Church cautions parents on new ‘Harry Potter’ movie

The new Harry Potter movie may be "morally acceptable and technically above average," but the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) film review board cautioned parents of very young children about the film’s violent scenes.

"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is the second of a series of Harry Potter films adapted from the four-novel series by British children’s writer J.K. Rowlings.

The CBCP’s Catholic Initiative for Enlightened Movie Appreciation (Cinema) warned parents against the movie’s possible ill effects on children. "The movie contains some dark and scary scenes , over-sized and fantastic creatures and the desperate, heightened fight to the finish at the end," Cinema said.

Cinema advised parents to decide whether very young children should be allowed to watch "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," though it is a children’s film.

Starring Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Emma Watson as Hermione Granger and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, this new Harry Potter movie comes a year after the release of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone."

The movie weaves new tales about the adventures of orphan wizard Harry and his loyal friends Hermione and Ron at the Hogwarts school of wizardry.

In its review of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone," Cinema warned parents about the adverse effects of the movie on children who may watch it.

"Though wizardry is portrayed on a fairy-tale level, there is the danger that die-hard fans who idolize Harry and admire his heroic feats might be encouraged to dabble in witchcraft, seek sources of black magic and may fail to differentiate the real from the reel," Cinema said of the first Harry Potter flick this time last year.

Cinema also cite the positive things about the movie as a whole, such as the friendship and loyalty between Harry, Ron and Hermione, as well as the courage, determination and concern for students and discipline shown by the movie’s protagonists.

The second Harry potter movie, Cinema said, takes on a more precise issue — bigotry. It shows how Hogwarts and its teachers hold on to the school’s tradition of accepting students, whether they are full-blooded wizards from families descended from wizards or students with muggles (non-wizards) for parents.

Cinema said the eternal conflict between good and evil and the eventual triumph of good is central to all of J.K. Rowling’s books.

Meanwhile, Cinema was all censure for two more local films, Hibla and Sex Files. Both films were rated by Cinema as morally disturbing, while Hibla was rated as "technically above average" and Sex Files was labeled "technically below average."

Hibla stars sexy stars Rica Peralejo and Maui Taylor, was directed by Yam Laranas and produced by Vic del Rosario for Viva Films.