If You Believe in Magic

Rating: 7/10 (1 February 2010)

Heroic young Daniel Radcliffe (as Harry Potter) hopes to spend a second year at "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry". But, the 12-year-old is warned against attending, by a computer-generated "house elf" named "Dobby" (voiced by Toby Jones). The little imp prevents Mr. Radcliffe from getting summer letters from pals like red-haired Rupert Grint (as Ron Weasley) and spunky Emma Watson (as Hermione Granger); and, he even manages to block the magical entrance the youngsters use to catch their train to school. So, Radcliffe has to hitch a ride with Mr. Grint in a flying car. Don't fret. Eventually, the lads arrive at "Hogwarts", where they become embroiled in one of the magic school's darkest secrets.
This second "Harry Potter" film was produced in quick succession, and is quite like the first. The trio of young performers are beginning to make the characters their own, which means they seem slightly different than in J.K. Rowling's original novel. The older actors are, of course, marvelous. Notably, noble Richard Harris (who played Albus Dumbledore) died just before the film was released. It's interesting to see the relatively unknown Christian Coulson (as Tom Riddle) trump accomplished Kenneth Branagh (as Gilderoy Lockhart) in the villain department. This is a dependable sequel.
******* Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (11/3/02) Chris Columbus ~ Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris