Young Saint Louis.com had a young Belleville, Ill., boy write an exclusive review for you of the"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" movie. Eddie Szewczyk is a reporter and reviewer for the local Radio Disney station.

By Eddie Szewczyk
(Special to Young Saint Louis.com)

Attention Harry Potter fans. Please step to the right, check all baggage and pet owls, the Hogwart Express will be boarding from Platform 9 3/4. All passengers will be guaranteed a fantastic journey, along with amazing wonder and a pinch of sheer delight.

Oh, excuse me, I got a bit carried away after seeing a special critic's preview showing of the new "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" movie. You will absolutely love this movie.

The story by author J.K. Rowling begins with a young infant, Harry Potter, being deposited on the doorstep of some not so nice relatives. Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall, grand wizards at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had to find a home for the infant after Harry's parents were killed by a black wizard named Voldemort.

Eleven long years of muggle, non-wizard dreariness go by. Then, one day, while visiting the zoo, Harry has an odd experience with a talking snake, that only he can hear. That arouses in him ancient intuitiveness from his wizard background.

One day, a letter arrives for Harry from Hogwarts, beckoning him to attend the esteemed Institution of Higher Wizardry. In true muggle fashion, Harry's aunt and uncle--the Dursleys--are horrified at what evil may lurk behind those hallowed walls.

They hide and throw away the hundreds of academic invitations delivered by a cloud of owls. But, one day, Hagrid, a giant ogre, arrives to take Harry off to school and his destiny.

It's at this point that Harry Potter begins to realize what a great legacy his wizard parents have left behind for him. Harry purchases the requisite back-to-school-of-wizardry supplies. These include black work robes, a pointed hat, a magic wand (batteries not included, of course) and dragon hide gloves for use in Potions Lab.

Then Harry takes the Hogwart Express train to his new home.

It's on the journey that he meets his new best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger. They are all extraordinarily clever, even for wizards-in-training, and inquisitive to a fault.

Once at school, the precocious trio embarks on adventures both in and outside the classroom.

Harry's reckoning with his past and present comes to light when he discovers the Mirror of Erised in a restricted section of the Hogwarts library.

Professor Dumbledore points out to Harry that the mirror reflects the deepest and most desperate desires of one's heart. But, the professor cautions the mirror can be harmful because one shouldn't dwell only on dreams and forget to live.

It's with his knowledge that Harry sets out to find the magical Sorcerer's Stone that his parents bequeathed to him long ago. But, Harry soon finds out that the stone also has other seekers, namely the greatest black wizard of all, Voldemort.

He's the one who killed Harry's parents and almost killed Harry himself.

In his struggle with Voldemort, Harry realizes the tremendous powers of his own wizardry and also the tremendous power of his parents' love for him. The struggle at the end of the movie has Harry's good wizardry winning over that of Voldemort.

I need to say something about the Quidditch game. In most sports, players all work together. But, in Quidditch each of the players did their own thing. I thought it was a real cool game and it's just how I imagined it when I read the book.

The movie brings to life the unforgettable fantasy of Rowling's book. The film story is told in a way as to make the viewer relate to the amazing assortment of wizards, goblins, ogres and other mythical creatures as if they were next-door neighbors.

The director, Chris Columbus, has perfectly re-created on the big screen the mental images I had conjured up in my mind while reading the book. The scenery, details and special effects in the film are outstanding. The screenplay mirrors the book quite satisfactorily.

This movie is in a definite "Not to Be Missed" category. It earns my highest rating of five stars, or, in this case, five lizards.

Belleville boy does Potter review Eddie Szewczyk A thirteen-year-old Belleville, Ill., boy is the writer of the Young Saint Louis.com review of the blockbuster movie, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Eddie Szewczyk has a job as news reporter for the Radio Disney outlet in St. Louis. The Blessed Sacrament School student won the paying news job in an audition of nearly 100 applicants. One of his Radio Disney activities is to review movies so he was a natural to do the YSL.com review. Eddie attended a critic's preview showing of the movie Monday, Nov. 12. That gave him time to complete his review and have it posted on YSL.com before the public showings of the movie started Friday, Nov. 16.