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HP3

So, it is only about 3 weeks late and completely unacceptable for people who consider themselves REAL H@rry Potter fans, but Greg and I finally went to see H@rry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban last night. We saw it at the historic Senator theater. I have comments about the movie and about the theater.

First the theater. I hadn't been to the Senator since the first 3 Star Wars movies were re-released about 7 years ago. First of all, when you are used to stadium seating in movie theaters, it is annoying to have to worry about sitting in front of someone and having someone sit in front of you (especially if you are like me and are only 5 feet tall) and blocking your view. That having been said, the Senator is always a cool experience. It really brings me back to watching movies in my youth. From the curtain that covers the screen until the movie starts, to the ushers who actually look like ushers- it is a classic movie going experience. I am not sure if the old and ugly bathrooms should be part of the classic movie going experience but that is just a gripe.

Now to the movie. Within the first 5 minutes, Greg and I looked at eachother and whispered that we were already convinced that it was better than the first two movies (by the way, sorry to the people around us- Greg and I tended to whisper a lot last night-but come on, it is H@rry Potter!). I am so glad they switched directors. Alfonso Cuarón did a great job of making sure that the movie only had plot lines necessary to the story in it. Yes, there were a few aspects that had changed from the book- but they were not glaring enough to be considered outrageous. When I saw the second HP movie, I was bored to tears and kept wondering why EVERY SINGLE story line needed to be part of the movie. The bottom line is that it is a movie and not the book- you don't want them to be the exact same or then no one will appreciate the literature.

It was interesting that most of the book took place outdoors in a Hogwarts that was virtually unrecognizable from the first 2 movies. Greg had major issues with the characters looks but hopefully he will blog about it (either at Presence or at Hpprogs) so I will let him discuss that.

I have a lot more to say about this movie, but I don't want to be boring. Let's just say that I really enjoyed it and actually look forward to owning it- unlike the first 2 movies which I regretfully own.

Posted by peninah at June 21, 2004 04:07 PM