Rating: 
Summary: harry potter and the chamber of secrets
Review: last week we went to see "HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS" The second film in the Harry Potter series begins with Harry being locked up in his room by his uncle Vernon, who is dead-set against his return to Hogwarts. Dobby the house elf appears in Harry's room, telling him that terrible danger awaits him at Hogwarts. Despite the warning, Harry escapes his uncle's house when Ron picks him up in the Weasley's flying car, and the duo heads for the school of wizardry. Once there, Harry begins to hear a mysterious voice, and it turns out that the sinister Chamber of Secrets has been reopened, and the creature set free has begun to attack students. One look from the beast can kill, but so far, a few unlucky students have merely been petrified. Who opened the Chamber? Unless the culprit can be found, the wizardry school is doomed. After Hagrid is accused and Dumbledore is dismissed by the school board, Harry, Ron, and Hermione hatch a plot to find out what's behind it all.
Rating:
Summary: It is no longer a secret: Give it a High Five
Review: With no surprise the second in the Harry Potter series is a hit. Hermione may get frozen but does not freeze up under action. Daniel Radcliffe continues to perfom even beter for this one. The flying car is a hero in it's own right. And as for Ron Weasly, he gets the chocolate frog once again.
Dumbledore seems to always be there. The rest of the staff couldn't help be be as helpful in making this another hit. The Dragon is just as incredible as the treacherous spider.
Rating: 
Summary: Great action, a little less "wonder" than Sorcerer's Stone
Review: The action scenes were so awesome as was the flying car (amazing!), but it lost a little of the sense of wonder of diagon alley and the hogwarts castle that one felt watching the first movie. But terrific after all! Brannagh was hilarious as the pompous author/professor; his best moment was when he loses his memory. Down with the Hermione hug flying into Harry's arms, boo hiss...bad news.I'd love to see Colin Firth in a Harry Potter movie, maybe as Sirius Black, all brooding and dark!
Rating:
Summary: The magic continues
Review: Suspected of being responsible for the attempted murders of several Hogwarts students, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) spend their second year unraveling a dangerous mystery that threatens the very existence of the academy. This is a wonderful film that introduces several great new characters, such as the conceited and comical Guilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branaugh) and the evil Lucius Malfoy (Jason Isaacs), as well as boasting terrific visual effects and costume design. I am so gratified that director Chris Columbus and writer Steve Kloves have been granted the long running time of over two hours to do full justice to author JK Rowling's magical world. The respect paid to the source material really shows on the screen. The death of Richard Harris, who played Albus Dumbledore, heralds what may become a problem with this series as it plays out over the next five projected films. It is unlikely that all of the actors who portray the large cast of main and supporting characters will be able or willing to devote so much of their time over the course of the next five years to the production and promotion of a single film franchise. The producers might lessen this problem by spreading out film production rather than trying to release one every year, but then they run the risk of having their principle actors age out of their roles. Fans should be prepared to see more roles recast with other actors before this series reaches its end.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific movie
Review: I loved, loved, loved this movie as much as the first! I have read all four books 3 times and love that the movies stay as true as they do to the stories (obviously some creative license was necessary to keep the movie down to 2 1/2 hours...). The length of the movie is not bad at all; like the first movie, I didn't want it to end. I've read movie articles which have criticized the film because it was too like the first movie in plot. Well, of course...the movie followed the book! It's a natural seque into the second year at Hogwarts and Chamber of Secrets has enough of it's own characteristics that set it well apart from the first. If there was anything I have to say about the movie that isn't 100% positive, Moaning Myrtle's voice just didn't seem right...and didn't jive with how I interpreted her voice while reading the stories (but that's just my opinion!). Also, the kids who play Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, etc. had obviously grown older than they would over a real-time summer vacation. To the easily grossed out: Beware...the scene where Ron's curse backfires causing him to "spit up" slugs is very realistic. And it isn't over fast. If your stomach can't handle gross stuff, just be on the lookout for his argument with Draco...when Ron get's zapped by his curse, get ready to start hiding your eyes! I absolutely cannot wait til this movie comes out on DVD. And I eagerly await the 5th book. Thanks J.K. Rowling and Chris Columbus for giving us this magic the world so desperately needs!
Rating:
Summary: The Magic Back And Better Than Before!
Review: HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS is a fun film. It was actually ten minutes longer than the first but was actually more entertaining. This one is fun, magic and personality. Directed once again by Chris Columbus (Bicentennial Man, Stepmom, Mrs. Doubtfire) - it takes a mystery and turns it inside out. I thought I guessed the ending, by the end, I was wrong. The special effects and creative production design make this a very scary and exciting movie. Based on J.K. Rowlings very popular series of books for children, the screenplay was written by Steven Kloves (Wonder Boys, Fabulous Baker Boys). It stars the three most believable Wizards Daniel Radcliff (David Copperfield, Tailor of Panama) as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint (Harry Potter) as Ron and my favorite little Wizard Emma Watson (II) (Harry Potter) as Hermione. The chemistry these kids have with each other on screen is great. Other favorite performers and talents include the ever lovable Maggie Smith (Clash Of The Titans, Hook, Sister Act 1 &2) as Minerva McGonagall and Alan Rickman (Die Hard, Galaxy Quest, Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves) as Serverus Snape that nasty Slitherin House Head Master. The is a standout performance of vanity and arrogance played by Kennith Branagh (Hamlet, Dead Again, Wild Wild West)) as Gilderoy Lockhart who has a bigger ego that Ivana Trump! The story involves a framing of a mystery that gets Hagred played by Robbie Coltrane (The World Is Not Enough, Golden Eye) in trouble and almost makes you believe he may - or may not - be the bad guys. The late Richard Harris (Camelot, Gladiator, Unforgiven ) gives a great performance as Headmaster of Hogworth School of Witchcraft Professor Albus Dumbledore. This was a very entertaining movie with gigantic spiders, magical owls and even the legendary Pheonix brought to life as only George Lucas's ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) could bring to life. It's a funny movie with heart and a great moral subtext for the kinds about friendship and loyalty to each other. A great film for the whole family to enjoy. (11-22-02) 3X
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding sequel to the first movie
Review: Despite lots of people were saying that the second movie of the HP series is not as good and audience friendly as the first one, one must bear in mind that the characters in the book of J.K Rowling were growing up, so are the actors and characters in the movie. It will be not particularly practical to think that the characters are not growing as they proceed upward at Hogwarts. Also, same in the original book series, the story grows darker and darker as Harry's years at Hogwarts moved upward. Back to the movie itself, the second installment saw a progress in special effects and the design of the magical world. Daniel Radcliffe has grown a lot in one year and even his voice is changing. This indeed becomes one of the convincing claim for keeping them as the leads, as you can grow with the characters, despite some people refuse to accept this. His performance has improved a lot since the last movie and we can see that he could tell more through his eyes. Emma Watson as Hermione is cool, though at some places she still needs to tone down a bit of exaggeration and put more depth in her expression. Ron Weasley is the main comical character in this sequel. Rupert Grint did promising job for the character and was really able to make the audience laugh. Of course it would be funnier if Rupert can put a bit more sarcasm inside his lines. Kenneth Branagh did a very very good job as Gilderoy Lockhart, he actually transform into the character itself. It is a very outstanding attempt. Many people tried to compare Dobby with Gollum in the Two Towers, but actually they are pretty different, apart from the fact that they are both CG characters. Dobby is as annoying as described in the book (well some do find him funny and interesting, which the director did managed to do so too). Of course Dobby doesn't involve a real actor playing it first, so it is different in that sense, but Dobby was a good attempt in the movie. Same with all adaptations, the plot showed a bit of swapping around in plot and taking out of details which some might find interesting and important, e.g. the scene of Malfoy trying to sell his things at the Knockturn Alley, but this is something inevitable to all books adapted to movies. The second movie also has a very outstanding soundtrack which fits finely into the movie. No doubt that the second movie is a better attempt than the first one despite critics of saying that it is less suitable for kids, or lost of audience concentration - but again bear in mind that this is also the exact embarassing age all the characters in the book are going through. Taking this important factor into consideration, one would be more able to appreciate the effort of the director and the actors.
Rating:
Summary: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger are back!
Review: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermoine Grabger are back in this sequel to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Also, who is back from the first movie are Harry Potter's two muggle aunt and uncle and his muggle cousin, Draco Mulfoy. This time Harry Potter's aunt and uncle and cousin have a really short part. As the film opens, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) recieves a visit in his room by a house elf (Toby Jones). Where the house elf warns Harry Potter to not return to Hogwarts. So during the night Harry Potter's freind Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) along with his brothers has come to rescure Harry. But the noise wakes up Harry's aunt and uncle, they try to stop him, but they lose, and Harry Potter takes a visit to Ron's house, in which he treated a whole lot better than the his own house. But when its time to return to Diagon Alley, Harry Potter gets lost and ends up in a diffrent alley where he is saved by Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) and takes him to Diagon Alley where he not only gets reunited by the Weasleys but also Hermione Granger (Emma Waston). But when it is time to get on the train to Hogwarts, Harry and Ron miss the train and they follow the tracks in the Weasley's flyign car, but when they get to Hogwarts they are in trouble of already. They both recieve dentitons, bin lieu of getting expelled from Hogwarts.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Adventure
Review: Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets is a movie you don't want to miss. You don't necessarily have to see the first movie to enjoy this sequel, but it helps in order to get the full scope of the relationships between the characters. The three-hour plot is packed with suspense and mystery as Harry and his friends discover the truth about the Chamber of Secrets. As with the first movie, the cast did a wonderful performance. The cinematography and digital surround sound were great. A word of caution: Some parts of the movie will scare small children. And, those who have a phobia of spiders and snakes will find themselves squirming in their seats or leaving the theater altogether.
Rating:
Summary: Fun for all ages.
Review: I've seen it 3 times, myself being 18, & with my mother (41) & my grandmother (65) all of us loved the book & the movies. The movies are like a visual aide to the book, helping you recapture the humor & horror from another light & giving the characters a visual appearence. There were almost no children at the theatre all 3 times, so I'll never know why people say it's kid-stuff.
The only dissapointment was the child-friendly ending that nearly killd all the excitement of the climax, so the end seemed rushed. But never-the-less, it's something that will bind friends & family of all ages togeather in common interest.
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