Change Your Image
crumpcamra
Reviews
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
The kids are alright
I saw this in a theater that was completely full, with a crowd that buzzed excitedly over the Scooby Doo preview before the feature. The major thing that I noticed was the complete lack of buzz during the film. No laughs, no sudden breaths, very little sound at all. I think the movie simply moved too fast, and everyone felt the need to focus on the screen completely so as not to miss anything. I understand the problems in adapting a widely read and hugely successful novel to a screenplay, so I empathize with the screenwriter. I enjoyed the film, even at the 2.5 hour length, and I recommend that fans of the books see it, but I do not think children under 7-8 would sit through the second half. One negative (somewhat) was the seeming lack of special effects in a movie about a wizard. What effects were there were fairly shoddy. The three main actors, particularly the adorable little Hermione, were wonderful. But why was John Cleese included for a two line role? The same for John Hurt. Overall, 6 out of 10
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Wonderful, would even pay theater prices to see it again!
Absolutely wonderful film. Nicely paced so that I did not check my watch at any point. Fun and exciting enough for my three year old to enjoy it, sassy enough for my six year old, and clever enough for my wife and I. Easily bypasses the drek that was Shrek, and makes Bug's Life look like something you scrape off your radiator. Beautiful film.
Shrek (2001)
Movie with no target audience
This is a PG movie aimed for the G audience. It is funny, and a good story, with some cleverness tucked here and there, but hovers just above the heads of the kids toward which animated movies should be aimed. I took my kids to see this, since they had seen so many commercials on Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, and we had the toys from Burger King, so obviously the people behind this movie thought that it was for kids, but the language was too Eddie Murphy-ish for younger children. I recommend against taking children under ten to see this movie.