Wonderful things have been happening to me lately. Too bad I have little time to blog. Now don't get me wrong, I still want to blog and blogging still is an integral part of my life. It's just that...my mind freezes when I'm already in front of the computer, worrying, about the time, about what I'm going to do next, about things other than having something written down. Just like 15 minutes ago, I was staring at a blank Create Post screen, thinking about so many things, then thinking about nothing at all. Now you should know that my modem is not working, so go figure where I am now.

Down there--yes, at the tagboard--Jerick is asking for a long overdue review, that of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Actually I've been writing one since Sunday night, but until now I'm still short of time to finish it. (In my next few posts maybe I'll be able to tell you what's keeping me busy nowadays.) I've been writing it on my almost-useless PC (no Internet, no Sim City, no printer ink, no burner, the slowpoke), so I get to resume writing it only when I get home. When I get home, however, it's always either that I get home late and it's study time, or I get home early and I take a nap. I know it's my fault why I can't get it done, but there are just things that are more important than raving about a long-awaited film.

Anyway, that unfinished "review" in my computer is now trash. Here and now I'll write one. I still have time anyway.

So it was a Sunday, and I was only half-determined to watch GOF that day. I've always considered myself a real Potter buff (though more on the books than on the movies), but I dunno, watching the movie just didn't seem to me that much of a priority.

After attending the 11 a.m. Mass at the Chapel, however, I'd come up with a decision. I had to watch GOF that afternoon. Actually, the priest's homily was one of the invisible forces that pushed me to ride a jeep bound for SM North. The priest had spoken about doing ordinary things well (just as Jesus did). "When you work, do your work well," he said. "When you lift the pages of a book, lift them well. Even when you watch a movie, watch it well."

It was like receiving a go signal. So I did watch it that afternoon. And just how well! I watched it twice! I know, it sounds like I did not "remember to keep holy the Sabbath day." But hey, watching a two-and-a-half-hour movie twice in a row is five hours of agonizing "butt-work"! Honestly, the pain-in-the-you-know-where was terrible. Besides, I was just making sure that no single centavo was wasted in buying the ticket. And besides, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire really is a film worth watching twice or thrice or many times. It. Is. The. Best. Potter. Movie.

GOF being my second favorite Potter book, I had this peculiar sensation in the stomach upon entering the theater that I just can't put into words. I had to keep my expectations low so if things go bad, I wouldn't be that frustrated. But even if I did have lofty expectations, I guess still wouldn't be that disappointed. Mike Newell got it right. In many ways, GOF is crucial to the Potter saga: it's the first sure proof that our heroes have grown up, physically, emotionally, psychologically. This is no simple children's tale anymore. And it isn't just because our gang have crushes now, but also because more serious things are happening now--Voldemort is back, and if in the last three years people were sent to Azkaban or petrified or had their memory modified, now they get murdered. Murdered.

I find it noteworthy that however thick and overwhelmingly breathtaking Rowling's book may be, they were still able to condense the story into less than three hours, and in such way that none of the "ingredients" that make GOF dinstinct was cast away. Fear, conflicts, infatuations, thrills, bitter memories---they're all there!

And it's quite a paradox that as things become more mature and serious, here we also get to laugh the most. Hilarious scenes and quips are scattered throughout the plot. A list of must-sees: Harry's reaction as Hagrid and Madam Maxime get mushy, Madam Maxime's exotic food, all scenes Ron-ish, Harry's CHOking faux pas, Harry and Moaning Myrtle's "affair" at the prefects' bathroom, and best of all, the Malfoy the Bouncing Ferret scene (McGonagall: "Professor, is that a student?" Moody: "Technically it's a feret!").

And then there were these serious and almost-tearjerking scenes. Moody's Unforgivable Curses lesson clearly gives us an idea how magic can be fun, traumatic, and deadly. Neville can tell us such (pity the movie did not tell us much about the Longbottoms). And then there is the Priori Incantatem scene. Words fail me to describe how I felt watching it! Let's just say, I almost cried my heart out from the time Harry's parents and Cedric appeared till Harry and Cedric's body portkeyed back to Hogwarts.

And Voldemort! Ralph Fiennes is perfect. Absolutely.

Flaws, flaws, flaws. Well, I didn't see major ones... But, hmm, let's see... perhaps the other Tri-Wizard champions should've been given more lines. Other than that, I think there's nothing else.

In conclusion (yes, my mind is drained already), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is indeed the best Potter movie. Trust me.

So. Was it worth the "butt-work?" You bet it is!