Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Who knew that the director of Y Tu Mama Tambien would also have a touch for dark, children's films? Alfonso Cuaron directs the best film yet in the series and proves a significantly better visual craftsman than Chris Columbus. Actually, this film is superior in almost every way to its predecessors. It's too bad that the major flaws of the series seem to stem from a lack of depth in the original source material. The visuals, however, are mostly striking, and the special effects are well utilized. Emma Watson once again proves that her Hermione Granger is the most interesting character of the lot, though their all becoming better actors. David Thewlis and Gary Oldman are welcome newcomers -- Thewlis giving perhaps the best performance in the series so far. Also, Michael Gambon shows up replacing the late Richard Harris. Unfortuantely, as good an actor as he is, he lacks the grandfatherly charm that Harris brought in the first two films. Overall, this is the most inventive and sophisticated of the series, though it suffers from a less substantial story than one might like, but it does leave me anticipating the next film.