HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

An improvement over the first installment not only because the filmmakers are more confident about what they can do, but also because they’re less uptight about what they can’t. (What they can’t do is make a magical movie that really flies as a freestanding cinematic creation.) The returning cast, led by a charming Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, is welcome in this darker (and sometimes funnier) chapter; the new thespians are great fresh hams, led by Kenneth Branagh as vain, phony Professor Lockhart, and Jason Isaacs as a villainous Slytherin alumnus.