Saturday, July 18, 2009

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Next in line as preparation for the new Harry Potter movie is the 3rd in the series: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This 2004 film has a new director and a new look with Alfonso Cuaron. I like Lupin and Black and the depiction of their relationship, which was exactly as I had pictured it when reading the book. I don't like time travel as a device in books or films.

trailer:


Rolling Stone says it's the best of the 1st 3 films. Salon.com agrees, saying it's "the first to capture not only the books' sense of longing, but their understanding of the way magic underlies the mundane". The New York Times calls it "the first one that actually looks and feels like a movie, rather than a staged reading with special effects." Roger Ebert likes it but likes the first 2 better. Variety comments on the PG rating.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous3:29 AM

    I used to like the Harry Potter series back when it was called "Star Wars." Really...

    A young boy/man living an obscure life is suddenly shown that he has a remarkable past & attains brilliant powers & is personally connected to the villain behind a crisis that affects everyone.

    I'm sure it's a nice series & a happy series & a series everyone enjoys but I already went through this... With Star Wars. I can't help but think that George Lucas called in his lawyers for at least a brief chat when this series began to become popular to make sure that it didn't hew too closely to his own franchise.

    Anyway, this series simply demonstrates what I've been telling people for years (probably over a decade now) - Market to girls in a way that doesn't immediately offend boys & you'll make an absolute mint. Just ask James Cameron.

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  2. I don't think of the series as a Star Wars "clone" but as another in the long tradition of British school stories.

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