Hey folks, Harry here... Yesterday we posted a review from a fellow that seemed to feel that he hated HARRY POTTER & THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS... This struck many of us as odd, as thus far, save for a few quibbles here and there, the word on the film has been sterling. Plus the review was written in what felt like a very rushed and non-thought out manner. Well that writer is back to clarify his disdain for the film in a couple of clearly stated points. HOWEVER, and I must stress this, that at this point this seems to be an EXTREME minority. We've got two over reviews after this one that just sing the song of Harry Potter and it sounds like an Ode to Joy. To each their own, eh?
Hey Harry,
Wrote in last night with a review of Harry Potter 2 (the very negative review). If you post this it would be appreciated, if not no harm no foul. I have no excuse for my bad grammar, spelling, ability to review and inform, except for being in that zone where your just moaning about anything and everything because you just need to get it off your chest. To all my appolgies, I've learnt my lesson and will proof read my work from now on.
I have no intention of changing my opinion of the film, it made my skin crawl, but I would like the opportunity to somewhat reclaim an ounce of my respected with a couple of clear points.
Firstly the 'Potter' novels are not kids books just as many adults buy and read them as do kids so anyone calling the films 'kids films' is way off base, and because of this you would expect a film with wide appeal. As I stated before I have not read the books so I cannot say if anything has been lost in its translation from page to screen. All I can comment on is the feel and flow of film on screen, or more plainly the lack of it. Example: there are too many scenes where the dialogue between characters just doesn't feel right, as if one actor filmed part of the scene one day and another has done their lines a few weeks later the tone and flow isn't there. For me it is this basic flow of dialogue between characters which keeps me hooked to what's happening no matter what type of film I'm watching.
Secondly, I do watch a lot of movies, I love watching films, I loving being apart of the industry (the final part in fact, I show the films to all who enjoy to watch), and more often than not I enjoy most of the films I see, but every now and then films which alot of people adore, I find seem to lack something and vice a versa. Example: Star Wars Ep2, I loved it, it gave me exactly what I wanted and what I was expecting, where as Spider-Man just left me feeling disappointed, whether too much hype affected my judgement as to what to expect I'll never know. Back to Potter, I wasn't expecting much from it, I'm not a fan I didn't think much of the first, yet I still came out criticising it because of basic flaws in script, acting, editing and direction that a film with this sort of budget shouldn't have. It came across very half hearted in the effort put in by those involved.
Finally, this film will make mega-bucks, millions will love it, millions will feel the same as I and curse it, millions couldn't care less and won't even watch it. I am however eager to see the next purely because of the director, whose last film I saw 'Tu Mama Tambien' I found very entertaining.
Db1animal, Signing Out
P.S. - 28 Days Later rocks, finally got round to watching it tonight and I
was very impressed, zombie fans will enjoy.
Ok, so you've just read a more reasoned and thoughtful look at why the fellow from yesterday hated this new Harry Potter film. He admits that it'll delight and thrill millions and anger others. Typical. Well, below you'll find two people that really loved the film. The first says it is better than the first film. The second declares it their favorite film of all time! Here ya go...
Hi Harry!
I saw the new Potter on November 3, London premiere and I absolutely loved what they did with the second movie. I`m a fan of the books and I was disappointed with rather unimaginative first movie which failed to capture the spirit of the books which made them so popular. I didn`t mind bad effects as much as bad direction, lead actor`s wooden acting (Radcliffe seemed so stunned by set pieces that he forgot to breathe let alone act) and horrible, horrible final showdown among many other things.
Since the second book is the least favorite with fans I as worried how it was going to turn out. You see, it is still a very good book which could`ve been great if Rowling had had the right focus. There`s this incredible plot about pre-teen Nazis and racial bigotry, however, Rowling created this horrible character Gilderoy Lockhart and got so carried away with him that intriguing plot I mentioned above plays second banana to Lockhart show. Fortunately, someone in WB realized what the book`s biggest shortcoming is so the movie is much more about Harry vs Draco Malfoy, Gryffindor vs Slytherin, Mudbloods vs purebloods than Lockhart`s antics.
Another thing that makes COS a better movie than book are characters. While annoying to tears in the books, the likes of Ginny, Colin and Lockhart are anything but in the movie thanks to well-cast actors. Branagh makes stuck-up Lockhart watchable, the boy who plays paparazzo Colin is a quirky addition to the cast, his camera immortalizing every embarrassing moment until getting dusted off by resident monster`s fell stare and Bonnie Wright who plays Ginny makes the character tougher and spookier than she`s supposed to be in the books. Oh, and flashing her knees didn`t hurt either.
But standouts among newcomers are Jason Isaacs` Lucious Malfoy and the teenager who plays Tom Riddle. Isaacs` Malfoy is different Malfoy from the one in the books and this is magnificent change. This new Malfoy is creepy, dangerous and powerful, something you couldn`t feel about his book incarnation who is mostly a snob. But in Isaacs` interpretation Mr Malfoy oozes power and jeopardy, you can feel that this guy could just raise his finger and erase little Potty if the timing was right. Also, his nasty son Draco shits his pants when his dad`s around which is an edgier interpretation of their relationship. And the nasty guy gets some quotable new lines which I wish were in the book. BTW, his name pronounces Lou-sea-ous, not Lou-shoe-ss as I thought but I like this Latin, ancient pronunciation more.
Tom Riddle rocks too. In the books, Harry`s nemesis strikes a slight physical resemblance to Harry but the boy who plays Riddle looks more Potter (as described in the books) than Potter himself - malnourished, paper-white, green-eyed, bad hair day - if he had been 11 he would`ve cut it as Potter hands down. And the boy has obvious acting range so kudos to casting managers for hiring such a talented "Dark Potter".
Which doesn`t mean that Daniel Radcliffe didn`t begin to deliver goods, finally. Last year I was convinced he was so wrong for the role but after COS I must admit he is Potter, albeit handsome one. I don`t know where all this toughness comes from but something happened with the young actor between 2 movies and this is awesome change. He gained so much confidence and leading man attitude and at times you can see that Dark Lord is lurking inside Harry...but I shouldn`t have said that, shouldn`t have said that! He`ll be magnificent when Cuaron takes him in his capable hands. The kid pulls off tough, sword-wielding hero despite glasses, no small feat.
I hated child actor`s acting(or lack there of) in the first movie but even than the kids had great chemistry. It shines in this movie and kids were obviously sent back to acting school so their interacting is believable. Giving Draco Malfoy almost as much screen time as leading trio`s is excellent and some of the best scenes are trio`s bitching with the Nazi boy who looks so much like mini Eminem.
Rupert Grint (Ron) excels at physical comedy, his comic timing is perfect, while beautiful Emma Watson(hermione) oozes butt-kicking mojo.
Philosopher`s Stone lacked of charactererisation and character develpement, COS is character-driven. The lead and other characters get more meat too - Ron`s family members (poor yet good-hearted wizards as opposed to rich and evil Malfoys), Neville and Seamus, above mentioned newcomers, Dobby the House Elf, Moaning Myrtle.
Alright, the plot or what trailers didn`t tell you (kudos to WB for keeping the best surprises under the wraps instead of flaunting them in trailers). Some evil stalker attacks Hogwarts students who aren`t 100% wizards. Kids wind up petrified so it`s up to Harry&co to find the attacker who calls himself Heir of Slytherin.Slytherin is, BTW, big bad founder of Hogwarts who believed in racial purity and wanted Hogwarts "ethnically cleansed" from Muggle-born students. Now his heir conducts "ethnical cleansing" much to delight of young Malfoy, his goons and other student from Slytherin House named after the Big Bad. Turns out the Big Bad was parsletongue and, surprise, so is Potter! The kids get freaked out thinking he`s the Heir of Slytherin and begin to avoid him. Harry, on the other hand, does have some doubts about his connection with Slytherin and ...I`ll stop right here cause things get too cool to be spoiled.
I mentioned the awful showdown of the original movie, bad execution, atrocious Mummy-like effect. This time around the climax is outstanding. I can`t decide what`s better, action or wordy part of the Chamber showdown, both are awesome with some changes for the better (like most of the battle taking place on top of Slytherin statue which is more appropriate given the Slytherin-themed plot) but what send chills down my spine is what`s written in the air (you`ll know when you see the movie, book readers know what I`m talking about). Despite the fact that I knew what was coming it`s done so well that it gave me goosebumps. The climax mixes horror and beauty in equal measure, it`s trully a must-see.
Some Potter fans will hate me for saying this but I think that COS turned out great thanks to FOTR. Simply, WB suits realized that the competition did much better job when it comes to book adaptation and decided to follow their cue and deliver a good movie. Without LOTR Potter wouldn`t have had a strong fantasy movie to compare to and I think that comparission in favor of LOTR made after their release helped COS shape up into a great flick. You can see LOTR influences throughout the movie especially during the Duelling Club where kids pull Gandalf/Saruman-like wizarding duel with stunning mid-air twists and turns (in the books they are supposed to be more gimmicky). Also, Columbus improved his directing and took some liberties among which is cutting out some really unnecessary scenes such as Deathday party, a real pain in the ass to read. And shippers will spend months discussing the ending where Hermione hugs Harry but not Ron!
Conclusion: great little flick mixing genuine creeps and darkness with fun (including gross comedy such as Ron vomitting slugs, Moaning Myrtle`s toilet antics, Harry`s boneless hand), action and lots of heart. That`s right. Heart. First movie didn`t have it, this one has found it, let hope the third one will keep it.
Dino
Here's a review from an absolute lover of all thing Harry Potter:
Hey, Harry. I just saw the CoS film and figured I'd send in my review.
First, I'm one of the biggest HP fans around. So this will be somewhat biased...but ah well.
In short: My favourite movie ever!!!!! I LOVED it!!!!
It opens hilariously, and you soon meet Dobby the House-elf, a funny but slightly irritating...well...house elf...who warns Harry not to go back to school.
Of course, he does anyways. And it's all okay at first. Harry and his classmates repot Mandrakes (plants whose roots are small, ugly babies), transform animals into water goblets, and face a cage full of Pixies.
Soon, however, they discover that something is Petrifying the students (amoung other things), and, of course, it's Harry's job to stop it.
The cast does wonderful. Harry gives a much more satisfactory performance (I found his performance in PS to be a tad unconvincing), and Rupert and Emma have grown into their roles, as well. Rupert is hysterical, and Emma is so believable, it's scary. The new cast members, particularly Jason Issacs and Kenneth Branagh, are fantastic. Jason gives a chilling performance as Lucius Malfoy, father of Harry's arch-nemesis (aside from Snape and Voldemort). He is pure evil. And Mr. Branagh plays Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, a world renowned wizard, "Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and 5 times winner of 'Witch Weeklys' Most-Charming-Smile Award." Lockhart is exceedingly arrogant and narccistic, and completley full of himself. But of course, everyone already knows that...
The CGI was much better. There are no troll-looking scenes in it. Dobby looks stunningly real at points. Fawkes the Phoenix (also a puppet) looks fairly good. And the Quidditch match...I never had a problem with the Quidditch Match in PS. It was fine to me. This is even better. It looks much more realistic, and it's faster paced. And the basilisk...Wow. Amazing. The basilisk is probably one of the most realistic CGI monsters ever. It even rivals the Jurrasic Park dinosaurs. This scene is truly scary. And the dialouge between Harry and Tom Riddle (a former student at Hogwarts), is chilling. Much better than the final scene of the first film. Very scary.
So anyways...the ending is good. I won't give anything away, I'll just say it's good.
Conclusion: Amazing. The Flying Car scene will entertain you, the Quidditch match will excite you, Aragog (a gigantic spider) will scare you (I have a minor form of arachnaphobia, so this was horrifying for me...I closed my eyes at parts), and the final sequences will chill you. In all, you're in for one amazing ride.
~ C.D. Nose ;) ~
