HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

For those who haven’t read the books or at least seen the first movie, go do that. For those who think Harry is evil, I’m writing a column about that next week, so please, no hate mail until then. For the other 99.44% of you, I’m happy to report that the second installment is much much much better than the first, and that wasn’t a bad flick itself. What’s different here is magic. The creatures are more playful, the dialogue funnier, and the action scarier, so much so that you would be well advised not to take the tiny ones along. Basically this movie is a lot more fun, and you can make it even more so. For one thing, try to catch all the movie references deliberately put in here. I’ll give you a hint to get you started: think ET, think Jurassic Park, think Indiana Jones, think Star Wars. Also, this movie gives you the last chance to see the extraordinary actor Richard Harris on screen (who plays Dumbledore). My advice: every time you see him thump your chest and throw a peace sign out, telling Harris to R.I.P. This will, I promise, make the movie-going experience better. And, while you’re at it, stay through the credits; there’s a tagline at the end. Bottom line: if you’re a fan, you’ll be in hog(warts) heaven.