The book is always better

Yesterday I watched the movie "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", and it just reinforced what I've always believed: when you can choose between a book and the movie, always go for the book!

Everyone raved about this movie when it came out last year in theatres, and I will admit it's quite well done. But I have two negative comments about it:

First, there are at least three storylines in the book that simply don't appear in the movie. I realize why, of course, because if everything was there the movie would last about eight hours! But still, it's a powerful argument in favour of the book.

Second, and I think this is very important with recurring characters and themes, although the director's vision of Harry and his friends, as well as Hogwarts, and train and all the other things that make the stories special, are quite well matched to the book, still they are not MY vision. That's the beauty of a book --- you are the director, you can see, hear and feel it exactly the way YOU want it.

But watching the movie put me in a "Harry" mood, so I'm rereading this story now and loving it.