***SPOILER*** POA Movie: Top 10 things

[Scott Peterson]

*** Please move if this is in the wrong spot ***
I was able to see "Azkaban" last night.  All I can say is "WOW".  It 
was spectacular!

Here is my list of "Top 10 things I liked about the movie":
·	The dementors – These foul creatures actually surpassed my 
book imagination (an extremely rare feat).  Very scary, a lot of 
symbolism, and the soul-sucking was out of this world – excellent 
special effects here!
·	Buckbeak – Wow.  Buckbeak had me believing that this wasn't a 
robot.  The horse-like actions were amazing, and dragging his talons 
through the water?  Again, I can just say wow!
·	The score – Scary, funny, and leading us through the 
adventure. I truly felt like I was right along side Harry during the 
whole movie
·	The detail – Hagrid's hut, the 
·	Remus Lupin – the acting and dialogue.  Remus stole the show 
(in my opinion)
·	The Whomping Willow – I never pictured the Whomping Willow as 
a humorous angle, but the vignettes of the Whomping Willow were 
classic:  the birds, the leaves, and the snow.  This added some much 
needed humor to the movie.
·	The Weasley twins – Yay!  They finally had the scene of the 
Fred and George saying every other word while talking to Harry about 
the Mauraders map.  Too bad we didn't see more of them (movie length 
is to blame).
·	The Mauraders map was great – the special effects were truly 
amazing 
·	Hedwig – Wow!  I had read an interview stating that Hedwig 
was a special owl, but his character was truly amazing on the screen.
·	 The opening dorm scene, where all of the roommates were 
taking turns with noise-making treats.  I especially liked the steam 
coming from Harry's ears, and hearing them laugh together.




Here is my list of "Top 10 things I didn't like about the movie":
·	Hurry, hurry, hurry – Most scenes were just too short.  I 
know we needed a lot of scenes to make sense of the movie, but it 
seemed much too rushed.  Columbus did a better job of providing us 
some breathing room between scenes.  I would rather have another half 
hour of movie, and not feel like I just ran a 100 meter sprint when 
the movie ended.
·	15 minutes of credits – were there outtakes after all those 
credits?  At 3:00 am, I couldn't wait more than 15 minutes to see if 
there were any outtakes.
·	Remus Lupin visual – Remus looked more like a Remus Weasley – 
a cousin of Molly and Arthur.  His acting was impeccable, but I have 
always pictures someone looking more like Peter O'Toole with 4 days 
worth of stubble.
·	Are the grounds really so vertical?  I guess my book 
imagination pictures Hogwarts as being flatter.  I always pictured 
the castle opening up to green lawns, leading to the lake straight 
ahead, Hagrids hut on the left, and the greenhouses on the right.  
This had a lot of vertical movement, and a lot more ground than was 
in my imagination.
·	Peter Pettigrew – a fat rat?  Hmmm, this seemed to mock the 
book.  This was a casting mistake IMHO.  My mind always pictured a 
Wallace Shawn (Vizzini in "The Princess Bride") look-alike when I 
imagined Peter.
·	OK – I will get flamed for this one, but Daniel Radcliffe 
didn't act very well.  Emma and Rupert were sensational, but I got 
nothing from Daniel in this movie.  Yes, Harry has a somewhat wooden 
personality, but I just didn't see the facial anxiety, or any of the 
things that endear us to Mr. Potter (except for the first few scenes 
at the Dudleys).
·	The dark forest was the same set in 1, 2, and 3.  Ok, I need 
to see more of the forest than some mangled tree roots and bare 
forest floor, surrounded by very tall trees.
·	Cornelius Fudge - I never noticed that Cornelius was 
changed.  I guess I got used to the old Cornelius Fudge – the new one 
isn't so bumbling.
·	Dumbledore – I REALLY missed Richard Harris.  Michael Gambon 
was too comedic, and didn't have the commanding presence of Richard 
Harris.  And what was with the beard jewelry?