Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Alakazaam

[hkellick]

So, I saw the third movie with ecwoodburn last night.

Despite what many of you said, I would NOT call this the best movie as so far. Here's why:

1) Timing - Some of the scenes seem too forced and too random. ESPECIALLY the main important scene in the Shrieking Shack.

My impression of the Shrieking Shack Scene (in 2 minutes or less)

VERY OBVIOUSLY BADLY DONE CGI Dog: Growl Growl.

Ron: Oh, bugger!

CGI Dog: Growl Growl *grabs Ron and drags him into the secret tunnel*

Whomping Willow: *whomp whomp whomp* *whomps Harry* *whomps Hermione* *whomps Harry* *whomps Hermione*

Hermione: I'm going to grab you by the scruff of the neck now!

Harry: OK. *is grabbed* *flies off ala cartoon character*

Hermione: I'm going to toss you into the secret tunnel now. I won't miss.

Harry: OK. *tumbletumbletumble* *is squished by Hermione who rolled 100 on her luck roll and managed to jump into the tunnel instead of missing*

Harry: I got a bad feeling about this.

*walkwalkwalk-Shrieking Shack*

Harry: Oh, look! Ron! Where's the puppy?

Ron: That's not a puppy.

Sirius: Dirty Evil-looking Foul-smelling Smile.

Harry: I'll kill you!

Lupin; *jumps into the scene* No, you won't!

Harry: I trusted you! I loved you like the father I never had.

Lupin: Harry Hear Me Out!

Snape: *jumps into the scene* Aha! I have found you! Prepare to be vanquished!

Harry: *thinks to himself: Who do I hate more? Snape or Sirius. In one hand, Snape is a bastard who may have saved my life back in Book One. On another, Sirius may have killed my parents*

Harry blows Snape into the wall. "I trust you, Sirius!"

*ends the impression*

So, yeah... Kristen tried to explain to me how the production was better, but I highly disagree. It was darker. They were smacking you over the head with the Time Symbolism.

Snuffles (the dog) looked terrible. OK, he was unkempt and just out of Azkaban, buit he was SO OBVIOUSLY FAKE!

I'm also unhappy that they couldn't have taken a couple of minutes more to explain a few things. Like jumping from Harry being left home from Hogsmeade to why he's walking along the bridge with Lupin. OK, those two got along, but if I was forced to stay home from Hogsmeade, I wouldn't have wandered around to Lupin's office and demand "Entertain me!"
Also, couldn't they have taken the minute to explain who Moony Worm, Prongs and Padfoot were? Just a sentence where Lupin says he's Moony?

I mean, alright, it's just over two hours, but to do it RIGHT, I think they needed to spend at least another half hour getting the proper details through instead of semi-randomly jumping from scene to scene.

So, my rating is.. it wasn't a BAD movie, but it wasn't the best. I think the best, in my mind, is still the second.

And, oh, by the way, don't bother staying through the credits this time. It's really not worth it. They go on forever and there's no extra goodies at the end this time.

Comments

[paradisacorbasi.livejournal.com]

There were goodies *in* the credits. You had to be reading the map itself while the credits ran. The whole Marauders Map had the fun stuff in it.

[paradisacorbasi.livejournal.com]

I do agree there was a lot cut out. The Shrieking Shack scene did need to be longer. And the names of the creators of the map should've got airtime.

I don't think the big clock was meant to be "time symbolism" entirely. It was also meant to be "big gloomy gothic stuff."

But on top of that -- Harry wasn't just all "entertain me." Remember, anytime he got near a dementor, he was passing out. So he had a viable reason to want to be taught -- even though he was bummed about missing Hogsmeade.

Plus, the production quality had to change for this book. The first two books were about Harry's awe and wonder and joy and sense of fun at finding a world he belonged into, finding a family that loves and accepts him even though he had to deal with the Dursleys and still fight Voldemort. But this book was about Harry's rage and grief and sense of betrayal. So there was a significant bit more darkness in this movie and the book it came from than the previous two.

The next one, my guess is, will be a touch brighter, but still not as bright as the first two.

...and agreed, the CGI dog was lame. They made Buckbeak look almost real, and they couldn't do as good a job on Snuffles? I don't get it. Even Lupin-the-werewolf was well done.

They'll have to improve. There are dragons and mermaids in the next movie. And hopefully the new director will allow for a little more storytelling than trying to make the scenery tell the story.

This is not to say I didn't like it and think it wasn't the best of the three. I like it a lot. I just think it could've been so much better still.

[nissacrosseyed.livejournal.com]

I never read the book (I know, bad bad Stephanie) so I guess I couldn't compare to what they left out of the plot line and whatnot. I was a slight bit confused at first in the Shrieking Shack scene, but for the most part, I was able to understand most of everything else.

And I liked this one best because it seemed to explore more real issues like Harry's grief and missing his parents and growing up a little bit more, and I thought it was conveyed well in the movie. The first two were all dazzle, but this one seemed a bit more deep.