Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Just a bit of the fan fare in the Times Square subway station advertisements for HP7 Part 2.

Before the Film

To all of my faithful readers and facebook followers, it is no secret that I was highly anticipating the date July 15, 2011.  With a group of friends, the midnight tickets were obtained and a party was planned. We were all going to meet up at seven to eat snacks and re-watch Part 1 and get to the theater early enough to find our seats.

We had a fabulous time! Besides our typical snacks of chips, edamame, veggies and dip, one brilliant buddy came prepared to mix up some butter beers! Now, I am, sadly, dairy-free so I could not have one of my own, but when I saw the faces of every single other person in the room light up with pure glee as they pulled back from their mugs with a foamy mustache; I insisted that I have a sip - regardless of consequence - to gain a full understanding of the experience. It was A-MAZ-ING. I did not get the actual recipe (I plan to), but I recall ingredients such as cream soda (a favorite of mine!), butterscotch, butterscotch schnapps and ice cream being discussed. I believe this will be a recipe easy enough to adapt for my tasty pleasure!

As we watched part 1, those of us who read the books whispered back and forth about How do you think they handle this? or I can't wait for the scene when... Those who hadn't read the books, asked clarifying questions about part 1 and insisted we stay tight-lipped about spoilers for part 2. Whether we knew the story or not, we were all tingling with anticipation.

The Theater

Just one line, that we had the pleasure of not waiting on!

  
When the movie finished at about 10:30pm, we received news that the multiplex theater was already loading up the theaters that had the midnight showings. We got on our feet, split into various cars and speculated about how many students we would see this year.

Our group midnight trips to the Harry Potter films always lead to surprised squeals of, "Oo! Oo! Miss!!" leading us all to flinch - either looking to see who's calling, or ducking behind a seat. My husband will often get an entire band at once, "Miiissterrr RiVERaaaaaa!" However, we know, this is the price of teach-lebrity, an issue that plagues teachers all over the world, I am sure, when they live in such close proximity to those they teach.

This year was not that bad since we were not left out on display on a line for an hour or two. This year, we strolled right into the theater, straight into Auditorium 9 and had third row seats (the theater was already packed, of course). It was 11pm and we were ready.

And, Of Course, The BIG EVENT: The MOVIE

The Harry Potter midnight movie experience is something I will miss. While my husband and I do fit midnight movies into our schedules more than most of our friends, they all tend to pale in comparison. This is never a one-theater event and we never go it alone. We were in a group of ten this time, and, for the most part, it seemed most others in the theater traveled in the same types of groups. The energy was buzzing - the robes, the wands, the endless Harry Potter t-shirts - the kids were squealing and yelling from one row to another, but when the lights went down after all of the trailers, there was a collective inhale and silence.

I was impressed.

I was excited.

When I saw Severus Snape up on the screen, I already started to tear up. I was invested in this story.

There are seven defined battles in the Deathly Hallows book; five of the battles were in part 1 of the movie, which left only two for this last part: the break-in at Gringott's Wizarding Bank and the Battle at Hogwarts. I felt as though one was done perfectly and one left me wanting more. To be honest with you, I have already began my discussing my hopes for what I might see in the deleted scenes when the DVD comes out!

Did I enjoy the movie? Absolutely. Should you see the movie? Without question! Haven't you already?! I think Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was a very good movie. I simply wanted more. In order to appropriately describe my feelings about the movie, I think I must devote a second post to my Book to Movie experience with Harry Potter.

Here's my plan for now: I will see it this movie again. I know, from previous experience, these feelings of disappointment will dissipate. In the meantime, these are my honest feelings about the film upon my first viewing.

Have you seen it yet?

What are your thoughts?

Did you have a Harry Party?

Do you know of any Potter-related snacks we all should be trying?