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Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets (Widescreen Edition)

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets (Widescreen Edition)

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $14.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Another winner!
Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets far exceeds the first film in tension, excitement, laughs, and gasps. You can tell a real difference in physical maturity of the three main characters, but more importantly their acting has also matured a good deal as well. Daniel Radcliffe gives a charming performance as everyone's favorite wizard, Harry Potter, and Emma Watson and Rupert Grint are adorable and hilarious as Harry's sidekicks, Ron and Hermione. This film provides a great deal of enjoyment for children, but the adults aren't left out in the cold since there are plenty of impressive (and believable) special effects and heart-stopping thrills. Fans of the book won't be disappointed either as only minor adjustments were made in the transition from page to screen. Adults with small children beware, there are a few "gross-out" scenes in this movie, and some of the spectacular beasts could frighten the little ones (think slugs and enormous spiders...enough said).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Much better than the first!
Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets definitly beats its prequel. The actors are older and much improved. There is more suspense and more realistic computer animation (especially the Quidditch scene) This movie is definitley worth seeing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Draco is the hottest
Review: This movie is awesome, but Harry Potter is not nearly as hot as Draco. We think that there should be some clones of Draco for us to go out with. You should go see this movie. The special effects are really awesome, and did I mention that Draco (Tom) is really hot!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: No secret here, this film is great!!!
Review: Harry's back and this time he's better, darker and loaded with action. J. K. Rowling's imaginitive 2nd volume is very nicely adapted to the big screen. Although it has a running time of 2 hours and 40 minutes, this film flies by with a good story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. All the favorites are back, including Richard Harris as Dumbledore, who died recently. Among the new additions is Kenneth Branaugh, who wonderfully succeeds as the new, narcisstic Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart. We also get to meet Lucius Malfoy and Authur Weasley for the first time. The kids seem more comfortable in their roles and do very well. There are plenty of magical creatures to keep you interested---my favorites were the mandrakes and Dumbledore's phoenix! There is a small bit with Gilderoy Lockhart at the end of the film after the 10 minutes of credits, but its not worth sitting that long and waiting for. Luckily, I got there as the credits of the previous showing were finishing up and saw it. If you are a Potter fan you are definitely gonna enjoy this film. And even if you haven't read the book, this film will appeal to you. Well worth your time and a must have on dvd!!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Potter Goes Snake Eyes!
Review: The house elf Dobby visits Harry Potter in his room in order to warn him that someone wants to hurt him if he goes back to Hogwarts. There is also someone who is trying to prevent Harry to reach the Hogwarts Academy. However, after some struggle he arrives at Hogwarts Academy where someone or something is petrifying students and every time Harry seems to be present. This ends up turning around against Harry as he becomes the main suspect who is petrifying the students at Hogwarts Academy. This sequel to Harry Potter does not live up to the level of its predecessor because the story sometimes feels forced and flat. However, the superb cast provides an excellent performance that is a pleasure for the eye.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Betters a very Enjoyable Debut
Review: Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets
Rating: 4.5 stars of 5

The thing about a sequel of a successful first outing is that you hope it builds upon the second and has a more expansive story as much of the background work has been previously completed. In regards to the second outing in the Harry Potter series, Chamber of Secrets, it in every way builds on what was previously established and takes it a lot further. I was engrossed in the first film and found out what all the fuss is about. There seemed to be a genuine comfort level amongst the cast and it is only stronger here. The difference is it's darker, scarier, and really generates a feel that something is actually at stake this time around.

The cast is as fabulous as before with Radcliffe nailing Potter once again as he grows into the character much as Harry is growing into this abilities and celebrity. Emma Watson, a teen pin- up in the making, is so adorable as bookworm Hermoine Granger it's impossible to not like her. Rupert Grint completes the trio as Ron Weasley, who fits the part, but his whininess gets old in the second half (minor knit pick). The new characters are slowly introduced, this time including a , heart-throb wizard author in Gilderoy Lockhart (who is the new 'defense against the dark arts' teacher), perfectly portrayed in all his self-indulgency by Kenneth Branagh, along with the father of Harry's arch-nemesis student, Draco Malfoy. The existing set of adult characters in Professor Dumbledore (Richard Harris), Professor McGonagal (Maggie Smith), Hagrid (Rob Coltrane), & especially Alan Rickman as Professor Snape return in glorious form to create a backbone team that the younger actors can rely on.

We start back where we began the last film, in the home of Harry's muggle guardians. He's still kept out of sight, that is until a mischievous house elf named Dobby (a total CGI character that could have been the second coming of Jar Jar Binks, but the self-abusive wrinkle comes off somewhat likable) comes to town. He warns Harry of going back to Hogwart's and tries to stop Harry multiple times, but all backfire. Harry's uncle feels the same as Dobby, but a timely rescue by Harry's best friend, Ron Weasley leads to Harry getting back to school where the duo hook up with their third counterpart, Hermoine.

At Hogwart's all seems the same until Harry suspiciously leads to the discovery that the mysterious 'Chamber of Secrets' has been opened. We all know where the film is going, but the story and director Chris Columbus do a good job getting us there. The information is given a bit at a time, leaving enough mystery in it to progress to the next helping. We get to discover that much more of the ever expanding world of Hogwart's and the computer graphics work done by ILM pulls it off quite grandly, which didn't work as well in the first film.

I really have trouble considering this a total children's film as it throughout seemed quite dark and troubling. Columbus avoided trimming down a spooky run-in with some serious spiders and a snake showdown to keep it from bringing nightmares to countless kiddies because he realizes that there is a larger audience for this than the young one. One complaint I do have is that at the end of the film they spent too much time tying up loose ends and went overboard explaining how everything came together and worked. Of course, if that's all I have to complain about then I'm a happy camper.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent
Review: Wow! The Sorcerer's Stone was an enjoyable movie, but Chris Columbus didn't allow his plot to stray in the Chamber of Secrets. The changes they made were much less blaring, and the movie flowed so much better! Daniel Radcliffe was much better as Harry in CoS- he actually exhibited emotion. Rupert Grint stole the show again- you just have to love Ron, and Rupert has the best facial expressions, and perfectly captures Ron's charisma and humor. Emma Watson returns as a much-improved Hermione, though I still thinks she over-acts. Bonnie Wright is absolutely adorable as Ginny, and Kenneth Branagh's Gilderoy Lockhart almost matches Ron in charm- yeah, he's annoying, but the painting of him painting his own portrait . . . lol! Aragog and co. scared me to death- I screamed (pathetic, huh?) when one of the spiders jumped on Ron. Moaning Myrtle was hilarious, although not ugly as she was supposed to be. Dobby annoyed me in the book, and he was almost as bad in the movie. Christian Coulson rocked as Tom Riddle!

The Good:
*Richard Harris's Dumbledore
*The revelation that GOYLE CAN READ!!!
*Kenneth Branagh
*Rupert Grint
*John Williams' score- Fawkes' theme rocks!
*Harry and Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets
*Ron and Hermione's relationship- they are sooo perfect together, and you really see it coming in this movie
*Hermione's reunion with Harry and (esp) Ron- related to the last one, but it was just perfect

The Bad:
*Dobby
*Lack of Fred and George
*Lack of Peeves

*Herm's crush on Lockhart is played way down- and Ron's reaction is totally taken out
*Lack of strong emotion in the slug scene
*Chris Columbus' preoccupation with giving Hermione all Ron's good lines
*The Valentine's Day scene is taken out
*Ginny's divuldging of Percy's secret is taken out

One last thing (yeah, I am obsessed with this topic): There is NOTHING between Harry and Hermione. Look back at all the stuff- they're just friends. Ron and Hermione add the 3D layer to the books- Harry IS just a tad boring. Ron and Herm just have that spark- they go together perfectly, and that is totally in this movie. The awkwardness is between Ron and Herm, not Harry and Herm. And the hand thing is nothing whatsoever- Harry evidently had some hand fixation (i.e. Justin, Hermione, Ginny, the hand in Knockturn Alley)- it was nothing special regarding Hermione. Also, Chris Columbus' Chamber of Secrets scene with Harry and Ginny was just perfect. See, Ginny isn't a boring girl for Harry- they are so sweet together it hurts. Just remember: Hermione is Ron's!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Harry Potter just doesn't deliver
Review: The latest Harry Potter is a plodding adaptation of an entertaining book. Throughout the movie, the timing seems to be off as if someone had cut the film to fit a certain time frame without regard for building either the suspense in the story or the story itself. The "dark" scene at the end has been been so sanitized (for, I assume, the youngest viewers) that the peak scene has been lost and Gilderoy Lockheart never receives the denouement so painstakingly constructed in the book. It is a waste of Kenneth Branagh's talent. As a family with two teenagers, we were disappointed. Perhaps, had the children been younger, that would not be the case. If you love Harry anyway, expect less than the book and you may still be satisfied - if not enthralled.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing
Review: Being a huge fan of this series, this movie was the most enjoyable 2 hours and 40 minutes I've spent in a movie theater. I've seen it twice already and it's more exciting the second time through - you see things you never noticed the first time. The movie has far more jokes than the first one, a ton more scary scenes, and it is an overall better movie.

Though some like to compare this series with the Lord of the Rings series, I try to stray away from that. The only real thing they have in common is that they're fantasy. Enjoy both movies for what they are, not hate them for what they are not.

This movie is definitely all it's hyped up to be. It's an afternoon wisely spent.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Darker, and better than the first!
Review: "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is the next installment in the film versions of the Harry Potter book series, written by J.K. Rowling. The film, directed by Chris Columbus and written by Steve Kloves, is excellent.

PLOT SUMMARY: 12-year-old Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is back at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for his second year, along with his best friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson). Things get bad from the beginning, when a house elf from the wizard world known as Dobby, comes to the Dursleys' house to warn Harry and tells him that he shouldn't go back to school. Harry refuses to listen to Dobby's warning and after he is rescued by the Weasleys, they go back to school. Harry learns that things are quite different from last year, especially when his arch rival, Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), pays his way onto the Slytherin Qudditich team; Hogwarts gets a new vain Defense of the Dark Arts teacher, Gildory Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh); and pretty soon, Harry starts hearing voices coming from inside the school walls! It turns out that a hidden secret chamber somewhere inside the school has been opened again for a second time...someone has opened it, and has released the horrible creature within. Now the evil monster is loose and is attacking students, ghosts, and even cats at Hogwarts, by petrifying them. Only the heir of Slytherin could have opened the chamber, and now it's up to Harry, Ron, and Hermione to discover what's really hidden down in the chamber and who opened it--before it's too late, when innocent suspects will be blamed and before someone dies. One of the suspects is being Harry Potter himself!

ACTING: The acting performances by the entire cast is truly superb. The actors are starting to develop more into their characters, and I think they are starting to get used to the story. The young child stars (Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint) seem to have more confidence with their roles, and they do not seem as stiff as in the first film.

ADAPTATION OF BOOK: The screenwriting of Steve Kloves brought the story to the screen as best as possible, some parts were yet still missing, like there was more when Harry was at the Dursleys and there was a different ending, but basically it stayed faithful to the novel.

SPECIAL EFFECTS: What can I say? They are better than ever, and they don't look cheesy like in the "Sorcerer's Stone", which really didn't seem all that cheesy. It's just that the special effects LOOKED better, especially during the Chamber sequence. Now that's some superb special effects!

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I really enjoyed this second installment almost as much as I love the books. It is a much darker story, though still rated PG. It doesn't really start getting spooky until the middle and close to the end. If anything, I can't wait for "Chamber of Secrets" to be released on DVD and for "Prisoner of Azkaban" to hit theaters!

I highly recommend "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets".

Score:
100/100
A+


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