back to reign the wizardry world, and Harry was their only hope because he’s the only wizard survived from Voldi’s attack. Isn’t it very selfish and narrow minded?

Apart from that, everything goes quite enjoyable until the end—oh, except whenever the pathetic Gilderoy Lockhart appeared! The most amusing part of him was when he lost his memory in the Chamber of Secrets! LOL… Harry and Ron’s adventure with the flying car was my favorite, it showed how it’s only natural for them—as ordinary teenagers—to not wisely think of any other way to go to Hogwarts than flying the car. They didn’t think of consequences, they only enjoyed the freedom of taking their own control, the delight of new adventure, and the exciting chance to show off to the whole school; typical teenagers…

Rowling was quite witty too here, when she narrated Hermione—when teacher asking questions—as ‘sounding as usual as though she had swallowed the textbook’…. :P And of course, the early-term quiz in Defense Against Dark Arts class made me laugh heartily, when Lockhart’s questions were all about him; from his favorite color to ideal birthday gift for him, LOL!!

In this second series Rowling begin to talk about racism issue, by picturing that in wizardry world there are people who think they were the highest species in the world, and to get rid of others than their race would make the world better. The Pureblood, mudblood, and squibs issues dominated the whole story.

Here’s also where Rowling begin to introduce us to Voldemort; she takes us to understand Voldemort’s background that made him the darkest and cruelest cold-hearted wizard. Again Rowling reminds me that one’s character is partly built from his childhood—by education and circumstances—but what he would have become in the future, was also defined by his own choices and decisions. In the case of Tom Riddle, he was an orphan from a mudblood couple, raised in hatred surrounding (his father ignored him because his mother was a witch), and then lived bitterly in an orphan house, and became a solitary child who couldn’t love and—in consequence—didn’t find love in others. I think the ‘hatred’ aspect had made him evil. If we compared Riddle with Potter, Potter was an orphan too, but although he lived miserably with the Dursleys, he was loved by his parents and later on by his friends. And that created a big difference in how they became and how they chose their future. Both Riddle and Potter possessed qualities of being a Slytherin, but Riddle—with his hatred and bitterness—chose Slytherin and dark arts for his future, while Potter insisted to choose Griffindor when the Sorting Hat gave him the alternative of being in Slytherin.

And there are still few other things that caught my attention. First, how brave Harry was when he was face to face with Voldemort (in Riddle’s image) in Chamber of Secrets. He even insulted him when Voldi said that he had become the great sorcerer in the world. And when his life was in danger, Harry showed his loyalty to Dumbledore by defending him, which summoned Fawkes the Phoenix to the rescue.

I also admired the strong bound of Harry, Ron and Hermione’s friendship in their second year. When each of them faced difficulties, the others would stand by and supported their friend. When Ron and Hermione found out that Harry could speak Parsletounge—which was a terrifying fact—they did not accused him of being a Slytherin heir or stayed away from him like others; they trusted Harry of what he was, and concerned about that fact together. When Ron was belching slugs after using his repaired wand, Harry and Hermione did not laugh at him, they helped and took care of him. When Hermione accidentally turned to a cat after drinking Polyjuice, Harry and Ron did not laugh or tease her either. It is so comforting to have friends that always support us, in good or bad.

One thing I’m still wondering though, how do you think the Dursleys sent Harry his gift brought by the owl?

Four stars for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, a book which is, I think, suitable for 12 years and above teenagers and, of course, adults!

Lastly, I always love these wise quotes from Dumbeldore….

“Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.”

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

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*I read ebook version*

*This book is counted as*

2^nd book for Hotter Potter

2^nd book for Fun Year Event with Children's Literature

6^th book for What’s in A Name Challenge 2013