Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Note: This review contains spoilers for Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

Whether or not you’re familiar with middle grade fiction, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Percy Jackson & the Olympians, a novel series by Rick Riordan about a young demigod named Percy Jackson. The series proved popular enough that a film based on the first book, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (The Lightning Thief), was released in 2010. The film, directed by Chris Columbus, did well at the box office, but was criticized, even by the author, for the way it deviated from the source material. It was actually around when the film released that I first became aware of Percy Jackson, although I didn’t do anything with that knowledge at the time because both the Harry Potter and A Series of Unfortunate Events series had reached their end around that time and I thought I had outgrown middle grade fiction. As an adult, however, when I rediscovered the joy of reading middle grade fiction, I finally dipped my toe into Percy Jackson and read the first book in time for the Disney+ adaptation, which I enjoyed. Afterwards, I decided to try watching the film just to see how badly it had apparently handled the same material. By the end, I realized that my past self was right in not watching it.

Home Alone

Note: This review contains spoilers for Home Alone.

If there’s one film series that could be considered a staple of ‘90s pop culture, it’s Home Alone. The original 1990 film came out a couple years before I was born, however I vaguely recall watching it, as well as its first two sequels, at least once on home video when I was younger, at a time where I didn’t have much of an attention span. With the idea floating around that it’s a Christmas movie on the grounds that it’s set around Christmastime, as well as Disney+ releasing a sixth installment, I decided to revisit this movie to see what the fuss was about. While flawed, it’s not hard to see why some consider this a holiday classic.

[OLD] Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - A Sequel With Charm

In 2001, Warner Brothers released a movie based on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the first book in a series of 7 by J.K. Rowling. It proved to be quite popular among children and adults alike, paving the way for the rest of the books to be adapted into movies with one coming the next year based the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, with Chris Columbus returning for directorial duties. As a fan of the book series, I was very excited to see it the first time as a child. Looking back as someone older, it still has the same magic that made its predecessor a classic. A year after his first encounter with Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) continues to be mistreated by the Dursleys as they force him to his room when Uncle Vernon's (Richard Griffiths) boss comes to visit. While staying in his room, a House Elf named Dobby (Toby Jones) appears before Harry, warning him not to return to Hogwarts. When Harry refuses, Dobby uses his magic to disrupt the meeting downstairs, causing Vernon to place bars over Harry's window. Fortunately that night, Harry's friend Ron (Rupert Grint) appears along with his brothers Fred and George (James and Oliver Phelps) to rescue him, barely escaping Vernon's wrath and making it back to their home. After a disasterous turn of events the next day, Harry, Ron, and Hermione (Emma Watson) hear about the Chamber of Secrets, a secret area within Hogwarts that is said to be home to a monster. When several students, including Hermione, fall prey to the creature's petrifying gaze, it is up to Harry and Ron to figure out how to stop it. This movie also has a straight-forward plot, if a little more complex than the first. Of course changes are made between the book and film, but they're so minor that they don't affect the overall workings of the magical world it's set in. The acting is still superb for a mainly young cast, which makes the story more enjoyable. When watching it as a kid, you really feel like you're part of the world of Hogwarts. As with the first movie, the effects are a little outdated but still manage to hold up. Fawkes, Dumbledore's (Richard Harris) pet phoenix, has enough effects behind it to make the mythology of the creature look more believable, though at this point it's a little easier to tell when they used animatronics. Still, it's rather impressive how they managed to pull it off flawlessly with the standards of the time. Though I don't see anything really wrong with this movie, there was one thing that bothered me, which can also be said for the book. What I find a little weird is how the antagonist's name, "Tom Marvolo Riddle" is an anagram for "I Am Lord Voldemort". To elaborate, it's the fact that he decided to include "I Am" as part of it, which any villain rearranging their name to make a new one would not normally do. Despite this little thing, I just let it go for the sake of the narrative. Another thing I should mention is the after-credits scene. It is a scene that was actually added to the movie for comedic effect. It is a bit uneccesary, but it's still funny to watch. If you see this movie, even if you have already, it's worth waiting after the credits for. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is an amazing movie with the same charm as the movie before it. It still has the brightness of the original film and the child actors still give memorable performances. Older fans that have seen this as a kid will feel their childhood coming back to them. I would highly reccomend this movie for newer fans, especially if they've already seen the first movie.

[OLD] Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - The Magic Begins!

In 1997 in the UK, a book was published by J. K. Rowling entitled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. When the highly popular book was brought to US shores, pages taken out of the original version were added to this new version, with the title changed to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. This is the version I read as a kid around the time a movie was being made based on it. I remember enjoying it, enough to warrant getting all the other books as they came, and enough to want to see the movie when it was released. When I saw it on screen for the first time, I really enjoyed it and how accurate it was to source material. With the upcoming release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in theaters, I decided to watch all the other movies again in order of release. After seeing the first one once more, I really felt like a kid again. After being dropped off as a baby, a young Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is raised oppressively by the Dursleys, a family of Muggles (people who can't do magic) whom he is related to. One day at the zoo, Harry unknowingly uses magic to not only free a snake from a glass cage, but also trap his cousin Dudley (Harry Melling) inside said cage. Shortly afterwards, Harry receives a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which his uncle Vernon (Richard Griffiths) destroys. This continues to the point where Harry and the Dursleys isolate themselves due to their house being flooded with letters. Despite this, on Harry's 11th birthday he is visited by Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), who tells him that he is a wizard and Hogwarts is accepting him as a student. On the train ride to the school, he meets his friends Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), who along with him become part of a battle against the dark wizard Lord Voldemort (Richard Bremmer) and his search for the Sorcerer's Stone, a magical artifact with the ability to potentially bring him back to full strength. The plot of this movie compared to other installments is amazingly straight-forward and easy to understand. As expected from a movie adaptation, there are some differences from the book, the most obvious of which to me was the exclusion of the minor character Peeves, a poltergeist who plays tricks on first-years at Hogwarts. However, this movie sets up a world that works just fine even with some small changes in place. On the other hand, I didn't fully understand how Harry was exactly able to defeat Voldemort, but it's best not to think about it too hard. Given how young most of the characters are, the acting is surprisingly well-done. This is especially since the child actors had little to no acting experience before appearing in this movie. The film was very well casted and it makes the story much more enjoyable. The sets also deserve special mention as it makes you feel like they're really from the book. Hogwarts, which is where most of the action takes place, looks real from the way it was handled and almost makes you want to go there if it existed.

Since this movie involves magic, it's important to have good special effects. Here, they're pulled off rather nicely with the technology available at the time. Looking back, it's easier to tell that certain things were computer generated, such as a scene where the students learn how to ride broomsticks and the character Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis) has trouble and falls off. I can't really complain though, since effects have gotten better over time but the quality of them here still manages to hold up somehow. What really helps the look and feel of the movie overall is the music. John Williams delivers a great score that compliments the action and sets flawlessly, enhancing the immersion even further. Out of all of this, I only have one real complaint: When Harry is finally facing Lord Voldemort, or at least a weakened version of him, he somehow has the Stone in his pocket. The character seems to be surprised by this as well, but it's rather odd. It's explained later that those who seek the stone but don't want to use it will be able to get it, but even then it feels weird. However, I let it slide because thinking about it would ruin the experience. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is a fantastic movie and an instant classic. The bright and colorful setting makes it visually appealing and it's great to see amazing performances from child actors. Seeing it again after so many years made me relive fond memories I had from seeing it as a child and I'm sure many older fans would as well. If you're a fan of the Harry Potter books or are a newcomer to the franchise, this is a definite must-have.