GOF!!

GOF was a blast!! Definitely the best movie I've seen this year, but take that with a grain of salt coz u're hearing this from a HP fan.

Seriously though, the CG effects were brilliant, and the cast delivered a sterling performance, esp. the more experienced (i.e. older) members. I was pretty impressed with Michael Gambon (Dumbledore) although I really disliked him in POA. His flamboyant style of expression is in stark contrast to the late Richard Harris whose reserved reticence evoked a sense of wisdom more like the Dumbledore I envision in JK Rowling's books.

Characterisation was generally well done, with sufficient focus on flashing out the personality of each character even though most didn't have much screen time. Think Rita Skeeter and Cedric. I also thought Mike Newell handled the emotions of the characters after Cedric's death pretty well, though I think he was let down by Daniel Radcliffe's slightly rigid acting.

There were also many hilarious parts reflecting the classic British wit (Mike Newell being the first British director of the HP movie franchise), but I thought the romance aspect was overplayed. I didn't really like the Yule Ball scenes, especially when Hermione started screaming at Ron and Harry. I think Emma Watson went a little OTT there. Still she's really pretty to look at and played Hermione reasonably well. Rupert Grint (Ron) had much less screen time but he made them count with his "cute" expressions and exclamations.

Overall a great movie, with a good balance of narrative, action, cinematographic effects, and a solid story-line (that is if you have read the books) to boot. I might just find time to watch it again.

And yes, before I forget, AJ, Jinny and zejia each owes me $7.50 for the movie. =P

Next movie to catch: KING KONG!! The trailer was amazing, so LOTR-ish, or should I say Peter Jackson-ish. I don't really like Naomi Watts, but Adrien Brody and Jack Black shouldn't disappoint. As for The Chronicles of Narnia, I'm still not impressed.