This movie is a huge disappointment for fans. People who have read the book need to erase all knowledge except the part where ron gets bit by Scabbers and up until the setting free of Sirius. Then once again the ending is shot worse than you could ever imagine.

They don't explain jack crud about the Marauders Map and how Lupin knows it's a map. They cut the scene where Harry gets the firebolt...they save that for the end and claim that it was sent at the end of everything.

They hacked out everything that made sense in the beginning of the movie. It's not shown on muggle television about Sirius and Harry never gets back to the Dursley's to threaten them w/ Sirius. They even mix up the timing of how and when Arthur tells Harry about Sirius Black. Like I said I am very very disappointed with this movie. I even flipped off the movie screen!!!!!

After painfull suffering and waisting cash, I am not going to see Goblet of Fire or Order of the Pheonix until the DVD comes out. Unless they magically get some better F$%(ing writers or we're up a creek without a paddle. This could be the end of Harry Potter in my mind.

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Well I've gone to see it again for the background and there were a lot of things to notice.


-Did anyone notice the offended look on Aunt Petunia's face when she said that the blood line all thas to do with the "bitch" (literal meanning female dog here)? I thought she looked a little annoyed. :wink:

-Did anyone catch the 3 ways of being a werewolf are?
1. Shapeshifters (will we learn more about this later?)
2. Being bitten by one
3. Being born one (according to myth they can still control themselves in werewolf form)

-When Professor Lupin was telling Harry about his mother's kindness, did you pick up the line, "She could find the goodness within when they couldn't or didn't want to themselves?" This makes me think that's why Voldemort gave her a chance to run first.

-In the beginning I also noticed 4 jars with 4 differen't colored beads...it's the house points jars! That was so darn cool! I had a vague idea of what it looked like, but I had no idea it would be that small and in the great hall.

-Dumbledore's office was remade to be the astronomy tower.

-Blast ended skrewts in Hagrid's house...just being born cuz it was still in it's egg.

-Hagrid has a great knowledge of magical creatures and a sort of bond with them. Is it just Buckbeak? Maybe this is why he doesn't find some of the craziest animals to be hurtful.

That's just some of them. Blue and I will probably find more and have a notebook at the next show we go to. :) :blue:

I agree with alot of that, but I loved it. :wink:

All right, here's my review and I've seen it twice already! (I'm actually a little "Harry Pottered" out, believe it or not!)

Let me take you back to Thursday when I, and a bunch of other Harry Potter fans who I know, got in line five and half hours before midnight, dressed up in my Hogwarts duds (I looked effing fantastic if you ask me and anyone who saw me - send me an "owl" if you want to know the best thing that happened to me Thurs night). Waiting in line was so much fun and watching the movie with a bunch of other "Potterheads" was an incredible experience. ^_^

To say that I was disappointed after the initial viewing would be an understatement. It has absolutely nothing to do with the way the movie looked, the changes that were made (they actually fit the way I saw the grounds and the castle in my head while reading the books much better than Chris Columbus' view) or even Daniel Radcliffe (who I actually thought was fantastic in this one :blink: ). No, my disappointment lies within the adaptation of the book to the script and the Shrieking Shack scene (my fave scene thus far in the entire series). I'm not nuerotic enough to expect the movie to be spot on with the book (if the writer and director have room for their own interjections and interpretations and JKR approves of it, then who are we to say otherwise?), but I do expect the key scene in the book and one of the most crucial to the series, to be accurately portrayed in the movie.

The main thing missing from the scene in the SS (shrieking shack) isn't all of the history or back story, but tension. The book is so full of it and built up so well, that no matter how many times I read it, I still tense up and hold my breath. The movie didn't make me do any of this. It's a three chapter long part of the book and maybe all of ten minutes of film time. It would have been nice to see the full explanation that's given in the book, given in the movie or even a bit more than what we got, but the biggest f*ck up of all lies within the Marauder's Map.

It would have taken all of five more minutes in the movie to have Lupin explain to Harry how he knew that it was a map or how he knew how to work it or how Sirius knew that it was never wrong. And it wasn't as if these moments didn't exist in the movie- they did. (The Map itself was so amazing!!!!)

The ending was lame, but I mean the "star" Quidditch player can't not have a broom and since they show the Quidditch game in which his prized Nimbus 2000 gets smashed to smithereens, they had to put this somewhere, but why they put it there of all places is completely not plausible. (There would be no way for Sirius to buy that broom after escaping twice!!)

The lack of Crookshanks really bothered me as well.

I did see it with people who had never read the book, any of the books for that matter, and they said that the movie makes perfect sense, because they wouldn't know otherwise. (I can understand this and if I had never read the books, in particular this one and as many times as I've read them) it would the best movie yet.

Then I saw it again last night with Lylian_Mae and her husband. We got together beforehand for dinner and that was a blast! :laughbounce: I knew before going into it, what the flaws were going to be, so I put the book out of mind and watched it as if I didn't know the backstory. I had a much more enjoyable experience. I had stopped paying attention to what they were doing wrong or not doing at all, and focused on what was actually there. When you do that, the movie flows right along and the script makes sense. If you are going to see it again (I suggest that you do, even if you didn't like it), you'll enjoy it much more if you take the seond viewing approach the same way I did.

Now on to the things that I enjoyed both times. Alfonso Cuaron can direct every single Harry Potter movie from now as far as I'm concerned (I know that he isn't going to, but he could. He just completely nailed the mood that Chris Columbus couldn't quite obtain.) These are not happy-go-lucky stories. These are stories about an extremely evil force out to kill a small, fairly defenseless boy.

Buckbeak was fantastic and that isn't giving as much credit to the creation of the beast or the scenes with him in them as they deserve. The scene in which Harry is flying over the lake on Buckbeak is one of the most beautiful things I have seen in film in a long time. All that was missing was Coldplay's "Clocks" playing over it.

The way the movie looks, all blue and grey and almost glossy is incredible. It has a very "art house movie" feel to it and it's great. It makes it creepy and pulls you right into the terror-filled world these wizards are living in with a "madman" on the loose.

The dementors put the Ringwraiths in LotR to shame in the fear department. I'm a grown woman and they, quite honestly, made me retreat into my seat whenever they were on screen. The dementor's mouth is horrifying and much more gruesome than I had invisioned.

Hermione punching Draco (who is one of my fave characters, btw) :clap: :thewave: :clap: Go Hermione!!!

Draco getting slashed *snicker* by Buckbeak is so hilarious. (Props to Tom Felton!!- rarely do you get to see a sixteen year old boy whimper on screen as well as Tom does here and then later on)

All of the innuendo was :drool: worthy. Not to mention the hotness of Rupert and Tom (I feel like, and am a dirty old lady, but the scene where Ron roars like a lion, :drool: and the quick flash of Draco at Care of Magical Creatures with the hood on, :wub:). Okay, enough of the pervy old lady talk. :blush:

Dan has finally learned to talk out of the front of his mouth!! Which I think is reason enough to go and see the movie. It's something I thought would never happen, so :shock: that it actually has. And, as I eat my own words here, despite the "floppy duck lips" and rather startling revelation that he does look alarmingly like an ostrich, he is slightly more attractive, but ONLY as Harry (especially in that Quidditch get-up. Who'd a thunk that goggles could do so much for the way a person looks??). As Dan, he's a lost cause. :nod:

I was very pleased with Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. You can't replace Richard Harris (may he forever RIP), but Gambon does do the role justice. I think Richard Harris will forever live on in the minds of everyone as the "true" Dumbeldore, but Gambon was great. Not over the top at all. I think he realized that he had some very big shoes to fill, so he just eased into the role without trying to have all of the attention be on him. It worked flawlessly.

David Thewlis was PERFECT as Lupin. The chemistry between him and Dan and then later between him and Gary Oldman (*swoon*) was incredible. I already can't wait until the fifth movie is made just so he's back!!!! *does happy dance in her computer chair at the thought* And Rae, I'm going to agree with you now, he's hot.

Gary Oldman was... I don't know if they have a word that can sum up how unbelievably good he was as Sirius. The chemistry between him and Dan was so...convincing. It makes you love Sirius that much more, and will make rereading the fifth book and then watching that movie so much more difficult. :( :unsure:

I've already covered how terrifying the dementors are, but the scene in which Lupin turns into the werewolf was so scary. The werewolf and the scenes with him are scary, really scary. Not like, look at the computer-generated werewolf, scary. They were, look at the real werewolf chasing after these kids you care about, scary.

I absolutely love the characterization given to the Whomping Willow. The way it was used to show the passing of time, was genius. The Whomping Willow actually becomes a character in this movie, much like the WW is talked about as a real character in the books, and so unlike CoS where it was just "there."

Overall I loved this movie. I'm not going to say that it was the best or even the worst. I have issues with the information being left out, but it was great.

I can't wait to line up in full costume for the GoF and OotP!!

*wipes brow*
Blue

The movie was awesome, although I am a little dissapointed by how much they cut out. But if you think about it, the effects were pretty cool. I mean, the demetors were freaky! Cool, but freaky! The werewolf looked a little naked though. They made Lupin look positivley evil when Hermione told all of them he was a werewolf. That was nice. Perfect. The guy who played Wormtail, well, he was kind of creepy you know? He still acted like a rat when they made him turn human.

And Fred and George got a lot more camera time than in the first movies. You really shouldn't stop seeing the movies based on this one. I, personally can't wait for the fourth movie being the book is my favorite. All in all, I thought that Harry Potter And The Prisionar of Azkaban was excellent. I'm going to see it for my birthday which is the twenty-fifth. :D

They did cut the Shrieking Shack scene a little to much. They didn't have Snape come in before Lupin and Siris could explain-well they did, but it was much too soon. :blink: Anyway, and they didn't have Siris go "Harry, you have to belive me, I would never hurt James or Lilly!" Siris didn't plead his innocence and Lupin and Siris went much too fast in saying how Oh Siris didn't do it. It was peter. They needed to show Harry, Ron and Hermione some more proof.

But I did find it highly amusing when Siris kept saying. "Ok. Let's kill him. Please? Let's kill him! really didnt help in the convincing. Lol. :laughbounce:


And I know what you mean about the tension. Why, I was reading it today and even though I've read the book at least five times, I got the feeling in my stomach when Harry first went through the passageway to Honeydukes....waiting....hoping Harry wouldn't get caught. That's why make the Harry Potter books so good. I mean, you can't read a Nancy Drew novel more than once, it's boring! you know who did it so what's the point? But, the Harry Potter books, oh, you can read them countless times and squeal when a boggart turns in to a six foot tall spider. Shake with fear as a dementor draws nearer.

The kids at school always ask me "Why do you read so much? Books are boring!" Oh how they tease me. "Oh she can't come. She has a nice book at home calling her name. Oh don't invite her. She'd rather read." They taunt me, hoping to find out. Well, I'll tell you why I read so much, but you musn't laugh. When I read a good story, wheather it be Nancy Drew, Harry Potter, The Hardy Boys, anything that is suspencful and such, I become part of the story. Freaky right. I get so in to a story, that someone could be looking right at me, screaming something, and wouldn't hear it. I'm at Hogwarts or or anywhere. I'm anywhere I want to be! It's amazing. That's what I feel in Harry Potter. And that's why I am such a fan.

The guy who played Dumbledor (i'm not big on names) was awesome. "Did what? Good-night" That was a great line, although, he was kinda creepy. :wacko: you know, in that kind of way. lol. And yes, the dementor were nice, (not in that kind of way. in an evil nice. don't think i'm a little :wacko: myself, i have issues. :blink: ) but not to convincing. Creepy yes, but well, i can't explain it. I just looked forward to seeing the Patronus you know? It's like, 'Ok. I see the dementor. It's very evil. Very nice. Now, may we move along please?' I'm so ashamed. :( Oh well. Anyway, the guy who played Malfoy, (Tom something or another?) was great. It was totally beliveable when he was like "God it's killed me! Help me! Oh look at the blood I'm dead!" I love to see a grown boy cry. MUHAHAH! uhhh..isues, please excuse the evil laughter. I learned it from my b/f. :wink:

But the guy who played Siris (Gary maybe?) didn't really, catch the part if you know what I mean. He just wasn't a "Siris Guy" and the robes, the should have had a plain black cloak not that stupid prision uniform. Although, he was very good in the emotional scene. As you said, he was very convincing. I dread the fifth movie when I will watch Siris disappear behind the viel. :(

The werewolf needed more hair. Flat out. But the sounds were most remarkable. Hermione should have thrown her voice though. Bad on her part, although, she had no choice. After all, it was not she who wrote the script.

Professor Trlawny looked positivle, in Ron's words, mental. Those galsses and her acting made me go, "Oooooookay. Definetly a lttle high on the freaky scale. Uh huh. Just a little." She, was also kind of creepy. I like that word. Creepy....

And yes, the Whomping Willow was good, but they forgot about the root that froze it. I just sat there like "Anysecond now, they'll hit the root, and it will freeze....and it will FREEZE...any second now....ok...Hermione let go of Harry so we can see you hit the root...come on now...you can do it...ok FINE! Don't listne to me!" Remember I have issues. :blink: :blink:

This was a very good movie. I'm done. Stop reading. Thanks. I need some water....maybe an Asprin too....

So, there's a lot of disappointment with POA, and I understand where it's coming from. I've seen it twice (with bluejeanbaby, and then again with Blue and Lylian Mae), and I'm glad I did. The first time I saw the movie, I'd waited for over five hours to see it, had dutifully applied my Slytherin tattos, and my Weasley Is Our King buttons, and my Slytherin house scarf, and I'd even recently re-read POA. I had high hopes, because this is my favorite book.

I left the theater at 3 AM, disappointed and confused. I felt cheated - where was mention of the Marauders? Where was Oliver Wood? Why the Firebolt at the end? Why elimate the scene where Snape is returned from under the tree? I had a day to think and grouse before I saw it again, and the second time, I promised to put all thought of the books out of my head and see the movie as a standalone piece. When I did that, I was amazed.

The excellent casting continues in this movie. I'd seen pictures of David Thewlis (Lupin) before the movie and I wanted to duct-tape that ratty little moustache right off his face. He didn't look sweet and world-weary like my Lupin was supposed to, so I was predjudiced against him from the get-go. Seeing him on-screen, though, was a completely different story. His chemistry with Harry is what makes the movie believable. It's a sweet, loving, but also distant feel that he exudes with Harry. He acts like an uncle to him, but he forever has the aura of someone who believes he's talking to a dead person, because he sees James. Then there's Gary Oldman, who I was violently set against. My image of Sirius is informed by fanfiction and fanart, so when I didn't see beautiful long hair and sparkles, I was instantly let down (you Sirius fans should know what I'm talking about - he was sexy once!). But the casting, again, was spot-on - his longing for family, for normalcy, for his friend James alive again as Harry, for any speck of happiness to come into his heart, is so wrenching and believable I'll never be able to picture Siruis in any other way. He and David Thewlis are amazing together - you can see it in Lupin's transformation scene. When Sirius is gripping Remus, begging for him to stay human, knowing it isn't possible but unwilling to lose anyone else he loves, they feel to us like desparate, doomed brothers, or, as Snape put it, like "an old married couple." I wasn't the only girl in the theater who squealed when he said that, by the way - the connection between S&R is so obvious that even non-slash readers candidly accept the pairing.
Then there's the matter of the new Dumbledore. Richard Harris, may he rest in peace, was the sort of man you can't just replace, so they didn't. In keeping with the darker, stranger new theme of the third movie, they simply casted a different kind of Dumbledore, rather than looking for a carbon-copy. He's wonky and strange and capitavting and powerful, and I can't wait to see more of him.

The look and feel of the film is what sets it apart as a standalone movie rather than as simply an aside to the book. It feels very art-house, with overexposed frames, metal-plate tinting, and sepia-toned projection-style scene cuts. There's no happy Disneyland Hogwarts anymore - Columbus' happy-fun brightly-colored sunny Quidditch pitch is gone, in favor of Cuaron's dingy, grimy, frightening institution, which isn't even as important as the woodlands around it and the skies above it. The movie style parallels the growing complexity and darkness of Harry's world - as he's growing older, he understands that everything here at Hogwarts is not as it seems.

Okay, now, the story. This is Steve Klovis' domain, and I'll admit, he failed in some respects. Not telling us about the Marauders saved twenty minutes of screen time, but it disappointed those of us who wanted to see young James, Remus, Sirius, Peter, and Lily. It will be hard for them to incorporate that into the fourth movie, without the backstory in the third, but it can be done. That said, the shuffling of the timeline and the omission of Crookshanks - they're important, yeah, because we've read the books, but overall, they're not that big a deal. The story goes on, and probably more smoothly, without them.

Overall, I'm pleased. I think that some things were omitted that could have been left in, but as with the LotR movies, having multiple tellings of one story is the first step in the transformation of a novel by a writer into a mythology that becomes part of our culture. Think about Beauty and the Beast - it's a story that's been told so many times, nobody can even remember the original authors (the Brothers Grimm didn't make it up - they only collected it and wrote it down). When Disney decided to make a movie about it, it wasn't important to talk about the fact that her father was actually a merchant who'd lost his money to a shipwreck that claimed his goods, or that Belle had seven brothers. When we read it later, we say "oh! what an interesting detail!" but it's no more than that. The story flows, and becomes a part of us, even with the level of artistic license that the writers and directors took. Bottom line is: it's okay. Movies are not visual representations of books, they're separate, inspired stories all their own, and that what makes them powerful.
I know in my heart that POA will stand the test of time to emerge as the most beautiful, complex, and ultimately descriptive movie in the entire series, and I urge everyone who hates it now to see it one more time, just as a movie, all by itself. It's worth it.


This had been in it's own thread previously, but I felt that there needed to be only one thread for this particualr topic, so they have been merged. Hope there aren't any hard feelings! -Blue

Hey, Lupin here. I agree with you like, 100%. If you didn't like PoA the first time, see it again. I saw it twice too. The only thing I was still upset about after the second time was the absence of Oliver Wood, because next to Lupin, he is my favorite character. -Lupin in Alaska-

If you've read my review, bravo to you for it's long, but you will see that Laz's opinion and mine are closely matched. Laz just sounds smarter saying all of it. :nod: ;)

Blue

lol. i read it.

We all agree that it was disapointing. But, as you have said, look at it from a different view. I, even though i didn't look at it from another view, thought it was very good. I mean, just because it wasn't what we were used to doesn't mean it wasn't good. I mean, think about it. Some of the things the substituted were pretty good. Even if they didn't do it the way I expected, I liked it. The kind of made a good story with it even if it wasn't the work of genise we were expecting. You can't have expected them to do it exactly the way of the book because that would cost way way WAY to much money. So, I guess we just have to deal wit it. :nosweat:

I'm dealing with it and I can't wait to see it again on Saturday afternoon after I get off of work. :D

My disappointment with it was like the first time I saw The Two Towers in the theater (the only one of the LotR movies that I saw only one time in the theater). I was disappointed that the Ents weren't featured as much as they are in the book and that Shelob wasn't in it at all. But with the extended version of TTT and Shelob rounding out Frodo's and Sam's parts in the third movie, I was very pleased.

I'm hoping that the information that is in the book but not in the movie that they are planning on putting in GoF, will help balance out all of the action that takes place during the Triwizard Tournament. Yes, there is a lot of info already in GoF, but seeing as how they're starting the movie around the Quidditch World Cup which then leads pretty much to school and the Triwizard Tournament, they need something a little more concrete. I just hope that they don't jip us on the graveyard scene in GoF, but then again, that is pretty scary....

Blue

I will admit, I was dissapointed in the movie when I first saw it, but I still loved it. I think some of the changes were actually very good for the movie. Besides, those dementors looked AWESOME!!!!