We've done a bit of the movie thing lately

So here are some spoiler-free comments on three movies we've seen lately.

Before the trip Ian and I took the girls to see "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." We actually got to see it several days before the United States and most of the rest of the world so I formed my own opinion early. Why was so much of the backstory left our when it was clear a couple minutes in several spots would have added so much and made the story make sense even without having read the book? Why was the awe taken out of Harry's Patronus? The time travel was done very well and Gary Oldman made a good Sirius Black. Wow, the kids are growing up!
On Saturday, we saw "Spiderman 2" especially because it was Ian's birthday. We agreed that it was a bigger movie than the first one but more complicated. Dr. Octopus ("Throw me the idol! I throw you de lamp!") was well-done and the best sequence was on the train. The hospital scene was disturbing and for that part alone I wish we hadn't brought the boys.
Thanks to Netflix, we watched "Osama", the first movie released from Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban. It's a story about a girl living with her mother and grandmother. Her father died so they have no means of income since women are forbidden to work. They also aren't allowed out since women could not be seen without an accompanying male. The story follows their desperate measures to continue living and the misery and fear of the girl who comes to be called Osama. Her hopelessness is palpable.