Sun, 20 Nov 2005

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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Fantasy/Family/Adventure, 157 minutes) Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson. Directed by Mike Newell.

Everyone's favorite bespectacled pubescent wizard is back in the fourth adaptation of J.K. Rowling's highly successful books. This time, Harry, who is in his fourth year at the Hogwarts School of Wizardry, is faced with the challenge of the oh-so- daunting Triwizard Tournament, a competition that pits the representatives of three Schools of Wizardry from around the world against each other.

A better-than-decent family adventure film, and a definite must-see for Potter fans, but it's not very friendly to any Potter neophytes out there.

Filled to the brim with magical special effects, but unfortunately, Goblet of Fire doesn't have the same dark, dramatic charm that the third installment did. *** (out of *****)

Belahan Jiwa (Soulmates) (Drama, 91 minutes) Starring Dian Sastrowardoyo, Rachel Maryam, Nirina Zubir. Directed by Sekar Ayu Asmara.

Another perfect example of an ongoing trend in Indonesian cinema: an interesting premise gone horribly wrong in its execution.

This film, written and directed by Sekar Ayu Asmara, tackles the relatively original subject (for local standards) of a woman with multiple personality disorder (MPD).

Commendable as that may be, the writer seems to have failed to conduct adequate research, because several scientifically established aspects of MPD are misrepresented or simply not addressed. Regardless, the film is a complete mess.

The script goes around in endless circles, seemingly with no destination in mind, the acting is bad -- quite surprisingly, considering that it stars several respected young actresses -- and other aspects, such as sound design and editing, were incredibly overdone for no apparent reason. Simply a failure. Zero stars

-- Paul F. Agusta