Potter-Thon: Day 8: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

As this project of seeing all the “Harry Potter” films draws to a close, I'm reminded of the fact that J.K. Rowling is one of the rare writers of our time who realizes that to write about evil properly, you can't dress him up in a pantomime villain and say, “Well, isn't that scary?” when it's not. As accomplished at playing villains as he is (including one, in “Schindler's List,” who's even less of a pantomime villain as Voldemort is himself), Ralph Finnes can also play Voldemort a bit sensitively, oddly enough. This is actually, in my opinion, the best film in the series EVER. It's emotional, thrilling, and perfectly captures the fact that whether he will live or die in his last battle with Voldemort, Harry will emerge from it all a man, not the boy from the cupboard in “Sorcerer's Stone” that some of us are more familiar with. After that, I have nothing to offer but the tip of my hat. Personally, I was able to accept the ending the book and movie series without much grieving, but I hope you have enjoyed watching the films along with me as I have. Hate to sound corny, but: This is Luke Altman signing off.