JR Late Night Blogs: JR's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Review

HARRY POTTER and the CHAMBER OF SECRETS REVIEW

TOP 16 in the ALL-TIME WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE ($866,300,000)

TOP 23 in the ALL-TIME USA BOX OFFICE ($261,970,615)

TOP 9 in the ALL-TIME NON-USA BOX OFFICE ($604,400,000)

TOP 6 CHILDREN'S BOOK ADAPTATION MOVIE

TOP 4 SCHOOL - PREP/BOARDING/CATHOLIC MOVIE

TOP 9 FANTASY MOVIE

************************************************************************

Name of the Film: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Year: 2002

Date of Theater Release: November 15, 2002

Genre: Adventure/Family/Fantasy/Mystery

Director: Chris Columbus

Writers: JK Rowling (novel), Steve Kloves (screenplay)

Distributor: Warner Bros.

Producer: David Heyman

MPAA Rating: PG

Running Time: 2hrs 41mins

Production Budget: $100million

Plot:

Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts School of Wizardry for his second year. After a confrontation with a house elf named Dobby, Harry escapes to the Weasley house with Ron Weasley in a flying car. They are then late for the train and have to ride it to school. When they get there, strange happenings invade the school. "Mudbloods" (people of Muggle families) are "petrified" by an evil monster lurking in the grounds. When every one suspects that it is him, the trio then set out to find the culprit and find out more than they bargained for: the diary of Tom Riddle, why Hagrid was expelled and what the Chamber of Secrets is and why is it so feared in Hogwarts. Written by Michael Johnston

Awards:

*2003 Kid's Vote

*2003 BMI Film Music Award (John Williams)

*2003 Critics Choice Award - Best Composer (John Williams)

*2003 Critics Choice Award - Best Family Film: Live Action

*2006 Special Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema

*2003 ALFS Award - British Supporting Actor of the Year (Kenneth Branagh)

*2003 Reader's Choice Award - Best Foreign Language Film 9Chris Columbus)

*2003 PCFS Award - Best Live Action Family Film

*2003 PCFS Award - Best Performance by a Youth in a Leading or Supporting Role - Female (Emma Watson)

************************************************************************

Cast:

1. Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe)

2. Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint)

3. Hermione Granger (Emma Watson)

4. Dobby the House Elf (Toby Jones)

5. Mr. Mason (Jim Norton)

6. Mrs. Mason (Veronica Clifford)

7. Fred Weasley (James Phelps)

8. George Weasley (Oliver Phelps)

9. Molly Weasley (Julie Walters)

10. Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright)

11. Arthur Weasley (Mark Williams)

12. Percy Weasley (Chris Rankin)

13. Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton)

14. Lucius Malfoy (Jason Isaacs)

15. Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane)

************************************************************************

Additional Info:

1. Trivias

- Daniel Radcliffe has said that "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is his favorite book.

- Fourteen Ford Anglias were destroyed to create the scene where Harry and Ron crash into the Womping Willow.

- The train station interior used in the film is Kings Cross in North London, whereas the exterior shot is actually St Pancras. The two stations are adjacent to one another, but not the same building. This was done because the architecture of St Pancras is much more visually appealing.

- As Harry enters Professor Dumbledore's study, a portrait of Gandalf the Grey is included in the collection of the great wizard paintings. It is above the door-frame and slightly to Harry's right.

- Filming began three days after the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001).

2. Goofs

- When Harry breaks his right arm playing Quidditch, he takes great care to keep it held up as he rolls from side to side to avoid the bludger, but at one point he puts his weight on it without any apparent discomfort. In the next shot he is holding it across his stomach again.

- During the Quidditch match, the wire that attaches the broom to Harry is visible for several seconds.

- The students are able to carry on conversations and hear instructions while wearing the earmuffs that protect them from the screams of the mandrake roots. We assume the earmuffs to be enchanted to specifically block mandrake screams, but not other sounds. Despite what "it says in the book" there is nothing in the movie to suggest that this could not be the case.

- At the beginning of the transfiguration lesson, the writing on the blackboard behind Professor McGonagall is reversed, and this has been reported as a flipped shot. However, further observation reveals that the right-hand board is, for undisclosed wizardy reasons, a mirror image of the left-hand board and so this is not an error.

- Near the end of the film, when Harry and Ron find out that Lockhart's a fake, they push him towards the stone washstand in the girls' bathroom. When Lockhart touches the stand, it shakes considerably, proving that it isn't stone.

3. Memorable Quote:

Ron: "Follow the spiders." Why couldn't it be "follow the butterflies"?

************************************************************************

Scenes from the Film: