An Adolescent Wizard Meets a Grown-Up Moviemaker

The New York Times > Movies > Movie Review | 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban': "This is surely the most interesting of the three Potter movies, in part because it is the first one that actually looks and feels like a movie, rather than a staged reading with special effects. 'Sorcerer's Stone' and 'Chamber of Secrets,' both directed with literal-minded competence by Chris Columbus (who has stayed on as a producer) may have been more faithful to Ms. Rowling's text, but 'Azkaban' attempts, and for the most part achieves, a trickier sort of translation. This film may disappoint some dogmatic Old Hogwartsians: a few plot points have been sacrificed, and Mr. Cuar�n does not seem to care much for Quidditch. But it more than compensates for these lapses with its emotional force and visual panache."