as good as it gets?

Rating: 7/10 (5 January 2006)

when i went to see the harry potter film, i was expecting something quite like the rest of them. Flimsy acting and emotions, interesting special effects and an altered plot from the books. but all throughout the movie, i must say that i was quite astounded.
ACTING: the first film, was horrific. the children were young, inexperienced and just not cut out for the challenging levels in the plot. but as they got older, the plots grew harder and they never really met the standards. Rupert Grint, in my opinion, was always the most talented. Emma Watson, next and Daniel Radcliffe, i thought, had no talent. But in this film, i thought that they met my expectations, for the first time since the very first film. of course, the other characters, not being given quiet a big chunk of the script, never really mattered to me, but i will proudly say that i think they did outstandingly. but the one thing that really agrivated me was that emma watson's lips seemed to be connected to her eyebrows and every time she spoke, her eyebrows got quiet a workout...she also seemed to think that teen girls are always pmsing, or at least she was, because she never said anything without making sound like a death sentence. although she has improved for the first film, she still has a lot more room to grow.
DIRECTING: the director always has such an impact on the film and the way that the film is seen by the public. Chric Columbus, in my opinion, wasn't harry potter material. he's has his talents, but not when working with these kids. Alfonso Curon brought out something in them that lit up the screen, or was it just the absence of those ghastly uniforms?? Mike Newell also brought something to the screen. three, totally transformed teenagers, who have finally learned to act. he also put together a puzzle of amazing special effects, wonderful music and a well done alteration of the fourth harry potter book.
PLOT: as most movies are, this movie is changed from the book. the third movie, also having some faults, left out some very important details, such as who wrote the marauders map and so on. this movie had almost all the important elements, except for the Rita Skeeter part. that Rita was writing horrid stories about people that harry cared about, and then Hermione found out that she was an animagus. also, Gary Oldman being one of my favorite actors, didn't have much of a role, and that was probably the biggest disappointment yet.
all in all, i think that this movie is the best of them all....so far...