Movie review: Harry Potter

hokay so, read first laugh at me later, im not a massive fan of the books or the movie, i think the books are a clever collection of all the classic, if over used fantasy elements,

i didnt like the first two movies much, (except for Sean biggerstaff that is)but this one is much better, the main characters are much more realistic, they actually seem like real friends, and teenagers, the most bizzare thing they added though is a talking, jamacian, shrunken head, yes you read that right, i mean it dosent even make sense, oh well, artistic lisense,

i actually went at midnight, mainly because ive always wanteds to go to a midnight premire,especially for lord of the rings, but ive never been able to, anyways, id like to know what other people thought of it, so lets hear it>>>>>>much luv

I just saw it last night.

It was good but no where near as good as the book was. It missed out loads of important facts (like the Stag at the end was his dad's animagus form).

But generally it was ok, a lot more comical than the others which was a nice change from the books which are quite serious. And i loved that Jamican head! - I wonder where the Knight bus stops in London? Maybe it will get me places faster.

thats the thing with movie adaptions of books, youu never go and see them to see if they're better than the book, you see them to see how close to being as good as the book they get,

yeah, i thought it was weird that they left out the stuff about Moody, prongs.... as well, i read somewhere that itll be in a latter movie or something

but over all just overwhelmingly better than the first two movies

Adapting films from books is always going to be hard, no matter what you do you're going to offend somone by leaving out their favorite bit.

Director Guillermo del Toro (who was initially approached to direct this film but was too busy with his other projects) sums it up wonderfully:

"Adapting a book is like marrying a widow; you've got to respect the memory of the late husband but at some point you've got to get laid."

wow, my two favourite things; happy potter and poi, appearing on the same website!!! doesn't get much better than that!

I am a huge fan of the books and haven't yet walked out of one of the films without a huge amount of disappointment. I (being a film student) understand how hard it is to adapt a book, especially one loved by so many but how hard can it be to find a lead actor who can ACT!!! so many went for the role and they ended up with him!

anyway, haven't seen the third one yet- not sure i can cope with the disappointment again. so i'm REALLY pleased that everyone seems to think they're getting better.

just got to get up the courage to go see it now... wish me luck!

i cant tell you how your going to feel about this one, but if you love the books as much as you say you do, youll probaly still be a little disapointed, just not nearly as much as with the others, this movie, feels, looks, flows, totally differently from the first two,

by the way, i just found out that the actress who plays aunt marge is the same woman who planned Principle Trunchbull( didnt spell that right) in the movie of Matilda, hehe, seems to me like she's getting typcast, she is good at it though

just like to say: i love fred and george

Harry who?

thanks lightening, 'tis true that i do need a life, but it's not like they're my only interests!... i like disney too!

am going to see it one wed. have another big fan going with me to hold my hand, so i think i'll be ok...i'm just not getting my hopes up too much this time, but i am really looking forward

i always love the adult cast members, i was really happy when i heard about gary oldman and alan rickman etc, it's just the kids!!!

well i'll give you my verdict on wed

The third film is definately a step in the right direction! The first two fims focus on all the wrong parts of the book and therefore do the books no justice whatsoever. The new film however is starting to lean towards the darker side of the book but still missed some good stuff that they should have done instead of the shrunken jamaican heads!
I also think they did a good job on the dementors considering in the book they are just ringwraiths from LOTR.

Now all we need is Tim Burton to come along and offer to make the rest of the films and i will be a happy man.

P.S. This is my first/probably last post in social disscussion but it was nice to pop in and say something about the most trivial thing in this forum!

P.P.S. props to Alan rickman- He is a genious!

I agree this movie was way better than the other two.. It could be the change in directors. did anyone notice that dumbldore ( I hoped I spelled that right) was a different actor.. I started reading harry potter on a whim. I had to see what all the noise was about. I remember after I Read the first chapter I knew I was in trouble. I have been a fan ever since. I can't wait until the next movie.
Goddessda

The old Dumbledore (Richard Harries) died last year but to be honest i think the new Dumbledore does a better job!

OK so it wasnt my last post???

Oh, I'm so jealous that you guys have seen the movie! Two more days to go over here in Australia till Harry comes out.... Can't wait!!

My housemate has offered a dodgy ripped version of the movie from the net, but i really don't want to spoil it!!

Nov 18th 2005 is apparently the expected release date of Goblet of Fire, the 4th Harry movie

okay, i know i put this in social discussion, which is supposed to mean it dosent wander from the topic but:

i hate it when they dont release movies at the same time, its the reason pirating is such a problem anyways, ill admit its not often a problem for americans, but it still sucks! for example, i had to wait 3 years to see Ned Kelley!!! Grr, it makes me mad, and for any one that cares, new line is making movies of the His Dark Materials books(thats where i get my name from), no ones cast yet, but its got a great screenwriter, anyways

one other thing about the new harry potter movie:
my mutti mentioned this:

you can kinda feel the influence of the Director's Mexican heritage and beliefs, well, rather litteralyy there are some of those mexican candy skulls in one of the scenes, but also, just if the way the whole movie is filmed and the dementors(which are just the ringwraiths from lord of the rings), anyways>>>

HAvent seen de new one. HAted the first one, ignored and avoided the second one... but something lures me to it. Possibly the trailer... amybe the fact that the director also directed Y Tu Mama Tambien (And Your Mother Too)... or maybe the horror movie type feel to it...

Anyways, I'll try to see it this weekend.

Just saw it yesterday...definately better than the first two...the kids are still kind of unbearable, but Emma Thompson was awesome; Lyra, there were lots more funny faces that we can have fun pausing and laughing at when the dvd comes out...good times. :insert Harry Potter smile:

(i think it's really cool about Tom Stoppard writing the screenplay for Golden Compass...I'm still not gonna see it, though!)

i officially liked it.

not over enamoured with it; wasn't skipping with joy like i was after LotR; and didn't immediatly rush back in to see it again, but i liked it.

if they keep getting better at this rate then the 7th is going to be fantastic. Daniel Radcliff hasn't decided if he'll do past the 4th, but I wouldn't be too upset if he left.

Thought the adult cast were superb, the sets and special effects magnificent, the direction... unusual, and the children nearly as annoying as ever.

know what you mean about the mexican influences of the director though, and at some points (the 'mentor' scenes with lupin mostly) it felt more like crouching tiger.

but i liked it, and i can't say fairer than that

Now seen it - Liked it, altho it took me awhile to get use to the different feel of the film. The first two were more sugar-coated aimed to kids feel, and this seems darker, and the world is alot more vast, the castle and grounds are more spread out, and you have a feeling of space as compared to the first two, where the setting was alot more compressed.

Was kinda bizzare, a familiar world portrayed in a different way - altho apparently this one was closer to what JK Rowling wanted. The same director, Alfonzo something-or-rather, is directing the 4th movie too.

I thought the casting of the adult actors was great. Everywhere I looked, I recognised another face ...... Dawn French as the portrait painting. You had to really look to see Emma Thompson under those thick glasses and masses of hair as Prof. Trewlaney.
I like this one more than the first two. I think the director had an easier time since the world was already established in the first films and he didn't have to have Harry going "Hagrid, what is that ....." all the time.

i hadn't seen any of the HP movies till this last one came out and for some reason i just decided to go see it and i thought it was done very well so i decided to go get the other two and watch them. i think they were good also but not as good as this last one but i am now a fan of them. they are well put together w/ the casted, special effects, scenery and all.

Seems I am going to be in the minority.

I thought the first two did a good jon relating to the books, and enjoyed them alot.

I can't stand the 3rd movie. Azkaban is my favorite of the books and there were so many things left out of some importance, or dulled down tremendously (Harmione's time thing was dulled down, her and Ron's fight was pretty much non-exsistent, they didn't explain why she suddenly had a cat, the stag explaination, etc...I could go on...)

Alan Rickman was brilliant, as was Emma Thompson, Gary Olman (sp??)..and well, I really have always enjoyed all of the casting choices made. They have been tremendous.

I enjoyed the presentation of the Knight Bus, Buckbeak and the Dementors. It was very well done.

I had a **really** hard time with the over reliance on imagery, such as the giant freaking clock right in the front of the building.

I had a hard time with it being the darkest of the books but the brightest movie.

I felt the character dynamic came to a stand still and that it didn't progress or grow at all, it just stagnated.

I left feeling as if I got the slightest taste of the book and that was all. It was a rather like showing up to the table starving and being asked to leave while still hungry. Most unsatisfying.

And even my boyfriend and my 9 year old son, neither of whom have read the books, left feeling the same way and asking me questions to fill in the many gaps.

I say bring Chris Colombus back as the director.

But that is just my opinion.

P~

hmmm...interesting that you didnt like it Pele, especially that you found this the "brightest" movie, i agre with problems surrounding the simplificatioon of the plot, its always an annoying problem with movies of books,

by the way Mele, i think it was you who mentioned this, but i dont think Alfonso is directing the forth one, its someone else, ill have to check out www.imdb.com to get the name>>>>>>>much luv

I went and saw it last night. I though it was good. Seeing a differnet dumbledor was strange, although I do agree he does it better. All the grounds look differnet though. Like its been filmed in a differnet place. In the first 2 movies it seemed liek hagrids hut was on a flat feild. But now its at the bottom of a hill with a long path going down to it. Jamacan head weres funny
(plus i think im the only one to openly admit that daniel radcliffe was hott, especially when he was in a stress kicking stuff in his room and yes, i know im strange )

Daniel Radcliffe? But... but.... His hair! HE has more of a mop than i used to! And he cant act...*rambles off into uncromprehensible mutterings*

i know he can't act but get rid of the sellotaped glasses and he is rather cute. plus i like shaggy hair

I just swa it on the weekend...and although the storyline was fairly good I hated the new scenery....it has totally changed....I found that it was nothing like the first two movies and that for me wasn't good.

Over all though I guess it was okay...I just hope that they do a better job with the next one.

How does everyone figure they're going to DO the next one? If this was was grossly simplified (and it so definitely was) what is going to happen to 500-odd page Goblet?

Despite a lot of things being left out (all the stuff Pele noted, and especially the identity of the map makers), I liked it. I think it's because for as much as they left out, if you KNOW the book, you can fill in the gaps. It's much like LOTR in that there's stuff in the film that they can't explain in two hours but is still there for people who know about it otherwise.

Also, for a silly as it is, Ron's scaredy-face just makes these movies for me. I think it's the best in this one.

Mele, Alfonzo hasn't signed agreed to do the next movie yet. Mind you, I read that in the paper about two weeks ago, things might have changed since then.

Sidenote: Hermione is going to get hot pretty quick.

i read a thing in the newspaper about it, and apparently they start filming for the 4th one end of July...

i like the first to movies. i thought they were very well done, and i remeber thinking that i wish they had movies like that when i was younger. my dad is a teacher and he started reading one of the books to one of he classes, and got hooked on them. hes since been out and brought all of the books. my brother read them after he had and they both ganged up on me to make me read them too. after the first chapter (of the goblet of fire) i was hooked. i havent been able to put any of them down, and read all of them with in about 2 weeks. and am now well and truely a Harry Potter fan. i was really looking forwards to the 3rd movie coming out, especially after i saw the preveiws. to anyone that is thinking of reading the books and seeing the movies, i would say dont read the book untill your seen the movie because otherwise you'll be dissapointed.

the third movie was very very well done and the special effects are magnificent, but i thought that the movie just jumped around to much. the start up untill the Leaki Caultron was the best, after that i just felt that it lacked detail. it sort of just seemed to jump from one thing to the next, and i didnt think that it built up relationships between the characters. like one minit there in a class, the next minit everyones runing up to professer Magonagle (um sorry spelling) apparently for the Hogsmed trip, and the next minit hes having a deep and meaningfull talk with one of he teachers. inthe book it explanes all this but i think in the movie they just leave a little -too- much out. like harry and ron not talking to hermyonie for a term, and they dont even mention the exams. i mean i relise that they have to because the book is so big and detailed, but i cant help but feel that it would have been worth making it say 15mins longer just to have a bit more character development. dose anyone else get me? or am i just being over picky. sorry if i am. i do think that it was a good movie, its good to see the characters grown up a bit more, and the senery and special effects are wicked. i loved Ron i thought he was awsume, and it was good having it a bit darker as well, not really a childerens movie anymore, but im kinda glad that after seting the bar for this one, its not going to be the same director for the next one.

*runs away fast before anyone can hit her!*

(and aimee i think your right too, he is hot (altho much to young) and i thought the senery was very differant as well. not in a bad way i think it kind of sooted it better that the first two, but a little to different for my liking. sort of like its a differant movie with the same people...? )

ahhhh im picky i no i no im going now

Just sort of finished reading "Order of the Phoenix." After 12 hours of reading it straight, I found the ending agonizingly abrupt (I suspect my book might be missing about a hundred pages.. it ended with 760+). Still hanging at the edge of my seat...

As for the movie "Prisoner of Azkaban" it did feel jumpy. Like it skimmed through the book instead of delving into detail. Understandable as the movie is of standard length (kids might not be able to sit through something as long as LOTR). Speaking of kids, this last one wasn't particularly a (young) child-friendly movie... It was okay though.

FB, if you read some of the other posts you will find you are not alone at all, and no flaying has occurred yet, so I think you are safe

I think this last one was far more kid friendly than the 2nd one. They didn't really make the dementors that scary, and in the last one everything was dark, and creepy, and full of spiders and hissing voices which scared the crap out of the kids I took.

This one they kept asking why everything was so bright and not creepy.

From the 2 hour documentary on Harry Potter that was on E! channel, or A&E, the fourth one has already started being filmed.

That means she needs to step it up on the 6th book before the movies catch up with her!

In an ironic twist for me, I don't think they will have problems with the 5th movie. There was so much stuff that was completely unnecessary in that book that leaving it out of the movie would be fine.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it. But there was alot that simply did nothing for the plot.

In the next movie I can not wait for the return of the house elves!

My .03
Pele