Yar, you be here: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Widescreen Edition) > Customer Reviews

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Widescreen Edition) Customer Reviews (55 - 57 of 100 Reviews)

"A rather BIG surprise"
When Harry Potter came to the big screen, I did NOT go to see it. I was of firm standing that it was kidd stuff. Then, a few weeks ago, the people on abc2 news had it on as a "movie event". I figured since it was free, why not watch it? Needless to say, I was realllyyy surprised. I sat, spellbound through ALL commercial breaks, so I would'ent miss any of the story. I've never read a single book in the series, so I can say with out them, this movie still can stand on it's own. P.S. John Williams' score is amazeing!!!! P.S.S. Still, I will say that "The Lord of the Rings" are much better movies, and if you LIKE Harry Potter, You'll LOVE them.

A missed opportunity
Ah yes, the highly anticipated Harry Potter. It devoured its box office competition and is poised to make tons of money. And it doesn't deserve the praise.......The reasons are very simple: The film was so intent on getting the look and feel of Harry Potter perfect, it didn't bother to include Harry Potter's strengths: the dread of uncertainty and a true appreciation of consequences. Gone is Rowling's attention to the darkness and fears that line the rites of passage from infancy to adolescence. There is no challenge in this movie. The books huge fan-base demanded that the film cover everything in the book. Which it just about did - which just about ruined it. The filmmakers were so focused on covering everything, they couldn't focus on anything......or anyone. Very few characters get the screen time they need and deserve.

The things is, book and film are two totally different story telling mediums: Movies cannot simply regurgitate passages of writing. As a visual medium, they demand different tools to convey their vision, different means of telling their stories. There's also this problem: The book is mostly exposition. It is a long time before the real story, about the plot to steal the sorcerer's stone, kicks into high gear. The movie is the same way. In a book, that works fine. In this movie, it's poor pacing. But there are other problems as well: The CGI FX are, to put it simply, terrible. And most surprising, the magic/spell casting element of Hogwart's School for Witchcraft and Wizardry seems to have been reduced to little more than comic-relief. The school itself has a kind of Gothic beauty combined with a politically correct student body: Black faces pop up here and there. In the end, Harry Potter may delight adults with weak discretion, but children should be subjected to something more thought provoking.

Talented, Magical, Original, Inspired Escapist Entertainment
Thank God for Harry Potter. Yes this is a phenomenon, yes this needed the book to be where it is, and YES it's been hyped, and good for it! Is that a sin? Not when I checked. I'll be honest, I've never laid a finger on the books, so regarding the accuracy and faithfulness of the book I can't comment on. But A) I understood it, thoroughly enjoyed it, and found it captivating and sweat inducing... it obviously stood on it's own. B) The production team, all of it, has created "muggle" magic.

This has it's flaws, but what film doesn't? This is NOT a slapstick stupid children's movie. This has a plot, creativity, acting, and emotional weight. Remember what those are? This is a film that allows us to escape, forget our problems for a hunky fast moving 2 and a half hours, and dive into a startlingly realistic, not to mention bright and happy, world of children, magic, wizardry, and evil. I found myself applauding during the Quidditch (sp?) scenes, as if it was perfectly normal for kids to ride 70 feet in the air on broomsticks and get bruised up, that jellybeans come in every flavor (including certain excretory material, you'll see), and that kids can jump through brick walls onto a fractional train platform. What fun!

Oh! For shame you critics who refuse to enjoy! This film is for enjoyment. This has lots of eye candy, beautiful stuff, dazzling stuff. But it's not at all empty. If you need serious content, I was surprised to find deep running currents, thematic elements, that are unusually mature. The pyschological effects of a child who has lived in an emotionally abusive environment for years on end were well portrayed in several scenes. Borderline personalities in several characters. The age old theme of giving one's life for another; the Faustian plot of giving your soul up for personal gain; the danger of dwelling in an inate state instead of movement to some form of action; and of destiny. Pretty heavy for so called (and here paraphrased) "hollow kid stuff".

Are you gonna listen to complaining religious fundamentalists, snobs, and critics? God Bless Harry Potter for the balm of a movie that finally isn't afraid to be what it is.

Previous Page

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34

Next Page