Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Possible spoilers)

[Sim Kid]

Originally posted by Captain Carter:
Most of the complaints I've heard are "OMFHG!!1111 THEY CUT OF QUIDDITCH!!11"

You'd be surprised how many times I heard that at school after the 1st and 2nd movies.

[QB}Quidditch is boring, even in the books. All of the matches are the same.[/QB]

And why they made an entire VIDEO GAME completley DEVOTED to Quidditch is beyond me.

ACID RAIN AND METEORS MADE OF CANCER AND GRABS THE SNITCH LEADING GRIFFINDOR TO VICTOLY!!11111

Acid rain and Meteors made of Cancer? That'd spice up the Quidditch scenes a bit. I was pretty surprised that I didn't fall asleep during them. And it might be even more cooler if they rioted and shot out random spells. Sure, that would be pretty violent and inaccurate from the books and would sound like a parody of real-life sports, but it would be more interesting than what they do now.

[QB[The Demeantors seemed to be pretty powerful magical beings; flying shouldn't really be that big of a step for them. [/QB]

Yeah, I thought that too when I read the books.

[A Genius]

Weren't the dementors described as "gliding" as opposed to "walking?" I remember that they had a stupid conversation about it in the fifth book. Sorta. Either way, as we all know most directors are physically incapable of telling the difference betwen gliding and flying, as is shown in a famous movie someone probably made. So that's probably where that came from.

-A Genius (I laughed so much when I wrote that, I went and told you how much I laughed. I didn't laugh at all when I wrote this, though.)

[Rattan]

You'd think JKR would have slapped him around for the scenes he switched around. Must be too busy counting the money.

[The Famous Mr. Horsehead]

But, THE funniest part in the movie is...

"SPIDERS! NO, SPIDERS! NO, I DON'T WANT TO TAP DANCE! I DON'T WANT TO TAP DANCE!"
"You tell those spiders, Ron."
"Okay...I'll...I'll tell them...zzzzzzz"

And I thought the Time Turner scene(s) were spectacular. It was just so...awesome.

"I knew I could do it, because I knew I had done it before! Does that make any sence at all?"
"No!"
"That's alright!"

[Dark Magus]

The only thing that kept me attentive during the Quidditch matches was the small, flickering hope that Gryffindor would rush the field and tear down the goalpost.

[Erdawn Il Deus]

Originally posted by The Keymaster:
You'd think JKR would have slapped him around for the scenes he switched around. Must be too busy counting the money.

Go you!

[homer]

Originally posted by Digitalpotato:
Acid rain and Meteors made of Cancer? That'd spice up the Quidditch scenes a bit. I was pretty surprised that I didn't fall asleep during them. And it might be even more cooler if they rioted and shot out random spells. Sure, that would be pretty violent and inaccurate from the books and would sound like a parody of real-life sports, but it would be more interesting than what they do now.

Lmao, Go to a Magical Duel and a Quidditch game break out.

[Parrakarry]

OMFG OMFG TEH MOVAY WASS NOT ACURATES TO TEH MILISECUND OMG

...who... ****ing... cares...

I was a bit pissed that the Dementors seemed like Ringwraiths, only without the kickassness that made them cool. I mean, hell, it was still a pretty long movie, and they cut out half. Now, the third LotR was VERY well done, was nearly 4 hours long, and STILL cut out half of the book. What do you want them to DO??? Make 6 hour movies??? Not gonna happen.

[ZeldaGirl]

Originally posted by Marilink:
But, THE funniest part in the movie is...

"SPIDERS! NO, SPIDERS! NO, I DON'T WANT TO TAP DANCE! I DON'T WANT TO TAP DANCE!"
"You tell those spiders, Ron."
"Okay...I'll...I'll tell them...zzzzzzz"

That was pretty funny. Well, it was an okay movie. Even though it was still 2 hours long, I think they had some time to include more important scenes, and leave out the ones that just did not make sense.

I did not really agree with the direction of the movie. Some parts that were included did not flow with the rest of the movie. And there were many unanswered questions (did it ever explain how Lupin knew about the Map... no). More was spent on special effects than actually developing the plot, and revealing the personalities of the new characters.

Overall, I give it a 6/10 (possibly 7). It was okay, but definetly could have been better.

Oh well. Reading the books is more fun anyways... [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[imported_]

Obviously things get cut - like people have said, if there's anything you missed, go read the book. That's what it's for. What gets me is that people are pissed that stuff didn't get explained. WHY DO YOU NEED THEM TO BE EXPLAINED? You read the books! If you didn't, why are you watching the movie?

I thought Cuarón did great. He made it darker, he put emphasis on the right parts, and he didn't spend any time on backstory that everyone ought to know. Things like that only slow down the action. So the Firebolt got moved to the end. Big deal! Did it really affect the grand storyline? No.

Dementors flying adds drama. Its what happens when a literary work gets moved to a visual medium. Cool looking stuff gets inserted.

This is not the book. It is an entirely seperate venture, based on the book. It's not meant to do all the same things for you as the book is. It's meant to be different.

David Thewlis (Lupin), Gary Oldman (Black), and pretty much every other actor in this film (yes, including Radcliffe) did great. Radcliffe especially improved over horrid performances in the first two movies, working with substandard director Chris Columbus. Cuarón markedly improved this series.

tikedly

[ June 14, 2004, 06:48 PM: Message edited by: Tik ]

[CaptHayfever]

Okay, I actually saw it today. The Dursley home scenes were much better than in the first (I didn't see the second).
Most of the dropping & rearranging worked out great; the only real problem is the lack of information on a few points. I'd understand if it was lack of time, but there were a LOT of lengthy silent scenes that could've had a few extra lines added to explain things, particularly at the end when Lupin is walking out of his office.

You read the books! If you didn't, why are you watching the movie?

I've never read The Godfather.
A lot of people (pathetically) hadn't even heard of Lord of the Rings until the movies came out.
Quite a few parents who saw Holes still don't know there's a book.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[ZeldaGirl]

Obviously things get cut - like people have said, if there's anything you missed, go read the book. That's what it's for. What gets me is that people are pissed that stuff didn't get explained. WHY DO YOU NEED THEM TO BE EXPLAINED? You read the books! If you didn't, why are you watching the movie?

The only problem is that the director assumed that people have read the books. My friends that have not read them were totally lost, because it is not explained adequately. So, they could have taken a few more minutes just to explain several important points, and leave out unimportant scenes.

[Tonberry2k]

I'll probably never read the books, so everything I know about Potter, I get from the movies.

[Nekoscat]

Originally posted by Digitalpotato:
I saw it last night at one of the few drive-ins left. Ever heard what people say about how in a series, the third one always gets screwed over if not the second? In this case, that applies. It just seemed that they only took the important details out of the book and made it a movie. They left out alot of other details, such as how the Firebolt comes AT CHRISTMAS, not AFTER they rescue Sirius, same with explanation for why Harry's Patronus takes the Form of a Stag and what his father had to do with a Stag, how and why Sirius, Peter, and James became Animaguses, When Sirius snuck into the Griffyndor(sp) commonroom with a knife to get at Scabbers/Peter and scared the living **** out of Ron, the stuff about the Secret Keeper, The Owl Post, etc.

Yes yes I know, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a 317 page book, (That's just the British version. the american version is like 435 pages or something like that) and because it's a movie based off of a book, there's bound to be quite a bit of stuff missing, but the amount of details missing in HP:PoA was pretty high for a movie based off a book.


Don't get me wrong, it did really have its moments, such as how the special effects were pretty cool, primarily the Knight Bus, The Dementors, Buckbeak, When Aunt Marge blew up, and the Boggart scene. (The boggart scene with Snape and the weird outfit was even funnier in the movie than it was reading it) The acting was pretty good, such as how when Harry was terrorizing Malfroy, Crabbe, and Goyle in Hogsmeade, the looks of Terror on their faces was pretty convincing, same with the Terror during the werewolf scenes. ([MAD MAGAZINE JOKE] Maybe the director told them to imagine what their careers would be like in 20 years for those scenes. [/MAD MAGAZINE JOKE]) I also liked how Sirius Black and Lupin looked. Peter was just plain Freaky, though that is pretty much close to what one may look like if he had been a rat for 12 years.

Overall, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was good, but not great. If you're a big Harry Potter Fan, then you'd probably like it. But I'd reccomend reading the books before you see the movie, primarily this one. I give Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban a 6.62/10.

here we go again.. I just got into the Harry Potter books, and so admittedly, im a noob to the stuff.. but this little rant you gave off was so uncoherrant.. Harry Potter and the Prisoner Of Azkaban is a movie -*-*- BASED -*-*-
off the book, Its not a complete retelling of the story. For example, when does Hermiony grab Ron's hand in the book? huh?! ^_^;

Neko^^

[ June 17, 2004, 10:00 PM: Message edited by: Neko ]

[Dark Magus]

The only part I was disappointed about was how the scene where Harry used the patronum on Malfoy's friends (who were dressed like a dementor) was cut out.

[Prince Toad]

Not to be crude, but what the hell were Harry and Hermione doing all those times when they were sitting around in dark forests for hours at a time? Looking at their hands? Jesus.

Anyway... the movie was pretty good, I guess. I haven't read the books in a long time, and didn't read past the third, so I was kind of confused. They did a decent job, but some little things got to me. Like... why was it constantly broad daylight in the dead of night? And why were Lupin and Harry wandering around forests and bridges and stuff alone? Where did that come from?

I did like the hippogriff though. That thing was cool.

And the very last frame was freaking hilarious. I don't care what anyone says.

[Rattan]

They do the quidditch championship? Just curious.

[CaptHayfever]

^Nope, that got cut.

Why was it constantly broad daylight in the dead of night?

Full moon.

why were Lupin and Harry wandering around forests and bridges and stuff alone?

The bridge was supposed to be connected to the school; the kids used it to get to Hagrid's place. I guess the director thought the scene would look more impressive there than in Lupin's office.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[Dolos Ekans]

I liked the fifth book it was probably my favorite. I read it in like three days it was so good... The third movie sucked. I hated it I didn't like who they casted for Sirius and Lupin. (They look like Monty Python's Flying Circus rejects) The new director didn't follow the book very well. Alhough I like the new actor for Dumbledore.

[AJ Middleton]

Here's a review I wrote for my weblog:

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban--The Movie
A review by Me

A better title would have been: "Selected Scenes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, edited by Alfonso Cuaron." Honestly, what the hell was that? Each scene was its own little segment, and there was little to no transition between them. And the story...wait, there was a plot? The whole Sirius thing was irrelevant until the very end of the movie. And even THAT whole scene was poorly done! Harry saves Sirius from Snape before he hears the full story. Umm, no? Harry's way too pissed to give in that easily. So Sirius quickly tells something about Wormtail and before you know it, he's asking his godson to live with him. It was SO quick and SO choppy that it seemed so fake.

Character development was lacking too. If anyone had a personality, it was Lupin. Harry was pretty much flat. Ron only said, "Bloody hell!" and "mental!" a lot. Hermione played know-it-all and had her minutes of glory only when they went back in time. The guy who plays Dumbledore is too young and happy for the old wizard, McGonagall had like a scene, and Trelawney was funny, but she seemed so minor that it would have been fine without her. Basically, every character felt empty and underdeveloped.

As a movie, it was too dark, too choppy, lacked any flow, and had no plot. But now let's talk about it being an adaptation of the book. Obviously, it was bad. THE DEMENTORS. Ok, first of all, they don't give everything the kiss of death. I mean, come on, Harry almost dies on the train. And again with Sirius at the end. And another time in the air during...OMG. IN THE AIR. WHY THE HELL ARE THE DEMENTORS FLYING. This is not The Birds, Cuaron! My god...everytime they were gliding around on screen Joey and I started cracking up because it was so damn goofy. First scene, flying around Hogwarts. Second, swooping down to get Harry during Quiddich. Lol..."Dementors" and "swoop" should NEVER go together. And the last scene has them flocking to Harry and Sirius. Flocking! How can you take Demented birds seriously?! Give me a break...

Ok...*deep breath* Obviously, things were inaccurate by the book. Harry DOES NOT see Wormtail on the Map. That would ruin the whole suspense! And where's Cho? Hell, where's the whole Quiddich Cup? And...AHH! Too much was left out, but Cuaron also tried to do too much, which is why it was as choppy as it was.

Final verdict? It's getting much too difficult to do one novel in 2 hours. Sorcerer's Stone was good, because there was less to cover. Chamber was...well, I didn't like it, but Columbus tried and he got the mood right. But this disaster...I almost forgot! What the hell was up with the Knight Bus scene? I didn't like the head, or the scary driver, or how Matrix/surreal/acid trip it was. Anyway, it seems as if Cuaron got offered the money and just tried to throw something together. He needs to stick to his Spanish pornos. And Hollywood shouldn't attempt to bring Rowling to the screen again.