A really good movie

Rating: 7/10 (23 July 2005)

At first, I didn't care for it. Too many things taken out and the plot was almost ruined.
But then after the third time seeing it, I realized it wasn't too bad at all. Alfonso really did a fantastic job. And after watching interviews, I found out that JK Rowling was happy with what turned out. If my favorite author is happy, I'm happy. She even liked the things Alfonso and the screenwriter added in that she didn't write in the books. I myself loved the whole shrunken head concept.
I absolutely love all the special effects. Buckbeak, the Hippogriff, looked so realistic. Those Dementors gave me goosebumps. I cried when Sirius Black (played by the awesome Gary Oldman) almost got his soul sucked out at the lake. The moving paintings and photos are also a real treat in the movie.
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and Tom Felton are some of the best teen actors I've ever seen. Daniel deals with all that pressure really well, being the star. Rupert Grint, hot like Daniel except in my opinion, hotter, gives comic relief throughout the movie that made me and my friends laughed at over and over again. Emma has really matured a lot and does a great job but I think they are showing more Emma and less Hermione which, plainly, isn't good. Tom Felton, another British heart throb, plays Draco Malfoy, a snobby, rich, mean Slytherin student who thinks too highly of himself. Tom plays the role very well, but we all know he has a heart of gold outside of acting, right?
We also meet some new actors in the third movie. Michael Gambon replaces the late Richard Harris as Dumbledore. He will never be as great as Richard, but I suppose he did an acceptable job. Garry Oldman, who plays the framed Sirius Black, does a good job. Timothy Spall, the sniveling Peter Pettigrew, who turns out to be Ron's rat and also he framed Sirius, does a good job but I think they made him look too ugly. I didn't expect him be handsome, but I didn't expect him to look disgusting either.
I really loved this movie, being a huge Harry Potter fan and all. But I think even people who don't like the books would love this movie too, because it's deeper than wands and brooms. There are messages about life in these movies and books that make people think and learn.