A Look Back On ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ – 20 Years Later

It is amazing that after 20 years, Harry Potter still has its share of fans. The amount of memorabilia/attractions I see are on par with Star Wars. Even as a kid, I would have never guessed that this series of films would leave its mark in the annals of pop culture history as much as it does today. People still talk about it, and it even has its own cinematic universe known as Wizarding World with the Fantastic Beasts movies to ensure that the flame of J.K. Rowling’s beloved works does not die out. Though through recent controversy, her spark may have died, yet the books and films still live on in the hearts of the fans. While I may never have read the books (though I have dabbled a bit in the first book), I was there when the first film came out. I was seven years old when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was released in theaters. My fondest memory was going to the theater one night to see it with my parents. Of course, it was a school night so I was not sure about staying up just to see a movie in the theater, but seeing as I always loved going to the movies, I was glad to oblige. As late as it was after we left the theater, I knew I saw something special for I instantly fell in love with Harry Potter.

‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ Film Review

Grade: D

If there was ever a reason that ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ did not need a sequel, I would suggest looking no further than ‘The Crimes of Grindelwald’, which has intentions to give characters more depth, yet cannot seem to find a comprehensible story to go along with it. It was clear that the real reason this sequel was made with the first film being extremely successful (I mean, fans of ‘Harry Potter’ were not ready to leave J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World), yet with the way ‘The Crimes of Grindelwald’ was received, it is easy to see why it did not do as well. Many people blame the fact that Johnny Depp was cast as the titular villain despite his real-life controversies, or there it just was not as good. Yet, I believe that it had to do with the fact that the first ‘Fantastic Beasts’ worked so well as a stand-alone film that nothing could top it.

‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ Film Review

Grade: A-

It’s been five long years since J.K. Rowling and David Yates brought us back to Hogwarts with the final installment in the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2’. Now it’s 2016. Times are getting tough and it seems our only escape is the world of fantasy with cinematic universes to different studio-based galaxies. There’s the ever-expanding Marvel and DC cinematic universes that have been getting the most tickets; and now it looks like ‘Star Wars’ is trying to expand itself with ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ coming next month. But Hark! A savior has arrived! It’s J.K. Rowling and David Yates once again to take us back to the ever-so-called “Wizarding World of ‘Harry Potter’! But wait! What’s this? It looks like they brought a time machine to take us back 70 years before “The Boy Who Lived” became a hero and saved us all from the nose-less Voldemort’s wrath of attack! But wait! We’re not only transported back in time, but it looks as if they took us to New York, where the world is filled with more social and political issues than we faced in the last week.