David Vaughn

The wizarding world has become a dangerous place. The long-feared war has begun and the Dark Lord has seized control of the ministry of Magic and Hogwarts, terrorizing and arresting all who might oppose him. Harry, Ron, and Hermoine are on the run in search of the magical Horcruxes and must discover a way to destroy them in order to defeat Voldemort once and for all.

Having two kids who are part of the Harry Potter generation, I've had the pleasure of reading each of the books and watching every movie with them. I love how Warner finally decided to split the final book into two parts (something they should have done starting with Goblet of Fire), and we finally get to see more of J.K. Rowling's outstanding story grace the silver screen. Be advised, the story is quite dark and may be disturbing for younger audiences.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/hpue1.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Adapted from J.K. Rowlings bestselling book, <i>Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone</i> is the story of the boy who lived (Daniel Radcliffe). Placed with his unloving Aunt and Uncle as a baby, he grew up in the muggle world until rescued by Professor Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris), headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where Harry will spend the next seven years of his life in order to fulfill his destiny.

At the end of the Goblet of Fire, Harry witnessed the return of Lord Voldemort and barely escaped with his life. The Ministry of Magic doesn’t believe Harry's tale and is doing everything within their power to keep the wizarding world from knowing the truth by orchestrating a smear campaign against the boy who lived and Professor Dumbledore. Furthermore, the ministry is taking an active role in educating of the students at Hogwarts by appointing Dolores Umbridge as the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. When she refuses to teach practical defensive magic, Hermoine convinces Harry to form Dumbledore’s Army with a select group of students in order to give them a fighting chance.

Director David Yates takes over the helm inheriting the legacy of Chris Columbus, Mike Newell, and Alphonso Cuaron. From a pure directorial aspect, I think he did an excellent job, but my biggest complaint with this movie lies in the writer, Michael Goldenberg, who replaced Steven Kloves who penned the first four movies.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/hellboyii.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>A ruthless leader (Luke Goss) defies his bloodline and awakens an unstoppable army of creatures to wage war with the human world. It's up to the planet's toughest, roughest superhero to battle the merciless dictator and his marauders. Along with his expanding team in the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Development, Hellboy (Ron Perlman) battles the forces of darkness in the ultimate battle of good versus evil.