Not a bad movie. I’m just not into the whole Harry Potter business.
Watched it because I know David wants to watch the rest.
Turns out I had seen the whole thing at different times, so watching it this time was simply piecing it together properly :p

I never wrote a review of the first movie, but I loved it, certainly compared to the second one (see review of that one here). Though I do like Christopher Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón took the Hogwarts series in a different direction.

Yes, I’m still re-reading the book, but what I loved about Azkaban is the fact that most of the story was told through the amazing cinematography; imagery. Notice all of the clockworks, clocks, the pendulum in front of the huge oak doors that lead out of the castle, none of which were in the other movies, or if they were, none of which were emphasized. Cuarón skillfully uses falling leaves and flight (of birds and/or the hippogriff) to smoothly change from one scene or season to another, a unique way to signify time changes within the movie.

Absolutely brilliant.

I actually watched this one a bit too much – I even went from Québec City to Montreal to see it on IMAX - and got a bit tired of it, but the first time I saw it, WOW! What a revelation! Nothing against Chris Columbus, but the first two movies were not much above average. But Cuaron really shaked things up and Daniel Radcliffe actually decided he could act in that one! My only problem with this movie is how they left out the whole “who are the marauders” part, but oh well, I guess some sacrifices must be made. It’s still an awesome movie, and the credits look great ;)

Alfonso Cuaron’s one shot at the fantastical world of wizards and muggles is perhaps the only film of the 4 so far that completely embraces how fun magic is. Azkaban is my favorite of the books because it has the most satisfying ending. Harry, Hermione and Ron end their 3rd year fully entrenched in their teens. They’ve started to deal with truly grown up issues while most of the adults around them still assume them children. It is an incredibly accurate portrayal of that time of being a tween.

But Azkaban is also about great and powerful magicks and amazing creatures and Hermione as a tough chick and Harry as a supreme magician. It is also about expanding and exploring their world and the mischief of that in between time and about fun.

That Cuaron never forgets the fun (from the opening sequences to the titles to the closing shot) is why I can’t imagine any of the future films approaching this quality.

I think this is the best Harry Potter film—I just wasn’t prepared for such a radical change from the first two movies. When I saw this on June 4th, I ABSOLUTELY LOATHED it. I found fault with everything—literally nearly every aspect of the film. The music, the acting, the Dumbledore, the Harry-wouldn’t-cry, the relocation of Hogwarts (of which I am now quite glad), the way Hermione disliked the way her hair looked, the apparent rushed-through feel, etc. I felt so strongly about all of this that my entire feeling towards the Harry Potter series was changed—this had been my favorite book. About a year later I saw the movie again and I thought, this isn’t that bad. I wish they had kept Cuaron for the fourth film, which I thought was barely passable. I really love the music for this film as well (once again, greatly better than that of GOF). My opinion towards a thing has never before changed so drastically. I really love the sense of humor evident throughout the films… not to mention that big clock thing. This film, to me, is second only to Amélie.

By far the best Harry Potter film.

This is probably my favorite of the four Harry Potter films so far.

Finally saw this. While I’ve enjoyed the others, this one may be my favorite. Only read the first book, but I followed the story just fine, even though it did leave me with a couple questions.

I didn’t get it. I was horribly confused. About half of the story was amputated, and the movie was still too long. Seriously—there was no dramatic tension, and absolutely no love developed between the audience and the characters. They raped Draco’s character with the sniveling moment—it made absolutely no sense and would have been fine if he’d sneered at her and called her an ugly Mud-blood before she punched him. Would have made more sense and you wouldn’t have had to change any thing else in the scene.