Movie Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

//Spoiler Free Review//

Title: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Release Date: November 18, 2016
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston
Director: David Yates
Runtime: 133 minutes
Rated: PG-13
View on IMDB

The adventures of writer Newt Scamander in New York's secret community of witches and wizards seventy years before Harry Potter reads his book in school.

It's finally here! After all this time, the new movie we've all been anxiously awaiting has arrived in theaters. I don't know about anyone else, but I've had my doubts about how well this film would be received. I had doubts about if I would even enjoy it. After all, not much can top the original Harry Potter films in my book. On top of that, there wasn't very much revealed about the plot of Fantastic Beasts and I wasn't sure how such a small book could be come a two hour movie. I am happy to report I found it to be absolutely incredible!

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens as Newt Scamander arrives in America for the first time. He's greeted by a rather strict wizarding community and almost immediately finds himself at odds with the rules. Tina, at first intent on bringing him to justice, becomes a friend and ally on his mission to wrangle up the creatures he's accidentally let loose. Other main characters include Jacob Kowalski and Queenie who tag along with Newt and Tina. All four are amazing together and I loved the relationships that were quickly forged between them. Jacob, the no-maj with no clue what was happening, was hilarious! I'm not sure what direction the next film will go in, but I really hope to see more of all of these characters.

I'll admit I had concerns about every aspect of this movie, and the world was no different. I couldn't imagine how the city of New York City could be convincing as a place full of magic. While it was very different from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I did enjoy it. In this world witches and wizards are hidden, just like they are in England. However, there's much more emphasis on that in Fantastic Beasts. Most of the Harry Potter series was based in locations separated from muggles - Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, Hogsmead... But here, the entire movie is smack in the middle of New York City. I had hoped to see more of Ilvermorny, so hopefully that will be more of a focus in future installments... Which brings me to the plot.

I loved the story, but it was nothing like what I was expecting. The most obvious difference between Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter is that all of the focus in this new franchise seems to be on the adults of the Wizarding World as opposed to students. It definitely gives everything a much different feel, but I actually think that's a good thing. It gives us less to compare to the originals. I won't say much about the story itself because I don't want to give anything away, but there are a couple really well-done villains. I think this will end up being similar to Harry Potter in that there will be a smaller villain to defeat in each installment, while one main villain spans the entire series. I can't wait to see where it goes!

If I had to complain about something it would be the CGI goblins, which I found unnecessary. This was the same thing I hated in the new Hobbit trilogy and I still don't understand why it was done. The practical effects in the original eight films were so convincing, I don't know why they'd ever change it. Still, the rest of the CGI was incredible! All of the fantastic beasts were gorgeous and magical (as was the suitcase they lived in).

In case it wasn't clear, I loved this movie! Was it Harry Potter? No, but it was unmistakably the Wizarding World. Although I had serious doubts going in, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them completely blew me away and reignited my love of Harry Potter and his world. I have no idea how this is going end up connecting all the way back to the original series but I have some ideas and I couldn't be more excited to find out if I'm right!

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, & Jack Thorne

//DISCLAIMER: JK Rowling is no longer reviewed or promoted by Cornerfolds.com following her repeated transphobia//

Title: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Harry Potter #8)
Author: J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, & Jack Thorne
Publication Date: July 31, 2016
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Pages: 320
Add to Goodreads

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a new play by Jack Thorne, is the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. It will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on 30th July 2016

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes darkness comes from unexpected places.

When it was first announced that the script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child would be published as a book, I was really skeptical. Not only because I don't usually read scripts, but also because the script was not written by Rowling herself. (Rather, it was "based on an original story" by J.K. Rowling.) When it came right down to it, though, I knew I had to have a copy of the eight installment of Harry's story. So I grabbed my Ravenclaw robe and my wand and headed to the midnight release party. Over the next few hours I binge read all 320 pages and... well, now I have feelings.

This story picks up 19 years after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, right at the same place as the original series' epilogue. Harry and Ginny are married with three children: James, Albus, and Lily. The Cursed Child is entirely about Albus, though. The other two are barely mentioned. Of course, Ron and Hermione are also married with children of their own. When this story begins, Albus and Rose, Ron and Hermione's daughter, are beginning their first year at Hogwarts. The nostalgia is back immediately upon reading this very familiar scene, but from there things advance at a breakneck speed.

There are several new characters in The Cursed Child, but the most important ones are Albus and Scorpius, Draco Malfoy's son, who become fast friends in much the same way as Harry, Ron, and Hermione did in The Sorcerer's Stone. I really enjoyed both these new characters and loved the relationship between the two of them! While Albus struggles with living up to the Potter name throughout this book, Scorpius has terrible rumors to contend with, and their similar trials bring the two unlikely friends closer together. One character I didn't much care for was Rose. I wonder if the writers were trying to throw back to how unlikable Hermione was in the first book when they wrote Rose's character, but she didn't work for me at all.

Old characters obviously have a huge part as well, but it seems as if all of them have become extreme versions of their original characters. For example, Ron is basically the comic relief of the play. There is actually a scene in which Ron, attempting to be threatening, holds his wand facing the wrong way toward a perceived enemy. Hermione is extremely logical, sometimes to the point of being rude. Then there's Harry, the overworked Ministry employee. I'll come right out and say it: I didn't like Harry in this play at all. He was uncharacteristically mean to pretty much everyone. I did love seeing Draco again, though!

I mentioned before that the plot itself moves extremely fast and that was another of my problems with this. I suspect it would work better as a play with more time between scenes, more time for characters to speak lines, etc. Unfortunately, this script is all a lot of us have and I feel that it should work just as well on paper since it's being sold for $30. Instead it felt like a lot of fan service and throwbacks to the original series crammed into a two part play.

Don't get me wrong, the nostalgia was there and it was a fun read at times! I liked getting to see the old gang back together and there were some fun surprises, but there were times I had a hard time accepting that this is canon. There were plot holes and inconsistencies and downright weird bits that seemed totally random. I can't say much about the plot without spoiling it and I definitely think that everyone should go in as spoiler free as I did. Click below if you want to see some of my spoilery complaints:

Spoilers

Trolley Witch - What even is this? Never has there been any mention of the Trolley Witch being some kind of 200 year old mystical being with weaponized hands who makes sure kids stay on the train! Whose idea was this because I cannot believe J.K. Rowling did this.

Time turner inconsistencies - This is one I've seen a lot of discussion about around the interwebs and I still don't know what to think. Time turners were a huge part of The Prisoner of Azkaban and I'm having a hard time accepting the way this device is used in the plot of The Cursed Child.

Harry is an asshole - Excuse my French, but who is this Harry? He certainly isn't the character we all came to know and love over the course of seven books and eight films. Harry would not tell his child he wished he wasn't his dad and Harry wouldn't be a jerk to Professor McGonagall.

Voldemort/Bellatrix love child - Um... why? How? WHEN? This is honestly one of the worst plot devices ever. It reads like bad fan fiction and that makes me sad.

No Luna/Neville - Seriously though! Where are they?? There are appearances by almost every other major character in the original series and there's barely a mention of Neville and Luna may as well not exist.

One other thing I need to mention is the setting and there isn't much of it that's new. All the familiar places from the original series are revisited from Hogwarts to the Ministry of Magic to the Forbidden Forest. Obviously, there isn't much room for description in a script, but I had hoped for some new Wizarding World magic to be introduced instead of rehashing every location of the trio's old stomping grounds.

It's not that I hated The Cursed Child. In fact, I actually did enjoy most of my time reading it! But at the end of the day, I expected this to be so much more and, actually, so much less. There was too much crammed into such a short book and much of what was there just seemed like fan service. I am glad that I read it and do think that any Harry Potter fan should read it too, simply because J.K. Rowling signed off on it, but it is definitely not up to par with the previous seven books.

Thoughts on J.K. Rowling's new Harry Potter "books"

Back in February the world lost its mind when J.K. Rowling announced that she would be releasing The Cursed Child (the new Harry Potter sequel being released as a play in two parts later this year in London) as a book.

Shortly after the original announcement, Rowling clarified that this was not a separate book, but was actually the screenplay itself being published.

Like the rest of the Harry Potter fandom, I was ecstatic over this news! The world has been asking for a new Harry Potter book for YEARS and it seemed that Rowling was (kind of) finally delivering!

When I realized that J.K. Rowling had not actually written the screenplay, but had only collaborated with the writers, I was a little disappointed, but still preordered a copy. After all, I'm not going to be making any trips to London in the near future and I haven't heard any word of The Cursed Child being released on Blu Ray, so my only option is to read it!

The world has also been pretty excited about the upcoming release of the new film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which will be a separate story, but still based within the universe of Harry Potter. Unlike the play, the movie is actually being written by Rowling herself! Of course I can't wait to see it!

On Tuesday we received another piece of information about the expanding Harry Potter universe - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is being released as a book! You may ask, "Isn't it already a book though?" Yes, yes it is.

The Fantastic Beasts film was actually based on a very short book by the same name, which was released in 2001 as a companion to the Harry Potter novels.

"So then what is the new book?" you may wonder. The new Fantastic Beasts book is none other than... the screenplay of the movie. It seems a bit odd for the screenplay of the movie to be released, in my opinion, especially when it's very common for the novelization of a film to be released. But, honestly, who is going to complain about another Harry Potter book, even if it's just a screenplay of a movie we can all see in theaters later this year?

I've seen a mixed reception of this news - some think it's amazing fan service, some think it's a needless cash grab, and some don't care one way or another.

My biggest concern is that the original Fantastic Beasts book may become more and more difficult to find in the wild. Already The Hogwarts Library (a three pack with Fantastic Beasts included) has been removed from Target's website, although it was an easy find as recently as a couple weeks ago. I've heard from others that the original book may be removed from store shelves altogether to make room for the new screenplay and I would find that to be very upsetting. No matter what happens, I'll have my set, which I ordered today just in case!

I'm curious to see what your thoughts are about these new developments in the Harry Potter world! Will you preorder both these books and read them immediately? Do you feel that releasing The Cursed Child script and Fantastic Beasts screenplay was a good move or a bad one?

Let me know in the comments!

Alivan's Custom Wand Unboxing

Several weeks ago I started reading the Harry Potter series for the second time as part of my Paper to Popcorn feature. You can check out my reviews of The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets if you're interested!

When I started this time I decided to read in conjunction with Pottermore. The site has been updated with tons of new information since the last time I played and it really took the reading experience to a whole new level! While I was busy geeking out, casting spells and brewing potions, I decided to go on the hunt for my very own wand. But I didn't want just any wand. I wanted -my- wand.

Feel free to add me on Pottermore!

One day I might get one of the wands for sale at Ollivander's, but when it came right down to it, I wanted something that was made of real wood (not resin) and was personalized to me (not something anyone could go buy).

That was when I found Alivan's Master Wandmakers. I contacted their shop and sent them the specifications for my Pottermore wand, which you can see above. I communicated with Jenni, telling her the style I liked and what I didn't like, placed my order, and waited (very) patiently. Then... the box came!

    

First of all, the box itself! I love the packaging and the logo on the side. I was absolutely giddy when I picked it up off my doorstep... and it took everything in me not to rip it open right there! But I decided to calm myself and take some pictures to share with all you lovelies.

Once I had the box opened, I took my time taking in all the detail inside the box. Every single piece of paper and packaging had a personalized Alivan's touch, which really made it even more special!

Each custom wand by Alivan's is crafted by a Master Wandmaker! My wand came with a numbered certificate of authenticity and the specifications are handwritten. Also included in the box was a red velvet case embroidered with the Alivan's logo.

    

As you can see, the wand itself is beautiful! It's made from walnut and is 11" long. It even has a Phoneix Feather core, just like my Pottermore wand! ;-) The design is absolutely beautiful! I feel like you can really tell a lot of love went into making this product. It's certainly not a mass-produced resin replica!

What I requested was something similar to the wands Hermione or Luna uses, and I don't feel that this is super close to those and I actually don't -love- the crisscross detail on the handle, just because it looks like something from my Grandma's house... but overall I'm happy with it. The wand feels sturdy and it looks totally gorgeous on my bookshelf! I would definitely recommend Alivan's to anyone who is as big of a nerd as I am!

Paper to Popcorn #3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets book vs. movie

//DISCLAIMER: JK Rowling is no longer reviewed or promoted by Cornerfolds.com following her repeated transphobia//

Welcome to Paper to Popcorn! Paper to Popcorn is not be your typical book vs. movie comparison. The focus is on retellings, although there will be some features of movie vs. the source material. Each chosen book/movie combo will battle it out in a showdown to prove which one is the best on its own merits. Posts will feature reviews of both the film and book, rating scales, a brief outline of differences between the two, and characters, and ultimately a victor will be chosen.

This week I'm featuring Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets book vs. movie

The Book

Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publication Date: July 2, 1998
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books
Pages: 360
Add to Goodreads
Review for book 1

All Harry Potter wants is to get away from the Dursleys and go back to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby - who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.

And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockheart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny.

But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone--or something--starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects... Harry Potter himself.

Book two picks up just as Harry is preparing to return to Hogwarts. His summer has been miserable with the Dursleys and he hasn't heard from his friends in months! Miserable and lonely, Harry meets a new character who I'd honestly forgotten was such a nuisance early on - Dobby the house elf. Thus begins the delightful second chapter of Harry Potter.

I. Love. These. Books. Honestly, I could end my review there, but I won't. Harry Potter is such a rare exception to my usual reading preference! I don't usually care for humor in books. You might think that makes me cold hearted, but I just really prefer other aspects of books more than jokes and silly situations. But what J.K. Rowling does with this series blends humor along with mystery, action, and adventure so seamlessly that I found myself laughing out loud on multiple occasions throughout the Chamber of Secrets and being totally charmed by it! Her writing is so unique and amazing!

Hermione is much more likable in book two, thank goodness. She is still a little goody two-shoes for my taste, but her redeeming qualities far outweigh the annoying ones. At least she breaks a few rules this time! Harry continues to learn more about himself and his connection to Voldemort, which is really interesting to read the second time around, knowing what will happen later on and being able to piece it all together. Ron continues to be a hilarious character who I always feel a little sorry for (hopefully he gets a new wand soon)!

Ginny, though... I know that she grows a lot through the series, but good grief she's dumb in this book. I can't help feeling that she acts much more immature than Harry, Ron, and Hermione did in their first year at Hogwarts, but maybe being the baby in the family will do that to a person. Professor Lockhart is so repulsive! I was right there with Ron and Harry gagging every time the man opened his mouth! Rowling definitely has a gift for bringing characters to life! As always, Dumbledore makes me smile and Draco makes me cringe... I could go on and on about all the other characters, but I'll stop there.

Reading this book again makes me wish (again) that I had read them as a child - before seeing the movies. Even though I had forgotten a lot of the details, I can't imagine what it would have been like experiencing the story for the first time by reading the books with no clue about what the Chamber of Secrets was! If, like me, you missed out on this one as a child, I highly recommend you give it a try now! You'll regret waiting so long.

Characters	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Setting	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Writing	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Storyline	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Cover	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Overall Rating	1/5	2/5	3/5	4/5	5/5

The Movie

Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Director: Chris Columbus
Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
Release Date: November 15, 2002
Runtime: 161 minutes
View on IMDB

Youthful wizard Harry Potter returns to the screen in this, the second film adaptation of J.K. Rowling's wildly popular series of novels for young people. Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) return for a second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where Headmaster Dumbledore (Richard Harris), Professor Snape (Alan Rickman), Professor McGonagall (Maggie Smith), and Hagrid the Giant (Robbie Coltrane) are joined by new faculty members Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh), a self-centered expert in Defense against the Dark Arts, and Sprout (Miriam Margolyes), who teaches Herbology. However, it isn't long before Harry and company discover something is amiss at Hogwarts: Students are petrified like statues, threats are written in blood on the walls, and a deadly monster is on the loose. It seems that someone has opened the mysterious Chamber of Secrets, letting loose the monster and all its calamitous powers. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione set out to find the secret chamber and slay the beast, speculation is rife that one of the heirs of Salazar Slytherin, the co-founder of the school, opened the chamber as a warning against the presence of "mudbloods" (magic-users of impure lineage) at the school -- and that the culprit may be fellow student Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton). Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets featured Richard Harris' second and final appearance as Headmaster Dumbledore; he died less than a month before the film was released in the United States.

The Chamber of Secrets has always sat in the middle of the scale for me as far as Harry Potter movies go. I do feel like it adds a lot of information to the overarching plot of the series, so it's very important in that sense, but the film itself is just... strange somehow and I can't quite put my finger on it. They do retain a kind of whimsical child-like quality that I attribute to their being directed by Chris Columbus, and I think that's okay since the characters are only twelve at this point.

One area I faulted The Sorcerer's Stone was its cinematography, mainly in the CGI department. Luckily, by 2002 they seem to have worked out a lot of the kinks, although it's by no means perfect. There are some awkward Dobby moments where he's very obviously not actually standing on anything. Quidditch has gotten a huge upgrade and no longer looks like a video game and the basilisk was very convincing! There were some pretty terrible CGI aspects though - the spiders come immediately to mind. I still can't quite figure out, though, why the graphics aren't of higher quality, especially considering Lord of the Rings was being released around the same time and holds up MUCH better than this. But it's still a huge improvement over the first movie.

The actors also seem to improved some in the year from the first film's release. Daniel Radcliff, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson are still really overacting, but it is toned down a bit from The Sorcerer's Stone. Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) is one of my favorite love-to-hate actors in The Chamber of Secrets. He's so despicably bad that I can't help but give him high marks! (See what I did there?) As always, Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith are my absolute favorites, at least at this point in the series.

Like with the first movie, I had some problems with the way this one was translated onto the screen and felt like some things were left out that didn't necessarily need to be, although I can appreciate time restraints. Overall, though, I felt like it was adapted pretty well. The music was obviously perfect, as it will remain throughout all eight films!

Movies one and two are probably the lowest on my list if I were to rank the Harry Potter series, but they're necessary to get to the really good ones. Just as twelve year olds experience growing pains, so did the films have to work through their issues in the early years. They're still fantastic, magical films and you should see them if you haven't already!

Cast	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Cinematography	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Screenplay	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Performances	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Music	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Overall Rating	1/5	2/5	3/5	4/5	5/5

Noteable Differences

• In the book Harry eavesdrops on Lucius Malfoy doing questionable business with Borgin, but this is not in the movie. 
• There's a crazy train chase scene where Harry almost falls to his death in the movie that is not in the book. 
• Several scenes with Professor Lockhart are left out of the film.
• Nearly Headless Nick has a huge "death day" celebration in the book, but it's completely left out of the film. 
• Professor Binns, the ghost teacher of History of Magic, is not in the movie. 
• In the book, the potions book Hermione needs for the polyjuice potion is in the restricted section (because it contains such dangerous potions) and they need a note from a teacher to check it out. Hermione also steals ingredients from Professor Snape. In the movie the book is in the main library and it isn't said how the ingredients were acquired. 
• Only Harry and Draco duel in the movie, but in the book all of the students are paired. 
• In the book Professor Lockhart throws a big Valentine's Day party to boost morale and Harry receives a singing Valentine, but this is left out of the film. 
• Throughout the book Ginny acts very strange and jumpy, but in the movie she acts mostly normal. 
• The size of the basilisk is greatly exaggerated in the movie. 
• In the book the statue of Salazar Slytherin is full size, but in the movie it's only a (really weird) head. 
• The basilisk fight is a lot less dramatic in the book than in the movie. 
• The way Dobby receives the sock from Lucius Malfoy and is freed is slightly different in the movie. 

The Bottom Line

While the book is pure magic (just like it's predecessor), the movie has always seemed like it was (only very) slightly off somehow. Perhaps it would be more exciting for a child watching it for the first time. The bottom line is I don't love Chris Columbus' directing style and the movies definitely get better with director number two. Because of that, combined with still-iffy CGI and semi-ridiculous performances from our child stars, the book comes out on top, yet again!

Paper to Popcorn #1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

//DISCLAIMER: JK Rowling is no longer reviewed or promoted by Cornerfolds.com following her repeated transphobia//

Welcome to a brand new Cornerfolds feature! Paper to Popcorn will not be your typical book vs. movie comparison, or at least that is not all it will be. Each featured book/movie combo will battle it out in a showdown to prove which one is the best (at least in my obviously humble opinion).

Each will feature what are essentially mini-reviews of both the film and book in question, a brief outline of differences between the book and film adaptation, will rate the two on the basic (but important) aspects of setting, plot, and characters, and ultimately a victor will be chosen.

The Book

Title: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Author: JK Rowling
Publication Date: June 26, 1997
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books
Pages: 332
Add to Goodreads

When a letter arrives for unhappy but ordinary Harry Potter, a decade-old secret is revealed to him that apparently he's the last to know. His parents were wizards, killed by a Dark Lord's curse when Harry was just a baby, and which he somehow survived. Leaving his unsympathetic aunt and uncle for Hogwarts, a wizarding school brimming with ghosts and enchantments, Harry stumbles upon a sinister mystery when he finds a three-headed dog guarding a room on the third floor. Then he hears of a missing stone with astonishing powers which could be valuable, dangerous - or both. An incredible adventure is about to begin!

These new editions of the classic and internationally bestselling, multi-award-winning series feature instantly pick-up-able new jackets with huge child appeal, to bring Harry Potter to the next generation of readers. It's time to PASS THE MAGIC ON .

There is something magical about Harry Potter that I really can't understand. I never got to read it as a child for... reasons. But I did FINALLY get to watch the movies starting in late 2006. Then, in 2011, something amazing happened... I read the series for the first time and fell in love. I've never quite understood re-reads though and I never thought I'd give Harry another glance other than having as many gorgeous editions as possible lining my shelves. But then something worked itself loose in my noggin and I changed my mind. Thus began the great Harry Potter re-read of 2015.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is magic. I know that's pretty cheesy to say about a book that's literally about magic, but I don't know any other way to describe it. As I was reading this book I thought to myself (on several occasions), "How did J.K. Rowling think this stuff up?!" And reading it for the second time is even better because you can see how intertwined everything really is all the way through book seven.

I cannot think of one thing to complain about in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and you can rest assured it isn't nostalgia talking. This is just good storytelling, plain and simple. The characters are sympathetic (even Hermione later on, although she starts as a nightmare), the world building is spectacular, and I was totally sucked back into the world of Harry Potter from page one. And can we take a second to appreciate these awesome new UK covers? The artwork is absolutely gorgeous!

Knowing now how amazing these books are makes me really sad that I never got to experience them from a child's perspective. Despite that, I am so glad I DID get to read them as an adult and I have finally discovered what everyone loves so much about re-reads! I can't wait to pick up book two!

Characters	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Setting	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Writing	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Storyline	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Cover	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Overall Rating	1/5	2/5	3/5	4/5	5/5

The Movie

Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Director: Chris Columbus
Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
Release Date: November 16, 2001
Runtime: 152 minutes
View on Rotten Tomatoes

The best-selling novel by J.K. Rowling (titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in England, as was this film adaptation) becomes this hotly anticipated fantasy adventure from Chris Columbus, the winner of a high-stakes search for a director to bring the first in a hoped-for franchise of Potter films to the screen by Warner Bros. Upon his 11th birthday, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), who lives in misery with an aunt and uncle that don't want him, learns from a giant named Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) that he is the orphaned son of powerful wizards. Harry is offered a place at prestigious Hogwarts, a boarding school for wizards that exists in a realm of magic and fantasy outside the dreary existence of normal humans or "Muggles." At Hogwarts, Harry quickly makes new friends and begins piecing together the mystery of his parents' deaths, which appear not to have been accidental after all. The film features alternate-version scenes for every mention of the titular rock. Richard Harris, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, John Cleese, and Fiona Shaw co-star.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is nearly as magical as it's book counterpart. Nearly. It has all the elements that make the book so magical and it's obvious that J.K. Rowling had a hand in the development of the film adaptation. While there were changes from the book, there were none that really changed the story or struck me as really major. Overall, this is a fantastic book to movie success!

Unfortunately, while it is a great movie, it is one that really has not aged well at all. There are two main things that took this movie down a notch.

The first is the cast. Let me get this out of the way first: the actors who were chosen to play each of these characters are absolutely perfect! Because I know it gets better, I can confidently say the casting was perfect while the acting sucked. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry) and Emma Watson (Hermione) are completely terrible! I can't even say which was worst because they were both so bad. Rupert Grint (Ron) and Tom Felton (Draco) were the best of the first years, in my opinion! On the other hand, every single one of the older actors was fantastic! Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall) and Alan Rickman (Snape) were the highlights of the movie!

The other major issue with this film is the CGI. It's abysmal. I know this movie was made nearly 14 years ago, but I can't imagine that people back then didn't notice how fake certain scenes looked, especially on the big screen. Examples that come to mind are the troll, the quidditch match, Fluffy, the centaur, Voldemort's face... Basically everything that was a creature or in the air.

The Sorcerer's Stone soundtrack, however, is just amazing! I'd say it's almost as good as the soundtrack for The Lord of the Rings trilogy... almost. The music works perfectly in each scene and the songs get stuck in my head for days every time I watch this!

Overall (as I've said already) this is a great book to film adaptation! I'm sure I would have loved it if I had seen it when I was 13, when this movie came out. Despite its flaws, this movie is the must see first film in a must see series!

Cast	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Cinematography	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Screenplay	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Performances	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Music	Terrible	Just okay	Pretty good	Really good	Amazing!
Overall Rating	1/5	2/5	3/5	4/5	5/5

Noteable Differences

• Harry goes straight to school after meeting Hagrid in the movie, but in the book he goes back home with the Dursleys for awhile first. 
• In the book Dumbledore is portrayed as a really eccentric (honestly really strange) man, but in the movie he's shown as a much more serious professor. 
• Conversely, the Bloody Baron is terrifying in the book and everyone is afraid of him, but the brief glimpse of him in the movie makes him seem really goofy. 
• Peeves, the castle poltergeist, is absent. 
• In the movie it's only Harry's parents in the Mirror of Erised rather than his whole family. 
• In the book Harry, Ron, and Hermione take Hagrid's dragon up a tower to be rescued by friends of Charlie Weasley, but this is left out of the movie.
• Ron goes to detention with Harry, Hermione, and Draco instead of Neville. 
• In the movie there's only one centaur (Firenze) instead of including Bane and Ronan. This happens to be the one centaur from the book who is friendly rather than cynical. 
• In the movie Harry, Ron, and Hermione fall through the Devil's Snare instead of climbing out of it and Hermione defeats the plant with sunlight instead of fire. 
• Quirrell's skin blisters in the book when Harry touches him, but in the movie he turns to stone. 

The Bottom Line

Though not by much, the winner of this competition is clearly the book! The movie is excellent, but seems to take on a much lighter tone than the already light tone of the book. I love that the books (and the movies) get darker as they go on, but I'm not sure why the filmmakers felt that they had to change the personalities of Dumbledore, the ghosts, and leave out the less savory characters of Peeves and the rest of the centaurs in the Forbidden/Dark Forest. Perhaps by leaving out these darker elements a larger audience was reached by the film. While the movie is a great representation of the book, both are excellent on their own as well. 

Potter Fans Unite!

While I doubt I'll be the first to tell you this, I still want to shout it from the rooftops: 

Harry Potter is back!

When I saw a post in my news feed telling me that J.K. Rowling had decided to grace us with a new Harry Potter story, I almost came out of my chair!

It has been seven years since the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (only three since the final film) and Potter fans everywhere have been waiting with bated breath for anything new out of Rowling. Of course, the announcement of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has sated some, while regular Daily Prophet articles on Pottermore have given us regular, fun insight into the Quidditch World Cup since April. But others want something more substantial - Potter himself.

J.K. Rowling has answered the cries of her devoted fans (though she has stated that she has no future plans for any follow-up stories) with a short story including Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Luna, as well as other beloved characters from the Potterverse.

Written as a gossip column from the perspective of Rita Skeeter, the article had me laughing out loud almost immediately. Skeeter speculates about everything from the origins of a new scar on Harry's face (a curse, perhaps?) to the mental stability of Luna's children. Her writing style remains as ridiculous and hilarious as fans have come to expect.

I loved the insight into the lives and careers of all of my favorite characters! I will admit, however, that I had to double check the relationship status of Neville and Luna. I had completely missed the announcement that Neville had ended up with someone else (maybe I'm not a real fan, after all) and was a little heartbroken.

Fun fact: I was not allowed to read the Harry Potter books or see the movies while living with my parents. I started watching the films in 2006 (at age 18) and finally read the books in 2011. 

I wish so much that J.K. Rowling would continue to feed us these little morsels of Pottery goodness, even if they do come sporadically, though I can understand that she's ready to move on to new things (but I'm still bitter about it).

The article can be read on Pottermore, though you must have an account in order to view it. Otherwise, the full article is also available at Today.com.