Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The franchise holders took a real risk by handing this third Harry Potter film to a Mexican director who was then best known for the smart, sexy but low-budget road movie Y Tu Mamá También. (He's since gone on to win Oscars for Gravity and Roma.) But the decision has paid dividends. Alfonso Cuarón brings a darker, edgier, scarier feel to this instalment, which has boy wizard Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) contending not only with Gary Oldman's escaped convict, but also with the difficulties of becoming a teenager. But there's still plenty of fun to be had, with ghosts, ghouls and gizmos galore, the most striking being a shape-shifting triple-decker bus that, were it real, would solve London's traffic congestion at a stroke. David Thewlis, Emma Thompson and Timothy Spall join the list of cameoing stars, while the young leads are all growing into their roles. Potter fans will not be disappointed.