"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" - in theaters

This movie came out last Friday, and I've already seen it three times. And this includes a midnight showing and an IMAX 3D showing.

I cried heartily every time, at the exact same spots, even though I knew they were coming.

Don't judge me.

But seriously folks, this movie is EPIC. If you are a Harry Potter lunatic, the way that I am, but treat the movies as their own separate entities, then you'll like this film a lot. If you are a hardcore book fan, and want the filmmakers to adhere to every last detail, then of course you're going to be disappointed.

The movie starts off where Part One ended, and they don't give you any time to breath. You had best be up on your Potter lore, or else you're going to be totally lost. You rejoin Harry, Hermione, and Ron in the quest for Horcruxes, but thankfully, they have a better grasp on where they are, and don't spend most of the movie camping in the woods. It is pretty much straight up action with emotional land mines scatter sporadically throughout that hit you right in the chest, where it hurts. You're transported everywhere, from Gringotts, to Hogsmeade, to the battle at Hogwarts. Beloved characters are killed (but no spoilers here, I promise), others thrive, and the whole time, you just KNOW that Harry is thinking "I'm gonna kill this son of a bitch if it's the last thing I do."

It. Is. Phenomenal.

Many people have stated how sad they are that these films have ended, but I don't feel like I've lost anything. I thought it was a great conclusion, and I don't feel empty now that it's over. If I'm ever feeling nostalgic, I can simply pop in a DVD of my favorite movie or - *gasp* - pick up one of the books, and I feel like I'm chatting with an old friend. Yes, I would love to see them in more adventures, but at the same time, don't these characters deserve a rest? Shouldn't they be entitled to a little monotony in their twenties and thirties? After spending most of my late adolescence and early adulthood with these characters, even I could use a break!

(I also know that if all else fails, and I'm desperate for a new story, there's a great site called fan-fiction.net that has thousands of Potter stories just waiting to be discovered...)

So on the CWeave scale, I rate this movie a 10 (as if I could give it any other number!). A fantastic conclusion to a spectacular film journey. And did I mention how Neville Longbottom is a total bad ass? If nothing else, see it for that alone. It's incredible.

And don't forget to bring tissues.

Seriously. You'll bawl your face off.