Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

This book was pretty good, but the best part by far was once the main characters are all in the Whomping Willow, and on until the end. So when the movie chose to expand these last few chapters into the last half of the movie, I was all for it.

The movie added details after Hermione and Harry go back in time, like throwing the rock through the window, and Hermione making the wolf call, and Buckbeak saving them from the werewolf. These were all wonderful details. The funny shrunken heads on the Knight Bus and in the Hogsmeade Pub were also delightful additions.

The amazing animation that brought Buckbeak onto the screen made our new large-screen HD TV worth almost what we paid for it. I also loved Emma Thompson with her crazy hair.

Certain subtleties were omitted, like the wisdom of Hermione's cat (which was never fully explained in the book either) Harry's fledgling interest in Ravenclaw's Seeker was also left out, as was the entire last Quidditch match where Gryffindor wins the House Title. But, really, how much Quidditch do we need to see?

The amazing broom was downplayed in the movie, though it did make an appearance at the end.

The details may have been different, but the spirit was the same, and I'm coming to really love these characters. Loved Hermione as a bad-ass, punching Malfoy, and if I was only 25 years younger, I could really go for Harry!

Lolita

It was torture to get through Nabakov's "masterpiece." I really don't see what the attraction is. (haha) Kubrick's movie interpretation was so much better. It was light-hearted and humorous. He managed to work in Clare Quilty in a much more thorough fashion (unless I missed some references in the book, which I might have)

Quilty takes on several different characters in his pursuit of Lolita. The child psychiatrist is especially funny, convincing Humbert to let Lolita participate in the play.

Charlotte Haze is especially annoying in the movie. You almost sympathize with Humbert, trying to get out of her path. Of this I did not approve. Humbert is a slimeball who has always lusted after pre-pubescent girls, and this aspect does not come through in the movie.

Also, in the novel, Lolita is not particularly beautiful, but she is quite a looker in the movie. The basic plot points remained consistent though.