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3 1/2 Stars

Chamber of Secrets is the magnificent second entry in the Potter series and ranks amongst the upper rungs in the franchise. Truly spellbinding moments are aplenty such as the tree that comes alive and batters a marooned car, a plant root that has the power to cause death from it’s scream when uprooted, an angry letter that reads itself aloud to the recipient, giant talking spiders and leagues more.The clear-line screenplay by returning writer Steve Kloves does a superb job of deepening existing conflicts while opening up the world of Harry Potter by introducing secondary characters and darker themes only hinted at in the first picture. Wonderful cast addition Jason Isaacs and Kenneth Branagh are great fun in two very different roles. Isaacs who’s made a career playing bad guys is Lucius Malfoy father of Harry’s nemesis at Hogwarts academy, his menacing delivery is so approiatly used he becomes a very intimidating character amidst the otherwise lightweight shenanigans of a children’s film. Branagh’s pompous celebrity writer/teacher is one of the most amusing characters in the entire Potter universe. Read the rest of this entry →