More addictive to watch than you'd expect

Rating: 9/10 (26 December 2014)

My sister and I, back when I was ten, wouldn't even go near anything Harry Potter-related, despite its immense popularity at the time; we'd call Harry Potter "Hairy Pothead" and laugh at the nerdy glasses he wore on the book and DVD covers. Anyway, recently we decided it was time to see what made Harry Potter fans so raving mad over a little boy with superpowers and a geeky school uniform, and it was a nerdy children's movie but not nearly as bad as we thought! The main character, Harry, is a seemingly average boy living in the U.K. with his aunt, uncle, and spoiled overweight cousin, Dudley (great name choice). When Harry begins discovering strange powers in himself, his aunt and uncle do everything in THEIR power to keep the truth a secret from him, but when Harry finds out he's a wizard and is given an invite to a secluded boarding school for wizards and witches, he eagerly accepts, wanting to be with kids like himself. From there he picks up two misfit friends, meets a snotty rival with way too much gel in his bleached hair, and meets a variety of teachers, including a perverse, hawk-like old guy with emo hair and a hooked nose.
So, one thing I noticed is that throughout the eight HP movies, the series quickly changes from a children's movie to a series with a more adult theme, and characters become far more complex than they were likely ever intended to be by the book author. I did enjoy the Harry Potter movies, though the acting wasn't the best, the soundtrack was pretty good, the scenery was fantastic and I liked seeing some of the strange and wonderful creatures made up by the author, man, that lady has serious imagination! Still, Harry Potter certainly doesn't beat The X-Files or Cold Case.