There are two reasons why I love the Harry Potter books: they have absolutely fantastic characterization, and Rowling has created an amazingly detailed, self-contained world in much the same way that George Lucas did with Star Wars.  She's also a pretty damn good writer, and her prose is both accessible and engaging.

I think it's amusing that you are comparing the Harry Potter books to the Chronicles of Narnia books.  I read all of those as well, and they're more or less junk, except for the rather charming third and fourth books (Dawn Treader and Silver Chair).  They are simplistic and obnoxiously preachy.  Charming in parts, and certainly appropriate for children, but nothing I would recommend to anyone over the age of ten.  The Harry Potter books have something for readers of all ages, and I'm willing to bet that you will be wrong about their future significance.

I think the fact that you're dismissing what's universally regarded as a classic of literature as mere "junk", speaks volumes on your capacity (or lack thereof) to judge literature. Of course everyone has his/her opinion, but calling one of the most influential works "junk" is just laughable. Numerous authors have noted how this series influenced them, including Rowling (seems obvious to me and others that Rowling "borrowed" many ideas from Narnia), the TV series Lost was also influenced by the books, and numerous other books, movies, people... too numerous to try and list.

Pot, meet kettle.  I'm highlighting this because I genuinely think that Harry Potter will retain its status as long as Lewis' works have.  I tend to agree a bit with XLord on this one, as C.S. Lewis is bottom-tier fantasy for me.  His works were far more childish than Tolkien's, and while I still think there's value to them, I don't think they've aged terribly well (and yeah they ARE fairly preachy).  I think a lot of the same things that HP detractors have stated were probably leveled against these now "classic" works during their original days.

Straying a bit far from the original topic, but hopefully the off-topic police will allow me to recommend Michael Ward's Planet Narnia to anyone who hasn't gotten much from the Narnia books and feels like they must be missing something. It gave me a whole new appreciation for C.S. Lewis.

Back to the original topic, I caught the last Potter film this weekend and found it boring overall. I think the problem is that with a series like this, everything that happens in the final movie is what I already knew must happen from watching what came before. It felt very much like the movie was just running through a checklist of things that had to occur.

That is the problem with many movies and books in general, especially a "long" running series such as Potter. I will add this to my Narnia opponents, in the Narnia books, you never know what is going to happen. The books were never intended to be written in a manner that would make them "movie-friendly". Thanks for the note Smeg, this really sounds fascinating! Apparently, others think so too, since it was made into an hour-long BBC documentary!

http://www.planetnarnia.com/frequently-asked-questions

Sweet, didn't know about that. I'll have to check it out.

Anyone checked out the Hillywood Show music video?  It's a Deathly Hallows-based parody played up to Rebecca Black's often panned "Friday."

I never thought much of the song before, but this version is absurdly addicting.  The video itself is cheesy, cute, and very funny.

Just because something is influential does not make it good.  Sarah Palin is influential.  Jersey Shore is influential.  American Idol is influential.  Are any of those things good?  Like I said, I read all of the books.  They're not good (except for #3 and #4 which I like quite a bit).  I agree that they are influential and classics, but that doesn't make them good.  Excitebike is a classic.  Kid Icarus is a classic.  Both of those are pretty terrible games.  You seem to think that because something is universally regarded as an influential classic that automatically means it's good.  It doesn't.  The Ford Model T is a classic.  Would you drive one today?

Dude, Kid Icarus is awesome, what are you talking about!?

Angela! Where's your Deathly Hallows Part 2 review? I've been waiting on pins and needles!

Ahh, I know, I've been falling behind.   Truth is, circumstances have prevented me from seeing the film until tomorrow evening, so I should have something up by weekend's end.

Do explain, how exactly are any of those influential? Just because it's popular, does not mean it's influential. You are correct though, just because something is influential does not mean it's good. However the items you gave as example, I would contend are not particularly influential, just popular (with perhaps the exceptionof Palin who really is not particularly influential nor popular at this moment... and thank goodness for that)!

Typically, when something is an influential classic, then it is likely very good. I did not play Excitebike, so no comments on that. However, I did play Kid Icarus, and I certainly would not call it a terrible game at all. A hard game for certain, but not terrible. I also think your connection between the Ford Model T and driving it today is completely Reductio ad absurdum (ah Latin, such an influential and classic language, and yes, I quote it today)! I would not fly the Wright Brother's Flyer today, and yet that doesn't mean it wasn't important nor influential (it was indeed both). You don't like Narnia? OK, that's up to you. Nevertheless it is still universally regarded as a classic, and I don't think Potter will ever come close.

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There is nothing left to say now i just can add its the best movie of the series and an awesome end to the great series. I was late as i watched it late. But i had to watch it and I did watch it.