Harry Potter DVD reviews
Product: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Special Widescreen Edition)
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 5/5
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 5/5
I can't believe that the Harry Potter series started out as a bedtime story that J.K Rowling made up for her children. It is an extremely original and well thought out series. This story expands way beyond a mere childrens story, and is good for almost any age group.
Product: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Special Widescreen Edition)
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 5/5
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 5/5
Where do I begin? HP and Sorcerer's Stone was excellent in its own way, but having read the book, I find that I wanted more. The movie could have been four hours long to do the book justice. Many characters had little or no recognition: the Slytherin students hating on Harry and his friends, Percy, the Weasley twins... And Daniel should sharpen his developing acting skill. [Emma and Rupert were excellent!!!]But the movie had high points, like the visuals, which are eye-candy. And some laughs. Quidditch was absolutely AMAZING!!!
Product: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Widescreen Edition)
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 3/5
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 3/5
The movie was good, even great if you haven't read the book. It poorly followed the book and all of us crazed, wierd, Harry Potter fanatics will be left tripping along as things move to quickly through the story, with strange unnecessary additions to the small parts, and giant cuts in the important and big parts. I liked the movie and I plan on buying it to go along with my collection (of course I'm considered on of the most serious Harry Potter fanatics in my high school so of course I would buy it and like it) but, I think that if you're a big fan of the books than you will be dissapointed. But, that's only a matter of opinion. I would reccomend this movie and do reccomend it, but if you've read the books you might want to lower your expectations and forget the way the book was. Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix comes out on June 21st! Don't forget! Harry Potter forever!!!!
Product: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Special Widescreen Edition)
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 4/5
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 4/5
A film by Chris ColumbusThis is the first film in the Harry Potter series and it is adapted from J.K. Rowling's novel of the same title. A common complaint about movies that have been adapted from a book is that the movie strays too far from the book and that it makes too many changes. This is sometimes necessary as film and novels are two different mediums and need to tell stories in different ways, but sometimes unnecessary changes are made. Happily, this is not the case with this movie. This movie is extremely faithful to the book, and I think the film works because of that. By now, many people probably have a good idea what Harry Potter is all about. For those who are not in the know, here's the story for this movie. Young Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is living with his aunt and his uncle because his parents died when he was an infant. It is obvious they do not want him around as he is forced to live in the closet under the stairs and he is treated like a servant, an unwelcome servant at that. One day owls start arriving at the house and deliver letters to Harry. We see that the letters are from "Hogwarts." Harry's uncle keeps destroying the letters, but more come each day. Finally he has had enough and Harry's Uncle takes the family (including Harry) to a remote island where no letters can reach them. It is at this point that Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) finds Harry, tells him that Harry is a wizard, and that he is to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. See, Harry is a wizard, and is the son of a wizard. Harry's parents were not killed in a car accident (as he had been told), but rather they were killed by the Dark Lord Voldemort, a wizard gone bad. Harry is the boy who lived, which is why he is famous in the wizarding world. At Hogwarts, Harry makes friends with Ron Weasely (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), and makes an enemy of Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton). Ron and Hermione are also first year students and are in Gryffindor House with Harry. Draco is also a first year, but is in Slytherin House (Ron tells Harry that "not a wizard went bad that wasn't in Slytherin"). Harry, Ron, and Hermione become good friends and get into little adventures together. They believe that someone is trying to steal something called the Sorcerer's Stone and since no adult will believe them, they try to figure this out on their own. At the same time, they are in the first year of school, so they have to go to their classes in magic. A little bit of time is spent in each class so that we get a sense of the school and a sense of the magic of that Harry and friends are supposed to be learning.The movie is very faithful to the book, so most events from the book are included in this movie and while it is a fairly long movie (2 and a half hours), it moves along fast enough that you don't really feel like you've spent so much time. One of the reasons you don't feel the time is that the acting is fantastic. The actors are so perfect for their roles that they are almost exactly how I imagined the characters to be. Two actors who stand out are Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore and Alan Rickman as Professor Snape. Rickman, especially, is a delight to watch. This role border's on Rickman's Sheriff of Nottingham (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) as one of his great characters. The movie also features Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall) and Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick). Even though I would recommend the book to anyone, I'm not convinced the movie is for everyone. I thought that the movie captured the events and the spirit of the book, but is missing some of the charm. Rowling's novel just sucks you in, but at times I thought the movie was only for fans of the book. I really enjoyed the movie, and I will give it a good rating, but it may not convert people who don't really enjoy fantasy (or movies that have fantasy elements).
Product: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2-Disc Widescreen Edition)
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 4/5
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 4/5
When this movie opened with a shot of Harry fiddling about under his covers, I thought Cuaron might be trying to duplicate his opening shot of Y Tu Mama Tabien. What makes the comparison all the more striking is how grown-up Harry, Ron, and Hermione seem to be getting. There is talk of replacing them with other actors, but I hope they do not. If we can believe that the models-turned-actors on the WB are still teenagers, then I can buy a 15-year-old as a 13-year-old.This is the first Harry Potter movie with Cuaron as director, so the question is: Is this one as good as the other two. The answer: almost. With the third installment, there is little exposition - we jump right into the story. Old characters are not introduced; they seem to just walk on from the previous movie. The look of this film is darker - and in a weird way, lower-budgeted. I don't like that the kids wear street-clothes in this. Be warned; there are scary bits in this film that will give extremely young viewers nightmares, but they will give older children pleasant thrills. Maybe just because it is the third film in the series, it lacks some of the sense of wonder and discovery - and let's just say it, magic - of the first two. This one seems shorter.Of course I've read the book so the comparisons are inevitable. Writer Steve Kloves does another good job of translating Rowling's work to the screen. However, there were some key plot points that were not explained and I fear those unfamiliar with the novel will be a trifle lost. But the movie moves along at such a clip that it is easy not to notice.I love the Harry Potter films - this one too. I can't help but wonder however, what will happen next. Azkaban is the last of the short novels. How are they ever going to cope with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire without losing the integrity of the franchise?
Product: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Widescreen Edition)
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 4/5
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 4/5
I was first in line to see this movie the day it came out, and I saw it multiple times after. It was great!! This movie rates #1 on my list along with "The Sorceror's Stone" and the Lord of the Rings movies!
Product: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Special Widescreen Edition)
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 3/5
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 3/5
Although they crammed a lot of details into the movie, the book is the book, and nothing can surpass the brilliant writing. As movies go, this one is very entertaining and wonferfully safe for children. Casting is brilliant, and the pace of the movie is just right. No luls, some nice suprises, etc. My only complaint is with the special features the DVD boasts. Many were on the website previous to the movie, and the die hard fans wanted something fresh and exciting to see. Where are the behind the scenes looks, and character profiles? Not on here!
Product: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Special Widescreen Edition)
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 4/5
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 4/5
I'm a HUGE Harry Potter fan. When I first saw the movie in theaters I was very excited. The special effects were great. the actors were magnificent but movie is not that faithful to the first book. If you have not read Harry Potter you will probably give this 5 stars. It did twist some of the scenes to make the movie shorter but as a fan when I saw it I thought "that's not how it happened..." The music by John Williams is definitely the best. The special features on the second disc are not worth it though. If you are a Potter fan this DVD is a must have and the soundtrack too!
Product: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Special Widescreen Edition)
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 5/5
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 5/5
I realize this is not a movie on the scale of Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings; it is, however, a very good movie for families to view together. There are not many of those around anymore. The younger actors are new to acting and yes you can tell and some say the scenes are quick but who really goes to a movie to disect it. I went with my 12 yeard old daughter who loved it and the books. She didn't care that the performances weren't Academy Award material. All she cared about was that the movie was very close to the book and it was very entertaining. I myself have seen the movie twice and read all four books. I also have to say that anything that get children back on the road to reading is an instant hit with me. I have never seen my daughter read likes she reads those books. She has also started reading other similar books that she never would have even thought about before.
Product: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Widescreen Edition)
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 3/5
Productgroup: DVD
Rating: 3/5
The book was so much better than this attempt at a movie that it's painful to watch it.I didn't like the first movie all that much, but I didn't thtink it was so bad that I should skip the second movie. Now, I regret that I bothered to see it. It's not even that the effects are bad- most of them were okay- or that the scenery was wrong- though it was certainly not what I had pictured... It was more that the actors were terrible, the story was no where near as good as the book and it was just.... disappointing.I knew going in that there was no way that they could have matched the book in terms of greatness- but this was such a huge disappointment to me...As to the extra features on the DVD? Well, it's a good thing I watched it on my computer and could point and click- I can't imagine trying to navigate that disaster with a remote control. Stupid trivia questions bar the way to seeing the extra scenes and checking out all of the extra features- not that there are many in the first place! The only reason I'm still planning on seeing PoA is the new director and the introduction of Sirius... (And, Merlin, if they cut Quidditch out of the third book, I swear to you that I will be writing more than one angry letter- and demanding another new director.)...
