*** Official "HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS" Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". Please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.
All HTF member film reviews of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" should be posted to the Official Review Thread.
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Crawdaddy

I closed the previous Official Discussion Thread since it went all the way back to May of this year and a new Discussion Thread is appropriate since the opening of this film is upon us.
Crawdaddy

As seen in the review

Technically, the film is absolutely superb. Williams score is rousing and emotional where it needs to be.

John Williams didn't do the score! It's more like the Jurassic Park 3 case.

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I don’t know how much music Williams has written for Potter 2 but I think that he has written “maybe” none. He is credited because he made the original themes, that’s all. It doesn’t mean he wrote the score for the second movie, please correct me if I’m wrong (with links!)

I don't know when the sneak previews start in the USA, but they start this evening (November 8th) in the UK. It's my son's 9th birthday tomorrow and we've got tickets for the first showing in the morning (9.30 UK time). I'll try to put a review up early tomorrow afternoon (UK time).

Does anyone else think that Dobby the House Elf made a more convincing-looking CGI character than Yoda in AOTC? Every scene Yoda was in he looked like a cartoon, but Dobby was much more real-looking (at some points I even started wondering if they used animatronics for some of the shots...). The other CGI creatures also looked very impressive.

The Quidditch match still had some problems with the blue-screen compositing but certainly looked a lot better than in the first film. Overall I would say that the visual effects in this film are much better than I was expecting, and in any other year (i.e. no AOTC) would probably be considered for Oscar nomination...

Talking about the film in general, it was certainly better than the first (although not by a huge amount) and has plenty of good moments, but you could tell that this film was getting on for three hours long. The script was fairly good up until the end, where the dialogue just seems to go downhill and plummet into an abyss of cheese...

Kenneth Branagh was great as Gilderoy Lockhart, he generated plenty of laughs (some of the audience were in stitches). I'm disappointed that we still haven't seen Peeves the Poltergeist yet - Columbus said that he would definitely be in this film...

It's also nice to see that the acting of the three kids has improved (although Daniel Radcliffe can still be a bit wooden at times...). Ultimately a good, fun film. But it won't make as much money as the first...

Well, I've seen it, and it's good in a James Bond type of way. What I'm trying to say is that the Bond movies can be lengthy but (with the exception of a couple of the Roger Moore ones) you feel you got your money's worth and were entertained. The same goes for this and the previous Harry Potter movie.

The plot is faithful to the book in that things are taken out rather than added. There are a couple of 'amendments' (different chains of events propel a couple of the bits of the plot along) but nothing that is likely to offend Potter fans since the essential spirit of the plot is maintained. Also, there are a couple of rather sudden jumps in the plot such as

the quidditch match just suddenly 'appears'.


but arguably fewer than in the first movie. Also, there are enough concessions to a first time viewer to pick up the back story, but not enough that an already-acquainted fan will get impatient.

Gilderoy Lockhart (wonderfully played by Kenneth Branagh) has a less prominent role in the film than in the book, and Peeves the poltergeist is nowhere to be seen. Malfoy Senior seems to have a more prominent role than in the book (and incidentally, he is exactly how I imagined him). However, all the set pieces are probably just as most people imagine them. The Womping Willow is wonderfully done, as are the giant spiders. [Incidentally, some of the scenes, including the aforementioned arachnids are IMHO likely to be a bit scary for some more easily frightened younger kids].

The acting is pretty much on a par with last time. American viewers will probably not be as sensitive to some of the actors playing the new characters in the film, but the list (e.g. Miriam Margoyles, Robert Hardy) includes some of the UK's finest 'classical' actors. It's easy to be armed with hindsight of course, but there are some scenes where Richard Harris looks obviously ill. He acquits himself well, and it is a great shame that he did not survive to do the whole series.

The principal 'child' actors are very obviously growing up (I could swear that Hermione looks notably younger in some scenes than others, but perhaps this is my imagination). Harry's voice is a lot deeper than in the first film, as many people will have already detected from the trailers.

The special effects are probably better than the first movie. The Womping Willow has already been mentioned. The quidditch scenes are arguably better, and the assorted monsters, flying scenes, etc, are on a par with any big budget modern production. Dobby the House Elf is superb.

The cinematography is 'standard competent' (i.e. akin to the last HP film), but I thought the sound this time was a lot better. Those with big sub-woofer systems are going to *love* some of the big action scenes when this comes out on DVD!

Unless you are a permanently miserable person, I think you'll like this movie. Let's put it this way - I saw this this morning with my son (9 today) and daughter (7) in a cinema full of kids about their age. For nearly three hours there was nothing but silence from the audience save for laughs at the appropriate places.

I also saw HP & COS last night. Thorougly enjoyed myself and very funny like Andrew was saying before me. I was very impressed with Dobby the House elf, very real indeed and impressively done by the effects people. Harry, Ron & Hermione were fantastic. I thought that Alan Rickman as Snape was superb, and Malfoy senior is exactly like he is in the book.

Another thing that I saw as well as Andrew was that some scenes were scarry as well, eg the dragon (I think it is) at the very end.

Oscar

hi all -

not complaining, but just an observation/question.

did anyone catch Ebert/Roeper's review for harry potter 2 last night? they spent (what seemed to me) a longer-than-usual amount of time reviewing the movie.

i'm pretty sure it's the longest time i've ever seen them review a single movie.

it just seemed odd to me...

ted

I saw it, but they've had "extended" review segments before - Attack of the Clones had one, for example. I didn't time it or anything to compare, but I doubt it was any longer than that one...

Is this show still being broadcast in the Boston area? Can't find it anywere.

hey dave -
i'm not sure where it does and does not show. i think it's pretty much syndicated all over the place.
i checked what i think is their official website (http://tvplex.go.com/buenavista/eber...per/today.html) and couldn't find any time listings.
it shows here sunday nights at 11:30pm on my CBS affiliate.

So did they give it two thumbs up?

they sure did. they both really liked it all around. story (faithful to book), effects (well done), cinematography (good translation to screen), etc.

Adam is 100% correct on William's score duties. Not like the JP3 situation at all, Williams wrote all the new themes and a number of cues having spotted the film with Chris Columbus before turning it over to William Ross to round off with existing Potter themes established from the first film outing. The CD score is still produced by Williams too.

I'm not seeing Chamber until friday night (earliest I could round the family up for a viewing together in London). I am disspointed to see Andrew mention Peeves has AGAIN got the chop. Columbus said they had refined the design and he would be in this one..... Rik Mayall can't be too pleased.

Dan

For the record, I've read all the books. I liked, but wasn't crazy about, the first film. I liked Chamber of Secrets a little better, although was by no means floored. (It is entirely possible that the way they've made us in the press see these films isn't under the best conditions, which may contribute to my reaction. But I'm not complaining, at least not too much. )
I thought the first thirty to forty minutes were utterly delightful and full of humor. I would have liked to have seen more of Gilderoy Lockhart since Branagh really nailed the part. Dobby is a very convincing CGI character, and he isn't nearly as annoying as I thought he might be. The Quidditch scene is more exciting this time around.
I'm really curious what a better director, Alfonso Cuaron in the case of the next film, can do with this material. It's not that Columbus has screwed anything up, just that the films aren't as dazzling as I think a better director could make them.