I've just potter-ed over to the potter-y and been Potter-ized for the third time, this time under the direction of Alfonso Cuaron, and seen lots of familiar faces and relived that Hippogriff of an adventure with Harry, Hermione, Sirius Black, Professor Dumbledore, and all the great people who inhabit Hogwarts and environs.
Superlatively well done! I love what's been added to Hogwarts, especially the clockworks mechanism and the huge pendulum, the great orrery seen in the room where Harry practices the Patronus (those floating brass spheres are part of it), the footbridges, and much else, including the amazingly interesting woodwork outside Prof. Trelawney's aerie, and all the terrific furnishings there, the update of Harry's dorm room, and all the rest.
I was happy to see the great Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, the great Emma Thompson as Sibyll Trelawney, the fine Lee Ingleby (last seen by me as Smike in Nicholas Nickleby and as Hollom in Master and Commander) as Stan Shunpike, the conductor of the Knight Bus; the great Michael Gambon taking over the reins of Hogwarts as Professor Dumbledore, the fine David Thewlis as Professor Lupin, the great Julie Christie (yes, that Julie Christie) as Madame Rosmerta, the beautiful snowy owl Hedwig, and all of the student regulars back again.
Once again, as in the other Harry Potter films, the script did an excellent job at putting together the key actions of the novel, and this time, perhaps more than in the first two movies, also put in more of the wit of both situation and language that is in the books and that makes them so wonderful to read. This time, though, there were additional challenges to filmmakers: making a convincing Buckbeak who could (apparently, at least) be ridden by three people at once; managing the time displacement sequence convincingly and naturally; giving us a look at the Marauder's Map in action; and presenting clearly the rather complicated situation surrounding the death of the elder Potters: who actually did what to whom, when and how. The key word for all of these events is convincing. They are very convincing: convincing enough for us to believe that the magic shown in the film happens in just that matter-of-factly magical way that it does in the books, and that it is all as real as the characters themselves. The effects don't seem like effects; they are just part of the action -- the highest possible praise for effects.
The movie runs 2-1/2 hours, and the time just flew by, although the action, while suspenseful, was not rushed. I attribute the orchestration of all this success to the master hand of director Alfonso Cuaron. Azkaban is my personal favorite of all the Potter books so far, and Alfonso Cuaron has given it to us splendidly on film.
5:07:44 PM 
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