Why The Harry Potter Series are The Best Movies You Can Watch

 By: Aleyna Zaim, entertainment reporter , January 12,2021

On November 14, 2001, the first movie adaptation of the thrilling book known as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by Jk Rowling was released. These films were directed by David Yates, Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, and Mike Newell. All seven of the Harry Potter novels were so popular around the world that they led to the making of 8 films in total. The series takes place in Britain. Harry Potter (played by Daniel Radcliffe) thought he was an ordinary orphaned boy living with his muggle (non-magical) aunt and her family until on his 11th birthday he finds out he is a wizard. He learns that his aunt and uncle have been lying to him his whole life. He discovers that his parents didn’t die in a car crash. His parents were killed protecting Harry from a dark and feared wizard named Lord Voldemort also known as You-Know-Who, or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He tried to kill Harry because of the prophecy he read about him. Voldemort disappeared that night and his whereabouts are unknown. After learning the truth Harry attends Hogwarts the School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he meets his friends and the story begins. Will Lord Voldemort return? Will Harry survive? 

In the movie, we see the tough decisions the characters make in order to save the world from the return of Voldemort. One of the best scenes in the movie is when we find out that none other than the cunning and witty Severus Snape (played by Alan Rickman), who we thought betrayed Dumbledore was actually working with him secretly and also even ends up sacrificing his own life in the end. More importantly, we learn more about his past, that he was actually a good guy all along and he gets the redemption he deserved.

 One critic stated, “Harry Potter's first venture onto the screen is a solid blockbuster” (Jami Bernard, New York Dailey News). To conclude, the movie series can be streamed on Amazon Prime, Itunes, and Youtube. 

If you haven’t watched the Harry Potter movies by now then I highly recommend watching them. If you like the fantasy genre then you should definitely watch it.  However, I think everyone who saw it can all agree that it is much more than just a fantasy movie. It tells a story, which is important when it comes to films.  Not to mention the characters can be relatable to anyone. To summarize, we learn many lessons watching Harry and his friends grow up and start their adventure.

Make Way for 2021!

 

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: The Greatest Nintendo Game Ever Made

 By Jeremy Johnson, gaming reporter, December 15, 2020

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was released to the public on December 7, 2018, this being the 5th installment of the game series available only on Nintendo Switch. The creator of both this game and the entire series is Masahiro Sakurai. This became such an iconic game since it’s a crossover fighting game filled with familiar and iconic game series, ranging from Super Mario Bros. to the Legend of Zelda to Sonic the Hedgehog to even Minecraft. The whole point of Smash Bros. is to celebrate the iconic video game series. So, if you want to see your favorite games come together to duke it out, consider buying this game.

Back in 1999, Sakurai thought of the idea of having popular Nintendo all come together in 1 crossover to fight it out. He started small since, in the first Smash Bros game released on the Nintendo 64, there were only a total of 12 characters. Plenty of people got into the game and it was a success. However, many fans requested for more characters to be a part of this series. So, as the years went on, Sakurai created sequels to these games, from Smash Bros. Melee to Smash Bros. Brawl to Smash Bros. 4 and finally Smash Bros Ultimate. When these games were released, more characters were included. The fans were appreciative of the characters and even thrilled about seeing the characters they requested on there. Sakurai wanted lots of people to start playing this game series not just for the characters, but he wanted people to see an original but amazing idea come to life and luckily with the help of many who developed this series, it began to get a large number of positive reviews in the end. 

It was a struggle for Sakurai to work on the game since it took lots of time to develop. He even said during an interview “I work from morning to late nights, even on the weekends and holidays. I hardly have any free time, let alone time to play other games.”

I think people should take the time to play this game and see how much detail and effort was put into it. Anyone that’s a fan of Nintendo of its many iconic characters would want to buy this game. It takes some time to learn how to play the game, but eventually, you’ll understand it. This game is made to be fun and enjoyable for everyone, whether you’re playing by yourself or with others. It can be purchased either at any video game store or online, but I recommend buying it on Gamestop, whether it’s in person or online.