Third Time's The Charm
Earlier today, my sister and I saw the latest Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban. Plain and simple, this is a great movie that won't disappoint Potter fans or the uninitiated.
There are a good amount of things different from the previous films in addition to my view on watching this film. For one thing, this is the first time that I had actually read the book before seeing the movie. When I saw the first two films, I read the books later. The book that this movie is based on is my favorite of the ones I've read thus far. Also, there is a new director, Alfonso Cuaron (of A Little Princess and Y Tu Mama Tambien fame), and a new look. With all this in mind, it still managed to be a wonderfully enchanting movie.
I loved Cuaron's visual style. The camera flowed wonderfully, and the movie has a dreamlike yet dark and realistic look to it. I especially enjoyed scenes such as Harry playing quidditch in the rain and Harry riding Buckbeak for the first time. I also enjoyed the use of transitions from one scene to the next and the way the shots were composed, with something always going on in the background.
The script for this film is closer to the book but not at the same time. It isn't as literal as the first two movies, but it's the first film that really captures the humor in J.K. Rowling's books. I felt that was one thing the first two movies really lacked. Some events are changed as well, but in general they worked. One event is moved to the end of the film, where it gave it some closure and worked well.
The actors were great as always. The newcomers to the series (Emma Thompson, David Thewlis, Gary Oldman) did a great job. Another great job was done by Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. He took the place of the late, great Richard Harris who played Dumbledore in the first two films. He wisely didn't try to imitate Harris, but instead created his own spin on it. It worked well.
All in all, I have to commend all involved for making another great film and keeping up the quality established by the first two films. It's rare for a series of films to stay so consistently excellent, so I hope they take their time and make sure Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire is done right.
You are seriously confused. The ending of the movie was by far the cheesiest of the three. Even cheesier than the "There's no Hogwarts without you, Hagrid." ending. I believe using that part of the book earlier would've been more effective and cause more conflict between Ron and Hermione especially since it was clear the two had some sexual tension going on. Spoiler warning, now that I remember the part of the movie when Harry's broom got messed up the way it was done it seemed like Harry didn't even care that the broom had got smashed. It happened and he moved on without mentioning it again. But Harry did seem upset that he was being left out of something because he didn't have family who cared about his happiness. If the movie had ended with him receiving permission to go to Hogsmeade it would've still given the movie a little gleam of hope and it would've shown that now Harry has more than just friends who care about him, but a godfather. Harry seemed as if he wanted to spend more time with his friends than on a broomstick in the movie. But that's just me.
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