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| HARRY POTTER "CAPTIVATING AND COMICAL" Harry Potter, the infamous boy who lived has yet again made a stunning appearance on big screen, writes Jahboh and Katie, Special Correspondents. If you recognize how we began this article, you are obviously either a Harry Potter fanatic or own a Quick-Quotes Quill. The movie, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets hit movie theaters on November 15 after a mad rush to obtain tickets weeks before. Going to the movie with great expectations, including reading the second book again for the nth time, we were not at all disappointed. The movie, in every possible way, was better than the first. On opening night, theaters were packed with loyal fans, eager to see their heroes on the screen once again. The 7:30 Ultra Screen showing at Point Theaters that one of us attended was no exception. While arriving one and a half hours early still did not put us at the front of the line (those people were there two hours early, which we hope to do next year, by the way) it did guarantee decent seats. One could easily tell who was a fanatic and who just liked the books. Fanatics were dressed up in witch hats, Gryffindor robes, cloaks, or scarves, in "I love Sean Biggerstaff" or "Daniel Radcliffe" T-shirts or had lightning bolt shaped "scars" on their foreheads. Others were playing The Harry Potter Trivia game or "dueling" with wands in the hall while they waited to be allowed into the theater. Chamber of Secrets takes a darker turn than Sorcerer's Stone. While Sorcerer's Stone has one semi-scary scene, Chamber of Secrets gets darker, and creates a tense atmosphere as the danger builds and the attacks on Hogwarts students continue. Harry and Ron once again return to the Forbidden Forest, where they struggle to escape after their conversation with giant, human-eating spiders. The movie climaxes when Harry battles with The Monster of Slytherin inside the Chamber of Secrets. The most improved aspect of the movie was the visual effects. The first time we saw the teaser poster for the Harry Potter movie, we were in complete shock. Us book-loving fans cried, "this is NOT Dobby!" Unlike a certain J-J character from Star Wars (hint, hint), the character of Dobby developed quite well in the movie and was both realistic and matched his personality from the book. From taking a bottle of Skele-Gro and banging it on his head, to giving a whimsical Yoda-like grin at the end, Dobby was everything we wished for. The Quidditch playing this time was seamless. During the first film, many of the players and the field looked fake and computer generated. Not this time around. The high-speed chase for the golden snitch was done at an incredibly cool angle and the scene with the rogue bludger was gripping to watch. Also, since one of us is taking Photo, we were able to spot that the flashback to fifty years ago was done all in sepia tone except for Harry. It felt like Harry was walking through an old movie, a very creative idea. Acting was much better this time around. The acting for Harry, Ron, and Hermione was much more fluent and realistic and the slug scene in Hagrid's hut was very touching. Richard Harris's performance as Headmaster Dumbledore was the same wonderful combination of watchful teacher, mentor, and friend that JK Rowling presents in her books. Chamber of Secrets also brought in new actors to the film. The most captivating of those were Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy and Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart. Jason Isaacs was seamless as Lucius. His pale skin, long white hair, and his face always sported a glare gave the impression he was nothing but pure evil. The scene with him in Flourish and Blotts was his best moment. He looks at Hermione's parents in such a way that the audience suspected he was going to put their names down as future targets. Also, equally as good was Kenneth Branagh. He makes Lockhart a character we all love to despise. One of his lines taken directly from the book was the hilarious, "do you live here?" And not to mention, audiences who stayed to the end of the movie after the credits were rewarded with yet another funny Lockhart scene. The humor in the movie was enough to make the movie charming, yet it was not in surfeit. A great scene was when Draco was injured and he is moaning in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey looks at him and dismisses him like he is taking up unnecessary space while rushing up to Harry (who by the way, has more supporters around his bed than Draco). Another line by Draco was when he spotted Crabbe, (who is Harry in disguise,) with his "reading" glasses on and says, "I didn't know you could read." Of course, Chamber of Secrets was not a perfect movie. Once again, like the first, the movie flew past at incredible speed and in ten minutes, Harry was leaving the Dursley's, while in another fifteen, he was already at Hogwarts. In fact, many scenes in Chamber of Secrets were coincidental and Harry was always meeting his friends at the right place and time. It seemed like every scene was geared to eventually meet the ending. Then again, one can not blame the filmmakers who were trying to cut down the running time of the movie without enraging loyal fans who don't want the story to be changed by Hollywood. Yet, another problem was the portrayal of Ron in the movie. Hermione said the smart comments while Harry did the brave deeds. Poor Ron did not really seem brave or smart at all during any of the movie. In fact, he was the one in the book who knew what the word 'mudblood' meant. Yet in the film, it is Hermione, with almost no wizard slang influence, who actually knows what the word means. For those eager fans already waiting for the next Harry Potter movie to hit theaters, they will have to wait for a little while longer. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is due out summer 2004. The movie will have a new director, Alfonso Cuaron (A Little Princess) because Chris Columbus believes that two movies is enough for him. As for the fifth Harry Potter book, author JK Rowling says that she is tweaking it and should be given to publishers "soon." The book is already 38 chapters long (topping Goblet of Fire by one chapter) and is supposed to be named Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. All right, if you haven't seen the movie already, you shouldn't even be reading this, or rather we suggest you go see it even if you did not like Sorcerer's Stone (hey, who can blame you?). After all, you might see a certain reporter with a Quick-Quotes Quill coming after you. |
| Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Movie Review by Jahboh and her friend Katie - This got into our school newspaper, The Independent (visit www.the-independent.org) but it was shortened (click on the left article for the part appearing in the paper) because other people also wrote a review. Here is the FULL article. Enjoy! |
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