I didn't say that I would really want Christopher Columbus at the helm again either. Though I do think that his efforts were hampered by the young age and inexperience of the actors at the time. I too have noticed that Azkaban appears to be the darling of the critics. However, it wasn't as popular with the fans in that it is the only movie in the series thus far to not top the $800 mil mark. It is quite common (thankfully) for my opinions of movies to be directly opposite of the hollywood critical mass. IMO Azkaban is a grunge Potter flick that reflects it's directors sensibilities. It's the only Potter movie where every character looked like they needed to bathe and every surface looked like it needed to be sprayed by a fire hose to get the grease off. Cauron obviously wanted a more grimey and gritty look and he achieved it. Some people loved this. It is just not how I imagine the Potterverse. I think that the other directors ( ever Columbus ) did a better job of balancing the atmosphere of wonder with the feeling of growing darkness. For the most part, I also don't like the areas of Azkaban where Cauron diverged from the book ( talking minature heads ). IMO, later directors went off the reservation with better results an example being the dance lesson scene in GOF. This scene seemed to be more in line with the sense of humor found throughout the books. People who like more of an art house vibe probably appreciate Azkaban more and that art form certianly has it's place. I however don't like it anywhere near a Harry Potter event film. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I'm sure there are many people who wouldn't mind him helming Deathly Hallows.
Grunge Potter, huh? That's pretty good and I suppose you're right--that's one of the very things I liked about the Azkaban movie. I thought Columbus gave us Disney world rather than Hogwarts and felt a much more satisfying connection to Cauron's version. That Cauron had better actors to work with in the form of the maturing Harry, Ron, and Hermione is a fair statement (just as I'd say that the later films are burdened by a vastly inferior version of Dumbledore, although Gambon is, in general, a much better actor than Harris was). As for divergences from the book, the bibliofile in me resents every one. The realist in me struggles to treat the movies as separate and thus far significantly inferior entities.
I'm with you on the divergences. I hate it every time it happens. I'm still seething over my favorite line from Sorcerer's Stone not being included in the movie and don't get me started on not even mentioning the fact that Lupin et al made the Marauder's Map. As for Gambon. He may be a better actor, but I agree with you he is not a better Dumbledore. He lost me when he yelled at Harry during GOF after the selection of champions. That being said, I'm looking forward to DH. And for those of you who haven't done so before, I highly recommend the audiobooks. Jim Dale does a fantastic job.
my thought exactly. I remember mentioning that after the movie that Dumbledore was much less grandfatherly. I expected him to start yelling at the students to get off the lawn. and you're definitely right on the last one. Jim Dale is AMAZING. I've got 'em all on my ipod and listened to them several times. he's fantastic.
I thought the fact he said "mischief managed" at the end gave away that he knew all about it, along with him and sirius saying the map never lies etc, showing they had prior experiences with it. Although I do agree they should have added that in..it would have taken only a few lines if they wanted, or they could have shown a flashback to them being in the shack carving thier names in the wood?
Yes, it wouldn't have taken much at all to do this. Very much less grandfatherly. I'm on HBP on the audiobooks right now. I haven't added them to my iPod, but probably will after I've gone through them the first time. I'm very interested to get to Deathly Hallows on the audiobooks. And may read the book again afterward. There is a discussion on one of the HP fora, regarding the final duel between Voldy and Harry. What does everyone think about it? Was it what you wanted to see, or would you rather have had more of "duel" in the normal sense?
I thought it was kind of Hollywood, that walking in circles type thing. Other than that it was alright with me, I would've rather seen more of a fight, but I think the confidence Harry had makes it more realistic that it was quick. I didn't really like that dialog before the duel, Harry calling Voldemort Tom and all that.
Interesting. Its the dialogue that I really loved the most. What were you expecting for the final fight?
Ah, my bad. Huge typo there. I meant to say I liked the dialogue, it was easily my favorite part. Not sure why it came out like that.