Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Not only does this fourth Potter movie -- scripted once again by Steve Kloves (who also wrote the first two) and directed by Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral) -- assume prior knowledge of the other films; it even assumes you’ve already read the book. If you somehow missed the last three, this isn't likely to be the one to break your pattern. But some things in the Harry Potter universe are much more fun to see than read about -- the aerial sport of Quidditch is a prime example, and the sequence where Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) has to steal a golden egg from an angry dragon is right up there. Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) finally shows up, but he’s upstaged by Mad-Eye Moody (Brendan Gleeson). Newell doesn’t have much of a distinctive vision; his is a CliffsNotes version of the book, which is to be expected.