Reliving The Magic: The Goblet of Fire

"But Ron was staring at Hermione as though suddenly seeing her in a whole new light.
'Hermione, Neville's right - you are a girl...'"

Ron, Chapter 22, The Unexpected Task

Hello dear reader!

It's that time again. Yes, indeed, I've been doing a big nerd all up in this book and I've powered through
number four of the wondrous Harry Potter series.

Now, I'm going to be honest with you, when I was younger and read this book for the first time round, it took me well over a year to finish it. I think this is due, in part, to the length of the story, as well as the heavy footing in the politics of the wizarding world. At the time I found it more difficult to engage with and trickier to understand. Not to mention the physical problem of holding such a huge book.

However, now that I'm older, wiser and more patient I sat down to enjoy this book full of excitement and ready to give it another go.

Fleur Delcacour, as played by
Clémence Poséy.

Unsurprisingly, my excitement wasn't unwarranted and I absolutely adored this book. It's at once funny and dark and manages to capture that difficult age in a young man's life when he first starts to notice girls. Indeed, Rowling excels at this, giving both Harry and Ron incredibly truthful and believable troubles with the farer sex. From Harry's pining over Cho Chang to Ron's confused feelings for Hermione, Rowling makes tangible the feeling of emotional unrest within these two young men.


On top of all this, she weaves an interesting thread from the very beginning. Indeed, the inclusion of both the Quidditch World Cup and the Tri-Wizard Tournament is a wonderful way to broaden the wizarding world beyond the realms of the school. Of course, the real broadening of this universe comes in the form of the beautiful Beauxbatons students and the fierce forms of the Durmstrang clan.

I find this to be a really exciting move in the series in that, as I've said before, it widens the world in which the Potter saga is set. Never before have we considered, for any great length of time, the idea of there being other wizarding schools throughout the world, but then again, once it's mentioned, it seems like such an inherent part of this world that you almost feel silly for not thinking of it before now!

Robert Pattinson as  Cedric Diggory.

Everything in this book works well and there are some lovely finer details in the book which (unfortunately) couldn't be included in the film. I understand that, of course, what does irk me slightly, is that (to my mind) in the film they've made Cedric far more likeable that he seems to appear in the book. In fact, they do this to the entire Diggory family; in the cinematic itteration of Amos Diggory, we have a loving, doting father whose heart shatters at the end of the first task, giving us some of the finest acting seen within the films franchise, a character with which we can empathise and sympathise.

In the book, however, Amos comes across as an out and out tosser. He's constantly reminding Harry about

The vile Rita Skeeter, played
with relish by Miranda Richardson.

how Hufflepuff had beaten Gryffindor in quidditch, due to Cedric's prowess on a broom and he takes every opportunity to boast of his son's successes. Now, don't get me wrong, a proud parent is fine, but this is absurd.

Then we come to Cedric himself. For the most part I found him smarmy and big-headed (which is ironic due to the fact that everyone believes these to be traits of Harry's, thanks to a run-in with Rita Skeeter). He also lacks any real charm he's supposed to possess. However, I'm sure he only comes across this way because we're viewing him from Harry's point of view. I'm certain if Rowling had given us an unbiased standpoint, Cedric would've seemed to deserve every bit of popularity he'd supposedly garnered.

It's also difficult to separate the image of Cedric Diggory with that of Robert Pattinson. Don't even get me started on that guy!

The soon to be reborn Voldemort,
held aloft by the ever-faithful Wormtail.

Another note I must make when talking of The Goblet of Fire, is how,
for the first time, I felt fear when we encountered Voldemort. The slow and menacing description of the proceedings once Harry and Cedric are transported via Portkey to the graveyard is chilling to read, yet one can't help but take a great deal of glee in the wondrous Machiavellian happenings inflicted upon both Harry and his fellow Tri-Wizard champion.

All in all, this is one of the strongest outings for our Hogwarts-going pals and I feel that I've enjoyed it just about as much as is humanly possible, and that, my friends, is a great deal.

Until next time.

P.S. On a personal note, I'd also like to mention that I recently graduated from university after three long years of study. Given that I had to wear robes on the day, I chose to wear my Gryffindor tie. I attach a photo for your geeky pleasure! Enjoy.

No! It's not Ron, Harry & Ginny, but Lewis Gott, Myself (the author) and
my fiancé, Amber Dewey!
(You can see her blog at: http://thewayamberseesit.blogspot.co.uk/)

Drive

So, last night I sat down to rewatch 'Drive'.

I'd seen it only once before and I'd enjoyed it greatly. It'd been about a year and half since the first viewing so I thought I'd give it another go just to make sure that my initial adoration wasn't me being brain-washed by the hype.

Gosling in action.

I'm pleased to say, upon second viewing, it's just as good, if not better, than I first thought. Indeed, I began to notice the wonderful layers to the film that I'd probably overlooked the first time.

Sure, it's easy to take the film at face value (and a very pretty face it is, too!) but I feel that is doing everyone involved an injustice. I've said films work "in every possible way" before, but it has never been truer than of 'Drive'.

By golly, it's wondrous. From the soundtrack, to the cars, to the casting to the costume, everything gels and works in a splendid mélange of seedy realism. Of course, mix that with some hyped up violence and you get the sorts of tones I feel directors like Tarantino often strive for but don't quite achieve.

Director, Nicolas Winding Refn
gives Gosling a few pointers.

One of the things I found most impressive about this violence, wasn't necessarily the visual gore of Ryan {spoiler ahead, highlight to reveal} the penultimate scene wherein the Driver meets an untimely end at the point of Bernie Roses' blade. A truly haunting scene, I'm sure you'll agree!
Gosling's 'Driver' stamping a man's face it, but the sounds that accompanied it. The stomach-churning audio of crunching bone and squelching brain matter left this particular viewer tittering with sensory-glee. This is also true of the fight in the motel room when a henchman gets stabbed in the chest, only to hear blood spilling from him like so much red paint. However, neither of these instances are anything like the wondrously realistic sound effect of

The Driver at the wheel.

Of course, it'd be lazy of me not to mention the sheer power and majesty of Gosling's career-making performance. What's most impressive about his turn as the eponymous Driver isn't that he creates a new personality for his character, rather, that the character is completely devoid of personality. It's impressive when an actor can make you  believe everything its' character says. It's even more impressive when they can make you believe nothing they say, but for all the right reasons. Gosling achieves this with masterful control in every scene he is in. Indeed, it'd be easy to retro-cast this film with none-other than James Dean playing the lead role, and that's not a compliment I pay lightly!

A wonderful poster mock-up for a 1950s set 'Drive'.

Of course, it's performances like this that kicked the former Mickey Mouse Club member off of his
romance-film laurels and into a more impressive realm of performances. From 'Drive' to 'Gangster Squad' to 'A Place Beyond the Pines', Gosling goes strength to strength and long may it continue.

The Driver's style is often immitated,
never bettered.

As I'm sure you'll remember, when 'Drive' first came out everyone went insane for the trademark scorpion
satin jacket that the Driver wears throughout. And rightly so, the costume designer did a marvellous job of creating a look for the character that was, at once, both everyone and no-one. I can't help but want everything Gosling wears in the movie, especially those glorious brown leather driving gloves! I'll be sure to put them on my Christmas list.

The cinematography and the music work hand in hand to create an all encompassing cinematic experience, even when watched at home. The fact that it's easy to immerse oneself entirely in the film while lounging around the house is no mean feat and is one that many Hollywood films of late seem to have stumbled upon. 'Drive', however, succeeds in all aspects of this and only serves, like a fine wine, to get better with age.

Be seeing you.

P.S. If any of you lovely people actually wanted to get their grubby little mitts on a replica of that famous jacket, you can do so by clicking this doobly-do: http://www.shop-steady.com/Drive-Mens-Replica-Racer-Jacket-p/drive001.htm