MY FAVORITE FILMS

HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE

Young orphan, Harry Potter lives with his nasty relatives, The Dursleys. They despise him so much, to the point of making him sleep in a cupboard under the stairs and wearing his spoiled cousin, Dudley's old clothes. A few days before his eleventh birthday, Harry starts to receive mysterious letters which his Uncle Vernon won't let him read. But when hundreds of letters start flying through the fireplace, Harry and the Dursleys go into hiding in a small hut out in the sea. When Harry turns eleven, a giant named Hagrid comes crashing in (literally) and tells Harry that he is a wizard and that he's going to Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry. Harry also learns that his parents were once famous wizards who were murdered by a powerful Dark wizard, Lord Voldemort (referred to as You-Know-Who). From there on, Harry's life changes forever and he begins a series of adventures with his new friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger which will lead him from stopping someone from stealing the legendary Philosopher's Stone. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry, Ron and Hermione. Also starring are Robbie Coltrane, Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman and Ian Hart. The film was directed by Chris Columbus and produced by David Heyman. The length of the film was 142 minutes and was nominated for 7 B.A.F.T.A'S and 3 Oscars. My favorite scenes were Harry fighting the Mountain Troll and The Chess Task. I give this film 5 stars

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

During the summer holidays, Harry is warned by an eccentric house-elf named Dobby not to return to Hogwarts. Harry refuses and after a fiasco involving a pudding, he finds himself locked in his new bedroom and is later rescued by his best friend Ron and his brothers in a flying Ford Anglia. Afterwards, Harry is welcomed to the warmth of the Weasley household. When it's time for Harry and Ron to board The Hogwarts Express, they find the barrier which leads to the secret platform closed. The two decided to once again, use the Ford Anglia and fly off to school. But their arrival is far from perfect as they crash into a violent Whomping Willow and narrowly escape expulsion from Hogwarts. After his dangerous adventures, Harry plans of starting a fresh new year but this year, a mysterious threat is stalking Muggle born students (students with non-magical parents) are being frozen and Harry is the main suspect. Are these attacks linked to a legend of a chamber built by one of the school's founders' Salazar Slytherin? Does it really hold a terrible beast? And will Harry be able to stop this new evil? The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris, Robbie Coltrane, Kenneth Branagh, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman and Jason Isaacs. The Film was directed by Chris Columbus and produced by David Heyman. The length was 161 minutes and was nominated for 3 B.A.F.T.A'S. My favorite scenes were The Quidditch Match, The Giant Spider Sequence and when Harry goes into Tom Riddle's Diary. I give this film 5 stars

SIGNS

Graham Hess was once a priest till his wife's untimely date made him loose faith in God. One day, he and his family wake up to find circles and patterns in their crops. Afterwards, other crop circles are sighted around the world and lights are appearing across the sky and  a mysterious figure is walking outside their house during the night. Could this be an alien invasion and are these events a plan for which God has made for us. The film stars Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix and Rory Culkin. The film was written and directed by M. Night Shylaman. The length is 126 minutes. My favorite scene was when Graham's brother Merrill views some shocking footage taken at a birthday party in Brazil. I give this film 5 stars.

SNATCH

Diamond thief and courier Franky Four Fingers arrives in London en route to New York to deliver a huge diamond to boss Avi. In his mission to offload smaller stones to Avi’s cousin, Doug 'The Head', he is tempted into placing a bet on an illegal boxing bout by Boris 'The Blade'. Little does he know that Boris has set him up - and local pawnshop owners Vinny and Sol, along with their rather plump getaway driver, Tyrone are to rob him at the bookies. Meanwhile, novice unlicensed boxing promoters Turkish and his business partner Tommy move into the 'big time' through a fight with local kingpin villain, boxing promoter and pig farm owner, Brick Top. But when their fighter is knocked out by Mickey O’Neil, a wildcard Irish gypsy boxer, the boys convince him to fight in their boxer’s place in Brick Top’s rigged match. Unfortunately, Mickey proves to be highly unreliable and the duo find themselves in trouble as the fearless fighter refuses to "go down in the fourth" as planned. In New York, news that Franky has been waylaid by the bookies sends Avi into a tailspin and he and his henchman hop on a plane to London. They hire local legend, 'Bullet Tooth' Tony to find Franky and the diamond. The sorry fate of the diamond courier is soon discovered and the hunt for the missing stone launches everyone into a madcap spiral, which threatens to spin out of control...The film was written and directed by Guy Ritchie. The film stars Jason Statham, Dennis Farina, Vinnie Jones, Brad Pitt and Benicio Del Toro. The length is  . The film had many good scenes, so I couldn't pick one. I give this film 5 stars.

LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING

In the land of Middle-Earth, the ageing wizard Gandalf discovers that his friend, the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins has in possession the One Ring which once belonged to the Dark Lord Sauron. When Sauron's agents discover that the ring still exists, Bilbo's cousin Frodo and his hobbit friends set out on a journey with Gandalf, two men, a dwarf and elf to destroy the ring. There the fellowship of the Ring is formed and the group set out on a dangerous journey to go behind enemy lines and destroy the rind in the fires of Mount Doom. The film was co-written, co-produced and directed by Peter Jackson, The film stars Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin and Liv Tyler. The length is 180 minutes. The film's best scene was when the fellowship went through The Mines Of Moria.

LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS

The fellowship has broken. Frodo Baggins and his hobbit friend Sam Gamgee continue their journey with the help of their guide, the original ring bearer Gollum. Aragorn, Legolas the elf and Gimli the dwarf hunt the Orcs that have taken two of their Hobbit friends captive and help the falling City of Rohan from the dark wizard Saruman's giant army of Orc soldiers. The film has the same cast and crew. The film's length was also 180 minutes, My favorite scene was the Battle Of Helm's Deep where a hundred men have to defend the fort of Helm's Deep from an army of ten thousand Orc soldiers.