Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Reviewed by Justin Colburn & Keayn Dunya

It has been noted that the caliber of good movies has declined in recent years. During the 80's Hollywood produced a number of quality movies that the entire family could enjoy. Movies in which a certain feeling or excitement lingers long after you leave the theater. Films like the Dark Crystal, Neverending Story and the Princess Bride took children of that era to far away worlds of magic and myth. Now, nearly twenty years later, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone can be added to that list.

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe, Tailor of Panama) lives an average life with his none-too-nice aunt and uncle since his parent's death when he was much younger. One-day Harry's prayers are answered and he is given a chance to escape from his unpleasant situation and attend Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Guided by his new found friend, Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane, Henry V), Harry begins his journey to become a powerful wizard.

This movie has an extremely talented cast of actors. Unfortunately we don't have the space to list all of them and their many acting credits, if you're interested in learning more about the cast of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone visit www.imdb.com for a full cast list.

The special effects team did their best to enhance the action, not to dominate it. Of course, being a fantasy movie set at a wizard's school, the sets were varied and out of the ordinary. Little touches were also added into the backgrounds so that every scene held something new, including moving pictures, talking ghosts and lots of other neat things. The only problem being that at times there was too much to follow, it was a little easy to be distracted from the main story. The effects during the Quidditch match, an exciting mid-air mix of Rugby and Soccer, were done well enough that it looked believable while not looking too fantastic.

The appeal of Harry Potter appears to be simple on the surface. A young boy finds out that he is a wizard and gets to leave his ordinary life behind for one filled with magic and romance. It is a wish of almost everyone to find out that you are more than you ever hoped and to be able to leave a mundane life behind.

Yet Harry Potter holds so much more. It deals with very relevant children's issues in a way in which they are still the focus, but not a subject of pity or scorn. Parents who watch this movie with their children can use this as an easy opportunity to address childhood fears in a manner in which children find comfortable. On an adult level, any watcher will be caught up in the story and captivated by the simple plot. Of course this can be a problem, as the movie seems a little too slow and predictable in parts. To those who find this to be too much of a problem the answer is very simple, read the books, preferably with your kids if you have them. That's the other great thing about Harry Potter, it encourages children to read.

If you've seen the movie, go read the books. If you've already read the books and are looking for something similar we recommend the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and Zoom's Academy for the Super Gifted from Astonish Comics.