But none of the "magic" was carried over from the way Columbus envisioned it.. I adored everything about how Hogwarts and the cast were portrayed in the first two films (the first especially). The Great Hall, the corridors, the common room.. then they started doing stupid things like having choirs and wearing their own clothes.. it just wasn't the same.
Columbus' films had a certain magical feel to them, and yes.. although I have to accept the books get darker and cannot be edited just to be a PG (which I'd protest against) I just felt the continuity was awful, but I guess that was just down to the problem that one director wouldn't commit to seven films, even if the majority of the cast have done.
And as for GoF and OotP, they just seemed to cut out all the necessary parts and add in just those that would look good on screen. Very, very poor adaptations in my opinion.