Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Alcatraz
06/29/2004 07:00 Filed in: Movies and Television
I didn't see Clint Eastwood ANYWHERE in this movie...
I'm not going to give you my normal review of the movie. If you want a good review, I would recommend the one by Peter Chattaway . It also comes with discussion questions in case you see it with your family or in a group.
For some of you, Harry Potter is huge. Friday last week (opening day) a friend of mine instant messaged me to ask if I was excited about the new Harry Potter movie. "Not as excited as you, I imagine," I responded.
To be honest, I've been kind of indifferent about Harry Potter. I mean, I'm not a great fan, but I'm not a detractor either. I certainly thought some of the outcry in the Christian community was a bit unfounded, and the emails that circulated with made up facts was little more than bearing false witness. I expect any day now to see a new email circulating that says if you watch Harry Potter while talking on the cell phone, you will become a brain cancer stricken devil worshipper. I'm not saying that the sorcery and divination of Harry Potter aren't worthy of question, but the outcry over it was way overblown with more pressing issues faced by the Christian community. Plus, with the logic some were suggesting, we would also need to remove The Wizard of Oz and perhaps even The Chronicles of Narnia from our bookshelves.
I did read the first two books of the Harry Potter series. They were good--not great, but good. Rowling certainly knows how to write a page-turner. However, I will probably not read any more of them. It's not that I dislike them, but there are so many books out there that I want to read that I don't have time for anyway...
Plus, I know a person , who knows a person who knows J. K. Rowling. He (the person I know) told me that he heard (from the person he knows who knows Rowling) that after the second book was such a hit, the publisher now sends every manuscript back to Rowling asking her to add a couple hundred more pages. They know that fans will buy the books no matter what, so if they can add a few more pages and increase the price significantly, they will stand to make lots more money (this is also why you have to wait longer for the next book). I guess if I could get the original, thinner form of the books, I might read them. But I'm not going to take the time to read the huge tomes that have come out in the last couple of installments.
Anyway, back to the movie. Yes, I did see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on opening night--not so much because I was dying to see it, but because Kathy wanted to see it and she's a pretty big fan (definitely once a huge fan, but maybe not so huge anymore). I went with no expectations. I mean I figured it would be better than a Star Wars prequel, but probably not as good as say, Spider-Man 2. I had seen the first two movies. They were okay, but not great. Clever and imaginative, but certainly not Lord of the Rings fare.
In fact, I had wondered if they would be able to continue to hold the attention of audiences for four more movies as the series is being continued. Floating candles and moving staircases are only intriguing the first few times you see them.
Well, let me tell you I was surprised. This movie was very good. I was engaged from at least after the first fifteen or so minutes to the very end of the movie. Having not read the book (I had started it, but never finished it because I ran out of summer two years ago), the plot twists took me very much off guard. I like it when a story is not predictable, and this one certainly wasn't--at least not to me.
I am not certain why this installment seems better than the first two, but it is. Maybe it's the fact that there's a new director. Maybe it's because Harry and his friends are growing up and I can relate to teenagers better than children. Maybe, the story was just better than the first two. I don't know--it's probably a combination of the three. Regardless, I recommend this movie to you if you are familiar with the storyline so far or if you like fantasy in general. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
For some of you, Harry Potter is huge. Friday last week (opening day) a friend of mine instant messaged me to ask if I was excited about the new Harry Potter movie. "Not as excited as you, I imagine," I responded.
To be honest, I've been kind of indifferent about Harry Potter. I mean, I'm not a great fan, but I'm not a detractor either. I certainly thought some of the outcry in the Christian community was a bit unfounded, and the emails that circulated with made up facts was little more than bearing false witness. I expect any day now to see a new email circulating that says if you watch Harry Potter while talking on the cell phone, you will become a brain cancer stricken devil worshipper. I'm not saying that the sorcery and divination of Harry Potter aren't worthy of question, but the outcry over it was way overblown with more pressing issues faced by the Christian community. Plus, with the logic some were suggesting, we would also need to remove The Wizard of Oz and perhaps even The Chronicles of Narnia from our bookshelves.
I did read the first two books of the Harry Potter series. They were good--not great, but good. Rowling certainly knows how to write a page-turner. However, I will probably not read any more of them. It's not that I dislike them, but there are so many books out there that I want to read that I don't have time for anyway...
Plus, I know a person , who knows a person who knows J. K. Rowling. He (the person I know) told me that he heard (from the person he knows who knows Rowling) that after the second book was such a hit, the publisher now sends every manuscript back to Rowling asking her to add a couple hundred more pages. They know that fans will buy the books no matter what, so if they can add a few more pages and increase the price significantly, they will stand to make lots more money (this is also why you have to wait longer for the next book). I guess if I could get the original, thinner form of the books, I might read them. But I'm not going to take the time to read the huge tomes that have come out in the last couple of installments.
Anyway, back to the movie. Yes, I did see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on opening night--not so much because I was dying to see it, but because Kathy wanted to see it and she's a pretty big fan (definitely once a huge fan, but maybe not so huge anymore). I went with no expectations. I mean I figured it would be better than a Star Wars prequel, but probably not as good as say, Spider-Man 2. I had seen the first two movies. They were okay, but not great. Clever and imaginative, but certainly not Lord of the Rings fare.
In fact, I had wondered if they would be able to continue to hold the attention of audiences for four more movies as the series is being continued. Floating candles and moving staircases are only intriguing the first few times you see them.
Well, let me tell you I was surprised. This movie was very good. I was engaged from at least after the first fifteen or so minutes to the very end of the movie. Having not read the book (I had started it, but never finished it because I ran out of summer two years ago), the plot twists took me very much off guard. I like it when a story is not predictable, and this one certainly wasn't--at least not to me.
I am not certain why this installment seems better than the first two, but it is. Maybe it's the fact that there's a new director. Maybe it's because Harry and his friends are growing up and I can relate to teenagers better than children. Maybe, the story was just better than the first two. I don't know--it's probably a combination of the three. Regardless, I recommend this movie to you if you are familiar with the storyline so far or if you like fantasy in general. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Mischief managed...