May 24, 2004
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Trevor and I trekked into Boston to see a preview of the latest Harry Potter movie tonight. I'm pleased to report that it's a fantastic movie — possibly the most enjoyable of the three Harry Potter films so far.
Lego was giving out small Knight Bus sets on the way in (by golly, you sure can buy a lot of Liloia love with a set of Legos...) which Trevor assembled in the theater before the film and held up during appropriate moments with whooshing noises. He is so five.
The young actors we've become familiar with over the years offered nuanced performances — the terrified eye widening was at a minimum — and there were many genuinely funny spots. It seems that as the main characters mature and they advance to new and more potent forms of spell casting, life at Hogwarts becomes far more intense. This film is darker than the other two and magic feels appropriately dangerous, yet there is also more everyday magic happening nonchalantly in the background.
The heightened peril in Prisoner of Azkaban might frighten a young child. Even my hardcore five-year-old hid his face in a few spots because things threatened to jump out of dark places; however, the monsters and creatures themselves were not unnecessarily gruesome.
We spent just enough time with the Dursley family to assure us that this miserable clan hasn't changed one bit. Then we're quickly whisked off to where we really want to be... the magical world of Hogwarts. Vast landscape panoramas and sweeping flying sequences help recapture the wonder of J.K. Rowling's amazing world. We even spend a few minutes in a high-flying game of quidditch, which (as always) ends disastrously.
The only caveat was that the plot became complex and difficult to follow near the end — especially if you haven't read the book. But the last half-hour sorts things out very clearly. I don't want to give away the ending, but let's just say it will keep you on your toes (and talons) until the very end. Trevor came out of the film, put his hood up, and announced that he was Sirius Black for the rest of the evening.
We'll be back at the same theater the day after tomorrow to see... um... The Day After Tomorrow. A special thanks to the Moreys for sharing their passes!