Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's [/Philosopher's] Stone - 8/10 (sf/f)
Lame that the US release nerfed the title rather than explain it to young American readers, but wtf ever. Pre-emo Harry isn't such a drag to watch.
#1's pacing is painfully pedantic and the young actors, while decent, don't seem to be quite there yet. But we're bludgeoned by a massive supporting cast, including Richard Harris in his last live-action movie role.
Chris Columbus set a fine example with the first two movies that probably should have been followed by the subsequent ones if they wished to make any sense as a unit. Azkaban is great, but ever since they've been pushing more and more free license material into the films that neither serves to tie anything in between the films or even individually, nor adds anything 'subtly evocative.'