Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

This long, dense, special-effects-laden adaptation of the first of J.K. Rowling's enchanting series of idylls about a boy (Daniel Radcliffe) at a boarding school for wizards-in-training feels as familiar as worn flannel -- which is at once the movie's balm and its limitation. Director Chris Columbus translates places previously only imagined by millions of readers into shiny images so inevitable as to provoke a shiver or a sigh. There are many charms but few surprises, as Rowling's sharp, eccentric story is neutralized by Columbus' gentle impersonality. And so, despite moments of fairy-tale magick and meticulous casting, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone eventually drags through the air rather than flies.

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