So, it's over now - Which Harry Potter movie was your favorite, and why?

[OmahaBlueDog]

[baldguy]

1. None of the above.

[applegrove]

2. I've never read or seen any Harry Potter product. No interest.

[XemaSab]

3. Toss-up between GoF and Part 1

Least favorite: Part 2. :shrug:

[XemaSab]

21. Oh, and I didn't say why:

I think in some ways, Goblet of Fire is the best book. The triwizard tournament gives the book a layer of structure and interest that the other books don't have. I think the books, in general, have ambling (yet charming!) plots, and this makes it really hard to turn the books into films without losing a lot of the character of the story. Even though parts of the plot were chopped, the triwizard tournament translated very well to film.

DHp1 captured the mood of the books better than almost any of the other films. The last book is somber and sad, and that's something that the movies have not done a very good job of conveying. I thought it was the only film that managed to be mostly a literally telling of the plot points of the book while also touching on the slow pace of the book. The characters are feeling overwhelmed, and the film got that across pretty well.

And my thoughts about the other films:

Order of the Phoenix was my favorite book, and it was a good film but they left out stuff that came back to haunt them in DHp2.

Half-Blood Prince was a decent enough film, but I felt like it was missing a little something. For example, the scene in the astronomy tower (which is one of the most powerful scenes in the series) could have been longer, and it could have been filmed as it was written.

Prisoner of Azkaban was a hell of an improvement on the first two films, but it's not my favorite book.

Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets were not well done at all. They were too literal, and tried too hard to be lighthearted without setting up any of the tension of the later books.

DHp2 neither carried the emotion nor the plot of the last half of the book. I think this was the only film where I was metaphorically watching the clock through the film.

[OmahaBlueDog]

22. Re: Order of the Phoenix

I never read the books, but my wife, mom, and older daughter all have. All of them have echoed the "left too much out and got bitten by it later" theme. Most Potter fans I've talked to think that that was the book that should have been a 2-part movie.

[NewJeffCT]

26. I think each of the last four books

should have been two movies. They already had established the success of both the books & movies by that time, so it should not have been something the studio would have opposed, I think.

SPOILERS BELOW:
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I think the movies (in general) were more Harry-centric than the books. While Harry was obviously the main character, Ron was more like a tag-along sidekick in the movies instead of the true friend like he was in the books. (Example - in Azkaban the book, it was Lupin who saw Pettigrew on the Marauder's Map... Harry had no clue. In the movie, Harry saw Pettigrew on the map, went and searched out Pettigrew in Hogwarts and missed him.)

One continuing thing I missed in the movies was Hermione and S.P.E.W. and all the help Harry got from Dobby. In the movies, it was often Neville who helped Harry out instead of Dobby (the gillyweed in Goblet of Fire; the Room of Requirement in Order of the Phoenix) - so, that made the eventual death of Dobby that much more tragic in the books, and then Kreacher leading the house elves in attacking the Death Eaters was a great moment as well.

[HopeHoops]

4. I had to go with "Sorcerer's Stone" because that's the only one I've seen.

:evilgrin:

[nuxvomica]

5. The best title...

Was also the best book and the best movie. But I haven't read past the fourth nor have I seen part two of the last yet.

[NV Whino]

6. Hard to vote on this one

But I just saw Deathly Hallows part 2 and I think it is freaking awesome. (I fell asleep during part 1.)

[OmahaBlueDog]

8. I didn't like Deathly Hallows 1

I have yet to see Part 2.

"Chamber of Secrets" is my favorite.

[Avalux]

7. I picked Prisoner of Azkaban.....although I love this last one.

I've read all the books and seen all the movies. Over time, I've decided Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite and will need to see Deathly Hallows 2 a couple more before I can say it's better.

It was fantastic though; I cried several times (Snape flashback done very well) and Ralph Fiennes finally had a chance to bring Voldemort into his own.

[NewJeffCT]

9. I liked Deathly Hallows, Part 1

they stayed pretty true to the book and did a nice job of setting up the finale.

DH part 2 was good, but I think they changed too many things from the book that did not need to be changed.

[UTUSN]

10. "None" *always* ought to be an option. n/t

[kick-ass-bob]

13. If it's none...

then just stay out of the thread :D

[donheld]

11. The Books

[TZ]

12. Just curious, if you haven't seen any of the movies

why in the world do you feel the need to chime in and tell us so? Does it make people feel superior that they aren't fans? Always wondered about that. If I'm not interested in something I don't comment. I don't go out of my way to tell anyone that I'm not interested.
That said, haven't seen the last one yet, but Goblet of Fire is my current favorite, though I really do like them all.

[NewJeffCT]

19. I wonder that myself sometimes

I have never seen True Blood or read any of the related books, so I very rarely comment on those threads.. .or, threads related to TV shows I don't watch or books I don't read.

[BillStein]

14. PoA

PoA was my favorite of the movies, though not necessarily the best of the books.

[Iggo]

15. Seriously? There was eight of 'em?

Yikes!

[TZ]

16. Because there were seven books- the last one split into two

I'm sorry it offends your sensibility that Harry Potter books and movies are liked by many. I guess it makes you feel good that you don't like them ..You want to know why liberals are accused of being elitist snobs? Read the "oh I haven't watched or read any" posts in this thread. Geezus fucking christ I'm tired of people who feel they need to prove their superiority by looking down on the things others like

[Iggo]

17. Not worth it.

Have a wonderful fucking day.

[OmahaBlueDog]

24. Love them or hate them, the books and movies have marked an era

My daughter wept like a baby after DH 2. In a real sense, it marks the end of her childhood.

[OmahaBlueDog]

23. If only James Bond had quit while he was ahead

I've completely lost count of how many films we're into that franchise.

[Iggo]

27. My guess was four Harry Potter movies, and maybe five with the new one.

I was floored when I saw eight of them on the list in the OP.

You're right about Bond, though. That franchise lost its way thirty years ago. I did like one of the most recent ones, not Casino Royale (which I haven't watched), but the other one.

[EastTennesseeDem]

18. Goblet of Fire

Incidentally enough, it was my least favorite book. But man, those filmmakers sure upped the darkness notch for that one.

[Glorfindel]

20. Prisoner of Azkhaban

The floating aunt and the Knight Bus scenes were two of the funniest things I've ever seen.

[NewJeffCT]

25. One thing I disliked about Azkaban

was that they left out something very important in the books - the IDs of Mooney (Lupin), Wormtail (Pettigrew), Padfoot (Sirius) & Prongs (James Potter).

[Glorfindel]

28. You know, I never noticed that...

I guess, since I had read the book, I just filled in the blanks myself.

[NewJeffCT]

29. My daughter had noticed it

I didn't let her watch the movie until she was done with the book - so, after she finished Chamber of Secrets, she got to watch that movie. However, she pointed it out as soon as the movie was over.