Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Gary Oldman, Miranda Richardson, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs, Robert Pattinson, Clemence Poesy, Frances De La Tour, Stanislav Ianevski

Director: Mike Newell

Summary: Adults who may have been turned off by the more kid-friendly elements of the first two Potter films should sit up and cheer; this fourth installment of Harry's adventures at the magic school of Hogwarts is more mature and darker than its immediate predecessor. This year, Hogwarts is hosting the Tri Wizard festival, and there may be a plot afoot to off Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) during the proceedings. Hermione (Emma Watson) finds a man worthy of her in competing Russian Quidditch champion Viktor Krum (Stanislav Ivaneski), to the chagrin of Ron Weaselly (Rupert Grint) who, though growing into a fine, shaggy orange-haired figure of a lad, is still not quite mature enough to ask Hermione to the Yule ball. Krum's teacher may be involved in the dastardly get-Harry plot, which involves writhing snake tattoos, skull clouds, death-eaters, tournaments with live dragons, a submersible schooner, and a competing school of poised and beautiful girls run by Maxime (Frances De La Tour), who shares a romantic past with gamekeeper Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane). All the other favourites of the series are back as well, including Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, and Gary Oldman, with Timothy Spall as the odious Wormtail, while a new addition to the A-list thespian roster is Ralph Fiennes. Director Mike Newell takes plenty of time to explore character development, but the story still gallops along at a breathless pace, with memorably intense moments involving fire-spewing dragons, dark magical rites, and near-drownings at the hands of slimy mer-people, all of which may prove too much for the youngest of viewers. Everyone else is advised to hold on tight.

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Reviewed by: davybozal24-7
Posted on April 30, 2006 11:34 AM

In the 4th instalment of his exciting story , difficult times lie ahead for Harry Potter . The story so far ... Haunted by nightmares that leave his scar hurting more than usual , Harry ( Daniel Radcliffe ) is all too happy to escape his disturbing dreams by attending the Quidditch
World Cup . Something sinister ignites the skies at the Quidditch
campsite , the Dark Mark , the sign of the evil Lord Voldemort . It's
conjured by his followers , the Death Eaters , who haven't dared to
appear in public since Voldemort was last seen , 13 years ago , on the night he murdered Harry's parents .

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The latest entry in the Harry Potter saga could be retitled Fast Times at Hogwarts, where finding a date to the winter ball is nearly as terrifying as worrying about Lord Voldemort's return. Thus, the young wizards' entry into puberty (and discovery of the opposite sex) opens up a rich mining field to balance out the dark content in the fourth movie (and the stories are only going to get darker). Mike Newell handily takes the directing reins and eases his young cast through awkward growth spurts into true young actors. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe, more sure of himself) has his first girl crush on fellow student Cho Chang, and has his first big fight with best bud Ron. Meanwhile, Ron's underlying romantic tension with Hermione comes to a head over the winter ball, and when she makes one of those girl-into-woman Cinderella entrances, the boys' reactions indicate they've all crossed a threshold.

But don't worry, there's plenty of wizardry and action in Goblet of Fire. When the deadly Tri-Wizard Tournament is hosted by Hogwarts, Harry finds his name mysteriously submitted (and chosen) to compete against wizards from two neighboring academies, as well as another Hogwarts student. The competition scenes are magnificently shot, with much-improved CGI effects (particularly the underwater challenge). And the climactic confrontation with Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes, in a brilliant bit of casting) is the most thrilling yet. Goblet, the first installment to get a PG-13 rating, contains some violence as well as disturbing images for kids and some barely shrouded references at sexual awakening (Harry's bath scene in particular). The 2 1/2-hour film, lean considering it came from a 734-page book, trims out subplots about house elves (they're not missed) and gives little screen time to the standard crew of the other Potter films, but adds in more of Britain's finest actors to the cast, such as Brendan Gleeson as Mad Eye Moody and Miranda Richardson as Rita Skeeter. Michael Gambon, in his second round as Professor Dumbledore, still hasn't brought audiences around to his interpretation of the role he took over after Richard Harris died, but it's a small smudge in an otherwise spotless adaptation.--Ellen A. Kim, Amazon.com

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Additional Scenes, Conversations With The Cast, Triwizard Tournament Dragon Challenge, Triwizard Tournament Lake Challenge, Triwizard Tournament Maze Challenge, To The Graveyard And Back Challenge, Making Of Featurettes, Harry Vs The Horntail The First Task, In T
Subtitles:	Arabic, English, Greek, Icelandic
Year:	2005
Release Date:	March 20, 2006
Runtime:	151 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D 058609
Keywords:	Family, Magic, Fire, English, Harry, Fantasy, Potter, Adventure, Goblet
Genre:	Fantasy