Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone

Hello I am reviewing the first of the Harry Potter movies. At the end of the review I will compare the movie to the book (since I have read the book). By the way this is a long movie so if I leave out any important details i'm sorry. So I might as well start; this is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone.








We start in the dead of night. A man named Professor Dumbledore (Richard Harris) meets a woman named Professor McGonagall (Maggie Smith). They are waiting for someone to arrive. A man named Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) comes in on a flying motorcycle carrying a baby. They leave the baby on the doorstep of his relatives. Years later the boy grows up into a 10 year old boy named Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe). He has to live with his annoying step family. One day they go to the zoo. While in the reptile house Harry talks to one of the snakes, sets it loose, and traps his brother Dudley (Harry Melling) in a cage. When he gets home his uncle Vernon (Richard Griffiths) locks him in his bedroom (which is basically a closet). The next day Harry gets a letter. Vernon instantly burns it. Harry keeps getting more letters. His family does everything to stop the letters. Eventually the letters literally start to flood in. So Vernon sends them all to a dismal island. On the island Harry has his eleventh birthday (yay) but no one cares (aw man). Then a hulking figure bursts through the door. The man at the door is Hagrid. He tells Harry he is a wizard and that he is taking him to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. He get's angry at Harry's step family when he finds out that they never told him he was a wizard. He takes Harry to Diagon Alley to buy wizard supplies. Hagrid also explains that a wizard named Voldemort killed his parents and tried to kill him as well but Harry survived. After getting all his supplies Hagrid gives Harry a train ticket for platform nine and three quarters.

Harry doesn't know where that is so he finds another wizard family and follows them. He gets on the train and one of the boys from the wizard family named Ron (Rubert Grint) sits with him. On the train they meet a know it all girl named Hermoine Granger. When Ron and Harry get to school they are sorted into their houses Ron, Harry, and Hermoine get sorted into Grffindore and a boy that Harry hates named Draco (Tom Felton) gets put in Slytherin. After that they go to bed. One day they come across a secret room. Inside the room is a giant three headed dog. They run away and decide to forget about the dog. The next day after a few classes he practices Quidich (a wizard sport involving brooms too complicated to explain). However one of the kids gets injured. So the teacher takes him to the hospital wing of the school. While waiting for the teacher to come back Draco provokes Harry and the teacher sees them flying. So she signs Harry up for Quidich. After a charms class Ron insults Hermoine and She locks herself in the girls bathroom. Later that night Hermoine is still in the bathroom and Professor Quirrell (Ian Hart) say that there is a troll in the dungeon. Ron and Harry realize that Hermoine doesn't know about the troll. So they go to get her. They defeat the troll and gain Hermoine's trust. Harry also realizes that one of the professors named Snape (Alan Rickman) is limping. Harry figures that the reason he was limping is because he tried to get past the dog. Durring the first Quidich game Harry loses control of his broom. Hermoine thinks that Snape cursed Harrys broom. So she sets fire to his robe and Harry gets control of the broom and wins the game.


            ***SPOILER ALERT STOP HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT THE END RUINED***

When asking Hagrid about the Quidich game and Snape, he says that what the dog is guarding is strictly the business of Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel. Harry, Ron, and Hermoine start trying to find information about Nicolas Flamel. On Christmas Harry gets an invisibility cloak. He uses it to sneak into the restricted section of the library. He doesn't find anything but he does find a mirror that shows him visions of his parents. Dumbledore finds him and tells him that he will be taking the mirror away (there was a lot of stuff in between but the movie explains it better then I could). A few days later  Hermoine finds a book saying that Nicolas Flamel is a wizard who owns the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone. Which can grant eternal life. On hearing this they go tell Hagrid. They tell Hagrid and it turns out that he is hatching a dragon that he bought from a man he met in a pub. They notice that Draco is watching them so they chase after him. But it's too late: Draco found a teacher and they all (icluding Draco) have to go to detention. The next night they are having detention with Hagrid in The Forbidden Forrest. They are looking for someone or something who has been killing unicorns and drinking their blood. While looking around Harry bumps into a hooded figure who is drinking unicorn blood. Harry escapes with the help of a centaur and regroups with the others. When he gets back to his dorm he says that he thinks that Snape is working for lord Voldemort and that it was him drinking unicorn blood in the forest and that he wants to steal the Sorcerers/Philosophers Stone. The next day they go ask Hagrid about the man he bought the dragon from. He say he kept his face hidden the whole time. He also mentions that he told him how to get past that three headed dog. They go to the room with the dog and get by it. They make it past several traps including a room full of plants that try to kill you, a room full of psychotic flying keys, and a life-sized game of wizard chess. They make it to the final room and it turns out that it's not Snape but instead it's Quirrell and lord Voldenmort (Richard Bremmer) attached to the back of his head. Harry get's the stone using that mirror from before, defeats Voldenmort and Quirrell. Then Dumbledore explains how he won to the whole school, Griffondore wins the house cup and Harry goes home. The End.

                                              ***SPOILERS OVER KEEP READING***

This movie is awesome. All the actors do a good job in their roles and the story always keeps you wondering what will happen next. The only thing I didn't like is that some times it was really melodramatic, especially close to the end. This is a good fantasy movie that I do not regret seeing.

Book vs Movie: Oh right, I forgot about this part. Well I personally think the book is better. I feel like the book takes more time to set up the story and develop the characters. The movie does that too but I think the book does it better. So that's my opinion. By the way, I am planning to review the sequels. See you all next time.

THE BIG RED BUTTON (I WONDER WHAT IT DOES?)

Top Ten Family Films of All Time

Hi I am making another countdown. I am counting down the best family movies ever. Even though I am a movie buff,  I haven't seen every movie ever. So, sorry if I leave any of your favorites out.


10 Willy Wonka/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
It is a tie for the number ten spot between both the "Chocolate Factory Movies". I know a lot of people dislike the remake. But I think it is relatively good. Of course the original is a classic. Both Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp do a good job, but I do like Wilder's performance better. Either way, seeing either of these movies is worth it.






9 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
This is a story of a flying car. It is very funny and adventurous. My favorite scene is when a bunch of dogs ransack a candy factory (hopefully they didn't eat any chocolate). The only problem is that the actual adventure is just a fantasy, but it doesn't matter too much. This is a great movie.









8 The Muppet Movie
The Muppets are part of almost everyone's childhood and their first cinematic appearance is their best. The reason this is the best Muppet movie is because it has a lot of heart and a lot of great comedy. Also it has plenty of cameos from people like Steve Martin and Mel Brooks.









7 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
This is the first movie I remember seeing. All the characters are funny and memorable. It also has a nice style of animation and plenty of fourth wall jokes involving the narrator. The backgrounds look like book illustrations (which is intentional). Winnie the Pooh is a classic character and I am glad he has good books and good  movies.





6 The Princess Bride
This is one of the great fantasy movies. It can be lite and funny or dark and scary. This movie has created some of the most memorable characters ever. This is one of those classics that almost everyone has seen. Nothing else to say except that it is a great movie.







 5 Fantastic Mr. Fox
Apparently there are a lot of good movies based on Roald Dahl books. This one is really exiting and funny. It has some amazing stop motion work. Plus excellent voice work from George Clooney, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe and much more. It's no wonder it was nominated for an Oscar.







4 Swiss Family Robinson
This is a classic family style adventure (Why does that sound like a fast food commercial?). This is silly, scary, fun, and exiting and of course there are the really cool traps. The actors feel like a real family and not just people pretending to be a family. It is a great adventure. This movie is fabulous.








3 The Wizard of Oz
This is the classic we all know and love. With excellent songs, excellent acting, and excellent effects: all in all, this is an amazing movie. It's full of bright colours/colors (because this was one of the first colour/color films) which makes the experience even better. The Wizard of Oz is one of the greatest adventures into another wold ever.



                                 

2 Mary Poppins

This is a movie of almost everyone's childhood. Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke give great performances. It has some very good songs and the animated segment is impressive. Everything from the costume design to the acting is good, but there is one better movie...






 

    1 Up

    This is the best of Pixar Animation Studios. It has wonderful animation and a good balance of drama and comedy. The best part is the opening, a montage of the life two people. You could just end the movie after the opening and the audience would be satisfied. That is why in my opinion this is the best family movie.











Well That was my countdown.  I hope you liked it. I was going to include The Goonies and Who Framed Roger Rabbit but everyone says that they aren't for kids so I didn't include them. This has been another countdown see you next time.

THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS

The Princess Bride

It's been a while sense I reviewed a classic movie. Let's review this one. It's based on a book of the same name by William Goldman (fun fact: William Goldman also wrote the script for this). Let us begin.

We meet a little boy (Fred Savage). He is feeling sick, so his grandfather (Peter Falk) comes over to read him a story. The book he reads is The Princess Bride. The grandfather starts reading. In a kingdom far away we meet a woman named Buttercup (Robin Wright). She lives on a farm, she falls in love with the farm boy who works there, named Westley (Cary Elwes). Westley doesn't have much money, so he seeks his fortune overseas. But he's attacked by The Dread Pirate Roberts, and it is reported that he died. Buttercup  makes a vow to never fall in love again. Five years later she is engaged to Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). But Buttercup doesn't love him. One day, Buttercup goes out on a horse ride. While riding she comes across three men: Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), and Fezzik (Andre "The Giant" Roussimoff). They all kidnap Buttercup and send the horse back to the prince to spark a war with a nearby nation. They take Buttercup onto their boat. They make it to an island but they are being followed by a man in black. They climb up a giant cliff but the man follows.

 They tell Inigo to stay behind and fight the stranger. Inigo gives the stranger a chance to catch his breath. While preparing to fight, Inigo tells him that a six fingered man killed his father and that he spent his whole life trying to find and kill him. After the mystery man recovers, he and Inigo fight. Let me say this is probably one of the best sword fights in cinema history, right up there with Pirates of the Caribbean and anything related to Zorro. In the end, Westly wins and leaves behind Inigo. The man catches up to the rest of them. So Vizzini tells Fezzik to stop him. They have an honorable fight, but in the end the stranger wins. He catches up to Vizzini. They decide to have a battle of wits (to the death). The stranger poisons two glasses of wine. Vizzini chooses the wrong cup and is poisoned. So Buttercup and the man escape. Buttercup recognizes the man as Dread Pirate Roberts, who killed Westly. But it turns out that Roberts is Westly. But he tells her this as he is being kicked down a hill by Buttercup. Westly explains that he was given the position of Dread Pirate by the former Dread Pirate. They are happy to be back together but Prince Humperdinck is following, thinking that Westly kidnapped Buttercup. They escape into The Fire Swamp. Prince Humperdinck catches them and wants to have Westly killed. But Buttercup asks to have Westly sent back to the ship. He agrees. Westly also notices that one of the men with the prince named Count Tyrone (Christopher Guest)  has six fingers.


          ***SPOILER ALERT STOP HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT THE END RUINED***

Westly is knocked out by Tyrone and he wakes up in The Pit of Despair. Meanwhile Prince Humperdinck is planning to kill Buttercup on their wedding night. Buttercup doesn't want to marry Prince Humperdinck, so she asks Humperdinck to search for Westly. But Buttercup finds out that Humperdinck lied. Humperdinck tortures Westly to death. Fezzik and Inigo get back together and find Westly. They take Westly to Miracle Max (Billy Crystal). Max says that Westly is only "Mostly Dead" and he gives them medicine to bring him back to life. They make it to the castle and break in. Buttercup marries Humperdinck, Inigo Mantoya avenges his father, and Westly and Buttercup escape while the grandfather finishes the story. The End.



                                ***SPOILERS OVER KEEP READING***


This is another classic. The stunts for the fighting are pretty impressive. The characters have their own distinct personalities. Another thing that is different from a lot of other fantasy movies is that most others choose to either be dark or lighthearted, this one is both. The one thing I didn't like is that some times Humperdinck and Buttercup felt a bit cliched. Seeing this movie was definitely worth it. See you next time.

POSTER FOR: GIANT MUTANT ALIENS IN SPACE 10