message in the movies By Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

                     
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban    Rated PG-13
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron. Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint. 

Photo © Warner Bros.
This is the third film in the Harry Potter series and the most grown-up of the three films, with Harry having to deal with an escaped prisoner who is said to be coming to Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to kill the young wizard-in-training.  Harry will also learn more about his parents and the circumstances surrounding their tragic deaths. If this sounds a tad dark and scary, it is.  But author J. K. Rowling has consistently advanced the reading level of her books to not only reflect the advancing age of her main characters, but the age of her readers, who have grown up with Harry Potter for over six years.  Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the most densely plotted of the five Potter books, and this film has to spend more time with the serpentine storyline than with the everyday wonders of wizardry.  Younger children who are discovering Harry Potter on DVD ought not to be rushed into this episode; it is definitely not going to hold their interest and it might scare them silly.  Harry and his friends Hermione and Ron are all 13 years old, and that seems to be about the right age for viewing this movie, too. (As usual, if your children have read the book, there’s nothing that’s going to surprise or upset them here.) David Thewlis is very good as Professor Lupin, this year’s instructor of the Dark Arts, and Emma Thompson is hilarious and perfect as Professor Trelawny, a rather befuddled teacher of clairvoyance.  Michael Gambon makes a fine Albus Dumbledore (replacing the late Richard Harris) and brings a bit more of a playful spirit to the headmaster. If you enjoy the series, you won’t be disappointed with this episode.  And, if you don’t care for movies about wizards (no matter how benevolent they may seem), you stopped watching these films two movies ago.

Halo and Pitchfork Rating: Three halos. (Good still triumphs over evil, but complicated plotting leaves less time to focus on virtues.)   Two pitchforks. (Some intense scary scenes, a few cuss words, and much anticipation of dark things to come.)

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