easily the best movie so far in the series

Rating: 10/10 (1 July 2004)

"Azkaban" was VERY impressive...I loved it. Of course, it wasn't as good as the book, and the 3rd book is my absolute favorite in the series. But still, enchanting and wonderful all the same. (I can't believe what Roger Ebert wrote in his review; he wrote some crazy stuff about this 3rd movie not being as good as the first two. I disagree completely; this 3rd movie is easily the best. Lots of heart.) Mind you, it will probably be difficult to follow if you haven't read the book, but if you have, this is what the movies are supposed to be about.
Great, impressive acting in this movie, from all the adult actors (props especially to the new people Emma Thompson (Trelawney), David Thewlis (Lupin) and the always wonderful Gary Oldman (Sirius Black)...they were great) and surprisingly from all the kid actors too. I think Hermione and Harry are hot; whereas they were kids in the first two movies, they are turning into physically beautiful/handsome teens. Ron was good as always and is responsible for some of the funniest moments in the film. What I also liked about this movie was that a lot of it dealt with the kids going through puberty and their fears/pains of being 13. It was very sexually-loaded...there are some scenes between Hermione and Ron and Harry that are incredible to watch, not because I'm a kinky person, but because it was so beautiful.
The look and feel of this movie are also wonderful. The setting (using cooler, blue and gray shades) and cinematography are totally awesome...it's a darker, scarier Harry Potter world, but still with a lot of charm. This movie is also far funnier than the other two, even though it deals with a lot more serious stuff. Also impressive: the CGI was neato. There's this cool thing that the Whomping Willow does that jockeys at the use of the CGI. (And a lot of it looks real...there's none of the fakey, used-car salesman kind of thing that they used in "Troy" with those terrible CGI armies.)

In short, "Azkaban" ROCKS!!!! It's a wonderful movie and you should see it at least once on the big screen. Nothing short of magical. 10/10, definitely.