Prescription for Bliss

I have the privilege of having a son who writes for the Teen page of Sacramento Bee, called Sidetracks. Sacramento Bee is one of the best newspapers in California. Alex, my son, does a great job, especially writing film reviews.

The nice thing about this volunteering job of his is that, well, he gets to go to screening of films that are not yet available to the public. And so do I! Today was a good day. We watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Those of us into Harry Potter delight in seeing the trio Harry, Hermione, and Ron and the whole gang at Hogwarts. Every time a film comes up, it is like we are visiting good friends, or coming home. It is simply delightful.

Today was no exception. Besides great storytelling, cinematography, and wit, this film brings us back to our beloved characters. I like to see how much they have all grown up and older, and how different they look. I was surprised to see how tall the twins are. And so is Longbottom. I think he should wear braces. England is not like the US, as far as perfect teeth are concerned. In the first movie, Malfoy had truly crooked teeth. Now, he has corrected them. Longbottom needs braces.

They all had longer hair, sort of 60’s fashion. Perhaps more like the 70’s. I wonder if this is the fashion at present. Since I am not into the popular media, I am not sure. Harry and Ron are almost the same height, it seems; Hermione is a bit shorter. This makes me think that, obviously either she is tall or the boys haven’t grown much.

I don’t know what they do so Hagrid appears to be a giant. In this 4^th movie, there is another giant, the headmistress of the French school. Don’t ask me names, now! How did they make her so tall? She is even taller than Hagrid, which is hard to believe, and has a slim figure.

The second Dumbledore is not as charming as Richard Harris, with that melodious voice of his, but we now got used to him. Snape is as usual, a great character, though we barely saw him this time. Professor Flitwik, I now recognize was the main character in Willow.

I thought they could have chosen a better looking Cho. She is quite plain and inexpressive. Fleur is very pretty and very skinny. I didn’t like the way they portrayed her: too weak for my taste. But then again, this is absolutely Rowling’s fault. However, for what she has done for the lot of us, I think that, this time only, we should forgive this incredible storyteller, who, by the way, had better fixing that sad story of Dumbledore’s death in the 6^th book. Or else.

Welcome to the world of Harry Potter. Quite delicious!