I just didn't get it. People I knew who were in elementary school to people in their 40s were ranting and raving about "Harry Potter" and have been since J.K. Rowling published her first book. I went to the movie to see what all the hype was about, having not read the book. It didn't take me long to see exactly why everyone was in love with Harry.\nDaniel Radcliffe was the lucky boy who got to play the star after thousands of kids auditioned. Radcliffe plays a convincing little wizard from my standpoint, having not read the book. After a magical opening to the movie, Potter is taken away from his aunt and uncle and sent off to witchcraft and wizardry school called Hogwarts. Hogwarts is a world you thought only existed in dreams you had when you were a child. \n"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" made me feel like a kid again. I was scared, I was excited, I was bewildered, I was enchanted. The digital effects were so realistic, far from cheap and corny. A cloak that makes you invisible, a wand that does what you say and a stone that makes you live forever were all things I never realized I wanted until I saw the movie. "Harry Potter" has made my imagination run wild!\nWhile the movie had the highest grossing opening day in history, I predict book sales to skyrocket. I've already put the books on my Christmas list and plan to add the video to my collection whenever it comes out. I'd even go so far as to say I just might see it again in the theater. \nI enjoyed myself to the max, but I wouldn't recommend taking your little brother or sister to see the movie if they are easily scared. Three-headed dogs, dragons and ghosts all add to the mystery of the movie, but also make it creepy. My mother informed me after the movie that she was afraid she might have nightmares.\nI want to know what comes next. I want to know what I missed in the book. I have to have more Harry Potter! It's a good thing they are already working on the next film. If you haven't seen it yet, go see it. Even if it's just to see what all the fuss is about. You'll find yourself in a world you never knew existed and might put a new book on your Christmas list.
Note: This is the first of two Harry Potter movie reviews. This review is from the standpoint of a person who has not read the Harry Potter books.
