people who think the harry potter movies all suck can go fuck themselves as far as i'm concerned. 1 was too light-hearted and gimmicky in the same way the 1st book was, the 2nd film was finding its feet like the 2nd book was but it was good, the third film is basically fucking amazing and beautifully directed, the fourth film is kind of retarded and convoluted (much moreso than the book), the fifth film was again pretty superb film-making.
don't agree AT ALL that HP is just empty and clichéd either, it gets really messy and wild thematically, and there's this building sense of dread and horror that is made all the more potent somehow by its essentially being a children's series. there's real thematic meat, i mean it's symbols galore, the way it handles harry shouldering his severe symbolic baggage, his relationship to his dead parents, the villain as his inner demons etcetc is really fucking deft. rowling's no stylist, but her strengths outweigh her generic tone for me. i can think of several moments that are quite breathtaking in their complexity.
not that there aren't a ton of flaws, these are not masterpieces by any stretch.
