whirrled_peas

Undoubtedly, this post will probably just get lost in the crowd of reviews and no one willl end up reading it. Ah well, here I go anyway.

OMG. Lyk how crappy was that?!!!1 I mean..the castle looks soooo different, and Lupin and Black are soooo not as *droolworthy* as I had imagined. I know, lyk a travesty rite? I mean, they lyk totally missed the scene on page 237 when they go to the bathroom. How could they do that?! And what?! They gave the Firebolt at the end, Dumbledore is 2.7 inches shorter and *gasp* they moved Hagrid's hut 37 degrees NE?! How DARE they!?

Kidding, kidding. Just a joke guys.

Now, I've read all five books repeatedly, but, I'll admit, it's been quite a while since I've read PoA. And that's probably to my advantage. So I went into the movie theater knowing pretty much the basic story, but was pretty fuzzy on the details. And guess what? I loved this film.

Personally, I thought that this movie was loads better than the first two. The first two felt like they lasted forever, and left me with a huge, sinking feeling of disappointment and the words "What happened to the magic?" ringing through my head. With this one, however, I felt like it was much shorter than 2 1/2 hours, and I was giddy with excitement all through the movie, and was cheering by the end.

The cinematography was gorgeous. The trio actually feel like their characters instead of the cardboard cutouts that they've been for the past two movies. Like all of you have said before, you can feel the friendship between the three. The movie was a lot darker than the previous two, but it also had a lot of unexpected funny parts. Cuaron really captured all the emotions of the characters, and actually made Hogwarts and the world around it feel magical. Gary Oldman and David Thewlis were perfect for their roles. Yay for them! And the CGI. Oh wow. Buckbeak was amazing. And the Dementors were creepy without looking like Ringwraiths.

Thank God for the limited Quidditch scene. I love Quidditch as much as the next person, but I felt like half of the other two movies seemed to revolve around Quidditch. Or maybe that's just what they felt like. *shrugs*

The only real qualms that I had with the movie is the fact that they never really explained the Mauraders or anything. It really would have made a bit more sense. And the fact that they made Ron seem like such a wimp, and gave Hermione his line in the Shrieking Shack. That got me a bit peeved.

Yes, I do wish they had make it longer (like, an hour longer. Heh. I woudln't have minded a three hour or so film.) so as to flesh out the characters and story more. But they probably were forced to really cut many things out as to cater to a younger audience's short attention span. Maybe they'll be on the DVD. Here's hoping. But, all in all, a fantastic movie. Actually lives up to the hype for once.

Ashli

Agreed, that shrieking shack scene was so quick, nothing was explained really and ron just sat there while this was all happening! they could have had him say something.

that was so funny though when Ron woke up, "the spiders are asking me to tap dance, I dont want to tap dance with the spiders" and harry says "you tell them ron" or something along those lines. that was funny!

igloo155

I just literally got back home from watching the movie. I wanted to post some random thoughts before I forget anything.

My overall impression I was slightly disapointed but I did have really high hopes for it so there you go. I was one of those people who remembers when the counter at mugglenet was back at like 178 or something farther. I was on websites every day and such so I don't know. The scenery is really beautiful and I love the shots of Hogwarts and everything but the other two seem....more magical. I don't know how to word it. It didn't really bother me about them not mentioning the whole Prongs/Padfoot/ Mooney/Wormtail thing since I have read the book before but I don't think it would have taken a lot for those who havn't. They might be very confused.

Some of this has been said before so I won't say it all.
Major things that I did like:
1. The actors (mainly the trio) are much better at acting. They have grown so much!

2. Scene with the Gryffindor boys in their dorm room.

3. I'm not really a Hr/R shipper (now that J.K. Rowling basically announced that D/Hr for sure wasn't happening I would then want R/Hr though) but that scene with Hermione talking with Ron in front of the Shrieking Shack with the "move a little closer thing" that whole dialogue between them was played out perfectly. I also did like the "they might have to chop it off thing."

4. I also loved the "you get those spiders, Ron"
Now for things that really bothered me.
1. Ending with the freeze of his face.

2. Why oh why is Malfoy such a baby? Almost completely ruins character. Give him a backbone. By the way I really hope Hemione's little comment about the dead ferrets to buckbeak; I really hope that wasn't forshadowing for the 6 and 7th book or one of the little clues.

3. I don't really know how to explain it and I can see other people thought the same thing so I will try. It's a little choppy with the order of the scenes. I don't know if it's editing or whatever but it was just slow moving sometimes. It's not out of order it's just classroom scene after scene.

4. I really didn't think I would miss Richard Harris as Dumbledore but I really do. But obviously what can you do?

---If I remember correctly the scene with the students in pj's (Ron and Hermione) it's not in the movie and I was looking forward to that.

Sarah8

Okay so all I can say is that I am quite perturbed. So much from the film that bothers me...I mean I forgive little things, but come on. Everyone has pretty much named all my issues with this film. But I do need to emphasize the ending...it was so corny.

BrokenButterfly

I saw it this morning..I must say, I loved it.

I think being fast paced worked to its advantage.There was some choppy editing on times, but I think the quality has improved greatly. I think its far better than the Philosopher's Stone, and better than CoS. (Just my opinion ofcourse)

And the kids were amazing..all of them. I love them all.

And I thought the ending was perfectly fine. Ok, yeah, the freezeframe on Harry was hilarious,..but I mean the scene where he gets the firebolt. To put it anywhere else would disrupt the pacing, I think. so I loved that they still put it in there.

Overall, great film. Will be my favourite of the 3 released so far, by far. Looking forward to seeing it again..Soon!

*Dominique*

I was torn before seeing the movie because I kept wondering if I should read the book again. I read it once and that's it... God I am so glad I didn't because it made me enjoy the movie even more I think. The things that were in the book kept coming to me as I was watching the movie and I couldn't be angry about the things that didn't make it on screen because I do not remember... I might read it now that I have seen it and probably book 4 and 5 also. But not just before seeing the movie.

The kids have grown up a lot but it will get to a point where they won't really grow so we won't see the difference. It's just puberty right now but with times it will stop and they will look the same from movie to movie.

I really do believe it is the best Harry movie yet. I love it and visually it was amazing. Good job!!! To bad the director isn't doing the fourth one... but who knows the new one might suprise us also! Change is good.

I am actually speachless so I cannot really say anything except wow it was amazing and I love everything about this movie. The only thing I regret is that it wasn't long enough.

LadyOfLorien

Yeah that was me I dunno what it was...but something just seemes...off :/

behrfehr yep I agree w/ you for the most part.....I know the shreiking shack was short...but compared to the rest of the films pacing (early half) it felt long.....but I am mad about them not saying who the Marauders are...that they are animagi, why, their animal forms etc.....

~~~~~~~~~~~

today actaully I've just been getting more sad about all they left out...after time to think on it

I'm gonna see it again tonight though...so maybe I just have to get used to it...I dunno.....

A lot of my dissapointment may be stemming from the fact that this is my first movie after reading the books...when I saw SS and CoS I hadn't read them yet....so I'm not used to how it feels from this side....that may be some of it......

whirrled_peas

Does anyone know how long the original cut of the movie was?

igloo155

I also want to agree with the whole Arthur was off thing. Ginny was barely in it. LOL.

Also Buckbeak was amazing. Every scene with Buckbeak I loved.

I agree with the comments about the werewolf looking to animated.

alli balli

Okay. Just got back from seeing it about 45 minutes ago. Sorry if a lot of it has been said before...

the good.
- liked the beginning; Aunt Marge, Dudley watching the tv 5 seconds after his aunt floats away , Stan Shunpike. I think the Dursley house felt more like an actual home this time than a caricature, which I liked a lot.
- Rupert Grint. I freaking adore this kid. I want to marry him. Hee.
- R/Hr moments! So cute. I love those 2. Loved the hand grab, loved the hug, loved her calling him "Ronald", loved the "they're gonna chop it off." Too funny. Sadly, 2 of the 3 friends I was with spent half the time squee-ing over Harry and Hermione. Not my cup of tea.
- I thought Gary Oldman was great as Sirius. He didn't look quite the way I imagined but he was excellent.
- I still don't think David Thewlis looks right for Lupin. (Maybe if he shaved off the mustache it'd be a little better.) But he played the character very well. Not as well as I thought GO did Sirius, but well.
- I love the new Dumbledore! I hate to say this, but Richard Harris sounded as though he were about to drop over dead in the first 2 movies. This Dumbledore is a little livelier, which I like.
- I loved the scene where Fred&George give the map to Harry. They got cuuuuute! And it was hilarious. This felt like the first time that the twins were really the twins to me. In the first 2 movies they never seemed particularly outgoing or mischievous, but they did here.
- Also loved the scene where the boys were goofing around in their room. That was great. The actors playing Seamus and Neville have really improved IMO.
- I think that the acting of the trio also improved. Not as much as I'd heard, but it was better.
- Buckbeak was pretty cool looking. It actually didn't look too fake. I loved the way the dementors looked, too.
- It was very aesthetically pleasing. Awesome camerawork, and I like the darker look.

the bad.
- NOT. ENOUGH. RON. 'nuff said.
- I actually didn't like Hermione punching Draco. I mean, it was a nice moment, but it didn't feel very 'Hermione' to me. The audience started clapping, though.
- Flying dementors? Eh...no. During the lake scene I would have liked to see them kind of emerging from everywhere in the woods, and then have Harry's patronus gallop around and kind of force them away.
- I had several WTF? moments, including: Hermione walking towards a raging werewolf; Harry running after a raging werewolf and dog; Hermione yowling for a raging werewolf to come running after her. Um...right. These kids really do need a good DADA teacher.
- Definitely needed more development of the Remus/Harry relationship. So Harry just spontaneously decides to bare his soul to a teacher he hardly knows?
- At first I wasn't really disappointed with the Shrieking Shack scene. It went so fast that I was like, yeah, ok, I'm liking this. But then I thought about it, and they left a LOT out. Like how Sirius knew Peter was still alive and where he was; how Sirius escaped from Azkaban; how and why Peter betrayed Harry's parents...if I hadn't read the books I'd be having a LOT of questions right now. I think they could have chopped a minute off of the bus ride and a minute off of the quidditch match and added that on to the Shrieking Shack for some explanation.
- The professors had practically no screen time! I don't like Snape much in the books, but for some reason I love seeing him in the movies. And McGonagall had all of 5 lines.
- What was with Harry taking his invisibility cloak off in Hogsmeade? Didn't he still need to stay hidden?

Overall I did like it. The only thing that bothers me is that a lot of what they leave out is, IMO, crucial to really understanding what's going on. I was with a friend who hasn't read the books, and she didn't know why the Weasleys were in the newspaper, how Sirius escaped, how Sirius knew Peter was there, etc etc...if I hadn't read the books I'd definitely be wanting some clarification.

White Lady of Rohan

I have to start by saying that I OFFICIALLY LOVE THE PERSON WHO GAVE SNAPE THE "bickering like a married couple" LINE!!! Talk about a shout out to the Padoonies! The movie was already just so great and then I get that nice surprise at the end.

Alright now my thoughts as if anyone cares.

Likes:

The beginning was great. Marge was horrible and I loved it! Dan did great with his emotions in those scenes. I liked the way he went from smiling when Marge asked him if he gets beat to being angry when she started in on his parents. Very good.

The Knight Bus scenes were awesome. The whole theater was laughing. I loved Stan. He was great. Can't wait to see more of him. He was is more books right? I'm drawing a blank.

I loved all of the random little things they put in there. Made it feel more real. Like the housekeeper. So funny. Also when they are in Hogsmeade and Ron stops to tie his shoe. The little things like that always make the film look more real.

Everything Sirius was too great. I was pleased with the Shrieking Shack scene. All of those actors in there together. Alan, Gary, David and Timothy. All brilliant actors. I of course loved every scene with Sirius and Remus together and I got my hug which was what I wanted and when Sirius went to help Remus when he was tranforming. I'm going to get all fangirly so I have to stop.

All the Harry/Remus scenes and the Harry/Sirius scenes. All very good and I could feel a great connection there. Made my heart very happy.

Ron/Hermione. Loves the hand grab and the hug. These two are so wondeful. You can just cut the tension with a knife.

Now being a Hermione/Snape shipper I was also pleased with what Sade said above. A lot of touching going on there.

Loved the twins in this one. Not only were they funny as hell they got kinda hot. The map scene was one of my favorites by far.

All around I just loved the film. The camera angles were great and the whole dark feel was creepy and wonderful. I love the was Alfonso and the rest of them handled this film. Just feels more grown up.


Dissapointments:

I was dissapointed about was that the Shrieking Shack scene was a little rushed but I know they had to do that for time.

I wish they would have gone more into why Snape hates The Marauders so much.

More into Ron and Hermione's fight would have been nice.

I just loved the movie too much to be upset about these things though and I know this isn't the book and it's done for time.

~*Nikki*~

I dragged my friend along to see the noon showing of PoA today and she loved it, but then again, she doesn't read the books, I just give her a summary of them.

I didn't love it, and I didn't hate it. I'm somewhere in between right now. I'd like to view it a few more times to give my final grade. I did like it more than the first two movies. I appreciated the dark feel to it and the look of the film was very beautiful.

The actors have really grown into their roles and I think this is the best acting we've seen from the Trio yet. Emma Watson really shown in this movie, she was the breakout star I think. She's really becoming a beautiful girl and Dan and Rupert are becoming quiet the handsome young men. I'd say out of the three, Rupert is lacking, it might have been what they gave him to work with, but I didn't feel that Ron had grown up any over the previous movies. There were things said and done that looked like Rupert had "memorized" them instead of acted them out. I guess it's hard to explain if you're not inside my head right now.

I'm so conflicted as to whom I ship, in the books, I'm all for Sidekick loving, but in the movies, I think that I become an Auror. Dan and Emma have really great friendshippy chemistry and it just makes me long to see them become more. Emma and Rupert are cute, but it seems like Hermione/Ron are more forced in the movies, whereas in the books it's more gradual.

I really think I shouldn't have read the book prior because I became that person in the theater who has to tell they're friend; "That's not in the book!"

Nikki

Krissy_Babi

I just saw this movie. I thought it was great! It was quite dark though, but the new director brought a sense of magic to the movie which really did justice to the book. Rupert (Ron) was basically comic relief for the movie, but he had some great lines. The tap-dancing spiders nightmare line was quite funny! Dan (Harry) was great in this movie. He seriously has developed in his acting skills & I see great things for him in the future...if he ever escapes the Harry Potter tag he has on him. Emma (Hermione)'s hair looked ten times better in this movie. I liked the fact they were in regular clothing. It helped to remember that these kids are just teenages and that even though they are witches & wizards, they're just like normal teenages going through the same things we are...aside from the magic thing. Overall, I think that this movie rocked and I cannot wait until 2005 for the next one!

Oh, & if anyone knows the EXACT lines Ron & Dan said in the scene where Ron wakes up talking about the tap dancing spiders, please PM it to me!!!!

Girlfriend

Here's my post from the R/H thread. Since this is a neutral thread, I took out most of the R/Hness from my post. That doesn't leave much, though.

I was actually bored throughout the beg/middle of the film. Maybe it was just cuz I was really tired from a day's worth of shopping but I felt quite bored and just wasn't drawn in. But things started to pick up around the Shreiking Shack confrontation scene. I am very relieved and happy to say that I didn't find this film Aurorish at all. Unlike the other two movies (well, mostly CoS), I got some Aurorish vibes but I didn't get any from this movie. I actually enjoyed the time turner scenes b/c H/Hr were so platonic that it wasn't threatening or anything. I actually think it was one of my fave parts from the movie! (Next to the R/H ones of course) It was a very excited part of the movie and I was very pleased with it.

I HATE HATE HATE how they changed it so that Ron didn't defend Hermione in front of Snape. That was my fave R/H scene in PoA and here they complete changed the tone of that scene and made Ron supporting Snape? What the heck is that? Damn you, Kloves!

I also despise the fact that they made Ron to be such a wimp in this movie. He wasn't in this movie much and it seemed as if his only purpose in the film was to provide comic relief and be the other half of the teenage tension. What happened to the brave and loyal Ron that we all know and love? They didn't make him defend Hermione, they gave Hermione is line while he just sat there helplessly...*sigh* So disappointing.

Hermione was too perfect in this film. That kinda got on my nerves. In terms of heroics, she seem to have stole the spotlight from Harry. It seemed as if she was the herione and Harry was merely her sidekick! This isn't freakin' called Hermione and the Prizoner of Azkaban! What I love about Hermione in the books is that she isn't perfect. She's smart, but she has her flaws. It's hard to sympathize with Golden Girl. The line from Hermione that I hated the most is when she said "Does my hair really look like that from the back?" WTF? That is probably the most un-Hermione-ish thing that she could ever say! Damn you again, Kloves!

I didn't like Gary Oldman as Sirius. I don't know why but Gary's short height really got to me. I also didn't feel the Sirius/Harry bond that I loved so much in the book.

Luvey

Okay, like someone said earlier, stylistically, I loved the movie. I had to watch it twice to appreciate it however. At the first viewing, I felt it moved way too fast. However, watching it a second time was much better. But although I enjoyed the style, as a huge fan of the books, I can't help but PRAY that GOF director Mike Newell can somehow create a mesh between what Chris Columbus and Alfonso Cuaron both contributed. I think that if we can have a good pacing movie that includes the details of the book storyline, I will definitely appreciate GOF more. As GOF is my favorite book, cutting certain things from that movie would be unforgivable for me unless they are a necessity. There is too much going on in this book…to not have the expository that helped carry viewers along in the first two would render it a little disappointing, which POA was just a teeny weeny bit. With that said, onto my thoughts on POA:

Loved:
· The subliminal messages that were sent to the audience that Ron and Hermione will one day be together. I really enjoyed their banter between these two characters. I look forward to their argument after the Yule Ball.
· I loved the portrayal of angrier Harry in this film. It was cool to see that he is not taking crap from anyone whether it be Snape, the Dursley’s or anyone else. I really enjoyed Daniel’s growth into the character.
· Rupert Grint—is this boy getting hot or what. He is hilarious and I think he is definitely underrated as he single-handedly carried the comedic aspect of this film for a large portion of the film.
· Gary Oldman as Sirius Black. I adored him as this character. I loved his shrilly voice, and how they even eluded to his characteristics in book five by enjoying being outside in the glory of his freedom. In three words, he was great. Especially for the short time that he was in the film.
· The scene with the boys in the dorm---I am glad they put this in. It’s always great for me to see the camaraderie and recognition of the characters outside of the trio, especially since in the books, they have more of a presence (aka. Dean, Seamus, Neville).

I also loved the addition of the Patil twins--they showed Parvati and Padma. It was kind of cool to see Ron and Harry's dates standing right in front of them in DADA class. However, aren't they supposed to be in two different houses? They both had on Gryffindor uniforms??

Hated:
· So much was cut off. Although someone who has not read the book can follow, they miss so much underlying meaning and substance that this story really possesses.
· Because of the time constraints, there is less to the supporting cast---I think it is important to have that continuity that Chris Columbus created by having more lines for characters like Filch, Dean, Seamus, Neville, Ginny, Percy…and even those who were not there like Oliver Wood and Lee Jordan. These character help encompass the world of HP. Cutting down the scenes in which McGonagall, Dumbledore, and the others play a part just sort of takes away from the world a bit. The movie was rally stripped to its bare core with a twist—not of the actual storyline.
· Since when has Ron been a punk? They really made him a freakin’ scaredy cat when he is usually the first one ready to beat someone down—especially for Hermione. I did not like the way he was scared to tell Malfoy to shut up when he made that comment about the Weasley’s house. Just last movie, Ron was ready to whoop Malfoy’s butt every time he got out of line, so for him to be afraid, and back down, and basically act like a puss was just odd to me, because I know Ron to be the first one out of the trio ready to THROW DOWN!


So overall, I enjoyed the movie. I just really hope some compromises can be made for the next film so that we don’t lose so much of the great story that we love about GOF. I also wish they could just start making extended versions of the films for DVD instead of just chopping them up. I know Alfonso doesn’t want to be too involved in the DVD, but I really hope they edit back in the scenes that were cut out for an extended version just to make the film flow a little easier. So until November 2005 I suppose. Thanks for reading