Expecto Patronum!

I just got back from harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban (went to a midnight show in mira mesa). there were crazy amounts of people there that I knew, which was kind of unexpected, but definitely made it fun. I went with a whole bunch of people, including marla, ben, tim, adam, andrea, and doug and also saw carolyn and some other people there. there was also mass disorganization at the theatre. originally they were only going to have two screens of the movie showing, but because demand was so high, they opened up more and more as the day went on (I think they ended up with six or seven screens showing it at midnight).
so, onto the movie. it was really good. it was much different than the first two films, which is a good thing, and although it strayed a bit from the book (in really only minor details that will only bother those of us who are obsessive about things like that) it kept the main sense and theme of the story. I was disappointed at some of the things left out, most notably the last two quidditch matches, harry's "real" patronus (at the end - they didn't show it as a stag the way it is supposed to be), lupin not giving any explanation to harry about the marauder's map writers, and the late appearance of the firebolt. having just finished the book, I was probably more keen to the subtle differences than the average viewer, but oh well, that's what I get. the direction of the movie was good (but of course I already knew that, since it was directed by alfonso cuaron - the same guy who did 'y tu mama tambien' which is one of the saddest, beautiful (and sexy) movies). the script wasn't too bad either; I think they did the best they could with the time they had and tried to really simplify things and themes instead of include everything cool or seemingly important (which apparently may not be so important now, since jk rowling said that she would be looking over the movies to make sure that everything essential for the series stays in).
ok, well, maybe I'll post more later. I would also love to hear comments from those of you that have seen it. I need to get some sleep because I'm flyinig to arizona tomorrow morning (this morning - aughh!) to look for an apartment. I will be back on Monday night. have a good weekend!