i thought the movie was pretty good. you know the first two... sometimes it was downright cheesy. you get less of that in the thrid movie. i really liked the thing the did with altering time. was the description that detailed in the book?
I just got back from the movie. FANTASTIC is all I can say. Cuaron really made Columbus his b**** with this movie. The FX were SO much better, the pacing was great, and the camera angles and scene segues were awesome. Now I wish Cuaron would go back and redo the first 2 films... Really, this movie kicked all kinds of ass and gave me hope for future Potter films. Where the other films failed, this one delivered, right through to the cool look of the end credits. Here's hoping Mike Newell took notes from Cuaron, because if he doesn't deliver with next year's Goblet of Fire, he's totally gonna get lynched. I will say, as JeeberD pointed out, that some of the explanations were sorely missing from the movie. It would've taken Lupin 5 seconds to explain how he knew about the map (and how to conjure it). That pissed me off. Also, the ending was lacking. It should have ended with... SPOILER ALERT! ... Harry getting the note from Sirius (which included the Hogsmeade permission slip signed by him)...
I saw the movie on Friday. I agree with others that it was the best of the 3 Potter flicks. The theater was filled with screaming 13 year olds so that made for an interesting atmosphere. During an intense scene on the train ride the screen blanked out and went into pre movie advertisments for about 3 minutes. The crowd went ballistic. I thought a riot of preteen girls was going to break out. According to boxofficemojo.com Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban broke the all time record for sales on opening day for any film! http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/days/?page=open&p=.htm Rank Title Studio Opening Day 1 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban WB $40,800,000 2 Spider-Man Sony $39,406,872 3 The Matrix Reloaded WB $37,508,303 4 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King NL $34,450,834 5 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone WB $32,333,203 6 X2: X-Men United Fox $31,247,979 7 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones Fox $30,141,471 8 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets WB $29,631,453 9 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace Fox $28,542,349 10 The Passion of the Christ NM $26,556,573
I just got back from HP. It was kind of choppy and disjointed, but overall it was still ok. The story was rushed, (I don't know why all movies these days have to move at 100 mph). The visuals are good, but the story development could of been so much better. I actually preferred the traditional story telling by Chris Columbus. So much of the book was left out and rearranged. It's the story itself that makes Harry Potter great. At the beginning of this movie I was afraid it was turning somewhat "Bettlejusicesqe" or "Phantom Menacy" but the kiddie stuff was toned down later, thank god. It also bothered me that you hardly saw the students in their robes, etc. And how come Harry didn't leave any tracks in the snow when he was messing with Malfoy, but he did every other time? Ugh. On the plus side, what I really enjoyed the interaction between Black, Lupin and Snape. It is too bad that Oldman could not of been in the movie more, I think he saved it. I hope they do a better job on the next one, keeping it true to the books. The integrity is getting kind of shaky.
I thought it was easily the best Potter movie so far. It did feel a little rushed, but I like the way he held to the core plot and didn't bother with explaining all the little details that people who haven't read the book wouldn't care about. On the other hand, they SHOULD have expained the connection to the Maurader's Map, since it was semi important to bringing everything back together. But overall, I was very pleased with how it turned out. (more robes and less blue jeans would have been nice, though...) They need to strongly consider re-working the cast, too. The kids are just getting too old to keep up with the series...
Saw it last night Cinematically it was beautiful! I thought Cauron did a great job with the look and pacing of the movie. I liked the darkness and roughness of the overall look of the film. But man did it move fast! I spent half the movie trying to explain things to my wife (she's never read the books). I felt a lot was left out and I don't really know if it was for time or just directorial decisions. I didn't like the treatment of a few of the characters though. I think they gave short thrift to Malfoy and Neville and I wanted to hear more of Black and Lupin's story. Just seems like a lot of information was left out and didn't need to be. 3 1/2 stars (out of 5)
Just saw it... oddly enough, I thought it was a little slow. As someone who has read the books, though, maybe I just think my brain plays the story at juuuust the right speed, hehe. The robes comments - a friend says that in an interview, Cuaron said he did that on purpose. He wanted the kids to look like kids a little more so he put them in regular clothing. He actually had to clear the scenes where they were in jeans and such with J.K. Rowling. She established rules for clothing - robes in all academic settings, otherwise it's okay. That seems fair enough (and I actually thought the kids being a little lax when in Hagrid's class was pretty realistic).
And I'm sure you did it very quietly and disturbed nobody around you as you did so. Did your cellphone happen to go off during the movie also?
New Harry Potter title revealed 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince' will be sixth of popular series, agent confirms. NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The sixth book in the popular Harry Potter series will be titled "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince," the books' author J.K. Rowling has announced. http://money.cnn.com/2004/06/29/news/newsmakers/harrypotter/index.htm?cnn=yes
Saw this at Edwards on the IMAX screen. Very Cool. It was a little too easy to figure some of the stuff out. (Remus Lupen... I couldn't guess what he really is...) Overall though a good movie.
Harry's "Goblet" Gets Going By Josh Grossberg The Hogwarts Express is heading out again. Principal photography on Harry Potter (news - web sites) and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth feature based on J.K. Rowling (news - web sites)'s magical mystery series, is now underway, Warner Bros. announced Monday. Goblet of Fire is being shot at England's Leavesden Studios and is being helmed by Mike Newell, whose credits include Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco and the recent Mona Lisa Smile (news - web sites). The film is being produced by David Heyman and features a script by Steve Kloves, who masterfully adapted all three previous installments. Potter's troika of young stars, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) are once again on board. This time the action takes place during their fourth year at Hogwart's School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, a term in which the lightning-scarred boy magician will encounter his greatest challenge yet--taking part in the life-threatening inter-school Triwizard Competition. As usual, the movie will feature a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, this one named Mad-Eye Moody, who will be played by Brendan Gleeson (Troy (news - web sites), Cold Mountain (news - web sites)). Other new additions to the cast include Robert Pattinson as Harry's heroic rival, Cedric Diggory, Stanislav Ianevski as Quidditch star Viktor Krum, Clemence Poesy as Fleur Delacour, Katie Leung as Harry's new crush, Cho Chang, and Francese De La Tour as Madame Maxime, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. Returning to their respective parts are Tom Felton, the young actor who plays Harry's nemesis, Draco Malfoy, along with Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid), Michael Gambon (Professor Albus Dumbledore), Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall), Alan Rickman (Professor Snape), Gary Oldman (Sirius Black), Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew) and Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy). One major role yet to be cast, however, is Voldemort--the wizarding world's ultimate practitioner of the dark arts and Harry's archenemy, who finally reveals himself in Goblet of Fire (not including the fleshy bloated face that pops out the back of Professor Quirrell's head in The Sorcerer's Stone). According to London's Daily Mirror, producers are in talks with Ralph Fiennes (news) to play You Know Who once the actor wraps The Constant Gardener opposite Rachel Weisz currently shooting in Kenya. Fiennes is a fine choice to play the villainous Voldemort, having earned an Oscar nomination for his work as a Nazi thug in Schindler's List and playing the serial killer known as the Tooth Fairy in 2002's Silence of the Lambs prequel Red Dragon. There's a hitch, however. Reportedly Fiennes isn't sure he wants to commit to at least three additional Potter installments, which will likely feature Voldemort. But if all goes accordingly, Fiennes could be on the Leavesden set by the end of the year Meanwhile, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban--the Alfonso Cuarn-directed third film in the franchise, which received overwhelming praise from critics as the best of the three--has so far grossed more than $211 million domestically in four weeks of release. The film is projected to fall short of the $261 million and $303 million in ticket sales respectively generated by its predecessors, 2002's Chamber of Secrets and 2001's Sorcerer's Stone. Goblet of Fire is scheduled to hit theaters in November 2005.
