Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Rating: 3/4 (A feel-good warm-fuzzy watch on any rainy day)

The first movie in a series is always a great experience! I love them because of the fresh new characters and the new world that is unveiled to the viewer. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone does not in any way belie this assumption. I watched the movie immediately after reading the book recently. I have both read and watched it many times before, but watching it after reading the book makes it a lot special.

Directed by Chris Columbus, the movie introduces a puny little Daniel Radcliffe as the eponymous Harry Potter. The movie remains very faithful to the book, which must have been easy since the book is quite a short read. This is not the case in the later movies in the series, which have to derive from much thicker tomes. The transition from book to movie is near perfect and I doubt any reader will have a bone to chew about it. The acting crowd is almost completely British, but thankfully they speak good internationally-grokkable English! There has been a lot of commendation about the quality acting in Harry Potter, which I agree with. My favorite here is unquestionably Alan Rickman, who plays Snape with such derisive aplomb! The CGI effects though old, look charming even today. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has all the feel-good warm-fuzziness of a boarding school novel and is hence a good (re)watch on any rainy day.