Goblet of Fire  4th in the series and the first one that had me looking forward with enthusiasm for the next one

Rating: Null/10 (24 December 2005)

I enjoyed the first Harry Potter for its novelty but found it quite forgettable, and slept through a good part of the second one. The Prisoner of Azkaban, number three, began to get more of my attention, with its clever introduction of the element of the time paradox, plus the realistic blurring of the line between good and evil, in both Sirius Black and Professor Lupin. It's no longer for little kids.
If you walk into the cinema and watch the opening of Goblet of Fire without knowing what it is, you would have thought that it's a movie in the line of "Constantine" and never have guessed that it's a Harry Potter. Yes, it's that dark.
Structurally, GoF is simpler even than the previous three Harry Potters, with one single theme  the 3-school "international" wizard competition with Horwart against two visiting schools that represent quite obviously Yin and Yang, if you're into that sort of thing. The three trials are quite formulaic, which is not to say that they are banal, thanks to the excellent special effect and art work.
Sandwiched between the excitement at the starting and ending third of the movie is the ball, which lightly touches on the romantic inclinations that come inevitably with puberty. It is a pleasure, I must admit, to see our three principals in a new light, starting their bittersweet journey of coming of age, fringed by an ensemble of supporting teenage characters.
Darkly ominous is the final emergence in solid physical shape of Voldemort, a part given to Ralph Fiennes, who is competent, if not brilliant, in this role. We should also remember that this is only an introductory appearance, with three more installments for this evil character to grow.
In every installment, the movie makers try to bring in some new big names. Last time we had Emma Thompson, who was a one-movie deal, and Gary Oldman, who appears again in GoF (or whose face appears, to be exact) for just a few minutes. The regulars are all there but the spotlight is definitely and absolutely on seasoned veteran Brendan Gleeson, who steals everybody's show playing the eccentric new professor "Madeye" Moody.
Katie Leung, who plays the girl Harry Potter has a crush on, was purported selected from over a thousand applicants. In view that she has insignificant screen time and about four lines to speak, one would wonder why they went through the trouble. It shouldn't be difficult to get someone from an academy of performing arts, even if it has to be an Asian student at least as pretty as Leung. Either it is an advertising gimmick or they have more plans for the character of CHANG Cho in future installment. Yes, I know. All I have to do is to read the next two books. Guess I will.