After finishing up Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows early last week, I decided it’d be fun to re-read the whole series as well as watch all of the movies from the series that we have so far.  Friday night after work, I was home by myself — a rare event — so I decided to watch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first movie.  I remember when I first saw it, I was rather critical of this movie.  After watching it again Friday night, I can’t for the life of me remember why.  I really enjoyed it!  Every one of the actors who portrayed the main three kids in the series did a great job, I thought.  And the plot followed the book pretty faithfully.  I couldn’t help but get a laugh out of the Ron Weasley character in particular, when he kept saying “Wicked!” at times when he was really impressed by something or another.  Or by his voice, which began to squeak whenever he was scared.  Or when he muttered funny asides about how scary or “mental” Hermione was.  Other highlights:  the short but highly significant scene between Ollivander, the wand maker, and Harry; the visit to Gringott’s; the verbal exchange between Hagrid and the Dudleys when Hagrid came to rescue Harry; the very first scene when Harry, as a little baby, was left on the Dudley’s doorstep.  I had completely forgotten that Dumbledore’s deluminator, which plays a prominent part in the last book, was used in the opening scene of the first movie as well.  Good stuff.