Harry Potter 3
Jul. 26th, 2007 01:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jazzfishJ.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Do I get in trouble if I say I liked the movie better? I mean, even apart from having Gary Oldman in it. Tighter plot, better script ("You tell those spiders, Ron"), more showing not telling (e.g. Harry seeing Peter on the map instead of hearing about him from Lupin). More interesting things with the time-travel sequence. Less Quidditch. It's good stuff.
If I didn't already know about the time twister I would be throwing this book against the wall in frustration. The writer's job is, to paraphrase Gene Wolfe, to tell me something really cool. It's not to taunt me with how much more the writer knows about the world than I do. Dude, it's /your/ world. Of course you know more about it than I do. /Tell/ me how awesome it is, don't just give me impossibilities whose explanations are being kept secret for the sake of secrecy.
While we're on the subject of throwing the book against the wall, Draco Malfoy nearly got me there as well. (Another point in the movie's favor: the scene where Hermione punches him out.) Yes, it is totally in character for him to milk his "injury" for all he can and then some. Doesn't mean I have to enjoy reading about it.
Lupin is a better character in the book than in the movie, granted. And the movie could have done with actually explaining who Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs were. (Which plot-point was a rather nice touch.)
Onward to book 4, which I expect to be better than the movie, since the movie had a distinct lack of Gary Oldman.
Do I get in trouble if I say I liked the movie better? I mean, even apart from having Gary Oldman in it. Tighter plot, better script ("You tell those spiders, Ron"), more showing not telling (e.g. Harry seeing Peter on the map instead of hearing about him from Lupin). More interesting things with the time-travel sequence. Less Quidditch. It's good stuff.
If I didn't already know about the time twister I would be throwing this book against the wall in frustration. The writer's job is, to paraphrase Gene Wolfe, to tell me something really cool. It's not to taunt me with how much more the writer knows about the world than I do. Dude, it's /your/ world. Of course you know more about it than I do. /Tell/ me how awesome it is, don't just give me impossibilities whose explanations are being kept secret for the sake of secrecy.
While we're on the subject of throwing the book against the wall, Draco Malfoy nearly got me there as well. (Another point in the movie's favor: the scene where Hermione punches him out.) Yes, it is totally in character for him to milk his "injury" for all he can and then some. Doesn't mean I have to enjoy reading about it.
Lupin is a better character in the book than in the movie, granted. And the movie could have done with actually explaining who Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs were. (Which plot-point was a rather nice touch.)
Onward to book 4, which I expect to be better than the movie, since the movie had a distinct lack of Gary Oldman.
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Date: 2007-07-27 01:46 pm (UTC)I totally agree. Gary Oldman is awesome. He and Cuarón, the director really rise the Prisoner above the rest of the Harry Potter movies for me.
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Date: 2007-07-27 05:41 pm (UTC)