I think the graveyard scene is quite disappointing, but that has more to do with how good it is in the book than anything else. It's sadly a fanboy qualm. I can usually shake them.

Best part of number four is when Jarvis Cocker, Jonny Greenwood, and Phil Selway cameo.

Prisoner of Azkaban is still my favorite of the HP films.

I agree with the sentiment that the franchise really got great in the middle, but I would still argue that #1 and #2 are better movies than the last two films. I didn't have to have the read the books to get those movies, but the last two movies were cryptic, confusing, and boring. It's not that they were trying to emulate David Lynch or something. They just didn't have any real narrative arc like Sirius Black + Dementors, the the tournament in Gof, or even the origin story of Philosopher's Stone. Voldemort as a villian is just pretty lame, as he's had seven movies to be a bad guy and really doesn't have much to show for it. PoA nay be the best Harry Potter movie because while its set in this fascinating world, it doesn't overconcern itself with that lame villian. And Goblet of Fire may also be the best because it's the only one where he comes off as a really intimidating, scary villian... Well that and Philosopher's Stone.

After seeing all six films, I'd agree that to really get the most from the stories, especially OotP and HBP, it definitely helps to have read the books first, if it isn't a requirement.

Half-Blood Prince is confusing? I do think Order of the Phoenix relies a bit too much on book readers, but HBP is fairly simple. And Deathly Hallows is only confusing if you don't know the films. The only thing in that flick that seems to rely on the book is Godric's Hollow, and that's because they cut Harry leaving his aunt and uncle, which would've explained it for film audiences.

I don't think any of the films are confusing, but I still think it helps to read the books beforehand. They're fun reads.

No, Half Blood Prince is just kinda plodding and dull. It felt like the series was trying to emulate Twilight, what with the huge focus on the angsty romance and the super anti-climactic 'action' scenes.

Actually, the angsty romance is a part of the book. That would probably be my biggest critique of the book. There were parts with Harry and Ginny that felt like a 14-year-old fangirl was writing them.

Teen romance wasn't invented by Twilight, you know. And the key difference is that Harry, Ron, and Hermione are likable characters, whereas Bella's an insufferable cunt.

It's funny that I thought that the films started looking more like Twilight at around GoF and OotP and especially HBP... then I realized that all six HP films were made and ready to release long before Twilight came out. Even HBP was originally set to be released before Twilight. So... I guess it's the other way around.

Btw, I've only seen the first Twilight. I don't want to be thought less of around here, any more than I already am.

Also, I forgot to mention how much fun Helena Bonham Carter has been in her brief appearances as Bellatrix. Criticize the films any way you want but they got a lot of the casting right.

Yeah, that always amused me. "It's trying to be like Twilight!" "Except for the fact the book was written in 2005, and the movie was scheduled to come out before the first Twilight flick, right?"

The only complete film of the franchise.

Considering this came off the tepid (to say the least) Columbus duo, I can see why this one is so revered. Everything comes together a lot more smoothly, the child actors are growing into the roles, and Cuarón's direction is pretty great. That said, I feel like some of the scenes here don't work because they're so fucking weird (like the Knight Bus), and the film isn't really that funny. Azkaban does have its share of laughs, but compared to Prince and especially Goblet, it is nearly humorless.

Last 40 minutes of this are so good.

This movie started the trend of not following the books quite as closely; while this movie was very close to the book, it unfortunately was a foreshadowing of what was to come in the fourth, fifth and sixth films. The story is certainly more complex and original than the second, but the time travel aspects at the end leave more questions unanswered than answered. I don't understand why this film was shorter than the first two though. The book is longer, and more mature, so I think it should keep most adults entertained for as long as the others. Gary Oldman is great, even though its hard to watch him in them when you know how much he dislikes them. David Thewlis, Timothy Spall, and Emma Thompson also create memorable characters that are integral to the story as a whole (even though all three's arcs are greatly diminished from the novel in the long run.) Overall, not as good as the first two, but still just wonderful.

A+

Disqualified from all further movie commentary.

Have a nice life!

As a huge fan of the books, I like the ones that stay closer to the story.

Poor judgment is poor judgment.

This film is an outright F. Such a piece of shit.

And as a huge fan of the books, I like the ones that actually feel like the books, not just reproduce text like a three hour live reading.

I think they feel the most like the books. They are just so magical. The only thing that really can be argued is that the three leads get better at acting in later films.

Film and literature are completely different mediums. The changes they made to the later films are completely necessary and make them more engaging as features. They are easily superior to the early movies (of which is one is actually my least favorite).

Making Goblet of Fire action setpiece after action setpiece didn't make it better than the early ones. Not explaining any aspects of the story and just expecting them to go along with random throwaway lines that reference the source material (But Remus, your son? WTF?) Didn't make them better than the early ones. Making Half Blood Prince a rom-com instead of an awesome story where you finally get to learn about the most evil wizard to ever live didn't make it better than the early ones. The later films just favor action over plot. POA is not guilty of this though. Neither is OOTP or DH. I really think GOF and HBP are misrepresented by the film medium.

HALF-BLOOD PRINCE isn't a rom-com? Have you read that book?