took my daughter to see it yesterday, couldn't beleive we even got seats the theater was positively PACKED with people dressed in witch n wizard gear- all adults, go figure.




SPOILER ALERT





Lots and lots of key information and events missing (the other rooms at the dept of mysteries, prophecy being made by Trewlany and ALL it entailed, fred n george's swamp- I really wanted to see that!, Kreature and the Noble House of Black), major mistakes (Cho telling on the DA? no statues coming to life to fight at the Ministry) and lousy shortcuts to info (like omitting the visit to st mungo's and what was learned there).. they showed us Nevill's Bubotuber plant but then prompty forgot it existed- there was a lot of that in the way of dead ends.

I also thought the cgi quality was really low this time around, particularly with the centaurs.

Bri liked it, but she would have liked it no matter what. I know they only have so long to work with but c'mon...worst HP, hands down. Seriously disapointed.

I've never read any of the books, but I have seen all
the movies to date. With that background, will I find
this a much more entertaining movie than you did?

I only read the first two books, as part of reading them aloud to my daughter during her younger years. She is now twenty-one (in a few days). I promptly forgot whatever I read, of course - as I normally do.

As a result, I've enjoyed the movies. They aren't great masterpieces, or anything - but they are solid entertainment. I haven't seen the most recent one yet, but the only negative reviews I've read are from people who follow the books pretty closely.

Today I saw HP:Order of the Phoenix, and it was pretty good.

Recently I gave up reading this series (Don't ask me why.....). :o But instead of the book, I saw whole series. Earlier movies were family movies, but I thought this one is not fantasy. It's HORROR movie! :eek:


So I enjoyed it.

...I've enjoyed the movies. They aren't great masterpieces, or anything.....

I agree with that EXCEPT for "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," directed by the amazing Alfonso Cuaron. It is by far and away the best of the Harry Potter movies. I can watch it again and again and again, and I have. It's lyrical, provides the information you need to follow the story, and Cuaron is, well, a magical director, just perfect for a Harry Potter movie.

I hear the latest one is not good. Book 5, on which the movie is based, is the most important book of the series thus far, I think. It is cram packed with events that, unfortunately, only the most talented director and writers could edit down to a single, 2 hour movie. Apparently, that hasn't happened here. I haven't seen it yet, but a friend has, and he was disappointed.

After eschewing Potter for years, I became a Potter maniac in my old age. I've read all the books at least twice, some three times. I've seen all the movies twice and "Prisoners of Azkaban" about 10 ten times.

Because the books are long and each covers specific events in Harry's life in great detail, it's a shame they decided to make each book a single movie. Well, the first few could be single films. But the latter books are so dense and rich they each should be made into two movies. That way we could see the full story on screen and not truncated versions.

I agree with that EXCEPT for "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," directed by the amazing Alfonso Cuaron. It is by far and away the best of the Harry Potter movies. I can watch it again and again and again, and I have. It's lyrical, provides the information you need to follow the story, and Cuaron is, well, a magical director, just perfect for a Harry Potter movie.

I hear the latest one is not good. Book 5, on which the movie is based, is the most important book of the series thus far, I think. It is cram packed with events that, unfortunately, only the most talented director and writers could edit down to a single, 2 hour movie. Apparently, that hasn't happened here. I haven't seen it yet, but a friend has, and he was disappointed.

After eschewing Potter for years, I became a Potter maniac in my old age. I've read all the books at least twice, some three times. I've seen all the movies twice and "Prisoners of Azkaban" about 10 ten times.

Because the books are long and each covers specific events in Harry's life in great detail, it's a shame they decided to make each book a single movie. Well, the first few could be single films. But the latter books are so dense and rich they each should be made into two movies. That way we could see the full story on screen and not truncated versions.

Maggers I agree with everything you wrote (Except I've heard better reviews than you have apparently).

My suggestion - do Harry Potter as a cartoon/anime series. You can do them as long/short as needed and you can truly show magic in a way that live action cannot yet attain. That, I think, is its best format.

The biggest complaint I had about the movie was how terrible the editing was. It was clear as day where scenes were cut and in many cases the transition from one scene to the next was very choppy.

For a movie like this, they certainly did seem to cut back on the budget, and the editing should have been a lot better than it was.

Chris

I've never read any of the books, but I have seen all
the movies to date. With that background, will I find
this a much more entertaining movie than you did?

Maybe, bc you won't be expecting certain information (most of which is vital to the story).

"Azkaban" was the best, film wise. Order of the Phoenix is a major turning point inthe series and deserved more attention, this looks like it was put together hastily and by someone who hadn't really followed the plot. The cgi work was sloppy in several areas (where's quality control when you need them?) and liek someone else said the editing was choppy and coarse. Did someone let Michael Mann on the set????

NO SPOILERS




Saw it last night, and was impressed by the dialogue and acting. Yes, the scenes were a little choppy, and I could have done with better transitions (OMG! flying into the newspapers is annoying! ), like in the other movies where they showed the trees and leaves, and the snow changing to show the passage of time.

Some parts they short-cutted to (which was stupid), but most were dead-on, if you have read the books. For those non-book readers out there, you will enjoy the action of this movie. You will also notice much darker themes and overall spookiness, compared to say, Number 1.

I liked it.

Stephanie

Well, I just got back from the movie. It is interesting to see how
everyone's opinions, while often on opposite sides of the aisle,
are all pretty much right on. Weird eh?

A more detailed piece of feedback is available on my Blog (...Within
A Dark Wood) at my website.

In the end, I give it three-and-one-half out of five cans of Diet
Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper.

Expelliamus!

Mike out