From someone who loved the books

Rating: Null/10 (18 June 2004)

I absolutely love this story and the books by J.K. Rowling but every time I see the next Harry Potter movie, something inside of me aches. I remember reading these books and feeling so surprised at the turn of events, but when you see it in a movie, it just seems so much more obvious. When (SPOILER) Harry sees someone across the lake conjuring the patronus, he assumes it's his father, but in the movie, it's so much more obvious that it's actually him! I mean, things such as Scabbers and Buckbeak and the Time Turner (to name a few) were so much more magical and surprising in the book. In the movie, they seem...well..mundane. I wish they would go into more details, I would still see these movies if they were three or four hours long! Intermissions, hello?! Titanic pulled it off! Stop sacrificing the story and magic for time and expenses. I'm so afraid of what's going to happen to the "Goblet of Fire". This book is over twice as long as the previous three. I must say, the direction in this movie has been my favorite, though. He took some liberties and changed a few things, but he knew which things could be changed, and which to leave alone. To wrap up and reiterate what I've said (because it's killing me) please, let the characters speak more and explain everything. It was so much better in the book when we finally saw Petunia explode, because she was so mean and awful to Harry. In the movie, she says approx. three mean comments and BOOM! Harry loses it. It just doesn't cut it. Let Harry, Ron and Hermione become vivid characters, not merely the shells of who we've read about. Take your time, Hollywood! (Or the British equivalent of Hollywood...lol) These are movies, not Cliffs Notes.
P.S. Great job by the actors, by the way. The kids are truly growing as actors.
P.P.S. Anyone else shocked at how much Neville has changed?
~ Meg