Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Ishkabibble should have been produced some thirty years ago when the great Yiddish comedians it homages and satirizes would have still been alive and vigorous enough to take part. Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, and the rest do a creditable job recreating vaudeville routines, but they often seem too aware that they are stepping into the shoes of others and fail to make the roles their own. It is an unforgiving task, to be sure.
Still, the magic mirror scene and the German doubletalk scene come off well, with some genuine laughs that weren't in the originals. Most of the purely verbal routines stumble, though, as the audience is too familiar with the original intonation and pacing. And updating "Who's on First?" To "Who's the Chaser?" falls completely flat instead of soaring with the broomsticks.
The film is wildly busy, though, with director Alfonso Cuarón often placing one classic routine in the foreground while filling the background with extras re-enacting silent (or silenced) bits as well, an almost three-ring circus approach to vaudevillian comedy that has the virtue of keeping the eyes busy. He does an entirely competent job, in some places even elevating the film above the work of his predecessor Chris Columbus in Harry Potter and the Ventriloquist's Dummy and Harry Potter and the Gryffindor Star Theatre.
Mildly recommended for true fans of the medium.
As for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: It's dull and obvious (and I haven't read the book). The hippogriff is nice and Emma Watson is magnetic.
I definitely did not think HPaTPoA was dull!! It was not nearly as good as the book, but I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I do agree with you about Houston though, I can't stand that city. For me it is more a matter of traffic. We don't have much traffic here in Corpus Christi. Houston does have one thing I envy though - roller coasters. We don't have any of those. :(
Cheers