Hi there J-14ers!

Yes, I'm just a measly Muggle. And to be perfectly honest, I'm not exactly a big fan of the fantasy genre… yet it's no secret that I'm 109 3/4% (get it? ha!) obsessed (emphasis: OBsessed!) with Harry Potter.

I've crossed borders to buy the original "British English" versions of the books that J.K. Rowling wrote, I own random HP trinkets like a Gryffindor jacket and character gummy candies, and I guarantee you there's no spell that could tear me away from Harry Potter marathons on ABC Family (nope, not even in the library's restricted section's books!).

So this two-year wait between films has been absolutely excruciating, to say the least. I had mixed feelings when the movie got bumped eight months (thank goodness, Twilight took its spot — I'm just as obsessed with Edward Cullen, but let's save that for another day! 😉 ). Needless to say, I was more than grateful that I was one of the "chosen ones" who got to catch an advanced screening of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Monday night.

And… drumroll please… dare I say it? Yes, this movie is the best Harry Potter movie to date. No doubt about it.

Why? Five simple reasons…
1- It's hilarious! You'll laugh more than ever about everything from the kids' kooky flirting to Luna Lovegood's crazy ways – check out her lionhead in the photo above!
2-It's nail-biting! The entire fate of the world — both wizarding and Muggle! — rests on the bravery of Harry himself!
3-It's dramatic! Your heart will tear apart when you go through Hermione and Harry's jealousy when they see their crushes with other dates!
4-It's swoon-worthy! All the kids have grown out of their awkward phases — Dan Radcliffe looks cuter and more charming than ever, Rupert Grint's grown from goofy kid into a certified hottie, bad boy Tom Felton's looks like a total rockstar now, and of course there's my newest HP crush Cormac McLaggen played by Freddie Stroma who's totally up there with my first two wizard crushes, Oliver Wood played by Sean Biggerstaff, and Cedric Diggory played by some guy you've never heard of called Rob Pattinson. 🙂
5-And it's heart-wrenching! No spoilers for those who haven't read the book, but you will need Kleenex. Boxes of it.

Or to put it into Twitter-sized thinking: I laughed, I cried, I screamed, I shrieked, I sweated, I swooned… in short, loved every minute of Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince!

But this is my issue with the films… every time I see a new Harry Potter film, I feel like I've seen it before!

Huh? What do I mean? Well, not long after the movie started, Harry and Dumbledore were in Professor Horace Slughorne's house and I knew I'd be there before. Only I couldn't have… because this was the first time I'd seen the movie and hadn't ever seen any photos of it. I felt the same way in Fred and George's joke shop. And again in the dark cave with Harry and Dumbledore at the end.

And then it clicked. I realized I HAD been to all these places before. But it was only in my head when I read the books! And suddenly, I realized the beauty of the Harry Potter movies and books is that J.K. Rowling writes every minute detail so vividly and clearly and the filmmakers have kept to her word so faithfully that what I saw on screen was literally what I'd pictured in my imagination while I was reading the books! It's like they reached into MY memory and bottled it up and poured it only the big screen. 🙂

Well, I'd need a time-turner to keep writing everything I have to say about this BEST Harry Potter movie EVER, so I'll leave it at that… and I cannot wait to hear what all of you guys think after you see the movie tomorrow! Do tell!

Mugglely Yours,
Ra-"Cho Chang" (ha!)
J-14 Editor

Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

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