That Movie Rocked!

We've just returned from seeing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and I must say … I LOVED IT!! Start to finish, it was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Alfonso Cuaron did the story justice and left his own unique mark on the film.

If you want the movie totally unspoiled, don't read the rest …I thought the CG was much improved. Buckbeak was abs. amazing! Tthey did a wonderful job with him … and the dementors were very scary. I loved the damp English garden feel of the whole movie too. Reminded me very much of Cuaron's work in The Secret Garden. I also liked the snappier dialogue and the more casual attitude toward school uniforms. It felt more realistic. And wasn't that courtyard at Hogwarts fabulous?? My fave part though, was probably the Knight Bus. That was soooo cool! The frogs as part of the choir were really cool too. I'm sure I'll have to see it again to take it all in (maybe when it comes to the cheapies!!).

In my humble opinion, they skimped on exposition in just the right places and did a wonderful job of letting the plot direct the entire movie. It had to be shortened and pruned for the screen and it was done in just the right places. It's very interesting, because I think, page for page, they probably included a lot less of the story in this one, and yet it seemed fuller. The first two to me, while I liked them, felt like a greatest hits version of their respective books, but this felt like a darn good story. It would be interesting to hear what someone who hasn't read the books thought of it … but for my money, fave book so far, fave movie so far.