imelda staunton is going to be umbridge? hem! hem! poor choonping will be absolutely devastated.

at su-lin's prompting, i went and had a look at the new trailer. the movies look better and better don't they? more well-choreographed, and definitely more lavish. splendorous profusion of colour (the yule ball!) whereas the writing in the books - never fine to begin with - is getting shoddier. she mustn't have a firm editor. you only wish she had a collaborator to take care of the writing while she is left to the details of plot.

quickly: miranda richardson superbly cast as rita skeeter. mad-eye's magic eye makes me feel faintly repulsed. lots of stereotyping. durmstrang students in some sort of orwellian prison garb, beauxbatons in a blue-grey crepe with capes but not anywhere as fashionable as one would expect. oh and those red durmstrang cloaks are very twirly aren't they? krum rather gallant and not sulky, vast improvement from book. few shots of snape although how the snape fans can still look at the man and hope for redemption and romance and honour knowing what we now know i can't imagine. you don't see any malfoys in this one. and movie dragons always look like half-witted dinosaurs.

and so.