Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
Director: Chris Columbus
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Lead Actor(s): Daniel Radcliffe
Rating: PG
152 minutes

I think just about everyone can agree that the first two books and the first two movies are the weakest of the series. For the two of you who do not know the plot, a boy named Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) finds out he is a wizard and is shipped to a school called Hogwarts to work on his magic. While there he stumbles upon an attempt to raise the evil Lord Voldemort (Richard Bremmer) from his half-death. Harry with the help of his friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), must stop him from rising.

I don’t think we can really blame Daniel Radcliffe too much for the disaster of this movie. It was a huge phenomenon and he didn’t know quite yet where to take the character. It’s rare that a movie of this length rests on the shoulders of a 10-year-old. Origin stories also tend to lag in character development because you have to get all of the tracks laid.

The best part about this film is Richard Harris who was the best Dumbledore there could have been. His death was such a shame.

Really the problem is Columbus takes a lot of the magic out of Hogwarts. This story lends itself to exaggeration. Instead the movie is so static that it loses any magic it could have held.

**** 4/10

The General

Title: The General (1926)
Director: Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton
Genre: Comedy
Lead Actor(s): Buster Keaton, Marion Mack
Rating: UR
107 minutes
Silent

Apparently there are some bad copies floating out there because the film is now in public domain, but I saw a rather good copy with a good score. Buster Keaton plays Johnny Gray, a Southern train engineer who loses his girlfriend, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), when the recruiting office won’t allow him to enlist for the Civil War. After his beloved train, The General, is captured by Union soldiers with Annabelle on-board, Johnny hi-jacks a train and pursues.

Buster Keaton is sort of like John Hamm. He looks like a very serious, strait-laced person, but he can actually be funny. Obviously Keaton is funnier than Hamm, but he looks serious the entire time. Johnny Gray is so sincere in everything he does that the story that could have been ridiculous seems perfectly logical. His humor comes from his stoicness as opposed to outrageousness.

Marion Mack is also impressive in her role as Annabelle. She does a lot of physical comedy while in Civil War dress. These aren’t modified outfits that allow for moment and comfort like some of the outfits now, but hoop skirts and bloomers and confining garments. It never seems difficult for her to move though. She also doesn’t let herself be upstaged by the very funny Keaton. She holds her own which must have been difficult.

This is a funny movie. It is also impressive considering the lack of cgi or stuntmen. Everything that happens on screen actually happened, including the climatic scene that was the most expensive scene ever shot in the silent movie era. This is a different and good movie. It’s funny and surprising. It is definitely worth seeing and might surprise you on the quality of the film and the talent of Keaton, who is often overlooked for his more famous colleague, Charlie Chaplin.

******** 8/10

My dad is coming into town so I have been cleaning and thus am exhausted so no post today or this weekend because there is a rally I am going to. Sorry.