Midnight Movie Madness
May. 28th, 2004 02:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gervase_fenOne of the major bonuses of relocation is the convenience of having a multiplex cinema just ten minutes away - or, more specifically, a multiplex with a projectionist friend that I've known for eight years or so.
This is how I was able to watch "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" late on Wednesday night, and the highest praise that I can give is that I wouldn't have minded paying for the experience.
I haven't read the books - I'll tackle them when number seven is imminent (a lesson learnt from following other irregularly published fantasy sequences). This is by all accounts the strongest story of the three, and it's by far the most visual of the films. I've been a fan of Alfonso Cuaron since I saw "A Little Princess" at the London Film Festival in 1996, so the omens were good.
The difference between this film and the previous two is the quality of the visual storytelling. The transitions between scenes, the camera movement, even the music, seem to have been planned and executed with much more care. There are some terrifically atmospheric moments - the attack of the Dementors by moonlight is a set-piece encounter that outshines anything in the Potters 1 and 2.
The acting is strong, with a wonderfully (and uncharacteristically) sympathetic performance from David Thewlis. If Chris Eccleston leaves the TARDIS in 2008, Mr. Thewlis should be the first call RTD makes.
It's engaging, clever, and a blockbuster that deserves to make its money back if only just for Buckbeak, a CGI Hippogriff with a hint of Harryhausen about him.
This is how I was able to watch "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" late on Wednesday night, and the highest praise that I can give is that I wouldn't have minded paying for the experience.
I haven't read the books - I'll tackle them when number seven is imminent (a lesson learnt from following other irregularly published fantasy sequences). This is by all accounts the strongest story of the three, and it's by far the most visual of the films. I've been a fan of Alfonso Cuaron since I saw "A Little Princess" at the London Film Festival in 1996, so the omens were good.
The difference between this film and the previous two is the quality of the visual storytelling. The transitions between scenes, the camera movement, even the music, seem to have been planned and executed with much more care. There are some terrifically atmospheric moments - the attack of the Dementors by moonlight is a set-piece encounter that outshines anything in the Potters 1 and 2.
The acting is strong, with a wonderfully (and uncharacteristically) sympathetic performance from David Thewlis. If Chris Eccleston leaves the TARDIS in 2008, Mr. Thewlis should be the first call RTD makes.
It's engaging, clever, and a blockbuster that deserves to make its money back if only just for Buckbeak, a CGI Hippogriff with a hint of Harryhausen about him.
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no subject
Date: 2004-05-28 06:31 am (UTC)Pottery
Date: 2004-05-28 08:40 am (UTC)(As you mentioned RotK, it reminded me that bits of Hogwarts looked a lot like Rivendell - I suspect some design ideas have crossed over.)
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Date: 2004-06-05 03:53 am (UTC)I'm getting emotive here...