Welcome to the third day of my eight-day long Harry Potter marathon. This is purely because I have not seen any of the Harry Potter's and I promised a whole lot of people that I'd watch 'em all when the last DVD came out. That was just about a month ago, so I have to do it now. I will be blogging about my journey through Hogwarts...and such.
I'd been told that Prisoner of Azkaban was a huge improvement on Chamber of Secrets. They weren't wrong. From an outsider's perspective:
-That bus ride was pretty cool. It was really fast and magical. I found myself like Alfonso Cuaron's direction already.
-I couldn't help but laugh about the ballooning aunt. I wish I was a wizard so I could do that to some people (wow, that sounds horrible).
-If I could live with any family, it would be the Weasley family. They're so cute! They get a bad wrap for being a family who uses hand-me-downs and stuff, but seriously? A family full of gingers? Count me in. They look like a good family who's fun to be around.
-Well, thank goodness. Tom Felton's hair is no longer melting into his head. In fact, everyone's hair looks better in this one. Apart from Snape's. He is good with his hairstyle for all intensive purposes.
-This one was a little shorter (135 mins). It was a good run-time, and definitely stayed entertaining for the whole thing.
-This Professor Lupin seemed like a good guy. Until the moon made him all crazy. But he was the kind of teacher that I would like to have. Plus, I've always like David Thewlis as an actor.
-Snape is awesome. The 'page 394' scene is so awesome. Well, he's kinda harsh, but you can tell he means well. And Alan Rickman does such a bloody good job of playing him it's no wonder that people are crying foul at his many snubs.
-The actors are slowly becoming more watchable. Like now, it's easier to believe in what they're doing. But boy, they did heaps of growing in a year. What is with that?
-I think I liked this movie because there was a lot going on, and also it was a lot more serious. The other films tried to be serious but they got too caught up in being like family films.
-Thank goodness Alfonso Cuaron came along. He really breathed life into the series. When I say that, I mean that his work in this film brought about the dark themes that the series is so famous for, leaving the first two in it's dust.
-But I highly doubt that this is the best of the series. It was good, but not that good. As the series gets darker I'll enjoy it a lot more.
-Gary Oldman is in it! Gotta love him. If only he could get that Oscar nomination this season.
-The werewolves in this movie are really creepy. If only Taylor Lautner could look like that and then Twilight wouldn't be so popular and the world could have nice things again.
-I wish Kenneth Branagh was still in the series.
-This movie really got me into the Christmas spirit. I wish I could have snow on Christmas.
-Hagrid is still my main man. He rocks.
-It was just awesome. I can't wait for the next one.
Three down, five to go. Sure, Prisoner of Azkaban was good, but it wasn't great. Still, it remains a high point in the series.
What I got:
I can't think of anything to say except glad you liked it and hope you like Goblet of Fire - you'll get to see Robert Pattinson before something in him said 'This Twilight thing seems like a good idea...'
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are enjoying these... I guess I am going to have to get off my soap box and join in... my girls may enjoy them in a couple of years!
ReplyDeleteSome say the Third one is the best of the series- I can't agree whole-hearted, but it is great!
ReplyDeleteI want to buy the box set, I think it will be a good investment!
Having seen Y Tu Mama Tambien prior to seeing this film. When it had that opening scene of Harry playing with his wand. I found myself laughing considering the joke that Cuaron put in though he is literally playing with his wand.
ReplyDeleteIt had more humor, more style, the young actors felt more relaxed and comfortable in their roles. They got to look and act like kids. This is why I always felt this was and still is the best film of the series though there were a few qualms I had with its script.
I'm glad you liked it! I love the time travel thing they do, with all those pumpkins and expecto patronum, it's so great. And page 394 sends verryyyy good shivers down my spine :)
ReplyDeleteoh and the Goblet of Fire is I think, the most entertaining in the series.
ReplyDeleteI can see from an outsider's perspective why PoA would be considered great. From a book fan's perspective, it's a travesty. Cauron missed the entire point of the book, making it a rather pointless movie, and he almost single handedly ruined the entire film series for things he left out of this film and talked WB into cutting out of the next film. The only good thing he did was make the films look better and give them a darker tone (which the books do around this point anyway, so you can't give full credit to Cauron).
ReplyDeleteHowever, as a fan of the books, one could say that Goblet of Fire is actually the worst adaptation of the entire series. It's a transitional book from the lighter to the darker and it's all about mystery, intrigue, and character building. The director tossed almost all of that out the window for the sake of action sequences and what is quite literally the WORST representation of Dumbledore imaginable. Dumbledore doesn't scream. He's not violent. Especially not to Harry or any students. Ugh. I will give it up to Mike Newell though, as he captured the climax scene VERY well.
To me, the films don't get perfect until David Yates stepped in with movies 5-8.
For me this film becomes brilliant is when Harry rides the Hippogriff for the first time. I mean, that whole scene is what existing in the Harry Potter world would be like.
ReplyDeleteI love Oldman, Thewlis and Emma Thompson in the film. This was also the film in which Daniel Radcliffe had the perfect Harry-hair.
What did you think of the Hermione-Malfoy punch?! That's always epic for me.
Ruth - Twilight ruined Rob. Such a shame.
ReplyDeleteScott - They might indeed!
Aziza - I don't think it will be (the best). And yes, the boxset will be a good investment as I hear they're taking them off the market!
Steven - Yeah, they really stepped up with this one. Which is good!
Sati - The page 394 scene was the best!
Nick - Yes, I wondered how these held up compared to the books. Interesting - I'll have to read them sometimes.
I was wondering why Dumbledore screamed! I thought it was very out of character. That movie was a little light, especially as the material is quite dark.
I can't wait to see the rest!
Nikhat - That Hippogriff was awesome!
Yes, he did have the perfect Harry hair!
That's something I forgot to write! I was so happy when that happened.