Harry Potter 7 Movie Release

You better believe Brad and I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, yesterday! But, I bet you didn't know that we saw it twice! Oh yes! We are that amount of Potter Freak!

We had (obviously) purchased our 12:01 release tickets weeks ago. But, through some pretty sweet connections, we were able to get our hands on a free pair of tickets to a pre-release premiere that showed at 7:30, a whole four and a half hours before the rest of the country! (Well, not considering time zones, those lucky coastals!) Brad and I absolutely could not miss out on that chance! It was some promotional thing for a new "Big D Experience" theater (which really was pretty awesome), but we didn't really care about that at all. We just wanted to watch the movie!

We got there before 5:00 to make sure we got legit seats. We were numbers 14 and 15 in line, and it's a good thing, too, because the place filled up super quickly. After hours in line, we got two great (Big D, leather rocking) seats in the back row, and thoroughly enjoyed the beginning of the final installment to the HP franchise.

But just because we had already seen the movie, didn't mean that we were going to skip out on the Midnight Mania! As soon as the movie finished, we sprinted out of there and hightailed across the city to the theater near our house where we had our 12:01 tickets reserved. We were worried that we'd get terrible seats (or not even get seats together) since we hadn't been waiting in the line for hours, but to our pleasant surprise, they were already allowing people to go into the theater instead of waiting in a line outside. We marched our way to the top row, politely asked three teenage boys to scoot down a chair to make two available together, and we plopped ourselves down in the very best, very middle seats feeling smug that we already knew what was going to happen. And not just "we've read the book, so we know what's going to happen" kind of smugness, but the "we've totally already seen this movie before you were even allowed to, so we know what's going to happen" kind. We tried not to let it go to our heads.

Honestly, I believe that this 7th film is the very best Potter movie, yet. It was seriously so good. So intense. So action packed. So suspenseful. So well acted. So accurate to the book. Simply put: so great. It was everything a Potterhead could want in a film adaptation. I'm super glad that they split this book into two movies. I think the extra screen time really allowed for them to stay true to the story and keep (most) everything from the plot in tact. I'm so, completely satisfied.

However, I'm not going to lie, since Brad's read the 7th book more recently than I have, there was more than one occasion when I leaned over to him and whispered, "Is that how it happened in the book?" or "I don't understand. What happens with that?" If I weren't so proud of Brad's Potter knowledge and devotion, I'd be ashamed of myself. Oh, I forgot to mention, Brad dressed up for the occasion! He totally wore his Gryffindor tie and Quidditch robe (that is very much too small, as it is a child's costume, but we were given by a friend)! I was so surprised, and sooooo happy! He's a Potter Freak just like me, and he's proud of it!!

There really is just something special and unique about watching a movie at Midnight (or earlier). You're amongst all of the other freaks out there who love the story just as much as you do and aren't ashamed to admit it. It's such a neat experience to live through all of the events and emotions as one with a huge room full of people (and across the country) who are just as wrapped up into the characters as you are.

That feeling of oneness combined with the chance to finally enjoy Harry Potter alongside a husband who finally enjoys it himself is priceless. Last night provided some memories I'll cherish for long to come. I'm so glad we had the opportunity to be part of the Harry Potter frenzy.

Now, I'm really looking forward to July 2011 when we get to watch the exciting conclusion to Harry Potter's journey! I'm most definitely already counting down.