Growing up, I've always loved to sit down on the couch with a tasty snack, a refreshing beverage, and a warm cozy blanket. It’s the perfect recipe for watching a really great movie. I've watched a lot of fantastic movies, but I've come to realize that watching a movie can only tell you so much about a character and their development. You honestly need to watch a whole series of movies with one character to truly understand their growth over time. So, the real question we should all be pondering is: What is the best movie series of all time? And that is the exact question I will be working to answer. 

There are a lot of great movie series out there. I can sit here all day and give you a long description of all of the different movie series that I have watched, but if I had to choose the two movie series that stick out to me the most, I would easily pick  Star Wars and Harry Potter, as these are the two most dwelled upon and sought after movie series of all time.  To figure out which one is better, I will be analyzing the two movie series based on three main factors: the plot, characters, and cinematography. 

Let's start with our first characteristic: the plot.  In Harry Potter, we meet a young boy named Harry who lives with his obnoxious uncle and aunt.  His parents mysteriously died when he was just a baby, and Harry seeks answers. Eventually, Harry flees from his abusive household with a mysterious bearded fellow, named Hagrid, who tells Harry that he is a wizard. Harry and Hagrid later make their journey to Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry. When Harry arrives, he is sorted into the house of Gryffindor and immediately befriends two other classmates, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.  Harry is highly regarded by many and doesn't seem to understand why until he learns that he is the only individual who is powerful enough to survive an attack from an evil and very powerful sorcerer named Voldemort. Harry also learns that Voldemort is the same wizard that killed his parents when he was born.  Throughout the course of the movies, Harry continues to become a stronger wizard over time through his education at Hogwarts. He completes many heroic acts, with a main goal of seeking to destroy Voldemort once and for all by finding and destroying horcruxes, which were small objects that held a piece of Lord Voldemort’s soul to prevent him from dying. These horcruxes help Lord Voldemort nearly achieve immortality and become extremely powerful and unstoppable, until Harry finds and destroys them all,  Voldemort once and for all.. I personally love the Harry Potter plot as I feel that all of the individual movies are tied together so well.  The plot continues to build as the movies progress, until the final fight scene between Voldemort and Harry in the Deathly Hallows Part 2. It truly shows how Harry has grown so much as a wizard and has built up the courage over time to defeat Voldemort and destroy him once and for all. I would rate the plot of Harry Potter a solid 9 out of 10, simply because nothing is perfect. 

Now that we’ve observed the plot of Harry Potter, let's move on to Star Wars.  In the New Hope, we meet a young farm boy named Luke Skywalker who lives on the planet Tatooine with his uncle and aunt. He gets a distress signal or plead for help from Princess Leia through one of his drones. Luke joins a jedi master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to save Princess Leia from this unknown danger, later becoming  a member of the rebellion, or a group that works to fight against the evil Galactic Empire. Along the way, Luke learns about the force, an ancient energy that jedis have the ability to use. He also joins Han Solo and his co-pilot Chewbacca, who takes him  to Princess Leia’s home planet, which they find in shambles and completely destroyed. Later in the movie, the Millennium Falcon (Han Solo’s starship) is captured by the Death Star, a space station that is directed by Darth Vader, a sith lord who seeks to gain full control over the galaxy. Han Solo and Luke Skywalker construct a plan to save Princess Leia, as they discover that she is also imprisoned on the Death Star, while Obi-Wan Kenobi fights Darth Vader, and unfortunately is defeated and killed.  Luke disguises himself as a stormtrooper and the two work to save Princess Leia and help her escape. Later in the movie, the rebellion works to find ways to destroy the Death Star to prevent the Galactic Empire from seizing full control over the galaxy. Luke ends up being the individual to fly an X-wing fighter to destroy the Death Star. He does this through his newly-acquired knowledge of the force and uses the force to demolish the death star and save the universe. 

In the second film, The Empire Strikes Back,  Luke Skywalker is taken under the wing of Jedi Master Yoda, who teaches him the ways of the force. Luke is educated that his friends, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Leia, have been captured by the sith lord Darth Vader, as they were blindsided by an “ally,” Lando Calrissian.  Luke arrives to save them but then realizes that Vader only kidnapped and captured his friends in order to lure him in. Luke then fights Darth Vader and is defeated, as his hand is chopped off by Vader's lightsaber in a thrilling duel. Darth Vader  acknowledges to Luke that he is his father, which Luke responds to with a dramatic cry of denial. Luke is then saved from Vader, but his friend Han Solo is unfortunately captured and frozen in carbonite, which ends the movie on a suspenseful cliffhanger.

In the third and final movie of the saga, The Return of The Jedi, Luke saves his friend Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt's palace and defeats Jabba the Hutt, a slug-like creature and crime lord that held Han Solo in captivity. He then revisits Yoda to finish his training, where Yoda reveals to Luke that Leia is his twin sister and that he must confront Darth Vader in order to become a true jedi. Luke then learns from the Rebel Alliance that the Empire is constructing a new Death Star which will be much more dangerous and powerful. Luke, Han Solo, and Leia then travel to the planet Endor, in order to disable the shield generator of the Death Star. At Endor, they meet small native creatures, called ewoks, who prove to be helpful allies that assist them in their battle against the imperial forces. During the battle,  Luke fights and defeats Darth Vader once and for all, but refuses to kill him after Emperor Palpatine confronts him and demands him to. Because of Luke's refusal to turn to the “dark side”, the emperor electrocutes him. To Luke’s surprise, he is saved by his father, Anikan Skywalker (DarthVader), who betrays Palpatine and kills him in order to save Luke and destroy the sith. Unfortunately, Vader dies soon after. Meanwhile, the rebel alliance finally defeats the empire and destroys the Death Star. Luke celebrates with his friends on Endor and honors Vader before finally leaving him. I would rate the plot of the Star Wars saga a 9.5 out of 10, as it truly captures  Luke's journey over time, from his days as a farm boy in Tatooine to a Jedi master and even savior of the universe. The ending of the saga satisfies the plot well as it concludes Luke's mission to bring peace and stability to the universe.

Next, I will compare the characters of each movie series. In Harry Potter, we get to see Harry develop from a mistreated and misunderstood orphan boy to a courageous, brave, and powerful wizard. His generosity and love for his friends and the people who support him lead him to be able to defeat the most powerful wizard in the world and save the entire wizarding world.  We will also look at four other characters throughout the Harry Potter movies. Hermione is displayed as a very intelligent girl and a strong witch. She becomes very close to Harry over the course of the movies and always stands by him. Ron is a humorous and sometimes clueless comic relief of the movies, who was Harry’s best friend from day one. Although he may not have been the strongest wizard, Ron still proves to be a great help to Harry during his journey to defeat Voldemort. Next, we meet Dumbledore, who is a wise and powerful wizard who proves to be a great mentor and teacher to Harry over the course of the movies.  Lastly, there is Voldemort,  an extremely powerful dark wizard who craves vengeance against Harry after being weakened when he tries to kill Harry’s parents. Voldemort grows an army to take down Harry and seize full control over the wizarding world, but Harry’s persistent nature and determination to defeat Voldemort shuts down his evil plan. Overall, I would rate the characters of the Harry Potter movies a solid 9.5 out of 10, as I grew a great liking for all of them after watching each movie. The character development of not only Harry, but every other character in this movie is completely flawless. The reason why most Harry Potter fans love these movies so much is mainly because of the characters' likeability. Although the movie series takes place in a fictional fantasy world, the characters are all still very relatable, which is why viewers connect to them very easily and gain empathy for them over the course of each film.  

Next, we will visit the characters of the Star Wars movie series. The main five characters of the Star Wars movies include Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker is a young, ambitious, and courageous boy who develops from a poor farm boy to a jedi. His courage and bravery lead him to successfully save the galaxy from the galactic empire. Han Solo is the funny character of Star Wars and always seems to provide some comedic relief even in the most serious situations. Leia is Luke's sister in the Star Wars movie series and is also Han Solo’s love interest. She too is very brave, just like her brother, and displays her courage through her leadership as the head of the resistance that is working to defeat the sith. Obi-Wan Kenobi is Luke’s mentor in the first movie. He teaches Luke many skills that help him become a strong jedi knight. Although Obi-Wan is killed off after the first movie, he still holds an important place in Luke’s heart and stays with him for the rest of the series, always watching over him as a ghost. Darth Vader is the notorious villain of the Star Wars saga.  He is known as one of the most legendary villains in cinematic history because of his cold nature, chilling presence, and twisted backstory. His scenes in Star Wars are always iconic and leave the audience in awe. Because of the prior reasons and details, I would rate the Star Wars characters a solid 9/10, as they aren't exactly as relatable as the Harry Potter characters but still are  very prominent and well-known figures.  

Lastly, we will compare each movie series's cinematography. Although the Star Wars movies are much older than the Harry Potter films, they still hold epic cinematographic scenes that are way ahead of their time.  Most of the Star Wars movies take place on different planets, and it is so fascinating to get a glimpse of all these different worlds and environments in the Star Wars universe.  Each Star Wars movie starts in outer space, and we get to see spaceships soar through the galaxy. The lightsaber battles in each Star Wars movie are also very graphic and action-packed, leaving fans with complete satisfaction and enthusiasm. I would rate the Star Wars cinematography a 9.75 out of 10, as they are some of the most cinematographically appealing movies of all time. 

While not nearly as phenomenal as the Star Wars movies, the Harry Potter movies still have some amazing cinematography. Being able to experience the magic that the Harry Potter wizarding world holds is also truly amazing. Hogwarts is displayed magnificently in every scene. Along with that, watching the various spells that are distinguished from each wizard’s wand is very astounding.  Overall, I would rate the cinematography of Harry Potter a solid 8/10, as it unfortunately does not fill in the footsteps of Star Wars. 

In conclusion, the Star Wars movie series went 2 - 1 against the Harry Potter series, establishing itself as the best movie series of all time because of its astonishing cinematography, extraordinary plot, and exceptional character development.

To be completely candid, a movie critic I am not. In fact, I am not even an avid moviegoer. But for some reason, I was unabashedly drawn to see both Barbie and Oppenheimer, this summer’s remarkably contrasting blockbuster films. Perhaps it was because of the competition generated by the simultaneous release date of July 21, 2023, referred to as “Barbenheimer” and I was just another “Ken” following the crowd. Maybe it was because I was curious to see how it would be possible to bring one of the seemingly dullest yet most culturally iconic toys of the 21st Century to life on the big screen (though apparently, I should not be a toy critic either – I was at one time not so long ago one of the largest purveyors of Thomas the Train on the East Coast). Maybe it was because I could not adequately fathom how anyone would possibly want to watch a 183-minute “biopic” about the creation of one of the deadliest weapons the world had ever seen. Truthfully, it seemed depressing. In retrospect, I do not know why I wanted to see them both, but I am ultimately glad that I did.

Barbie was directed by acclaimed filmmaker Greta Gerwig and starred Margot Robbie as the titular heroine (of Harley Quinn and Wolf of Wall Street fame). Ryan Gosling took on the male lead as Ken (of The Notebook and the highly underrated Remember the Titans) along with a host of other “A-List” stars (Will Ferrell, Michael Cera, and Kate McKinnon to name a few). The plot of Barbie is relatively straightforward. Barbie, the most popular resident of the toy world “Barbieland,” is confronted with an existential inner conflict about her identity – a humorous yet relatable struggle to find life’s meaning. Viewers watch as Barbie journeys to the “real world” on a series of adventures that allow the audience to explore the concepts of societal norms towards women. Using comedy, music, and emotion, Gerwig crafts a surprisingly intriguing and humorous social commentary about a doll that has allowed thousands of young women to dream about who and what they can become. Admittedly, I enjoyed the film far more than I thought I would.

Oppenheimer was helmed by Christopher Nolan (of Batman, Memento, and Inception) and starred Cillian Murphy (of the legendary Peaky Blinders) in company with a  similarly boasted star-studded cast (Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt, Josh Hartnett, Rami Malek, and more). Of course, Oppenheimer is a far “darker” film. The plot is uncomplicated and revolves around the life of brilliant scientist Robert J. Oppenheimer, the head of the Manhattan Project and “Father” of the atomic bomb. Much of the film takes place in 1954, approximately ten years after the bombs were unleashed in World War II. The film also depicts Oppenheimer’s congressional hearings about the secret creation and usage of the bomb. Throughout the film, there are numerous flashbacks of Oppenheimer initially learning the “new quantum physics” in Europe, leading up to the eventual creation of the infamous weapon. Oppenheimer’s story was depicted well; the acting was strong, and the film never failed to keep viewers engaged. While not nearly as “fun” as Barbie, Oppenheimer offers a unique social critique on the morality of war and science, along with the role even one lone man can play with consequences of epic proportion.

While these two blockbuster movies may initially seem unappealing to many filmgoers, I strongly recommend watching both. The key to enjoying Barbie is to accept it for what it is – a fun summer movie with an edgy vibe and more than a few positive messages. Conversely, the key to enjoying Oppenheimer is to view it from a prism of education – perhaps to avoid repeating history, we must learn from our past mistakes.

Overall, it is rather difficult to pick a “winner” between the two movies. Both films tie but for markedly different reasons, each receiving strong scores of 8/10. If the match-up went to overtime, the nod likely goes to Barbie simply because it’s a bit more “feel good” than Oppenheimer. Get your popcorn ready and find yourself a “2 for 1” movie special if you can – you will not be disappointed.