Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

A very glossy and exuberant adaptation of the first book in J.K. Rowling's mega-best-selling series about boy wizard-in-training Harry Potter's (Daniel Radcliffe) adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone "The Movie" certainly has an infectious charm. But the truth is that overly self-indulgent director Chris Columbus (Bicentennial Man) could have cut out the entire middle of this two-and-a-half-hour flick and if you hadn't read the book you'd never know the difference. As it is, most of the movie consists of showy set pieces that--while enjoyable to watch--don't service the plot so much as obligingly recreate the novel's minutiae. In fact, the film is half over before the "sorcerer's stone" of the title is even mentioned (yet, with so much time, Columbus hardly fleshes out his characters). Still, it's fun overall, and considering the popularity and the sell-through price, this will fly off the shelves faster than the Golden Snitch through the hands of a lollygagging Seeker. Recommended. [Note: The double-disc DVD presents the movie on disc one, and what might charitably be called a kid's digital playground on disc two. Specifically, the viewer is confronted with eight submenus to explore using the rather clunky DVD remote interface (thanks to all those triggered pauses, you'll log some serious time clicking on this, that and the other, while compiling clues that will ultimately allow you to access the deleted footage--the disc's primary "extra"). Besides the relatively straightforward 16-minute "making of" (featuring director Chris Columbus, screenwriter Steve Kloves, and not even a limpse of author J.K. Rowling), all of the rest of the disc's extras--from mixing potions to catching a snitch--are about as fun as playing some of the more awkward early Playstation games (and that would be the first Playstation). While it may appeal to the younger target audience, older viewers need not even tinker with disc two, but simply enjoy the real magic found on the feature film itself.] (R. Blackwelder)