As this weekend marks the start of one of the biggest blockbuster years the domestic box office has seen in years, one movie will hands down be in the top five when it comes to financial pull. That film, of course, is Warner Bros’ final film in the Harry Potter franchise.

Set to hit theaters in the US on July 15th, this is said to be (by those who read the book) the most action-packed of the Harry Potter films. Here’s the official synopsis.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,” is the final adventure in the Harry Potter film series. The much-anticipated motion picture event is the second of two full-length parts.

In the epic finale, the battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war. The stakes have never been higher and no one is safe. But it is Harry Potter who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort.

It all ends here.

Intense enough for you? If not, you will certainly be blown away after checking out the very first trailer after the jump. It all begins there.

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Welcome to this week’s On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage this week. Let is know if we missed something interesting. Otherwise, on to the links!

• Ever wonder which reality TV stars would be the perfect team for the zombie apocalypse? Here’s the top 6.

• Craig Ferguson’s Doctor Who special had to cut an epic music number. Thanks to Ferguson’s Twitter, that music number is no longer lost.

• Against everyone’s better judgment, a film about Space Nazis titled Iron Sky is actually going into production.

• Need help teaching a youngling the alphabet? How about by way of Star Wars characters?

• Voldemort may get taken down by Harry Potter in the next film, but he’s hitting Manhattan in the meantime.

• Microsoft has decided to give Xbox 360 users FREE Microsoft Points….for a price.

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Warning: This review CONTAINS SPOILERS. Seriously. Don’t read if you haven’t seen the movie or read the books.

I grew up with Harry Potter. Alongside him, is more appropriate actually. I picked up the first book from Barnes and Noble at the age of 9, and I remember the anticipation as each book came out. Each midnight release as my friend Emma’s mom, Ann, bought us root beers and cookies at the Barnes and Noble café while we trooped around in big rimmed glasses with lightning bolt scars drawn on our heads, awaiting 12 AM when the book would finally be in our hands.

As Harry grew and adventured and experienced, I did too. I felt the pangs of first love, the loss of old friends, the joys of new ones with a fictional character who was as real as anything to me. As I read the seventh and final book cover to cover last year, I felt like a piece of my childhood was gone. I was finally grown up.

The movie franchise, however I might feel about them, has been a bit backwards. As each film has been released I’ve been less and less excited. I thought they started out splendidly. I remember tearing up in the theater at the age of thirteen when I heard Sir Richard Harris mutter the line, “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” I was terrified of the basilisk, and in love with Kenneth Branaugh as Gilderoy Lockhart. But as the kids grew up in the films and the CGI was relied on more and more, the magic was slowly lost for me. Especially in Movie 5, Order of the Phoenix.

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Hey there, did you happen to catch the show Merlin on Sunday night? If not, then you missed the awesome extended Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince preview that ran during the show. However, fear not because we here at The Flickast have your back. How? We’ve got the extended preview to bring you right now, courtesy of NBC.

In this clip we’re given a further glimse into the world of this new film and how the gang has changed, and stayed the same, since the last movie. All your favorites are in attendance including Ron, Hermoine, Dumbledore, Snape, Voldemort and, of course, Harry himself. They’re just a bit older, wiser and slightly worse for wear.

We also get to see that this Harry Potter film is pretty dark and the stakes have risen quite high for our heroes. In fact, the fate of their world, and ours, hangs in the balance. It looks pretty good to me, I have to say.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opens everywhere on July 15th. Click through to check out the extended trailer. Its worth a look.

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