Prisoner of Azkaban, Car Discoveries and Knit & Crochet Pumpkins!

Have you ever been so immersed in a book that you just can’t wait for the sequel to release? I’ve felt this lot over the years with many book series, some not releasing a new book for years. Harry Potter was one of these book series, I mean don’t get me started on all of the hype and speculation surrounding the final Harry Potter book but we’ll get on that later. Harry Potter has been around for 20 years now surprisingly and for the 20^th anniversary celebration I’ve been discussing every book and its movie counterpart. So far I’ve discussed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets so go check those blogs out (The names are hyperlinked) because this blog will contain possible spoilers for those previous two stories. Today I’m going to be discussing the third entry in the series, the Prisoner of Azkaban. 

I watched through the entire series not too long ago and I've been re-reading the books so while I've watched these movies so many times my mind is now refreshed so I can bring you these blogs!

As a recap Harry Potter tells the story of a boy (The book is his namesake) as he discovers his abilities has a Wizard and enters the secret yet expansive world of Magic to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with his two new friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

Before he gets to go to school every year however he has to suffer a fate most unkind, the Dursleys. The Dursleys are Harry’s only relatives and sadly they’re muggles (Non magic folk) to the bone. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Cousin Dudley are constantly treating Harry like dirt but this book/movie introduces a new Dursley, Vernon’s sister Margaret. 

Well let’s just say she doesn’t stick around for long and soon floats away as Harry runs away in anger and encounters the "Knight Bus" a bus for transporting Wizards and takes a ride to the Leaky Cauldron... It's also a TRIPLE Decker bus. (And I thought Double Deckers were intimidating)

If Harry thought the whole Chamber of Secrets ordeal was a dark year at Hogwarts then he better prepare for an even darker 3^rd year. 

With a serial killer known as Sirius Black played by Gary Oldman (A big case of don’t judge a book by its cover) on the loose Hogwarts is tightening up security due to Sirius’s escape from Azkaban, which should have been impossible. 

With this tightened up security Hogwarts has now allowed Dementor’s the wraith-like guards of Azkaban who float around in these black cloaks and suck the life out of you to roam the outskirts of the grounds in order to protect the students.

Okay it's confession time, this is a little embarrassing but the Dementors actually gave me nightmares as a kid, and I’m not kidding about that. Hey they’re big black wraiths who suck your soul out with their pretty gross mouths and I’m sure their hygiene must be atrocious so you can’t blame me, right?

Another confession, I had no idea who Gary Oldman was when watching this movie as a kid, yet I actually did know who he was because I also grew up watching The Fifth Element where he played Zorg the villain of the movie. He also played a wide variation of characters all who I knew but never knew it was the same guy playing all of them. This man has talent and really can change himself to play different characters, I mean he sure fooled me up until two years ago when I finally found out it was all the same man.

Besides the darker themes this book/movie introduces some of my favorite characters such as the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Remus Lupin. (Played by David Thewlis) He breaks the pattern set by the previous two just slightly enough to give him a lovable character that I wish had more air time on the movies but at least he had a lot of moments in the book. He shines as my favorite character from this film; he’s the first professor who doesn’t have some crazy evil plot or selfish motivation. Just don’t judge him by his cover; I think that might be a theme in this story.

Speaking of Book to Movie this is the story that started to drastically change things between the books and the movies. Yeah the story in general was the same but the way things played out was quite differently between the two books. Maybe it’s just a pet peeve but I’m not a big fan of drastic changes between books and movies. I understand leaving out some details and perhaps a few differences to make it more suitable for the big screen but drastic changes? Yeah I’m not a fan of that. The beginning scene of the movie is pretty odd too, one it wasn’t in the book two it featured Harry using the Lumos Maxima spell in his room, outside of Hogwarts. Yeah I’m pretty sure that’s breaking a law of some kind Harry. The changes between this movie and the book compared to later movies aren’t too much of a problem and while the changes are their both are absolutely enjoyable, albeit the book a little more.

Back to the movie the cast really grew in the time period between the 2^nd movie and this one. I believe there was a two year gap between filming but it seemed like Daniel Radcliff and the rest drank some aging potion or something. This was also the first film where Dumbledore had his actor changed from Richard Harris, who sadly died before this film was shot to the actor who would portray him in every movie after, Michael Gambon. Not to restart the dumble-wars but I have to say I always liked Richard Harris more, not saying I don’t love Michael Gambon and I’m not saying he didn’t completely ace his performances on numerous occasions especially the silliness Dumbledore tends to portray on a few occasions but I like the more humble Richard Harris more. Curious though I wonder how Richard Harris would have portrayed the darker Dumbledore of the later films.

Want to know the real ridiculous part of this movie? The Boggarts. These shape shifters shape themselves to the Wizard’s worse fears which end up causing quite the laugh when the spell “Riddikulus” is casted on them. Actually some awesome spells are introduced in this movie, one of them being Expecto Potronus (Which I would constantly call Inspector Potronus as a child because I knew no better) a charm spell used to deflect Dementors. This spell would come into play in many movies later.

The lovable Hagrid gets himself a larger role in the Hogwarts School in this story by becoming an actual professor in Care of Magical Creatures which was pretty great considering his love for magical creatures. (Including a giant spider) During one of his first lessons he introduced the third-year students including Harry to a certain creature named Buckbeak, a prideful hippogriff. (Not to be mistake with a hypocrite) 

Keep note of Buckbeak he becomes more part of the story at later time. Odd thing is in the original book there are actually 7 hippogriffs but they only included Buckbeak in the movie.

To be honest my favorite part of this entire movie and the book would have to be the events that happen towards the end. I won’t spoil anything despite the age of this book but it involves time travel and it’s pretty sweet.

Oh yeah! If you've read the Sorcerer's Stone blog I showcased these awesome Harry Potter bookmarks I have in my house.

These actually come from this movie as all of these items symbolize something from the Prisoner of Azkaban. I actually remember there being a huge amount of merchandise for this movie and even their being a Time-Turner which I'm really jealous that I don't own right now.

Prisoner of Azkaban really sets up a lot for the future films while revealing some dark secrets about Harry’s Parent’s death and it’s full of the same magic the first two films had. The book is better by a long shot in my opinion with so much more detail but the movie is just as enjoyable (Although a lot of missed opportunities were there and some unnecessary changes) and I can’t stress enough how you must read and watch both in order to get the real experience of J.K. Rowling’s story. Prisoner of Azkaban is a darker and more thrilling story while keeping light hearted themes mixed in. The book and sometimes the movie dive deep into some back-story behind people related to Harry, Ron and perhaps even Scabbers the Rat. (Yeah the rat plays a part in this movie, keep an eye on it.) The movie takes a on a much more darker but cinematic approach compared to the lighter first two films and you’ll find the whole look of this film carries on to the later films. Alfonso Cuaron takes on the director role from Chris Columbus as well. If you haven’t seen the movie yet (Which would be pretty rare) or want to upgrade from a VHS which my family and I have done with all three of the first Harry Potter films due to them being on VHS you can buy it now from Amazon in a 2-Disc Special Edition for either Blu-Ray or DVD.

Of course you can also purchase the kindle book (Or hardcover/paperback) here from Amazon as well!

So with that said and done, I have some pretty awesome car photos to show you all. Yes when I was out the other day I came across not one but two pretty awesome cars, well I think they’re awesome anyway. For those new I’m actually quite the big fan of cars which is what half of my artwork revolves around when it doesn’t revolve around my story characters. Mostly it’s old cars but I’ve found some love in newer cars as well. Well this first car I came across in a parking lot across from where I was parked, it’s a Mazada MX-5 Miata!

Judging by the roundness of the grill and the headlights I can say this is probably a 2008 MX-5 but I may be wrong. I’m not a super car genius so if you are and some of you actually are please let me know below what this car is!

The Mazda Miata was first launched in May of 1989 after a production and design process that dates back to 1976 thanks to Bob Hall and Kenichi Yamamoto. (Head of Research and Development at Mazda) In spirit of British Roadsters (My favorite kind of cars) this car was made in that likeness but as a more inexpensive car. Oh this first generation had those popup headlights that would then sink back into the car’s hood when you weren’t using them, always thought those were kind of weird yet cool.

2001 would bring about a major facelift to the brand that would carry on and evolve till this specific model I found here, which would be a third generation. These cars are pretty sweet and would undergo yet another facelift for the fourth generation which is the MX-5s currently on the market.

If this is the 2008 model like I’m assuming this would have a combined MPG of 23 (24 on the Grand touring and Sport Models) with a inline 4 cylinder with the touring having 158 Horsepower @ 6700 RPM and the Grand touring having 166 Horsepower @ 6700 RPM. Mostly this car was a convertible but I think you could get it in hard top.

This next car is another convertible this one a Ford Thunderbird!

This one is a much newer Thunderbird compared to the classics from the 50s and 60s and was part of the Eleventh and final Generation of the Ford Thunderbird. I’m not exactly sure what year this one is again it might be a late 2004-2005 model. This was part of the attempt at reviving this luxury brand after it being non-existence since 1997.

I actually remember featuring a car from this same generation back last year (You can read that here: ) and I claimed that to be a 2004 so I’m not exactly sure what this one is, maybe it’s an earlier 2001-2003 model. It sucks that the Thunderbird brand didn’t survive this revival it’s actually a really nice model compared to what the Thunderbird became in the 80s and 90s. (It wasn’t pretty in my opinion.) It had call backs to the 50s and 60s while having that newer perhaps rounder 2000 look.

Crazy what I find randomly driving by or sitting in the parking lot across from myself. I haven’t actually put up any car photos in a while, mostly because I haven’t actually found any cars worth taking photos of until now. You can click the “Cars” tab up top to view some more!

We’re now in the thick of September which means next month is October and I can feel the spooky vibes emanating from it. Yes I’m not big on Halloween but I know a lot of you knitters are so let’s dive into the FREE Knitting Pattern feature for today! Actually this one isn’t just a free knitting pattern; it’s a little bit more.

So recently my sister has taken a dive into fiber art herself but unlike me and Mum she’s decided to give crocheting a go! I am not good at Crocheting and I’m not really that fond of doing it despite loving the final products but Annie seems to be getting along with it. She runs a blog named LadyAnnaVintage.blogspot.com so go check that out! (Not sure if she’s ever going to do Crochet blogs or not but hey that would be a good collab between us, Knitting VS Crochet)

With that said today’s pattern is both a knitting AND crochet pattern while being fall/Halloween themed. This is “Spice & Clove Knit and Crochet Pumpkins” by Hannah Maier.

Yup it’s an actual pumpkin. No need to go and buy real pumpkins that’ll decay and go smelly when you can knit or crochet your own! I have no idea about the crochet pattern part of this but I do know you’ll need a 3.5 MM (E) hook and for the knitting pattern US 2 – 2.75 MM. You’ll need 187 yards of sport weight yarn in the colors you want for your Pumpkins. (Not all pumpkins have the same colors)

I am actually surprised how easy this is, I didn’t quite understand how you got the pumpkin to actually look like a pumpkin but apparently you’re just knitting a circle then using a needle to thread the yarn a few times to create 6 parts of the pumpkin. Actually I did something like this myself, almost exactly, my pin cushion I made a while back. This is so easy for knitting (I assume crochet too) it could be a quick knit/crochet. Annie if you’re reading this let’s make a whole bunch of these and set them outside for Halloween. We just can’t make Jack-O-Lanterns out of these, because that will cause a house fire.

Anyway you can check out that pattern here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/spice--clove-knit-and-crochet-pumpkins.

Be sure to check out the ZAK Entertainment 1 Year Anniversary Malabrigo Yarn Giveaway! 

https://zakentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/09/malabrigo-yarn-giveaway.html

Comment on that specific blog and you’ll be entered in to win this awesome yarn. Huge thanks to those who have already commented it means a lot that you’re tuning in and that you’re interested in the yarn. I’ve read all of your comments and some of them were really motivating so be sure to go comment on the blog post here: https://zakentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/09/malabrigo-yarn-giveaway.html .

This was ZAK Entertainment

See you on Wednesday!

[Photo Credits: ZAK Entertainment, Warner Brothers, J.K. Rowling, Hannah Maier.]