Thursday, July 14, 2011

Wizard Week: My Favorite 'Harry Potter' Movie

Not long ago I ranked all of the Pixar movies in order from my least favorite to my most favorite.  With the last Harry Potter movie opening tomorrow (or tonight at midnight rather) I decided to do the same with all of them.  Are you curious to know which is my favorite?  Well, you should be!



7  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
I love all of the Harry Potter movies, but this one has to be my least favorite.  I feel like the filmmakers struggled condensing all of the events into a comprehensive movie.  It jumps quickly from one task to another, leaving a few loose ends unattended.  And those boys need to cut their hair!
6  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
This one has a lot of the same problems as Goblet of Fire, but manages to handle things a little bit better.  Seeing them form Dumbledore's Army is a lot of fun and who doesn't love to hate Professor Umbridge?  She's so evil!
5  Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Chamber of Secrets is a pretty cool movie, I must say.  It has a great score, a fun mystery to solve, scary basilisks, flying cars and giant spiders!  Harry, Ron and Hermione are a tad bit older now and starting to feel comfortable in their roles and Professor Lockhart is gleefully fun to watch.
4  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
This movie may sport some of the worst special effects of the series, but Sorcerer's Stone still remains so endearing and magical.  This was the movie where we were first introduced to the wizarding world and it was so much fun discovering it alongside Harry.  Director Chris Columbus laid the groundwork for a fantastic franchise and the score by John Williams is superb. 
3  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
I feel like this movie was either love it or hate it amongst fans, but I happen to love it.  I was surprised at how funny Half-Blood Prince was with all of its romantic subplots.  There was also plenty of drama especially involving Malfoy's character.  Tom Felton really did a fantastic job.  On the technical side I was very impressed with the lighting and composition of this movie.  There was a really beautiful play with light and shadow.
2  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
What I loved about this movie was the raw emotion of the characters, the beautiful cinematography, and the slower pace.  Although skeptical at first of the decision to split Deathly Hallows into two films, I now see that it was a good idea.  I feel like there was a closer attention to detail in this movie because of it.  I liked the somber mood and I felt they all really gave fantastically mature performances.
1  Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Since its initial release Prisoner of Azkaban has been my very favorite and it hasn't changed over all these years.  I thought director Alfonso Cuarón brought such a new look and feel to the series; it was edgier yet more whimsical all at the same time.  Part of what makes the aesthetic so great is that he didn't rely one hundred percent on CGI images for the special effects.  The blowing-up of Aunt Marge and the transformation of Professor Lupin are both perfect examples of this.  I also really love the use of visual foreshadowing, such as the swinging pendulum to hint at the time travel at the end or the shots of the Whomping Willow that not only mark each season but play up the tree's importance later on.  So good!  As far as artistic filmmaking is concerned, Prisoner of Azkaban simply trumps the rest.

I wonder where Deathly Hallows Part 2 will rank... I guess I'll find out soon enough!

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