Movie Review written by: Born Movie Reviews

RT Critics Rating: 8.3/10

Born Movie Reviews' Rating: 7/10

Things have just become a little bit darker for Harry, and it all begins with a warning from an elf; a warning that Harry must not return to Hogwarts. Putting Chris Columbus back in the director's chair, The Chamber of Secrets is the next entry of the Harry Potter series, this time with a plot that is far more involving for every character and far more large-scale.

Chamber of Secrets once again revolves around our favorite trio of young wizards and best friends, as they find victims petrified into statues, warnings written in blood on the walls, and word that the Chamber of Secrets has been "opened," unleashing a monster. With a larger story, The Chamber of Secrets is in ways better and worse than its predecessor.

Doing what a good sequel needs, Chamber of Secrets expands the history of Hogwarts, diving deeper into the four houses, specifically on Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin. As a result, the realm of mystery is far stronger this time around, in comparison to The Sorcerer's Stone, and because this mystery is hurting all kinds of people in the school, there exists a far greater fear for our loved characters. This is where Chamber is stronger in terms of a film, for it packs a far more compelling narrative and far more gripping directing.

The acting this time around is far more natural, as each actor slowly becomes more and more comfortable with his/her role. In addition, the film does a splendid job in putting new characters onto the screen without making them showcases. Ginny doesn't steal the show and Moaning Myrtle doesn't steal the show. Though Lockhart might have, but that's alright.

Once again, the film thrives with great production designs and superior visual effects, delivering all astounding scenes with great promise. From the Whomping Willow to Aragog's army to the Basilisk, The Chamber of Secrets brings much life from the book onto the screen.

In addition, this entry is one of the more faithful adaptations. However, just like how Sorcerer's Stone suffered from this, Chamber of Secrets suffered as well. This is where Chamber falls down, because it no longer has the job of introducing the world to us. When a film is simply a continuation of an already-known world, is even longer than the previous film, and still follows everything page-by-page, there is a sense of Chamber losing its magic. Though the film still holds up today, it is more unacceptable to tolerate Columbus' flaws a second time.

This is where Chamber of Secrets divides public audience members. Lovers of the original book might say Chamber is their favorite film because it is the most faithful. On the other side, fans might say Chamber is the worst film because of the same reason. In this critic's opinion, being faithful is admirable. However, being faithful and offering nothing else is disappointing.

For the first Harry Potter film, this problem was dismissed since it was the introductory piece, and perhaps being faithful was the best decision to make. Here, there was a chance for Chris Columbus to deliver something more or something original that the book never offered. Instead, he played it safe. Too safe. Harry Potter fans will inevitably enjoy Chamber of Secrets, but I was left still wanting more.

Come to think of it, none of the more experienced wizards do anything about the danger. It's as if they are waiting for Harry Potter to come along and save the day. Oh well.

Moving the flaws aside, Chamber of Secrets is still without a doubt a captivating fantasy that triumphs with a great plot and great characters. Simply put, it is a gratifying continuation of the film series, and the boy who lived is still safe this time around on screen.

In conclusion, Chamber of Secrets fulfills its requirements of a sequel, book and film. Though it comes forth with a much darker agenda, it still contains many moments of entertainment for the children and adults to share, ranging from Mandrake roots to simply Dobby the house elf himself. It suffers from the same flaws that plagued Sorcerer's Stone, but thankfully it achieves the mission of delivering a second magical journey for Harry and the audience. Without a doubt, Chamber of Secrets brings about the idea that the series will only get more and more serious. By this time, we are curious as to what Alfonso Cuaron can bring to the table with the next entry. Surely, something wicked this way comes….

Movie Review written by: Born Movie Reviews

RT Critics Rating: 8/10

Born Movie Reviews' Rating: 8/10

By now, everyone is already familiar with the boy who lived, the one survivor of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the wizard Harry Potter. For ten years of cinema, the film industry and J.K. Rowling have astounded us with great vision and imagination. Now that the magical journey has ended, it is about time to take a look back at the very beginning, the one that started it all, back when Harry is just a poor boy living under the stairs of the Dursley's home.

The Sorcerer's Stone follows eleven-year old Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) as he discovers that he is the orphaned son of powerful wizards. He is then offered a place at Hogwarts, a boarding school for young wizards that exists in a magical realm outside of the monotonous world of normal humans, or "Muggles." As he bonds with clumsy Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and schoolgirl Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), Harry learns of Lord Voldemort, the murderer of his parents, and a magical item called the Sorcerer's Stone, sitting somewhere in the halls of Hogwarts.

Being the first film that introduces Hogwarts, Sorcerer's Stone's greatest success is bringing the world of the magical school to life. Director Chris Columbus skillfully invites the audience to hop on the train alongside Harry, and learn about all the magical components that shape the school. When Harry gasps in amazement, so do we, whether it is observing moving paintings or seeing food appear on your plates in front of your eyes. In addition to brilliant visual effects, Columbus aids the film with great costume designs, makeup, and set pieces. As a result, Sorcerer's Stone quickly and efficiently immerses us into the world of Harry Potter.

Though this is the greatest strength of the film, it is also partially its weakness. At times, it pays too much attention at pleasing our eyes that it loses grip of storytelling. Thus, the pacing at times is a little bumpy. In addition, Sorcerer's Stone is also arguably one of the more loyal films to the original book. However, it is a little too faithful and in a way becomes unoriginal, especially if you have read the book first. In a way, it is as if the filmmakers tried too hard to please the Potter fans and thus end up offering little to no surprises. Nevertheless, the magic is still there and the film is still guaranteed to capture fascinating scenes and enchanting sequences, from a game of Quidditch to a deadly chess game.

Sorcerer's Stone is not a children's film nor is it an adult film, and it fits perfectly for a first entry to Harry Potter. It has enough dark content to intrigue and also enough delight to please.

In this critic's opinion, Sorcerer's Stone and the next entry Chamber of Secrets are the least compelling based on filmmaking. However, it is without a doubt one of the more entertaining entries, and Chris Columbus delivers for a simplistic film that does not have too much depth. If Columbus was handed Goblet of Fire or Order of the Phoenix, then things might have been ugly. Fortunately, the first story of the series is straightforward enough and enthralling enough to please all audience members. Visually, this is the best you can get out of a Sorcerer's Stone film adaptation.

In conclusion, The Sorcerer's Stone is a spellbinding start to a spellbinding series, and for an initial film that begins right, there is much hope that the film series will continue in respectable reputation. Probably one of the greatest factors about the first Harry Potter film is the fact that it still holds up when viewed today. Even when it suffers from a lack of cinematic filmmaking, it establishes the magical world effectively and visually triumphs. In the end, when we see Harry return home on the train like we return to our Muggle world after viewing Sorcerer's Stone, we are all excited to return to Hogwarts the next year and see what new journeys await the boy who lived.

Movie Review written by: Born Movie Reviews

RT Critics Rating: 8.8/10

Born Movie Reviews' Rating: 10/10 (Full Score)

In 1993, the highly acclaimed director Steven Spielberg presented us one of the greatest films of all time, Schindler's List, which portrayed the horrors of the Holocaust. In 2009, however, Quentin Tarantino presented us with one of his own unique films by simply saying, "To hell with the Holocaust and to hell with all the Nazis." The result product was Inglourious Basterds. This year, Spielberg has returned to tell us the internal struggles of President Lincoln and his fight to eliminate slavery once and for all, with his Oscar-winning film Lincoln. Once again, Tarantino has returned as well. Remember "to hell with the Holocaust"? Now it is "to hell with slavery." Remember "to hell with the Nazis"? Now it is "to hell with the Whites." The result product is Django Unchained.

Set in the year 1858, two years before the Civil War, Django Unchained revolves around a freed slave named Django (Jamie Foxx) who travels across the country with a bounty hunter named Dr. Schultz (Christoph Waltz) on a mission to rescue his wife (Kerry Washington) from a cruel and wealthy plantation owner, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).

If you have experience in watching Tarantino films, you should know by now that he is one of the greatest screenwriters in the film industry today. The greatest shocker about his talent though is that everytime we have high expectations of him, he exceeds them. Django Unchained executes its narrative from one astounding scene to the next, proving to us that it is truly worthy of winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Dialogue is key. Characterization is key. And for a film like Django Unchained, acting is also key. 

In this critic's opinion, Django Unchained is Tarantino's best film since Pulp Fiction. Yes, his writing style and directing style is noticeable here. Tarantino does one kind of scene often, almost in all of his films. They are always conversations where the protagonist interacts with a villain. If you look at their lines of dialogue literally, they are calm, communicating like gentlemen. However, if you dive into the context of each line, there exists a tension that keeps on building between the characters. This was seen in the hamburger scene in Pulp Fiction, the superman scene in Kill Bill Volume 2, and the bar scene in Inglourious Basterds. Here, Django Unchained is simply Tarantino Unleashed.

Every character in this film is extremely memorable for their personality. Christoph Waltz portrays a bounty hunter who we are all supposed to love. With his witty lines and his whimsical behavior, Waltz drives the soul of Tarantino's humor with great panache throughout Django Unchained. The greatest part about Waltz's Dr. Schultz is that we already know what kind of character he is from the opening scene alone. However, for the award of Best Supporting Actor, Tarantino's new modern classic holds three worthy actors instead of just one. In addition to Waltz, both DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson brought great life to their roles and great contribution to the flavor of an anti-slavery flick.

For DiCaprio, this is one of his best, if not the best performance since Catch Me If You Can. Though his accent still bothers me at times, his portrayal of Candie is a hybrid of a brutal monster and a charismatic businessman. Yet, when looking at appearances only, he seems to just be charismatic. There is much to fear from Calvin Candie, and his true colors are not unchained until his line is crossed. In executing this kind of character, DiCaprio succeeded so much and triumphed with great naturalism in his performance. It is such a shame to see DiCaprio ignored by the Academy this year.

Jackson is Stephen, Candie's most loyal slave, and in many ways, the true villain of the film, for he represents a far greater evil in 1858 America than does White people like Candie. Even though he does not appear on screen until the second half of the film, his role in the plot is severely eminent, and he steps into the story and thematic narrative without any signs of contrivance or gimmicks. The most innovative component about Jackson playing Stephen is that when it comes to playing an old man, Jackson just acted old, without the help of makeup. In conclusion, it is easy enough to say this is definitely Jackson's most refreshing performance ever, as stimulating as Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction.

At the end of the day, after overwhelming us with brilliant writing and stylistic filmmaking, you would think that finishing off Django Unchained with bloody violence is a little bit overreaching. Maybe Mr. Tarantino just wants to squeeze a bit of his violence style in there at the last minute. Well, no, absolutely not. Instead, the final standoff is one of the most rewarding action sequences of the year. Pushing an exorbitant amount of blood in gunfights, Django Unchained is a bold daring film from start to finish. Nevertheless, if you are well acquainted with the darkly comic tone of the violence, you might just find yourself laughing, which is definitely what Tarantino wanted you to do in the first place.

As for the use of the n-word, it is true that the word was ubiquitously tossed to the point that certain filmgoers might be offended, director Spike Lee being one example. However, it might have been Tarantino's intention to overuse the word from the very beginning. In other words, it is nothing but another factor that makes Django Unchained a fearless piece.

In conclusion, Django Unchained is one of the most complete films of 2012, where it ties all the loose ends and does not leave any necessary stone unturned. Whether you are a Tarantino fan or not, the film is guranteed to entertain from start to finish. I am sure the trailer had your curiosity. Now go see Django Unchained. I promise you, it will have your attention.