Got to see Prisoner of Azkaban
Jun. 5th, 2004 09:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
celticdragonflySo darling ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
selenite sent me off today to watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban while he took care of All Three Kids. Wow...
I enjoyed myself. Heck, just getting out to a movie was fun.
Random babbling on the movie. Yes, the Harry Potter actor (yeah, Radcliff or something, I'm awful at actor names, so whatever. If you care, you know, so I shan't bother to look it up) has matured a good bit, particularly in the voice. Shifting from boy to young man. It may be a bit early for this by the books, but after a few moments I got used to it and I was okay with it.
The Aunt Marge blowing up scene - sigh, somebody got too enarmoured with playing with his special effects toolkit. Yes, yes, very nice special effects, but it would have fit the story best if it had happened more quickly, it's supposed to be a rage reaction on Harry's part. And hey, every extra minute in special effects is a minute you don't have for storytelling, so make it count.
I liked the Knight Bus bits. There was some cool special effects. Although what is it with this director (producer? props guy? dunno) and shrunken heads? Here, and Rosmerta's pub, too. Ooookayyy.
Is it just me, or does the actor playing Lupin look like a scruffy cousin of Liam Neeson?
I think the whole point of that choir scene we see in the previews, 'something wicked this way comes', singing toads and all, is a visual distractor, so right afterwards when the new actor for Dumbledore starts speaking, you're still distracted, and accept the change. And I think they didn't need to bother. I think the new guy is just fine as Dumbledore. And thereby it feels like the choir wasted storytelling time.
And speaking of time, it was under 2 1/2 hours. My bladder and I have lived through all the Lord of the Rings movies, and were firmly prepared for three, guys, I'd have sat there for more story!
I think you have to think of this as a visual accessory for the book, NOT a retelling of the same story in a different medium, and then you can really enjoy it. But whoever wrote the screenplay was working from the reader's digest version and skipped important bits. I know they have to cut it down incredibly, and mostly they did good, but there were bits I feel they needed to leave in. Ah well. A lot of the Lupin storyline gets tossed overboard.
Oh, the actor for Draco Malfoy has also seriously grown up, and I thought it was a lot more distracting for this one. And I'm annoyed they keep painting him so broadly. I mean, I'm no Slytherin (I know slytherins, but that's another matter), but really, I am not happy that they keep portraying that whole house so 1-dimensionally, 2 at best. Pity. Ah well, I've read some really good fanfic that shows how it could be more complicated and better, but I suppose it's that lowest common denominator thing.
I did not like how much our three heroes were in mundane outfits rather than school uniforms. The outfits certainly didn't ADD anything to it. I'd have preferred school uniforms. Did some "fashion" designer bribe the director or something?
Buckbeak looked good to me. Oh, and I loved the recurring bits with the Whomping Willow, and the birds, and the falling leaves.
Oh, I'm annoyed - I sat through the Entire Closing Credits waiting for the easter egg like last time. THERE ISN'T ONE, don't bother.
Anyway, it was great fun overall. I want to go out to the movies again! I wonder if Hidalgo still is out in the theaters. (yeah, I live under a rock, I know) I want to see Around the World in 80 Days, looks like good fun for people who'd get into Castle Falkenstein if they had a chance. (i.e. me andselenite) Tempted by a few other things. They're doing Lemony Snicket movies - I've never gotten to read the books, whenever I've seen them it's been expensive cutesy hardback editions. Looked like Harry Potter meets Adams Family. Heck, I'm tempted to see Troy so I can make fun of it.
selenite sent me off today to watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban while he took care of All Three Kids. Wow...I enjoyed myself. Heck, just getting out to a movie was fun.
Random babbling on the movie. Yes, the Harry Potter actor (yeah, Radcliff or something, I'm awful at actor names, so whatever. If you care, you know, so I shan't bother to look it up) has matured a good bit, particularly in the voice. Shifting from boy to young man. It may be a bit early for this by the books, but after a few moments I got used to it and I was okay with it.
The Aunt Marge blowing up scene - sigh, somebody got too enarmoured with playing with his special effects toolkit. Yes, yes, very nice special effects, but it would have fit the story best if it had happened more quickly, it's supposed to be a rage reaction on Harry's part. And hey, every extra minute in special effects is a minute you don't have for storytelling, so make it count.
I liked the Knight Bus bits. There was some cool special effects. Although what is it with this director (producer? props guy? dunno) and shrunken heads? Here, and Rosmerta's pub, too. Ooookayyy.
Is it just me, or does the actor playing Lupin look like a scruffy cousin of Liam Neeson?
I think the whole point of that choir scene we see in the previews, 'something wicked this way comes', singing toads and all, is a visual distractor, so right afterwards when the new actor for Dumbledore starts speaking, you're still distracted, and accept the change. And I think they didn't need to bother. I think the new guy is just fine as Dumbledore. And thereby it feels like the choir wasted storytelling time.
And speaking of time, it was under 2 1/2 hours. My bladder and I have lived through all the Lord of the Rings movies, and were firmly prepared for three, guys, I'd have sat there for more story!
I think you have to think of this as a visual accessory for the book, NOT a retelling of the same story in a different medium, and then you can really enjoy it. But whoever wrote the screenplay was working from the reader's digest version and skipped important bits. I know they have to cut it down incredibly, and mostly they did good, but there were bits I feel they needed to leave in. Ah well. A lot of the Lupin storyline gets tossed overboard.
Oh, the actor for Draco Malfoy has also seriously grown up, and I thought it was a lot more distracting for this one. And I'm annoyed they keep painting him so broadly. I mean, I'm no Slytherin (I know slytherins, but that's another matter), but really, I am not happy that they keep portraying that whole house so 1-dimensionally, 2 at best. Pity. Ah well, I've read some really good fanfic that shows how it could be more complicated and better, but I suppose it's that lowest common denominator thing.
I did not like how much our three heroes were in mundane outfits rather than school uniforms. The outfits certainly didn't ADD anything to it. I'd have preferred school uniforms. Did some "fashion" designer bribe the director or something?
Buckbeak looked good to me. Oh, and I loved the recurring bits with the Whomping Willow, and the birds, and the falling leaves.
Oh, I'm annoyed - I sat through the Entire Closing Credits waiting for the easter egg like last time. THERE ISN'T ONE, don't bother.
Anyway, it was great fun overall. I want to go out to the movies again! I wonder if Hidalgo still is out in the theaters. (yeah, I live under a rock, I know) I want to see Around the World in 80 Days, looks like good fun for people who'd get into Castle Falkenstein if they had a chance. (i.e. me and
selenite) Tempted by a few other things. They're doing Lemony Snicket movies - I've never gotten to read the books, whenever I've seen them it's been expensive cutesy hardback editions. Looked like Harry Potter meets Adams Family. Heck, I'm tempted to see Troy so I can make fun of it.![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2004-06-05 08:38 pm (UTC)thoroughly enjoyed movie.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-06-06 06:50 pm (UTC)It's not as good an easter egg as the end of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, admittedly.
My son, who has read every Lemony Snicket book out by getting them at school, has never asked me to buy one. He has saved his birthday money to purchase the next volume of Harry Potter, each time. I think that's a fairly telling review. He recommends the Charlie Bone books over Lemony Snicket's Baudelaire children-- we happened upon the second one, Charlie Bone and the Time Twister, and I read it in one sitting as I could not put it down. Much better than the one Lemony Snicket novel I didn't finish, or the portions of another-- they're formulaic and whiny and predictable.
My husband and I thought this movie was much more internally satisfying than the first two. The beginnings of emotional darkness we see in this one is so much better than simple adventure.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-06-08 01:28 pm (UTC)heh-heh
Date: 2004-06-08 02:41 pm (UTC)I'd missed it myself on the first go-round, was expecting something less subtle, like last time. Heh. "mischief managed" indeed.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-06-08 03:10 pm (UTC)^ | | ^
| * * |
Consider the * and ^ as toes...
(no subject)
Date: 2004-06-08 03:36 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-06-08 01:37 pm (UTC)Yes, blowing up Aunt Marge took too long--but I liked the "poltergeist" effect of the lights and wind when Harry started getting angry. I liked the shrunken heads. The new Dumbledore was fine, and I loved the choir--in fact, I wished there was more of it (musically, at least, I didn't feel the need to have lots of scenes of the kids and frogs singing). I agree that Draco isn't given enough to do--he spends a lot of time randomly pushing and shoving, which isn't really his style. I think the mundane clothes had to do with them spending so much time out of school in this story--lots of the plot takes place in Hogsmeade, on free time.
I'll post more about it in my LJ later today if I ever get time. (!)