8. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
Chris Columbus's first two entries in the Harry Potter series were fairly harmless kids films that didn't pose any threat or edge. Enter Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón who energised the series with a dark adaptation of the third book. Prior to the Prisoner of Azkaban, Cuarón was most notable for directing two Spanish language masterpieces in A Little Princess and Y tu mamá también, so was a strange and brave selection, but it payed off and then some. Prisoner of Azkaban remains the finest instalment of the Harry Potter series, mainly because of Cuarón's direction that makes the film feel like a Grimm fairytale and the incredibly dark colour palette, which contrasted to Columbus' bright and child-friendly scenery. Cuarón's dark vision is helped by the fact that JK Rowling's books become more teen and adult orientated in the third part with the introduction of the soul-sucking Dementors, a frightening werewolf and a serial killer (or is he?) played by none other than Gary Oldman. Prisoner of Azkaban pushed the PG rating to its limit and should have really been a 12A as it remains the darkest of the series, but the box-office rules all. Whilst Chris Columbus was focussed on adventure, Cuarón is interested in character and emotional depth and that's exactly what makes Prisoner of Azkaban so great.