*Isn't even going to bother with a spoiler warning, oh wait....*
Any theories on what the baby-like creature was at the limbo version of King's Cross? The most obvious (and hence, my own) guess is that it was Harry's horcrux.
I actually didn't think about the Christ parallels while reading, but that's mostly because I was thinking "Wow, all of those annoying message board addicts who kept claiming that Harry was the final horcrux were right!" the entire time. Heh, but I don't think anyone predicted his resurrection.
Now for my opinion: I think that it was easily one of the best in the series. The first 3/4 or so of the book when they're on the run dragged on in places, though it was occasionally interspersed with great moments, such as in the chapter titled "The Silver Doe". I absolutely loved the enigmatic nature of the Silver Doe and the Horcrux scene was just outstanding.
Once they return to Hogwarts, the story really started to get epic & spectacular. Sometimes it seems as if Rowling kills off her supporting characters for little more than emotional effect (such as Sirius in OotP and Fred) as I doubt that the deaths of those two and a few others would have had any bearing on the plot.
The chapter of Snape's memories seemed a bit out of place being between an epic battle at Hogwarts and the final confrontation with Voldemort, yet at the same time it happened at just the right moment in the story. Snape is an amazingly deceptive character and he proved to be admirable after all. His flashbacks were very touching and showed a side of him that I don't think were ever revealed up to that point.
I also felt that she could've had a longer denoument,
I agree, and thanks for using that word (even though I think it's misspelled). I've been looking for a better term for the events following the climax (I always referred to it as "falling action" up until now).
For such a long and progressively complex series, the ending in this book was amazingly short. The epilogue could have been a lot more than merely "this character ends up with that character and their kids go to Hogwarts," which was extremely obvious.
Epilogues are effective in preventing drawn-out endings (which wasn't the case at all here,) but it barely followed up with anything else of interest at all. Acquittal for breaking into Gringotts? Career paths of the characters other than Neville? Possible amends between Harry & Malfoy? Why Ron's and Hermione's kids had such horrible names? (I was expecting one of them to be named Fred.) NONE OF THESE WERE ANSWERED! I have a feeling that Rowling is going to face these questions & more in future interviews.
As for the film, it should make for a great one. The best part of the book is the last 150 pages and even studios (money-driven as they may be) will realize that an epic battle at Hogwarts is the money-making part of the film and give it additional attention. However, pulling it off without cutting corners in the story properly (and creating plot holes for those who haven't read the books, which has happened many, many times) will be quite a feat.