Having chosen his favorite and least favorite of the Harry Potter books, Nathaniel now casts his vote for the best and the worst of the Harry Potter movies.

Yeah, I can be one of those crazy purists when it comes to books. I believe that in almost every case, the original book will always be better than the movie adaptation.

These don't often blend well.

It just makes sense- books allow the readers to inject their own imaginations and imagery into the narrative the writer provides. With movies based on books, you’re just watching someone else’s interpretation. Yes, you can actually see the story, but it’s never how you personally pictured it would be.

Having said that, I still enjoy the Harry Potter movies. They are an adaptation, but they’re a good adaptation. Plus I think the fact that the movies were being made while the book series was still being written really helped solidify the movies’ cast and settings as being “the real deal.” You could connect the faces and places from the movies with the books while you were reading them.

But out of all of the Harry Potter movies, which one do I hold in the highest regards? And which one, sadly, do I like the least? Here are my picks for the best and worst Harry Potter movies.

Best Harry Potter Movie: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1” (movie 7)

"And I raaaaan. I ran so far awaaaaaay."

I’m tempted to cheat here and just say I liked “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” as a whole. Can I do that? That counts, right?

No? I have to actually pick a movie? Darn.

I’ve said before that one of the things I like about the Harry Potter film series is that, as it progresses, aspects of the movies like the acting, the effects, and the cinematography do get better. The early ones, like “Sorcerer’s Stone” or “Chamber of Secrets,” are fun to watch in a lighthearted kid-friendly way, but there’s a lot that can be improved on.

The early movies are full of charm.

But by the end of the series I was blown away by how well-done both halves of “Deathly Hallows” were when I first saw them. Together, both parts of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” stand out as being, I think, the best of the series, with great acting from all of the main cast showing a wide emotional range, superb settings and special effects that look both magical and realistic, and beautiful cinematography capable of communicating to the audience just as much as the characters do. These aren’t just good Harry Potter movies, these are good movies.

But I can only pick one. To me, part 1 of “Deathly Hallows” wins out because of how different a movie it is than the rest of the series. This isn’t a movie about another year at Hogwarts with Harry and friends, this is a movie about Harry, Ron, and Hermione on the run and isolated. This is a character-driven movie, pretty much just centered on those three leads. Not that I don’t like the other movies and the magical goings-on around Hogwarts, but I get the most emotional depth from “Deathly Hallows part 1” because it lets us focus on our three heroes. I admit, the movie can feel a little slow at times, but I appreciate it because, in doing so, it lets us connect with the people more.

Apart from that, I also like “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1” because of how visually beautiful it is. Say what you will about how cool and enchanting Hogwarts can be, this movie stands out because we get a plethora of different, beautiful locations. Some of my favorite parts of “Deathly Hallows part 1” are the montage scenes where you see Harry, Ron, and Hermione traveling to different places around the U.K.

It's good to get out of the house every once in a while.

The Forest of Dean, the White Cliffs of Dover… we see Harry’s plight played out in more than just sitting around at Hogwarts. I think that both emotionally and visually, “Deathly Hallows part 1” provides some of the richest moments in the series. And that makes it my personal favorite.

And now comes the hard part…

Worst Harry Potter Movie: “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (movie 3)

"Harry Potter and the Unfortunate Let-Down"

Now this one just makes me sad. Like I said last time, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” definitely ranks as my favorite book of the series. So it really pains me to find “Prisoner of Azkaban” here as my least favorite movie.

What went wrong? Story-wise, I think the movie holds up well enough. And I think the acting’s a bit improved from the first two movies. They’re not the problem. The reason I don’t like this “Prisoner of Azkaban,” no matter how many times I watch it, is its cinematography. Compared to the rest of the series, I don’t like the way this one feels, the atmosphere or the directing style.

It’s kind of hard to explain. The first two Harry Potter movies, “Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Chamber of Secrets,” were both directed by Christopher Columbus and helped establish the movie series’ style for Hogwarts and Harry’s magical world. They established the artistic theme for the movies- what the castle, characters, design, effects, and even the film style of the movies felt like.

And while Chris Columbus stuck around to help produce “Prisoner of Azkaban,” directing duties were given to Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron.

"Trust me, it'll look good in post."

And Cuaron… changed things. I’m sure every director wants to make their movies feel like their own, but there were a lot of stylistic changes done with “Prisoner of Azkaban” that I didn’t like, nor do I think they fit well with the style of the series as a whole.

Maybe it’s just me, but there were a lot of things that took me out of the movie. Like the scene with Aunt Marge being reduced to slapstick, or the bizarre inclusion of talking shrunken heads in several spots in the movie.

What are you DOING here?

Or the puppet Monster Book of Monsters, the frog choir during the opening feast at Hogwarts, and the inclusion of a regular, nonmagical record player playing big band dance tunes. That in particular just felt really out-of-place in Harry’s magical world.

Not to mention the fact that this movie changed the locations for many places around Hogwarts, which really just left me confused as to where everything was. And as far as Michael Gambon being the new Dumbledore, yes, Richard Harris tragically died, but Gambon plays such a different Dumbledore it almost felt like he was a completely alien character. Story-wise, there’s no connection made between the Marauders’ Map and Harry’s father and a lot of important backstory about the Marauders is left out. Cinematically, there’s also way too many scenes that fade to black, which I understand kind of works with the dementors but after a while it just felt forced.

Bottom like, in my opinion “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” changed too much unnecessarily and left me feeling out-of-place. Every movie and every new director made changes to the Harry Potter universe, but this was the first and, in my opinion, the most jarring. Maybe I’m just nitpicking; I don’t know. But for as much I liked “Prisoner of Azkaban” as a book, the movie let me down. Decide for yourselves, but those are my picks for the best and worst of the Harry Potter movies.

- Natron out