MOVIE REVIEW: Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix

RELEASE DATE: July 11th 2007

RUN TIME: 2 Hours 18 Mins

MPAA Rating: PG-13

MY IMDB SCORE 9

FAMILY MOVIE SCALE 5.8

DIRECTOR: David Yates

MAIN CAST: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint,

IMDB Story Line
With their warning about Lord Voldemort's return scoffed at, Harry and Dumbledore are targeted by the Wizard authorities as an authoritarian bureaucrat slowly seizes power at Hogwarts.

MY REVIEW
The happy go lucky days of Harry Potter and friends is over, The dark times begin and Harry must start to deal with his destiny. Dolores Umbridge takes over and makes life hell for the students at Hogwarts.

I really like /hate Dolores Umbridge. She is as evil as she is sweet. She is like eating a stalk of Rhubarb. You really want to cause her pain. She is easy to hate. You want to prove her wrong when you get the perfect chance. Harry starts to question his own destiny and power, he seems his determination starts to be challenged, it seems at times his closes friends can not help him hold it together.

We have watched Harry and his friends transition from a happy childhood to a more depressed gang with a clouded future. But even with tough challenges they hold it together. This is what makes the Harry Potter series so great, it's not so much about Witches warlocks, wizards magic and fantasy as it is about relationships and friends.

I gave this movie the highest family rating I could because the series becomes really intense in the last of the movies and books.

MOVIE REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

RELEASE DATE: November 18th 2005

RUN TIME: 2 Hours 37 Mins

MPAA RATING: PG-13

MY IMDB  SCORE 8

FAMILY MOVIE SCALE 5.5

DIRECTOR: Mike Newell

MAIN CAST: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint,

IMDB Story Line
A young wizard finds himself competing in a hazardous tournament between rival schools of magic, but he is distracted by recurring nightmares.

MY REVIEW
While still holding on to the innocence of childhood, the series stays light but transcends to a darker a story line and it pretty much stays that way the rest of the series. Lord Voldemort's plans become more clear. It seems that no one can be trusted at times. Harry's path becomes more clouded. Signs of distrust between him and Ron begin to show and put a strain on the close friendship and bond they have together. However Hermione sticks to the facts and stands by her friends. Sometimes it seems she is the stronger one of the group.The Games are more dangerous then you can imagine and a friend pays a heavy price at the hands of Voldermort. 

I gave this a conservative low family score, however if your family has watched since the beginning and read the books, you are well prepared. But it does get intense.

MOVIE REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

RELEASE DATE: June 4th 2004

RUN TIME: 2 Hours 22 Min

MPAA Rating PG

FAMILY MOVIE SCALE 10

DIRECTOR: Alfonso Cuaron

MAIN CAST: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint,

IMDB Story Line
It's Harry's third year at Hogwarts; not only does he have a new "Defense Against the Dark Arts" teacher, but there is also trouble brewing. Convicted murderer Sirius Black has escaped the Wizards' Prison and is coming after Harry.

MY REVIEW
The story really starts to get darker, with a accused escaped murder know as Sirius Black, but it gets really twisted and dark by the end of the movie and this is where your really start to wonder what side Professor Snape is on. Harry, Hermione and Ron stay close to each other and start to really depend on themselves and each other as the story gets darker. The big noticeable difference is this is where Michael Gambon takes the role of Albus Dumbledore from the late Richard Harris. I really liked Harris in the role of Dumbledore, But I have to hand it to Gambon for taking it over and making the role his own. I really liked seeing the scary Dementors in full scale action, They where creepy in a awesome way. Also for the first time we seen The Marauders Map. That would be a awesome tool to have when you really want to be nosy. The end of the movie really sets you up for the rest of the movies.

MOVIE REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

RELEASE DATE: November 15th 2002

RUN TIME: 2 Hours and 41 min

MPAA RATING PG-13

FAMILY MOVIE SCALE: 10

DIRECTOR: Chris Columbus

MAIN CAST: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson

IMDB Story Line

Harry ignores warnings not to return to Hogwarts, only to find the school plagued by a series of mysterious attacks and a strange voice haunting him.

The 2nd installment of the Harry Potter story still finds Harry stuck at the Dursley's trying to get to Hogwarts, and making matters worse for Harry is the House Elf Dobby. But as always his friends find a way to help him. The story starts to go a little dark with the introduction of Draco's Malfoy Father Lucius. year two starts the path to the darker parts of the Harry Potter legacy but still holds on strong to the fantasy of children. Harry learns more then what he is taught in class with the help of Ron and Hermione. Again the Quidditch games takes a detour for a fast pace thrill ride. That was really a treat in 3D Digital sound, The Chamber of Secrets has a few secrets for Harry that he did not know about himself

                                      

MOVIE REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

RELEASE DATE: November 16th 2001

RUN TIME: 2 Hours 32 mins

MPAA RATING: PG

FAMILY MOVIE SCALE 8.5

MY IMDB SCALE 10

DIRECTOR Chris Columbus

MAIN CAST: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Richard Harris

IMDB STORY LINE:
Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

WHAT I LIKED

This first movie gave me whole NBC Friends feeling, where people stick by each other thick and thin. OK this is more then thick and thin, we have witches, warlocks and wizards ghost and other things that go bump in the night. I really like how the set up the whole education system for witches and wizards. It was a magical organized world

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:
I just did not like Dursley family. I could not understand why they had to hide the boy with that family after the events of Harry's Family. Yes I know his Mom and Mrs Dursley where sisters. But still why them?

MOVIE REVIEW: Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them

RELEASE DATE November 18th 2016

DIRECTOR: David Yates

MAIN CAST: Eddie Radmayne, Katherine Waterson, Alison Sudol

IMDB Story Line

The adventures of writer Newt Scamander in New York's secret community of witches and wizards seventy years before Harry Potter reads his book in school.


WHAT I LIKED

This was the world of Harry Potter comes to America and America's Magic law enforcement behaved just the way you would think America would, Everything is absolute and no short cuts or so it seemed. The one thing I really loved is the way America non magicals (Muggles) reacted to seeing something beyond their understanding. Americans look at magic with a scientific approach while our British neighbors have a imagination beyond what is known. In other words, Hogwarts in England makes perfect sense to me. I believe the movie explains that perfectly if you understand what you are watching. 

One actor I was delighted with was Dan Fogler who played Jacob Kowalski who gives you hope that Americans can believe in something beyond what they know with out going into a panic attack. 

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE

This movie was to good for me to nit pick apart, I did not read the book, so I can not compare the two. But it does not matter. When you see a movie based on a book, it is just that, It is a directors best explanation of what he read interpreted to film.

Movie was given a well deserved PG-13 because of slightly intense fantasy scenes

I gave the movie a 10 on the IMDB , to me it was a perfect movie. I did see it on the big screen and will buy the Blue Ray when it comes out