Enjoying a sip from the "Goblet of Fire."

I am not a Harry Potter reader. I read the first book and it seemed clunky to me - too much exposition and not enough magic. I am a Narnia and Philip Pullman fan. But maybe I should go back and read the follow-ups because the movies based on them have been steadily getting more interesting, deeper, and entertaining.

"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" didn't surprise me in the way that last year's "HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban" did. After the clumsy, brain dead first two movies made by the hack director Chris Columbus, I didn't think I could be drawn into the world of Hogwarts. But Azkaban's Alfonso Cuaron (the guy who did "Y Tu Mama Tambien) showed the world what a difference a good director can make.

Mike Newell does the same. Instead of thinking, like Columbus, that kids just want to see some computer generated images, he realizes that they want story, suspense, some decent laughs and to be scared out their wits.

And he succeeds.

Now I have to admit that Newell had a better chance at succeeding than Columbus did because Daniel Radcliffe and the other young actors playing members of the Hogwarts world are older and better at their craft.

But Newell also doesn't waste the talents of the more slightly more experienced actors like Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith. He gives them room enough to shine amongst the special effects. One of my favorite scenes has Rickman simply smacking Harry and his best friend Ron repeatedly. Not many an actor can make a scowl and a simple swat look as funny as Rickman makes it.

In case you don't read the books religiously, in "Goblet," Harry gets pulled into a magician showdown with kids more experienced than him. As he goes through the trials of both the competition and being an awkward teen with a crush on a very cute girl. The major plot and its little asides are engrossing enough to forget that this is the film in which the evil Voldemort finally shows his really, really, ugly face.

This is the first of the series to get a PG-13 rating. But it is not given out for simple gratuitous violence. The rating is earned by finally stepping taking Harry out of the comfort and safety of Hogwarts and placing him and his friends in real danger. "Goblet" does what any good movie does, whether for children or adults: it doesn't just entertain for a few hours, it makes you feel for Harry and his friends and fear for Harry and his friends.

Maybe I should try reading the series again.

"Goblet" has sumptuous look, dramatic hook, and clearly a good book behind it. My daughter says that the film lacks many significant bits of the novel, but the director brings much for us to enjoy to the screen, and the many veteran British actors get to strut their stuff to great effect.