Disapointment

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Sometimes B-movie studios want to capitalize on a successful film franchises, and do so by making similar, low budget versions of these films. The DVD release of Snakes On A Plane was accompanied by Snakes On A Train. Every time a Transformers movie comes out, it is joined by a direct-to-video film called Transmorphers. Billy Owens is the B-movie comparison to Harry Potter and as far as the films go, they don't match up very well. In the first Billy Owens film, the budget was very low, the special effects bordered on laughable, and the acting was terrible, but the story was actually really good. As I watched the second film, little has changed. The story was still terrific and would make for a tremendous book series, but the film, just doesn't cut it. In The Secret of The Runes, we see less of the ridiculously bad special effects, but the acting doesn't get much better. The lead, Dalton Mugridge, is really the only actor who shows a marked improvement and does a much better job in the second film than he did in the first. As for the other kids, they are just terrible, and don't get me started on their master wizard, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. If this wasn't just a simple companion playing off Harry Potter to get viewers, if someone had actually put some money into these stories, these films would have been really good! The writing is terrific and it's the only reason I had any interest in these films at all. When you take the story, add a bunch of newcomers, and combine them with a former pro-wrestler, and special effects that look like they were made on a Windows '95 PC, the result is a film with a great story that is virtually unwatchable. Maybe if this film were made in the early 80s, when people were used to awful effects and bad acting, it would have been successful, but in the computer age, Billy Owens is sadly obsolete.

I can't say much about this movie. It's pretty simple and small-budgeted. The special effects are amateur and the children actors are, well, children actors. They're not at all bad, but it does sound like just repeating lines at times. If you don't like that type of performance and prefer the trained technique, you might not like this. But the movie is charming and the story line is even more interesting, especially if you like Harry Potter and all that wizard magic stuff. I personally found this better than Harry Potter. Just ignore the newbie acting, and enjoy it as an indie wizard movie. I'm sure the actors and director had a lot of fun making it. I have to say one actor was particularly good in his role, and that was the teacher. Also the gypsy woman at the carnival was not bad. She gave me the creeps I needed. I recommend this movie to anyone who likes magic and adventure, and does not feel awkward watching a children movie. Kids will love it, but adults may enjoy it as well.