Movies you just recently watched

[DesLife]

So did I. David Yates is a terribly bland director; I wish Guillermo del Toro hadn’t turned down Deathly Hallows. Same for Terry Gilliam and Philosopher’s Stone.

Actually I quite like Philosopher's Stone. I only like the two first movies, and I hate the others.

[Haruka]

The Azkaban's Prisioner is my personal favourite from the first five I've seen so far.

[spiraldoor]

I heard that stuff were omitted again from the books, is it true?

They omitted plenty of material from Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince. They covered most of the important stuff in Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets, as those books were quite short. I haven’t noticed any glaring omissions in Deathly Hallows Part 1, thanks to the splitting of the story into two films.

Actually I quite like Philosopher's Stone. I only like the two first movies, and I hate the others.

I also liked the first two. They were enjoyable family films. However, they were not masterpieces, as Gilliam’s and del Toro’s versions would have been.

The Azkaban's Prisioner is my personal favourite from the first five I've seen so far.

Yes, Prisoner of Azkaban is definitely the best of the Harry Potter films. Alfonso Cuarón is a great director; the artistry on display in this film elevates it far beyond the level of the others in the series. Its only real flaw is the casting of Michael Gambon, who in both looks and mannerisms is so blatantly unlike the late Richard Harris, whose role he assumed. Overall it’s a very well-made film; perhaps DesLife would come to appreciate it more if he looked beyond the superficial and paid closer attention to its subtleties.

[Danone]

The Azkaban's Prisioner is my personal favourite from the first five I've seen so far.

I agree, me too

[DesLife]

When I saw PoA I was amazed by how bad it was (in my opinion, of course) compared to the two others. But the fact that you all like it makes me curious, because I don't remember anything positive about that movie. Maybe I should watch it again.
Also, I'm not sure Gilliam and del Toro would have done better than the others : adapting a book is different from making your own movie.

[Haruka]

I only fully read the Philosopher's Stone book, and I can remember that the part of the magic potions with Harry and Hermione, in near end with the magic fire was omitted in the movie.

[El Dango]

PoA is one of my favourites too, and I especially love how it has its own unique style and themes.

I think my least favourite movie is The Half-blood Prince. What made the book so interesting to me was discovering Voldemort's past, and the movie has very little focus on that.

[spiraldoor]

Also, I'm not sure Gilliam and del Toro would have done better than the others : adapting a book is different from making your own movie.

Of course their creativity would have been restrained somewhat by the confines of the source material, but I’m sure they would have managed well enough.

I was the perfect guy to do Harry Potter. I remember leaving the meeting, getting in my car, and driving for about two hours along Mulholland Drive just so angry. I mean, Chris Columbus’s versions are terrible. Just dull. Pedestrian.

I was angry at myself for allowing myself to get intrigued by the possibility during the meeting at Warner Bros. As I was talking about it, I managed to get myself excited, and I started inventing wonderful things. I was seeing all these executives’ faces brighten up, and I managed to get myself excited about the project. I was so angry at myself for fooling me into getting excited about it. That’s what I was angry at, not about Hollywood.

It certainly sounds like he had some good ideas and was highly confident in his ability to make a great Harry Potter film. Having seen the truly excellent Time Bandits, Brazil and 12 Monkeys, there is no doubt in my mind that Gilliam as a director is far superior to Colombus, Newell and Yates. Several of his films were written by other screenwriters, which demonstrates that he is capable of handling material not of his own creation; the fact that his Harry Potter film would have been an adaptation would not have been an issue.

I’m definitely interested now that the movies have grown darker. They have a contrast between the gloomy existence of the kid and the world he’s exposed to. They have evolved into a really nice universe. I got [Deathly Hallows] for my daughter and she was like ‘When are you going to give it to me?’ I read it and I was very moved by the ending. It ends very much like a Dickens novel.’

These are the only relevant comments from del Toro that I could find, and there’s not much solid information here; I’m not sure if he was ever even in talks with the studio. Nonetheless the man is my single favourite director, both for his truly excellent visual capabilities and the great thematic strength of his films. After Pan’s Labyrinth, he has nothing to prove. I would have expected his take on Harry Potter to stay relatively close in tone and style to his more mainstream American films (Hellboy, Hellboy II), which show more vision and artistry than anything in the existing Harry Potter series.

I think my least favourite movie is The Half-blood Prince. What made the book so interesting to me was discovering Voldemort's past, and the movie has very little focus on that.

I agree. The writer chose to jettison Voldemort’s history for the sake of squeezing in more teen romance. A great director would surely have seen that this was a mistake and would have rectified it before filming, but David Yates is not exactly what I would call ‘great’.

[DesLife]

Having seen the truly excellent Time Bandits, Brazil and 12 Monkeys, there is no doubt in my mind that Gilliam as a director is far superior to Colombus, Newell and Yates.

I fixed that for you !
Also, thanks for all those informations.

[Rsandee]

My least favorite HP movie is Order of the Phoenix.
Almost all new HP movies are bad, but OotP was the worst.

I found the Halfblood Prince somewhat better, my favorite HP movie is the Chamber of Secrets.

[Serza5]

Compared to the new ones (Except for the latest one which I forgot the name of, which was decent) Prisoner of Azkabam was pretty good however I agree with Des that the 1st two are obviously the best of the series. I can't decide my favourite between the 1st two though.

[Haruka]

My least favorite HP movie is Order of the Phoenix.
Almost all new HP movies are bad, but OotP was the worst.

I found the Halfblood Prince somewhat better, my favorite HP movie is the Chamber of Secrets.

The Order of the Phoenix disappointed me, the worst from the 5 I've seen: too much big, scenes that seemed to take forever to advance (slow action), too much dark atmosphere...

The Chamber of Secrets was pretty good too.

[spiraldoor]

The critical reception of the films according to Metacritic:

Philosopher’s Stone: 64%
Chamber of Secrets: 63%
Prisoner of Azkaban: 82%
Goblet of Fire: 81%
Order of the Phoenix: 71%
Half-Blood Prince: 78%
Deathly Hallows Part 1: 65%

Prisoner of Azkaban wins. I don’t know what’s up with the scores of films four through six... I’d knock a good ten per cent off each of them.

Edit: I found some more stuff del Toro said about Harry Potter:

I remember reading the Harry Potter books before they made the movies, and I remember admiring the books very much, because I felt they were darker and far more heart-wrenching. The kid is an orphan, and there's almost a Dickensian thing there. All that got lost in the first two films; the darkness and emotion came back much stronger in Alfonso’s third film.

He agrees about Prisoner of Azkaban.

[Rsandee]

Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On stranger Tides.
It's number 2 on my list, it's better than Dead Man's chest and At Worlds End, but obviously not as good as The Curse of the Black Pearl.

[Matyuv]

Just watched Fracture.
It was very enjoyable, Anthony Hopkins is brilliant.

[Acarr]

I've been to the cinéma a lot recently... Watched Rango, Rio, Pirates of the Caribbean 4 and The Hangover part 2.

[Danone]

Anyone watched Insidius?

[Puruun]

Me and my friends are planning to watch it.. ^ Have you seen it? Did you like it?

[Danone]

I dont watch it but I want

[spiraldoor]

The new X-Men is great. Particularly the climax, which is one of the best moments I’ve seen in any film from the last couple of years; and of course the cameo is another highlight.