Not a perfect movie (at least for those who haven't read the book)

Rating: 6/10 (18 August 2008)

OK, for starters, this movie was fun and entertaining, but mostly due to the special effects and the acting efforts of the veterans (and because of the director, Chris Columbus: "Home Alone", anyone?). The story wasn't so trimmed, so I'm grateful to that (maybe because the book wasn't as long as the later ones, mind you), but the one thing that annoyed me most was the acting of the children, especially Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.
Of course, they were just beginners, and Daniel Radcliffe's performance wasn't bad at all, since he already had some experience in "David Copperfield". Grint and Watson over did it, I think: Grint was too nervous, and Watson was too snobbish (Hermione wasn't that snobbish in the book), although her looks always remind me of a friend of mine in university. But all in all, and I have to be serious, I'd say that both the performances of (especially) Grint and Watson were worthy of Razzie nominations (of course, if black children had done better jobs in a different film, they'd have WON the Razzies, since we live in that kind of world), but the only reason they weren't nominated was the fact that it was a Harry Potter movie.
Good story, great special effects, mediocre acting from the children, but great acting from the adults (Alan Rickman's Oscar is ridiculously overdue now). 6 out of 10 stars.