Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone ***
Directed by: Chris Columbus
Written by: J.K. Rowling (novel), Steven Kloves
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Richard Harris and Alan Rickman
Rated PG (some gore, some intense scenes, no language)

Quidditch is the Best. Game. Ever.

So, I saw Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone. Sorry. I couldn’t think of a better intro than that. I’m trying to avoid things that have been said and will be said. Things like: “If you haven’t heard of Harry Potter...” and “Pottermania is sweeping the nation...” I saw Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone. Regardless of anything anyone writes or says about the movie, it will be a huge hit. Fortunately, it’s a good flick.

Now, the movie assumes that the audience will know pretty much everything about Harry and his friends. So, much of the film feels like Harry Potter and The Abridgement of The Sorcerer’s Stone. More on that later.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Potter mythos, here’s the setup. Harry (Radcliffe) is a wizard. But, he doesn’t know it. His parents were killed when he was a baby, and he was left on the doorstep of his closest relatives, the Dursley’s. Uncle Vernon (Richard Griffiths) and Aunt Petunia (Fiona Shaw) are muggles. (That’s wizardese for non-magic users.) And they hate anything that is out of the ordinary, including Harry. Harry sleeps in the closet under the stairs, and is tormented by his cousin, Dudley (Harry Melling). This has gone on for 11 years. One day, a letter arrives for Harry from the Hogwarts Academy for Wizards. This is not welcome in the Dursley house, you can bet that. Uncle Vernon wants nothing to do with these stinking letters, and, after much ado, he moves the family out to a house on an island where no one can deliver the mail. That, however, doesn’t stop Rubeus Hagrid (Coltrane) from finding Harry, and taking him to Hogwarts, after stopping in Diagon Alley to pick up his school supplies. Everyone, it seems, knows Harry, and the legend surrounding him. He was the only survivor of the attack that killed his parents. Harry, just 1 year old, seems to have beaten the greatest threat that the world of magic has ever faced – the dread Lord Voldemort, or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Harry has lots to learn about wizards, witches, and the world he now lives in. Fortunately, he has help from his friends Ron Weasley (Grint), Hermione Granger (Watson), Hagrid, and Headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Harris). Unfortunately, he also has to put up with Professor Serverus Snape (Rickman), Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) and his gang, and staying out of the trouble that young wizards and witches tend to get into.

For those of you familiar with the Potter stories, here’s a good place to resume reading.

Overall, the movie was very good. However, as I said, parts of it felt like an abridgement. “Well, duh,” you’re probably thinking. “They couldn’t put EVERYTHING in.” And, I agree. But, the things that were cut out were the things that I really liked about the book. Harry’s relationship with the Dursley’s, for instance. There is some very, very funny stuff to be found there. It also seemed like they made Harry “nicer” in the movie. He’s not a jerk by any stretch of the imagination. But, he gets into less trouble in the movie... OK, I have to stop this right now. I’m not trying to compare the book and the movie, I’m here to tell you about the movie...

I think I can continue now.

What was good about Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone? Many, many things. The casting was dead-on. Especially with the non-Harry characters. Emma Watson is perfect as Hermione Granger. Rupert Grint was also a great choice for Ron Weasley. Draco Malfoy and his gang are also played very well by those actors. And the actors (yes, actors) who played Harry Potter did fine jobs. Two people played Harry, because Radcliffe’s voice changed during the filming. So, in some scenes (I think I spotted one), Harry’s voice is done by Joe Sowerbutts. I understand that Sowerbutts also plays the voice of Harry in various other media.

The special effects were also quite good. Mostly. The mixing of real and computer-generated backgrounds and animations is good for the most part, but not universally. Some of the CGI characters were outstanding – Hagrid’s dragon Norbert and Fluffy, the 3-headed dog, come to mind as great examples. The Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin is lots of fun to watch, but not quite up to par with the previous ‘cool’ CGI sequence – the pod race in The Phantom Menace. Of course, since Industrial Light and Magic did the special effects for Harry Potter, it’s understandable, since ILM is working on another movie you may have heard of. Star Wars Episode II – Attack of the Clones. But, hey, the special effects do their job, and I’m not gonna complain. Sometimes it’s apparent that the people are acting in front of a green screen, but, for the target audience, they’ll be mind-blowing. Probably the best effect in the movie is Hagrid. I don’t know if they used CGI trickery, or prosthetic limbs, but Robbie Coltrane sure does look at least 8 feet tall. That’s certainly bigger than should be allowed. (The previous sentence used to prove that I am not a muggle.)

Go and see this movie. If for no other reason than you’ll be able to understand what kids these days are talking about. If you already know, you won’t be disappointed in the adaptation. If you don’t know, well, you’re in for a treat. And several more movies in the franchise.

One more thing: I saw the new Star Wars trailer. And, again, I'm not saying a word. There's also a hilarious Monsters, Inc. trailer.