The Maleficent Films Bring An Interesting Twist To A Classic Fairy Tale
In Disneys recent Maleficent films, the focus essentially shifts from Sleeping Beauty to the supposedly villainous Maleficent. In the films, however, we get a good glimpse at the characters origin story. At the same time, we also get to see Maleficents interactions with Aurora. The cast includes the legendary Angelina Jolie as the titular character. Meanwhile, Elle Fanning portrays Aurora.
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Deathly Hallows, Part 2 is all action. As soon as the movie begins, Harry, Ron and Hermione are breaking into Gringotts, riding on the back of a dragon and, finally, battling Voldemort. Thats not always a good thing: The audience is barely given a moment to breathe and consider the consequences of this final battle. Book readers will certainly miss some of the quieter moments of reflection, particularly between Harry and Dumbledore at Kings Cross Station after Harry dies.
But the film is able to pull off several crucial moments of character development amid the chaos, including Nevilles evolution into a bold hero, Ron and Hermiones first kiss and Molly Weasleys epic defeat of Bellatrix LeStrange. To that end, the film plays like a somber but satisfying reunion. Deathly Hallows Part 1, and even to some extent Half-Blood Prince, are films about loneliness and isolation. Some of the most beloved characters in the Harry Potter series are missing entirely from those movies. When Harry, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts, we get to enjoy Rowlings wide array of Dickensian characters once again.
All 8 Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst To Best
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, David Thewlis, Gary Oldman, Maggie Smith, Michael … Gambon, Alan Rickman, Jim Broadbent and Ralph Fiennes
Warner Bros.
In what seems to be an endless game of hot potato, the Harry Potter films have now, again, jumped ship from Peacock to HBO Max. The definitive tentpole fantasy franchise of the 2000s, which began with a record $93 million opening weekend and $974 million global gross in November 2001 and ended with a record $169 million opening weekend and $1.34 billion global cume in July of 2011 essentially has two homes.
The films obviously belong to Warner Bros., but the theme park attractions belongs to Universal Studios. Anyway, to mark the occasion, and since Ive never sat and done this before, I have used science, math and dark magic to create the the official, 104% accurate ranking of all eight Harry Potter movies. I like all of these films to various degrees, but, as always, this list will not be your list, because what fun would that be?
Producer David Heyman and director Chris Columbus with co-stars Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and … Rupert Grint attending the N.Y. Premiere of Warner Bros. “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City. November 10, 200
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Budget: $100 million
Worldwide box office: $878.75 million
WireImage
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Budget: $250. million
Opening weekend: $77.84 million
FilmMagic
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Magic Aside The Values Taught Are 100 Per Cent Human
It’s wonder might be in the magic, but the values that the book instill knuckles down to intrinsically human qualities. There’s bravery on multiple scales, from facing bogarts to killing Voldemort, there’s loyalty – Snape’s actions are the very definition of the word – and the plot focuses closely on the importance of trusting both your own instincts and those in your inner circle.
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix 77%
Considering its earned a very respectable rating of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes , it seems a mite unfair to call The Order of Phoenixthe worst Harry Potter movie. Its even more unfair when you consider how many magical moments youll find throughout this fifth instalment, which should be nowhere near the bottom of the heap.
So why is it there? Presumably, its because many fans take umbrage with the fact that it condenses the longest of J.K. Rowlings novels into just 138-minutes, making it the shortest entry in the series and losing a lot of plot threads in the process. But theres no evidence of a hatchet job on-screen, as the talewhich focuses on the Ministry of Magics escalating smear campaign against Harry and Dumbledoreis beautifully paced and shifts effortlessly from fun and fantastical to sombre and, at times, downright scary. As the tyrannical new administrator of Hogwarts, Dolores Umbridge is so completely, utterly vile, she very nearly succeeds in supplanting the Dark Lord himself as the films big bad. I say very nearly, as the climactic battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort in the vault-like chambers of the Ministry of Magic is nothing short of epic.
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The Breadth Of Imagination
Not a stone left unturned, the wizarding world is a fully-formed alternative that at once feels far removed from life as we know it, but still familiar and completely plausible. It’s Rowling’s ability to shape and invent a wizarding parallel for even the most mundane of tasks that contributes to the overall magnificence. It’s also the unknown. There are things we are yet to find out, but that’s what Pottermore is for, right?
A Definitive Ranking Of The Harry Potter Films From Obliviate Me To Please Let Me Into Hogwarts
Which film deserves to win the Hogwarts House Cup?
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The Fantastic Beasts Films Are The Closest Link To Harry Potter We Have Today
If you miss the Harry Potter films, we highly recommend following the Fantastic Beasts franchise. The events surrounding these films take place several decades before the events of Harry Potter. The cast includes Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, and Ezra Miller. Meanwhile, Jude Law plays a younger version of Albus Dumbledore.
Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets : Mystery
That argument is easy to make for pretty much any introductory film for a franchise. There would not be the rest without the first is an argument used for a variety of movie acclaims such as A New Hope, Iron Man, and Raiders Of The Lost Ark. The sequel to The Sorcerer’s Stone, The Chamber Of Secrets, is a much harder film to argue as the best.
People have many issues with the movie, namely the run time and MacGuffins however, overall, it is an immensely enjoyable movie. In terms of arguing it as the best of the bunch, perhaps the key is the chamber itself. The mystery aspect is fun, the Basilisk is terrifying to a child, and the deep dive into Tom Marvolo Riddle’s past is great couple that with more world and character building, and there is your argument for the franchise’s second installment. Unfortunately, though, a more realistic analysis is that Chamber is the weakest of the main eight Potter films, depending on your opinions on some films’ page-to-screen adaptation.
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Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
The importance of The Prisoner of Azkaban to the Harry Potter film series cannot be overstated. This is the movie that established the creative direction and formula for the films that followed, as the series faced a crucial issue post-Chamber of Secrets. How does one adapt increasingly lengthy books into satisfying feature films? The solution: everything that is told from Harrys point of view or that directly affects his character goes in, everything else is fair game for being dropped.
But it wasnt only the POV rule that Azkaban established going forward it was also the freedom to get creativereally creative. Director Alfonso Cuaron significantly altered the look and feel of Harry Potter without completely removing what Chris Columbus had built in the prior two films, while at the same time expanding the depth of the characters and, well, getting weird. From the Knight Bus sequence to the Hogwarts choir to the Dementors, Prisoner of Azkaban is absolutely tactileyou can feel this world. And its a testament to Cuarons vision and cinematographer Michael Seresins beautiful photography that nearly every frame of film on this thing looks like a painting. The irises, the Womping Willow marking the changes of the season, the camera move through the clockthis thing is filled to the brim with unforgettable imagery.
The Hobbit Trilogy Offers Another Look Into The Magical World Of Tolkien
If you couldnt get enough of magic and the Lord of the Rings’, then you definitely cant miss seeing The Hobbit films. Here, the story goes back several years prior to the events of Lord of the Rings. You reunite with much beloved Elven character Legolas and Gandalf the wizard. Meanwhile, you also get to meet a new bunch of characters, including a younger Bilbo Baggins.
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Why ‘harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire’ Is Actually The Best Harry Potter Movie
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is when the series grows up . While the stakes get higher with each passing school year, Goblet of Fire had the unfathomable task of transitioning the story from schoolyard mischief that largely centers on Harry’s own life, to an all-out war with consequences that will affect the entire wizarding world. The film not only makes that transition feel seamless, it does so while maintaining the charm and nostalgia that accompanies watching Harry experience adolescence in all its glory.
The fact the audience can watch Harry fumble over asking a girl out for the very first time and watch the darkest wizard to ever live return and threaten humanity in the same roughly two-hour span without it feeling even slightly jarring is a feat unto itself.
Further, while the film does what it needs to propel the series forward, it is also extremely ambitious in another endeavor: expanding the Wizarding World beyond Hogwarts and Great Britain. The major events of the film, the Quidditch World Cup and the Tri-Wizard Tournament, show the audience just how big the Wizarding World is for the first and only time in the series. The film maintains its heart but also opens the door to the limitless possibilities of the story’s world . The film’s creators did all this while working with over 700 pages of source material and the confines of a movie runtime and completely stuck the landing.
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them Received Mixed Reviews
Audience score: 79%
Five years after the “Harry Potter” series came to an end, the Potterverse reared its delightful head and gave us the spin-off series “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”
Audiences weren’t quite sure what to make of this film. Some fans called it “a fanciful stroll through a dreamlike world,” but others thought long-time Potter fans would be “underwhelmed by this extension of the wizarding world.”
“It’s not without fun elements, but there’s an almost total lack of compelling characters,” wrote audience reviewer Alec B.
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Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban Is A Fan Favorite
Audience score: 86%
Widely lauded as the “darkest” of all the “Potter” films, the Alfonso Cuarón-directed adaption of the third book resonated with many fans.
Audiences raved about new character introductions like Sirius Black and said the film “finally transcends the child-like nature of the first two films.”
Audience reviewer Daniel Mumby wrote, ” is far superior to anything that came before in the series and set the bar very high for all that came after.”
‘harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets’
While it might not have ranked that high on our list, mainly because it is just a bit too long, there is plenty going for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets especially the genius casting of Kenneth Branagh as the brilliantly vain Gilderoy Lockhart.
We discover in the second Harry Potter installment that Harry can speak parseltongue, and of course, it is the film where we are introduced to Dobby, everyone’s favourite house elf. In this film we also learn more about Moaning Myrtle, Tom Riddle, and of course the Weasley’s flying car… it just had a few too many spiders in it for our liking. Shudder.
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Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire : Voldemort’s Return
The Goblet Of Fire is one of the most action-packed Potter films, and while The Prisoner Of Azkaban was a colossal turning point for the franchise, the fourth installment brought about a huge turning point for the characters and Wizarding World itself. The movie is exciting, and while fans may have wanted more out of certain aspects, there is a lot to love.
If there is one aspect that can be attributed to the argument that this is the very best the eight films have to offer, it is the aforementioned turning point: Lord Voldemort’s return. The entire graveyard scene is eerie and wonderfully sickening with the death of Cedric, the look of Ralph Fiennes’ Voldemort, and the collection of Death Eaters. It is an incredible watch, and the images of Harry’s parents, as well as the commotion and emotion that ensue upon Harry’s return to Hogwarts, is the cherry on the cake.
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Ah, Deathly Hallows, Part 1: perhaps the most divisive movie in the franchise. How do you feel about watching three teenagers bicker in the forest for a few hours? What if two of those characters take a dance break seemingly designed to enrage or tantalize fans, depending on which characters you ship?
There are things to adore in this movie, like the breathtaking animation of the Tale of the Three Brothers. And director David Yates does beautifully capture the frustrations of Harrys Horcrux mission. The scenes in which Harry, Ron and Hermione aimlessly walk through empty fields and abandoned parking lots, a fuzzy voice on the radio rattling off the names of the dead as they wander capture the book perfectly.
But Part 1 spends very little time during those quiet conversations exploring who Dumbledore was and his connection to the Deathly Hallows, three magical tools that are crucial to the final fight in the following film. That may seem like nerdy nitpicking. But good genre fiction distinguishes itself from bad genre fiction by imbuing its McGuffins with actual meaning. If Harry doesnt have a personal connection to the Elderwand through Dumbledore, then hes just chasing some meaningless shiny object. Such scenes also could have given the audience more time with Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort, who shines in Part 2 as one of the greatest onscreen villains of all time.
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Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone
It feels like sacrilege to put the first movie so low. The John Williams score twinkling for the first time that defining shot of Hogwarts against an inky black starry skyDiagon Alley… Yet its important to note that your memories of Harry receiving his letter are all about the first time you saw this world brought to life, not of the film itself which is distinctly average compared to what followed. Regardless though, it sets the scene for everything to come and if nothing else is two and a half hours of the promise of future excitement.
Richard Harris Dumbledore is a bittersweet joy as he welcomes the adorable Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint to their future lives as Harry, Hermione, and Ron, and the joy of experiencing Rowlings world for the first time cant be undersold. Chris Columbus direction might be plodding but the goblins of Gringotts, meeting Hagrid, learning Quidditch with the most chipper of Scots and entering the Gryffindor common room are all silver screen joy. This is a universe of so much potential that enraptures its readers and in that respect, the designers and casting professionals did everything right. Its the ultimate in magical wish fulfilment. We just wont talk about CGI Fluffy who hasnt aged particularly well…
The Spiderwick Chronicles Features A Family Who Discovers A Magical World Of Creatures And Fairies
In The Spiderwick Chronicles, a family moves into a secluded old house and soon realize that theres more to the Spiderwick estate than anyone thought. In fact, they discover a whole other world where there are fairies and a whole lot of other creatures. The film stars Mary-Louise Parker, David Strathairn, Joan Plowright, Sarah Bolger, and Freddie Highmore.
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Pan’s Labyrinth Follows The Story Of A Young Woman Striving To Prove That Shes A Princess
Pans Labyrinth is a movie which sees a young woman named Ofelia who meets a mythical old faun. She is then told that she is a princess and that she would have to prove her royal status by submitting to herself to certain unsavory tasks. The film stars Ivana Baquero, Maribel Verdu, Doug Jones, Sergi López, and Álex Angulo. It is written and directed by Guillermo del Toro.
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part : The Battle Of Hogwarts
It is not hard to understand why The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is always alongside The Prisoner Of Azkaban in the conversation of what is the best Harry Potter film. The movie moves at a breakneck pace, and it is a lot to take in, especially coming after a relatively calm entry, but this does not take away from the quality.
There are definitely people who will prefer a more full, fleshed-out story that moves at a steadier pace, but this movie is such an epic phenomenon jam-packed with emotion, action, jaw-dropping visuals, and iconic moments, all of which add up to make it perhaps the best of the lot. The central part of the movie that makes it easy to argue as the best is the entire Battle of Hogwarts, from McGonnagle shining to Molly destroying Bellatrix to Harry’s death to Ron and Hermione’s kiss to the heartbreaking “Always.” there is so much to love in every minute of the film, especially in that portion.
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