Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban

The other day I was minding my own business (Read it “Reading yet another Harry Potter book”) during my lunch break when someone IM’d me. She was actually waiting for more than an hour, and our little chat went from all ranges to stop at the HP movie. And guys, before you start thinking since when has HP started making movies, let me tell you, HP does not stand for Hewlett Packard. Turns out she also wants to see that movie, and being two of a kind, I kind of thought to ask her to the movies on the following day. She’d like that, but the following day happened to be Friday, and Niraj called me to go find his mobile. After about 18 hours of that IM, I had forgotten all about my plans, and agreed with Niraj. It wasn’t until 8 PM that I remembered the movies. This was disappointment beyond description. Felt something like a hundred Dementors came across my room and sucked every little bit of happiness out of me.

But guess we muggles can’t have a one-on-one with luck. As fate would have it, I was given a treat of the movie. How I got it, is a completely different story, may be I will post it some time in future. What matters is the fact that I got there on Sunday morning show. But I was very tight on schedule. A meeting soon after movie meant I would not be allowed to reflect on the movie, and to make matter worse, my phone rang quite a few times during the show. And guess what? Jine called me. And by the time I cancelled that call and turn towards the screen – a time span of less than a minute – there it was – Harry’s equivalent of “The End”!!

I have a hunch that reviewers at Yahoo! Movies didn’t do a good job at grading it D. That movie didn't deserve a D! If they asked me, I'd have given something completely different, more on the lines of F. Either they didn’t read the story, or they didn’t watch it carefully enough, possibly both. Why did it occur to the director to make Harry scream when he rides his Firebolt for the first (and last in the movie) time? It’s as if a fighter pilot screaming upon going supersonic for the first time. Harry used to own a Nimbus 2000, and never lost a game of quidditch on it!! He is a good rider, and experienced too… bit unusual for him to scream. Furthermore, some of the viewers were laughing, at times hysterically, when the story was supposed to be very grave. People were laughing when Dementors arrived, or when Professor Boggart Snape appeared in front of Neville, or when a large spider came in front of Ron. That’s supposed to be scary, not funny! May be they didn’t have the advantage I had, but all in all, I was disappointed. Even the story’s timeline seems to be shortened. And why was Dumbledore’s welcome speech altered? What happened to the role of Crookshank the cat? Why is it just a pet and nothing more? Would Malfoy, a “pure blood” really be so afraid of Hermione, a “mudblood” when facing her wand? Would someone as big as Crabbie and Goyle sprint to safety when Malfoy gets a punch from Hermione? And whatever happened to Quidditch cup? Harry was supposed to win it this year!! At least in the story!!!

It all started with an IM and ended with a day long meeting. As I had guessed, I couldn’t reflect upon the movie. I am furious over myself for forgetting my plans on Friday. But well... we are mere muggles, and can’t fight what has already been decided. Sorry Jenu, for being busy on that faithful evening. I wish I could call you sometime soon, but as the heavenly bodies tell me that it will not be possible for this movie. Mars is awfully bright and that means returning back from evening show will be late… a little too late for you. For the rest of the folks, well, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Why is my phone still silent? Let’s face it, even if I gave it a Z grade (if that existed) and I absolutely hated that movie, I’d still go there for a late night show!!! At least I can reflect upon what happened in the movie. And this time, I will make sure my cell phone IS actually switched off!