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Old virgins, young wizards and trespassing

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (PG-13)

The latest Harry Potter installment, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, shows the power of thorough Hollywood filmmaking. The film is full of exciting segments, well-edited and shot, but ultimately the decision to focus on fast-paced action and simple exposition rather than making the most out of the real story means that, while exciting, it doesn't hit quite as hard as it could.

For example, in the novel, Harry retrieves an egg from the nest of a chained-up dragon in a tournament. In the film adaptation, the scene is set the same, but instead of Harry managing to evade the dragon and bring home the prize without too much drama, the film's dragon manages to break its chains and pursue Harry all over the Hogwarts grounds, from tower to valley and even barreling through a rather formidable stone bridge. At one point, Harry is barely hanging on by his fingers, one hand desperately reaching for his broom, in a moment that owes more than a little to the famous ice-cave of The Empire Strikes Back.

Unlike the first two films, which strictly adhered to the source material and had the unpleasant result of being entirely too dry and lifeless, this fourth film takes the text and adds all sorts of Hollywood devices. But with the addition of a more Hollywood tone, the series loses something as well.

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, roguish director Alfonso Cuaron introduced a new children's film aesthetic: mature and powerful, alluring and mysterious. With Newell, the style has shifted away from Cuaron's artistry and towards simple craftsmanship, offering less to the viewer's imagination. Your mind simply doesn't have to work as hard as in the third film.

While Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is not quite an artistic triumph, it does have remarkably entertaining character development. Newell seems to have a knack for small, meaningful moments ? little cinematic clues that help us better understand the players.

He's also an "actor's director." In the climax of the film, Daniel Radcliffe displays a much wider emotional range than in previous films. Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, playing Harry's best friends Ron and Hermione, measure up as well. As is tradition, the role of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is taken by yet another veteran British actor, this time Brendan Gleeson in a total physical transformation.

Still, while the acting is admirable, the film doesn't quite fit together as cohesively as it could. Some scenes are captivating. The climax of the third challenge is especially atmospheric, but the few cinematic gems do not quite satisfy the high standards set by the previous Azkaban.

-reviewed by John Richards

3-Iron (R)

Western cinema really ought to learn from contemporary Asian cinema.?There aren't many Western films with deaths induced by golf balls, romances without words and main characters that break into homes to do chores.

In Korea's 3-Iron, written and directed by Ki-duk Kim, the protagonist is mysterious, to say the least. He remains silent for the duration of the film and breaks into homes to repair malfunctioning property, clean dishes, do laundry and make beds.?Of course, he also indulges by "sleeping" in the owner's bed (I'll tell you when you're older), preparing sumptuous Asian cuisine, watching television and doing anything else that strikes his fancy.

When his clever system of determining whether his hosts are home fails, he befriends a woman who resides in one of the more affluent homes he visits. Her husband returns to find them, and the main character quixotically takes care of him with what I assume to be a 3-iron.

His new comrade accompanies him to more houses and becomes his sexy, silent apprentice. They keep getting into more trouble, and the main character perfects his crime to such an extent that he becomes almost ghost-like. The woman returns to her husband when the main character is incarcerated, but upon his release, the three find an interesting way to live together in relative harmony.???

The message of the film is difficult to ascertain, but by the end of the film the main character and his female companion begin to settle into their hosts' homes even when the owners are around. Ki-duk Kim may be pleading for more amiable relationships between people, particularly strangers, and the elimination of the enmity and anti-social proclivities that many people harbor.? It is a convincing argument yet difficult to embrace with the lack of dialogue, even though that did not hinder the pacing of or themes in the film.?Ki-duk Kim's film surpasses and breaks away from the four or so plots typical to Western cinema.?The actions, pantomimes and interactions of the various characters truly evoke their own interpretations. The few subtitles are superfluous.

-reviewed by Matthew Pflaum

The 40 Year Old Virgin (R)

At first glance, The 40 Year Old Virgin is just another lame sex comedy. The formula is fairly straightforward: under-appreciated guy, his manly-man friends, awkward relationships, good-looking women and lots of sex jokes. Despite this familiar formula, this movie does what the others before it could not: stay funny all the way to the end.

Director/writer Judd Apatow (Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared) is one of Hollywood's best at creating likeable characters, and he uses his talents to sell this movie.

Moving beyond his memorable supporting roles, such as Brick Tamland in Anchorman, Steve Carell has stepped into the limelight. He plays Andy, an electronics store employee who rides his bike to work, wears really ugly shirts, watches TV with his elderly neighbors and who obviously hasn't managed to round all of the bases in any of his relationships.

Andy's friends Jay (Romany Malco), Cal (Seth Rogen) and David (Paul Rudd) become involved in his sex life after he makes up a story about feeling a woman's breasts. They decide they are going to get Andy a partner so that he can finally experience the joy of sex.

Unfortunately, none of the Andy's dates go very well, ending in particularly hilarious situations. Andy eventually goes off on his own and meets Trish (Catherine Keener) and hopes that, by using his friends' advice, he can woo Trish into having sex with him.

Andy's friends play their stuck-up, manly roles very well and make use of the movie's R rating, spicing up two hours of film with incredibly dirty, yet funny conversations. Their "you-know-how-I-know-you're-gay" banter is a highlight and gives us more reasons to laugh at stuff we probably shouldn't. (Be wary, Grinnell fans of Coldplay. You will have to once again defend your taste in music.)

Unlike the summer's other hit comedy, Wedding Crashers, The 40 Year Old Virgin manages to maintain its humor throughout the movie, something that most comedies fail to do.

In the end, the movie succeeds because of its combination of rapid-fire jokes and its feel-good, romantic comedy. Geeky Andy garners the audience's support and affection as he finally breaks free from his life of action figures and video games at home. By the time Andy gets deflowered, it's easy to realize that The 40 Year Old Virgin is the best comedy of its kind in recent memory.

-reviewed by Mark Japinga

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