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Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Posted by:Warning, some of the language in this review may not be suitable for all. I was never a big fantasy fan (star wars aside) the concept of elves and dwarves and wizards was foreign to me. all i watched was horror movies, fight club, american beauty, and a chosen few movies i held above others. i heard they were making a lord of the rings movie and flashed back to the 8th grade proficiency tests and me reading the hobbit when i got done because my d&d friends told me it was one of the best books ever. i fell alseep because i considered that the worst book ever.
suffice it to say i wasn't exactly stoked to see it but my friends litterally dragged me into lord of the rings and i was blown away.
it may not have had had lightsabers but it was entertaining as hell. now harry potter is a different matter entirely. my friends girlfriend let me read "the prisoner of azkaban" waaaay back when it first came out and mind you all i ever read is mostly stephen king. i zipped through the book in a day and i was confused as hell. words just seemed to be made up (what the f*ck is a muggle? was one question i kept thinking) and i gave the book back and i was like oh yeah super great. but what the hell was going on? and for a few years i was still on my f*ck harry potter kick. the movie came and smashed box offices reocrds as i stood on the sidelines like a real life comic book guy from the simpsons. venom and bitterness just dripping from me.
then the dvd for harry potter and the sorcerors stone came out and i was still not caring until my girlfriend was forced to watch it (she was like me . she didn't care for lame wad kiddie movies) she came home that night screaming how i have to see this! and i don't wanna so shes appeals to my sick sensiblities. she told me there was a aprt where a bad guy dressed in black slithers along the ground like a snake and it's spooky as hell. so i saw lets do it and we watch the movie. just like lord of the rings i was blown away. we saw chamber of secrets in the theater twice and i've read all the book several times. (the fifth one that came out? you can bet dollars to donuts we were at wal-mart that night to snatch up a copy)
i know that was a long way to telling you about the movie i saw last night but i felt i could explain a bit of how I the wanna be lord of darkness digs harry potter so much. and the path i had to walk before i set foolish things aside and went to see the movie that brightened millions of childrens lives.
Harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban seemed to me to be very rushed. the first two glided along at a steady pace and they changed very little. the new movie under new direction lurched and flies you around like you're riding one of those brooms. they cut alot from the books that might have made it more accessible for the fans of the books....but don't get me wrong the movie is top knotch. on a scale of one to ten i'd have to give a 9.5. on a grading curve i'd give it an A-. but only because they deviate from the book.
the movie starts off with a bang. harry is hiding under his sheets practicing spells and messing with his muggle (non-magical) uncle. his aunt marge shows up and pays a bizzare price for speaking ill of harry's parent's which i 'll leave to people to see but i will say: it's in the trailer.
the prisoner of azkaban is a man named sirius black. Word is that back when harry parent's were killed he was the one who led lord voldemort to them. this is also A FACT LEFT OUT OF THE MOVIE : he killed 12 humans and one wizard with one spell. all that was left of the wizard was a finger. i can understand why this was left out (so as not to give the lil kiddies nightmares) but everyone is acting funny around harry because of sirius black. i would give more on plot line but i don't like to ruin movies for people.
i'll just say harry keeps seeing visions of a black dog that the diviniations teacher tells him is a sign of death. There are also these creatures called demntors that float around like wispy ringwraiths. They suck the happiness from anyone. you can always telll when they are near because it gets extremely cold. the sequence where we first see a dementor goes in my vault for coolest scene in a movie. i got chills because everytime harry sees one he passes out and hears his dead mother screaming his name.
all the acting is perfect. the kids are really growing into their roles. i've heard some people say they are looking too old but uhh they are that old. this isn't like beverly hills 90210 where 27 year olds are playing high schoolers. there were some new teachers and students that added to the magic (professor lupin being one of my faves. he has a connection with harry and they take on a kind of mentor/ student jedi /padawan type pf thing) Alan rickman is always great as professor snape. robbie coltrane is always fantastic as hagrid (who is an actual teacher in this movie..and not just the janitor..or whatever he was in the last two movies.)
i could rant a rave all day so i'll just sum it up with this. The movie seemed rushed but to someone who didn't pore over the books like a junkie it should be entertaining. the acting is fantastic as always . the special fx are fantastic (espeacially on the hippogriff. don't know that that is? look it up) and the dementors are creepy as hell. in all honesty i wouldn't show this movie to really little kids. i had a nightmare last night about the dementors and a big black dog. these movies ,if they keep to the books won't really be for kids. the 4th book is a damn near bloodbath towards the end. so take it from a person who used to hate the movies and books. give it a chance and watch it open minded. you will be a kid again in seconds.
if you're a kid to start with...then what are you reading my review for? there's bad language in this!
suffice it to say i wasn't exactly stoked to see it but my friends litterally dragged me into lord of the rings and i was blown away.
it may not have had had lightsabers but it was entertaining as hell. now harry potter is a different matter entirely. my friends girlfriend let me read "the prisoner of azkaban" waaaay back when it first came out and mind you all i ever read is mostly stephen king. i zipped through the book in a day and i was confused as hell. words just seemed to be made up (what the f*ck is a muggle? was one question i kept thinking) and i gave the book back and i was like oh yeah super great. but what the hell was going on? and for a few years i was still on my f*ck harry potter kick. the movie came and smashed box offices reocrds as i stood on the sidelines like a real life comic book guy from the simpsons. venom and bitterness just dripping from me.
then the dvd for harry potter and the sorcerors stone came out and i was still not caring until my girlfriend was forced to watch it (she was like me . she didn't care for lame wad kiddie movies) she came home that night screaming how i have to see this! and i don't wanna so shes appeals to my sick sensiblities. she told me there was a aprt where a bad guy dressed in black slithers along the ground like a snake and it's spooky as hell. so i saw lets do it and we watch the movie. just like lord of the rings i was blown away. we saw chamber of secrets in the theater twice and i've read all the book several times. (the fifth one that came out? you can bet dollars to donuts we were at wal-mart that night to snatch up a copy)
i know that was a long way to telling you about the movie i saw last night but i felt i could explain a bit of how I the wanna be lord of darkness digs harry potter so much. and the path i had to walk before i set foolish things aside and went to see the movie that brightened millions of childrens lives.
Harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban seemed to me to be very rushed. the first two glided along at a steady pace and they changed very little. the new movie under new direction lurched and flies you around like you're riding one of those brooms. they cut alot from the books that might have made it more accessible for the fans of the books....but don't get me wrong the movie is top knotch. on a scale of one to ten i'd have to give a 9.5. on a grading curve i'd give it an A-. but only because they deviate from the book.
the movie starts off with a bang. harry is hiding under his sheets practicing spells and messing with his muggle (non-magical) uncle. his aunt marge shows up and pays a bizzare price for speaking ill of harry's parent's which i 'll leave to people to see but i will say: it's in the trailer.
the prisoner of azkaban is a man named sirius black. Word is that back when harry parent's were killed he was the one who led lord voldemort to them. this is also A FACT LEFT OUT OF THE MOVIE : he killed 12 humans and one wizard with one spell. all that was left of the wizard was a finger. i can understand why this was left out (so as not to give the lil kiddies nightmares) but everyone is acting funny around harry because of sirius black. i would give more on plot line but i don't like to ruin movies for people.
i'll just say harry keeps seeing visions of a black dog that the diviniations teacher tells him is a sign of death. There are also these creatures called demntors that float around like wispy ringwraiths. They suck the happiness from anyone. you can always telll when they are near because it gets extremely cold. the sequence where we first see a dementor goes in my vault for coolest scene in a movie. i got chills because everytime harry sees one he passes out and hears his dead mother screaming his name.
all the acting is perfect. the kids are really growing into their roles. i've heard some people say they are looking too old but uhh they are that old. this isn't like beverly hills 90210 where 27 year olds are playing high schoolers. there were some new teachers and students that added to the magic (professor lupin being one of my faves. he has a connection with harry and they take on a kind of mentor/ student jedi /padawan type pf thing) Alan rickman is always great as professor snape. robbie coltrane is always fantastic as hagrid (who is an actual teacher in this movie..and not just the janitor..or whatever he was in the last two movies.)
i could rant a rave all day so i'll just sum it up with this. The movie seemed rushed but to someone who didn't pore over the books like a junkie it should be entertaining. the acting is fantastic as always . the special fx are fantastic (espeacially on the hippogriff. don't know that that is? look it up) and the dementors are creepy as hell. in all honesty i wouldn't show this movie to really little kids. i had a nightmare last night about the dementors and a big black dog. these movies ,if they keep to the books won't really be for kids. the 4th book is a damn near bloodbath towards the end. so take it from a person who used to hate the movies and books. give it a chance and watch it open minded. you will be a kid again in seconds.
if you're a kid to start with...then what are you reading my review for? there's bad language in this!
Editors Note: Thanks to Atarichild for doing this fantastic review on the discussion boards. Be sure to discuss this with him and share your own opinions and viewpoints, originally posted here http://moviesonline.ca/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=726
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