The Harry Potter Series
With the imminent theatrical release of the final film in the Harry Potter series, it’s time to take a look at the movies which have come about after J.K. Rowling’s popular novels.
The movies are surprisingly good, and the young cast has surpassed expectations. Daniel Radcliffe gives stunning performances as Harry, Rupert Grint delivers endearing turns as Harry’s BFF Ron, and Emma Watson is electrifying as Hermione.
Under Chris Columbus’ direction, the first two films showed slavish devotion to the source material, leaving out no character or plot twist. This devotion was unfortunate, as the films seemed artless regurgitations. Starting with Alfonso Cuaron’s dark direction of the third book, the series took the core of Rowling’s sprawling works and pared away the excesses. The most ponderous book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”, received such tightening that many fans consider the film better than its novel inspiration. The DVDs appear in two versions, including special features rich 2-disc editions and bare bones 1-disc releases.
“The Deathly Hallows, Part 2″ promises an epic conclusion. It will be a shame to see the Harry Potter series finish up, but hopefully the finale is the best picture yet!