Movie Review - "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone"

Movie Review number 38

PLOT
The movie starts with Dumbledore (Trevor Harris) and Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) delivering a baby Harry Potter (played later by Daniel Radcliffe) to his aunt & uncles house in Privet Drive, Potters parents just having been killed by Voldemort.
Eleven years later, Harry has been confined to the cupboard under the stairs and is general dogsbody and bottle washer to the family.  On his cousin's birthday they go to the zoo, and Cousin Dearest gets trapped in the snake display while the Burmese python escapes - due to Harry's as yet unknown magical abilities!!!
Then, on Harry's eleventh birthday he gets a letter from Hogwarts School of Wizardry informing him of his acceptance into the school..... but his uncle rips it up.  And the next letter and the next letter - until a whole swarm of letters start flying down the chimney!!!  Uncle decides to take everyone to a remote island where there's no post delivery where they all hide out...... until Hagrid the Giant barges his way in to the hut and fills Harry in on his wizarding background!!
After that, Hagrid takes Harry to London - specifically Diagon Alley - to do his school shopping, including books, a gown and a wand!  First, they go to the bank to withdraw some money (which Harry didn't know he had!) and then Harry goes to buy a wand from the Wand-maker (John Hurt).  After a couple of explosions, Harry gets a wand made with the tail feather of a Phoenix....... who donated one other feather to another wand that was used to give Harry his lightning strike scar!
Then they go to King's Cross station to platform 9 and three quarters for Harry to catch the Hogwarts Express train to school which is where his meets Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson)  On arrival at school, they're sorted into houses and then lessons start.
However it doesn't take long to discover Something Important is Hidden at Hogwarts that Somebody Nasty is trying to Steal.  After a few unintended verbal clues from Hagrid, Harry, Ron and Hermione discover that the Philosopher's Stone is hidden somewhere, it's special capabilties and that Voldemort is still alive and is trying to steal it!!!
The final part of the movie has Harry, Ron and Hermione facing three challenges to prevent the Stone from being stolen...... but will they do it?????!!

RECOMMENDED
Yes - this is a really good movie!!

SCORE
10 squeaks out of 10!!

SCOOBY SNACKS
Chocolate Frogs and All Flavour Jelly Beans

Movie Review - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Movie review number 33

PLOT
This movie starts in the Nevada Desert in 1957, with the arrival of an Army patrol at a Highly Restricted Army Base.  They're initially refused entry, but then armed personnel jump out of the vans, and gun down the US guards and force their way in....... and then park the vans outside a storage facility and drag Indiana Jones out of the boot of one of the vans!!!  The Army patrol turn out to be Russian KGB headed by Cate Blanchett wanting to search the storage facility for something that Indy had found ten years previously...... which eventually turned out to be a corpse of an alien!!!  Indy escapes, only to find the US army are about to test a nuclear bomb!!!!! OH NO!!!
He escapes from that to return to his university campus, only to have the FBI ransack his office and then he gets fired from his job.  He packs, and gets on a train somewhere but is accosted by a young man (Shia LaBoeuf) on a motorbike who later explains that young man's Mother (who Indy knew in movie one) is lost in South America somewhere having gone there to rescue young man's stepdad (John Hurt) who was lost searching for a crystal skull, that is the key to the gold of El Dorado.  Russian Spies find them, and there's a mad car chase ending in Indy and Young Man on a plane to Peru!!!!
In Peru, Indy and Young Man are kidnapped by Cate Blanchett and the Russians, who also have John Hurt (who's half mad) and Young Man's Mum who Indy then recognises as Girlfriend from movie one....... and then discovers that Young Man is actually his son, Henry Junior the third!!!!
They find the location of the Crystal Skull and also the location of where it's supposed to be.... and after another crazy car chase and some human-eating ants.... there's a very exciting ending AND A WEDDING!!!!!

RECOMMENDED
Oh yes indeedy!!

SCORE
9 squeaks out of 10

SCOOBY SNACKS
Make your own tacos with refried beans and Dos Equis beer