Movie: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

[Munsu]

New trailer came out recently:
http://www.moviefone.com/movie/harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince/27063/main


Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort's defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn't counted on Romilda Vane's chocolates! And then there's Hermione, simpering with jealously but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.

[saman]

As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one.

took me a second to remember who this was referring to. i'm still not happy with michael gambon's dumbledore, but looking forward to this movie all the same. thanks!

[Munsu]

Just throwing this out there as a preemptive strike:

NO SPOILERS!

[Sapphire]

The last movie was absolutely terrible, even to someone who doesn't remember what happened in the previous books. But I will still attempt to watch this one, since Azkaban was so badass.

This looks like it can be even more badass.

[Animeniax]

took me a second to remember who this was referring to. i'm still not happy with michael gambon's dumbledore, but looking forward to this movie all the same. thanks!
I agree he does a terrible Dumbledore. You can tell he's never read the books or seen the other movies, or maybe he just wants to put his own spin on the character. Richard Harris, R.I.P., was the perfect Dumbledore.
I never liked how the movies completely removed the relevance of the Weasley twins. They're so important to the books, but barely used in the movies.

[RyougaZell]

Meh... this movies are just visual fanservice. Everything of importance is removed from the books. Im actually surprised they will show Lavender Brown for the first time. I mean... come on! She was supposed to be seen since movie 1!!

Still... trailer looks acceptable.

[Carnage]

Yeah, the thing about this Dumbledore is he always looks clueless. The actor in the first movie did a great job though.....

[Archangel]

I totally agree with you guys, the first guy was a perfect dumbledore just like i pictured the character while reading the book. He had the voice, the attitude, the look... everything!
This guys sucks by comparison...

[insane]

i just hope that this movie is worth watching cause i already read all the 7 books and i liked the story. hope they make this a movie worth watching for the fans. i only watched the first 2, but didn't watch the others. maybe i should rent it or buy a dvd?

[Animeniax]

Why, did book 6 hold a special place in your heart? If movies 3-5 weren't worth watching to you, there's no reason to expect or care for 6 to be any better.

[Raven]

Looking forward to this one. I've enjoyed all the movies so far - this is despite the fact they left a lot of important book content out throughout the series and how the new Dumbledore sucks.

I think I'd enjoy them no matter what; it's just nice to see them on the silver screen so you can compare the scenes to how you imagined them when reading the book for the first time. I'm pretty easy to please in that regard. When I read books and see a movie later, even if I found the interpretation lacking and/or completely different, I can still say "that was an interesting interpretation" and be satisfied by it.

The trailer looks pretty badass. I don't know how they're gonna market this as a kids movie, considering some of the book's content. They'll probably just kiddie it down a lot I suppose.

[Animeniax]

I'll admit I do want to see how they handle the climax in the story of this book.

Anyone else interested that JK Rowling's Tales of Beetle the Bard will be in print by the end of the year?

[saman]

that's pretty sweet, about beedle the bard. i hadn't heard about that. honestly, i'd probably buy and read anything jk rowling writes in the forseeable future. the woman is a genius.

[RyougaZell]

people... go talk about that book on the book section.
those are spoilers

[Munsu]

people... go talk about that book on the book section.
those are spoilers
I don't see any spoilers. PM which you think are spoilers because I really don't see any.

Although the minor spoiler was brought to my attention. I'll let it slide for the moment. Please don't discuss or reveal names of characters, objects (includes book titles, weapons, etc.), magic spells, and/or terms that are of any particular importance, relevance or simply taken from future stories of Harry Potter that have yet to be presented on the films released to date.

[Assassin]

I dont like it when fans of the HP series get anal about the movies....the movies aren't bad in and of themselves. They're entertaining to watch and the story is easy enough to follow without having prior knowledge from the books. As long as you've seen previous movies you wont be lost.

The only reason everyone else hates them is cuz they dont live up to thier expectations from when they read the book. Yes, they leave out alot of stuff, some thats probably even significant, but it hasn't effected the movies at all. that is to say, its not noticeable to anyone who doesn't already know that something's being left out. With the size of the books, and with the fantasy genre in general, its impossible to show everything in a 2 hour movie. Just because they skipped a scene or a character doesn't make it a bad movie. Infact, if its a popular movie despite all the stuff left out, i'd say they did a fantastic job in making the movie.

[Yukimura]

The typical counter to your displeasure is that while they did a good job making the movies they did not do a good (enough) job adapting the books. When movie producers claim to be adapting particular books into movies rather than adapting fictional universes into movies (a la Super Hero movies) I think fans of the original have some justification for judging the movies on the basis of how well they accomplished the adaptation from book to screen (aka whining, since it's impossible to perfectly adapt a book into a movie) regardless of how good the movie is. But I agree, being a poor adaptation of an original certainly doesn't have any bearing on whether a movie is a good movie or not.

Since I refuse to read the books for personal reasons the movies are all I have to get into the Harry Potter universe. They have certainly done a great job of pulling me in more with each film. The penchant for talking about plot points possessed by both Potter fans and the anti-Potter-fan community has lead to massive spoilage but I'm still interested in where the story will go with respect to the one or two things I haven't been spoiled on yet. Especially given the darkening trend of the last few movies.

[Animeniax]

Also, a lot of Harry Potter fans are more like fanatics, just like LotR fans, so they're very critical of any adaptation or representation of the characters and world. I'm still expecting some company to make an Harry Potter MMORPG to get kids online sooner and off the mean streets.

[RyougaZell]

Meh, personally only 2 or 3 things have dissapointed me for not being on the movies, not because I wanted them to be there, but because they were important for the future.

Apart from that... I've actually liked them all. I'm even considering getting them on blu-ray, but I think its not worth it while I don't get an HD tv first.

[Animeniax]

I can't help but compare the movies to the books, but trying to imagine the movies on their own, I would say they would not be successful beyond the first 2. I found at least movies 3 and 4 to be lacking in depth of character development and storyline. I think in fact that the producers/director relied on the books to help fill in the gaps in the movie, so if you hadn't read the books, the movies left you kind of unsatisfied.

[Munsu]

Movie is now coming out on the Summer of 2009:


Harry Potter's Next Trick? Moving Half-Blood's Arrival

Harry Potter may be the master of magic, but now, he's also the master of movie scheduling changes. Warner Brothers announced that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the next installment of the franchise, will open in Summer 2009, pushed back from the original November 2008 target.

The change, the studio said, was for reasons related to box office potential and the writers' strike. "We know the summer season is an ideal window for a family tent pole release," Warner's president and CEO said in a statement. "Additionally, like every other studio, we are still feeling the repercussions of the writers' strike, which impacted the readiness of scripts for other films — changing the competitive landscape for 2009 and offering new windows of opportunity that we wanted to take advantage of."

Before you try and make all this bad news disappear, there is a silver lining for Potter fans: Warner notes that Half-Blood's new opening date, now set for July 17, 2009, closes the gap between that film and the next installment — part one of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — which opens in 2010.

Does the news cast a dark spell over your fall movie plans? — Anna Dimond
http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Movie-News/Harry-Potter-Movie/800045121

[RyougaZell]

That most definitely sucks...
I was looking forward for this movie this year...

[Buffalobiian]

In regards to adapting from the book, the thing I was most displeased at was Sirius. He's meant to be a scruffy, but handsome guy according to the book, while they simply turned him out to be a madman in movie 3.

[masamuneehs]

... the movie is out...

the only reason people aren't commenting on it was because it was awful... right?

well, hell, i at least thought it was awful. in fact, the only thing i liked was that they added some tension with Draco's character and him trying to master the Vanishing Cabinet magic. i did think some of the scenes with Pansy (or whatever Ron's annoying girlfriend was) were somewhat funny, but the rest of the romance? Standard Hollywood trash.

we lost a few scenes with Voldemort's backstory, and we got tons and tons of foreshadowing about Dumbledore dying (seriously, everyone knows it's happening. i can't think of a more reptitively wasteful thing than foreshadowing an event the entire audience knows is coming...) Of course, they couldn't even get the climax right, and the lackluster ending with everyone holding their wands like some U2 concert was about as stomach-turning as they get.

Part of the problem for me was they didn't really capture any of the evil of Voldemort in the flashbacks. The book had small bits and pieces showing his potential for evil, and although the one scene with him speaking to Slughorn was decent, there was never that shock that should come with seeing the Big Bad's backstory.

They also decided not to include the Order of the Phoenix in the battle at Hogwarts, which made that entire part seem even more disappointing.

This was a bad movie, all around. It's not just that it wasn't as good as the book. NONE of the movies are as good of the books, in my opinion. It was just a very bad film.

[Animeniax]

The critics say it's the best Potter movie yet, which isn't saying much since the others were lacking. They cut out too much from the books that make the story magical (speaking figuratively) and try to make up for it with special effects that seem tacked on.

I haven't seen any of the Potter movies since the 3rd one, doubt that will change, considering movies cost $6.50 even out of primetime. I think anyone would spend their time better re-reading the books instead of watching the movies.

[darkshadow]

I saw this on tuesday, and yes it was the worse Potter movie ever.

[Animeniax]

Does Hermione look cuter than ever or more average than ever? I always thought Ginny was cuter and more likable in the stories too.

[Archangel]

Does Hermione look cuter than ever or more average than ever? I always thought Ginny was cuter and more likable in the stories too.

She was underaged and unseen for like 70% of the series...

[Animeniax]

She was underaged and unseen for like 70% of the series...
What's your point? Little kids can be cute, you weirdo.

[Archangel]

Not when comparing her to a 19 year old >_>

[Animeniax]

Not when comparing her to a 19 year old >_>
Who exactly is getting compared? They're about the same age in the stories and as actresses. Ginny is only one grade younger than Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

[darkshadow]

I think he means because she is now 19 years old.
http://gallery.ewva.net/albums/photoshoots/Elle-UK-09/09055002.jpg

[Pandadice]

this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNZpwqe8nF8) is the only harry potter movie i wanna watch.

[Animeniax]

this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNZpwqe8nF8) is the only harry potter movie i wanna watch.
Haha that was pretty good. It sounded like a Muppet or Sesame Street character narrating.


I think he means because she is now 19 years old.
http://gallery.ewva.net/albums/photo...9/09055002.jpgI still say the girl who plays Ginny is cuter, at 12 or 19.

[Archangel]

I think he means because she is now 19 years old.
http://gallery.ewva.net/albums/photoshoots/Elle-UK-09/09055002.jpg

What da fuck? She looks terrible

[Yukimura]

Finally saw this and now I'm thinking the main reason it was well reviewed was because it felt , in comparison to the other Potter movies, like a big step away from summer blockbuster popcorn flick and towards film critic fapbait for the franchise. It lacked most of the blockbuster popcorn flick staples that are typically critic repellent and spent most of its time focused on interpersonal drama instead. In fact I think most of the movie just relied on people talking to each other about typical movie drama stuff and getting depressed and/or upset about it. There was no real final battle like most of the movies have had, there was only really one heavy action scene (which itself felt out of place), and the ending was pretty much completely in favor of the antagonists.

I find myself wondering if the book was also this boring as an effort to help 'darken' the series or if the film producers just decided to go fishing for critical acclaim instead of summer movie fan interest.

[Archangel]

Nah, it does get consistently darker with each book ( and no i'm not saying that's a good thing )

I guess the climax of all the franchise's darkness is when Dubledore comes out of the closet on the last book?

[Animeniax]

Book 6 was amazing and continued the steady progression of adultness and maturity that characterized the series.

Please don't let the movies determine the Harry Potter story for you. Go read the books, preferably before you ever let the movies ruin the story and characters.

[darkmetal505]

Nah, it does get consistently darker with each book ( and no i'm not saying that's a good thing )

I guess the climax of all the franchise's darkness is when Dubledore comes out of the closet on the last book?

It didn't happen in the last book. Rowling said it in an interview.

[Carnage]

It didn't happen in the last book. Rowling said it in an interview.

I think he was making a joke :p

[Archangel]

I think he was making a joke :p

More like a witty remark

[6Zabuza9]

Ya this was a shitty movie, it missed the epic battle scene at the end. Not including the ending fight made the vanquishing closet completely useless even though half the movie was malfoy trying to master it.

[NarutoAngel221]

Harry Potter series is becoming darker although they have improved their effects but the story sucks...Anyway is it Dumbledore plan and Snape that if something comes up they need to kill each one so they can penetrate dark force?

[depthcharge]

I did not like the way this movie was presented. Simply because it was kept to a linear format.

Progression through out the series of HP both movie and book.
1. Battle of Good Vs Evil.
2. Finding secrets! Adding to a suspense of the story behind the good and the bad.
3. Plot twist, including the significant Sirius Black.
4. Development of the characters both good and bad.
5. Frustrations on both the good and bad side.(Dumbledore is probably the only one seldom frustrated, and Harry being the most angst)
6. While secrets gets unraveled, readers and viewers, enjoy seeing the brilliance of the situation.

Commentary on contents


1. The book draws you into the world and constantly consumes your attention by nature of curiosity. You would probably not stop reading it till the ink on the pages fade.

2. The movie on the other hand isn't driven by the readers curiosity at least not as much due to the fact that, it is not letting you discover the secrets, it is showing it to you.

3. Movie tries to wow, with CG image magic but due to previous exposure is a tad less impressive.(might be more impressive for non-readers but readers would really have a wild time reading the novel, its good)

4. Development of Tom Riddle was cut, therefore it suffers. Terrorizing children anyone? Scheming and hatred anyone? Murder??? Its the evilness of Tom that truly overshadow the tiny Malfoy's need for attention.

5. Movie did pretty well with frustration, which in all respect, sacrificed the aspect of curiosity and certain character's development.

6. I am thinking that the movie makers might be using plenty of flash back to cover the back story of Tom Riddle.

If the battle of Hogwarts and Dumbledore's death is to be rushed over, it would preferably be better to just leave it out of this movie and push it to this December.

Try reading the books repeatedly, and each time you will be drawn to various details and be awe struck letting your imagination run wild. While the movie suffers, it suffocates an fantasy story and put it into a fix form where there is no room for creativity.

Furthermore, due to the fact that, a certain amount of suspense is already spoiled for the readers of the books, a significant of readers would rate the movie with a mere "Pass"