I was so impressed with the first film in the Harry Potter franchise that I watched yesterday that I decided to watch another. That is right, I chose Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets for today’s film. Everyone’s favorite young wizard Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is back at home with his dreadful Aunt and Uncle once again, but a house elf named Dobby (Toby Jones) tries to prevent Harry from returning to Hogwarts Academy. Despite what Dobby said, Harry returns back to Hogwarts only to find that students are being petrified by something. Harry discovers that there is a place in the school called the Chamber of Secrets that was created by the founder Slytherin. Harry finds out that the chamber houses a monster who will kill mudbloods (impure wizards) and that it will be opened by the heir of Slytherin, but who is it? The film also stars Rupert Grint (CBGB) as Ron Weasley, Emma Watson (The Colony) as Hermione Granger, Tom Felton (Risen) as Draco Malfoy, Jason Isaacs (The Tuxedo) as Lucius Malfoy, Robbie Coltrane (From Hell) as Hagrid, Kenneth Branagh (Henry V) as Professor Lockhart, Alan Rickman (Galaxy Quest) as Professor Snape, Richard Harris (Gladiator) as Professor Dumbledore, Maggie Smith (Gosford Park) as Professor McGonagall, Shirley Henderson (Trainspotting) as Moaning Myrtle, Christian Coulson (The Hours) as Tom Marvolo Riddle, Bonnie Wright (The Sea) as Ginny Weasley, and the film was directed by Chris Columbus (The Goonies).
When you do a sequel to a film or when you do a sequel to a film that you know is a part of a bigger picture your only hope is that it’s better than the first film. That was definitely the case with Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets which I enjoyed more than the last before it. The thing that I enjoyed the most about this film is that they added a little bit of suspense to the film where you’re trying to figure out who the heir is. You’re trying to figure out who the monster is and who will he attack? That is honestly what I really loved about this film since I love thrillers. The special effects for this film were turned up a notch for this film and who doesn’t love Dobby? Dobby was honestly the comedic relief the film needed and I am glad that he was a part of the story. He has so many funny moments in the film with Harry and there is one scene that you will absolutely love. The sets were amazing as usual, but my favorite is when he entered the chamber of secrets. There is this one room where he meets the giant monster and the cool looking set which you can see in the picture in this paragraph. There is so much classic cinematography and lighting tricks in this film that are absolutely cool. One scene I noticed was the scene with Dracoy’s father Lucius who when the camera was on him, only his eyes were lit like a true villain while Harry’s who face was illuminated as e was the hero. I had a lot of fun watching this one which is why I am going to give the film an A for a final grade.
I know what you are thinking and I have to be perfectly honest with all of you in saying that I have never seen any of the films in the Harry Potter series. I figured what better time than now to see one and therefore I watched Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone for today’s film. Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) has always been somewhat gifted of a child, but he doesn’t understand why. He lives a life of neglect with his awful Aunt and Uncle until a wizard from the Hogwarth’s Academy named Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) comes calling for him. It is there that Harry will understand his abilities and live out his full potential. Although while all of this is happening, he stumbles upon an evil scheme to kidnap a stone that could bring back an evil being. The film also stars Maggie Smith (Gosford Park) as Professor McGonagall, Richard Harris (Gladiator) as Professor Dumbledore, Ian Hart (Finding Neverland) as Professor Quirrell, Warwick Davis (Leprechaun) as Goblin Bank Teller, Rupert Grint (CBGB) as Ron Weasley, Emma Watson (The Colony) as Hermione Granger, Tom Felton (Risen) as Draco Malfoy, Alan Rickman (Galaxy Quest) as Professor Snape, Matthew Lewis (Me Before You) as Neville Longbottom, John Cleese (Monty Python and the Holy Grail) as Nearly Headless Nick, and the film was directed by Chris Columbus (The Goonies).
I do have to say that after watching this film, I am super excited to continue on and see the rest of the films. The idea and topic of wizards and witches may be corny to some, but this was actually a well written story that I believe that anyone with an imagination can get into. The elements of the film that make these amazing and very interesting is what you don’t see watching the film. It’s seeing the camera work and the different perspectives and how they messed with depth perception to make Hagrid look like a giant compared to other characters just by messing with the angles. The other cool element of the film is of course the special effects and all of the things they made come to life. One of my favorite scenes in the film is with the owls who are basically the postal service. Harry’s evil Uncle has been keeping him from seeing any of the letters and the amount of Owls that show up and what they do was super cool. Not to mention, fluffy the three headed dog and the little dragon were cool as well. The other scene that I loved was the big chess match that happens at the end of the film, a very cool scene indeed. A very well acted film, a well written story, and some amazing cinematography made this a very enjoyable film to watch. I will definitely be checking out some more films in the series for sure. I am going to give this one an A- for a final grade.
Since mankind could start filming things, we have seen countless films regarding the bible and how things went down for Jesus Christ. Until this year, we had never seen a film that explored the subject matter present in today’s film Risen. All Roman Tribune Clavius (Joseph Fiennes) wants to do in 33 AD is to finally relax and make his way back to Rome. Unfortunately for him, he is given a hefty task by Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth) and that is to find the body of Jesus (or Yeshua as he is known in the film). There were rumblings in Judea that Jesus was going to rise out of his tomb and walk the Earth again. The Romans and most of the Jewish are against that idea and so Clavius has to find the body to prove that theory wrong before it spreads and changes the minds of all the Jewish community. The film also stars Tom Felton (Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire) as Lucius, Cliff Curtis (Live Free Or Die Hard) as Yeshua, María Botto (Only Human) as Mary Magdalene, Stewart Scudamore (The Devil’s Double) as Peter, Stephen Hagan (Against The Dark) as Bartholomew, Luis Callejo (Triage) as Joses, and the film was directed by Kevin Reynolds (The Count Of Monte Cristo).
One thing you can always question when going into a film like this is whether this films is Christian propaganda? The other question you can also ask in rebuttal of the last one is whether this was just an honest attempt at looking at a different part of the story? Obviously, you have to form your own opinion because I am not here to enlighten you on the subject of God, but merely to be objective in the art of film making and storytelling. The film was an excellent example of amazing film making because the cinematography was pretty top notch. The sets made you believe that you were in 33 AD Judea and some of the visuals can be a little hard to take. There is this one scene where after they crucify a body, they just throw them in a ditch like area and throw salt over them. You see all the rotting corpses and all of the flies. I can only imagine how disgusting that must have smelled like back then. I had wondered going into the film how factual it was and I came to find out that it was historical fiction meaning that they place fictional characters in real historical situations. It makes sense why they did it because it offers you a point of view from someone who was a non believer. So I ask you again, Christian propaganda or another way to look at the story? Nevertheless, the film features some great acting along with great storytelling as well as great costumes and amazing sets. If you don’t mind watching these kinds of films, then I would say give it a shot because it was worth the watch. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 