A kick in the 'Azkaban'
Top director takes on 'Harry Potter' franchise
By Todd Leopold
CNN
 |  Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint return in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." |
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| | ON CNN TV |  "Eye on Entertainment" talks about the weekend's happenings on CNN's "Live Today" between 10 a.m. and noon ET Thursday. |
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(CNN) -- I'm no fan of Chris Columbus, the man who directed the first two "Harry Potter" films.
As a director of actors -- and given the wide-eyed "boing!" expressions of his youthful cast -- it seemed his usual guidance to Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermione) and Rupert Grint (Ron) was, "Imagine you're one of the Three Stooges. Now, look surprised!"
The rest of the cast -- the classically trained Richard Harris (Dumbledore), Alan Rickman (Snape), Maggie Smith (McGonagall), Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) and all the other actors playing the adults of J.K. Rowling's world -- presumably relied on their dramatic instincts.
And Columbus' directorial vision was pedestrian at best -- lots of wide shots and uninteresting angles, coupled with too many special effects. Yes, Hogwarts is a magical place, but Rowling's books aren't about spells, they're about people.
Still, I'll give Columbus credit for one thing: He got the job done. He helped create Harry's world on screen, he didn't go the Joel Schumacher "Batman" route and screw up the characters, and he got the movies out with a minimum of fuss. He's a .270 hitter, a useful left fielder, a decent utility player.
Now comes Alfonso Cuarón.
Cuarón can really make movies. His "Y Tu Mama Tambien" effortlessly presented the wistful story of two teenage boys on the road with a gorgeous older woman and never degenerated into "Porky's" -- or "Summer of '42" for that matter. "A Little Princess" took what could have been a children's movie and made it evocative for all ages. Even his modern version of "Great Expectations," though not great, had its moments.
So when I heard Cuarón would be directing the third Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," my interest shot up. Would he be too much the auteur? Would the Harry apparatus -- the film's big budget, its devoted fans, its studio bean counters (the studio, incidentally, is Warner Bros., part of the Time Warner empire -- as is CNN) -- overwhelm his creativity?
Or would he make the best Harry yet?
Eye on Entertainment peers over Potter's shoulder.
Eye-opener
Early reviews indicate the latter.
Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, The Village Voice and The Times of London have hailed "Azkaban" as the best Potter film, deeper, more energetic and more accomplished than the first two. Cuarón's hiring was an "inspired gamble," writes James Christopher in the London paper.
Cuarón did have his work cut out for him. Besides the world that Rowling created and Columbus brought to the screen, he had to deal with growing actors (all are now teenagers) and the growing complexity of the Potter series.
The third book finds Hogwarts, the wizards' school, in fear of Sirius Black (Gary Oldman). Black is an escaped convict who has fled Azkaban, the wizards' prison. Among those pursuing Black are the Dementors, shadowy figures who suck the souls from their captives, leaving them haunted and miserable.
The book also got into wizardly politics and Harry's growing awareness of his own history, but some of these subplots had to be jettisoned for the movie. Moreover, the film concentrates much more on the three main characters at the expense of the adults. (I can't help but wonder how much of the fourth book, the 700-page-plus "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," will make it to the screen.)
The movie "Azkaban," then, is streamlined and sharp, but Cuarón doesn't neglect his characters' personalities. Harry, in particular, is on track to grow into the sometimes angry, confused teen he becomes in the fifth book, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."
And I have to agree with Cuarón -- I hope the three principals end up in all seven films. The series would be all the richer for it.
Everybody's back in "Azkaban" with the exception of the late Richard Harris, who's been replaced by Michael Gambon. Emma Thompson, wearing bottle-thick glasses, joins up as Professor Trelawney.
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" opens Friday.
On the tube
The 58th annual Tony Awards airs at 8 p.m. ET Sunday on CBS. Among this year's leading nominees are "Wicked," "Assassins" and "Avenue Q."It sounds like a reality show, but it's more like the other side of "Law & Order." Fox's "The Jury" presents a new case each week and watches as jurors work through it. The brains behind the series include Barry Levinson ("Homicide") and Tom Fontana ("Oz"). The series stars Shalom Harlow, Billy Burke and Levinson himself, playing a judge. 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, Fox.Sound waves
The Corrs' new album, "Borrowed Heaven" (Atlantic), arrives Tuesday. The Cowboy Junkies now earn less press than in their late '80s/early '90s heyday, but they're still recording. The group's latest, "One Soul Now" (Zoe), comes out Tuesday."Contraband" (RCA), the first album from Velvet Revolver -- made up of former members of Guns N' Roses and Stone Temple Pilots -- comes out Tuesday.Paging readers
The latest volume in Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series, "The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah" (Donald M. Grant/Scribner), comes out Tuesday.James Lee Burke follows around attorney Billy Bob Holland for a fourth novel, "In the Moon of Red Ponies" (Simon & Schuster). Out Tuesday. 
