Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Plot Summary

In the sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and in both wizard and muggle worlds Lord Voldemort and his henchmen are increasingly active. With vacancies to fill at Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore persuades Horace Slughorn, back from retirement to become the potions teacher, while Professor Snape receives long awaited news. Harry Potter, together with Dumbledore, must face treacherous tasks to defeat his evil nemesis. imdb 

Movie Box

Director	David Yates
Producer	David Heyman
	David Barron
Screenplay	Steve Kloves
Based on	Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling
Music	Nicholas Hooper
Cinematography	Bruno Delbonnel
Editing	Mark Day
Studio	Heyday Films
Distributor	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date	15 July 2009
Running Time	2 hours, 33 minutes

Cast

Daniel Radcliffe	Harry Potter
Rupert Grint	Ron Weasley
Emma Watson	Hermione Granger
Helena Bonham Carter	Bellatrix Lestrange
Jim Broadbent	Horace Slughorn
Robbie Coltrane	Rubeus Hagrid
Warwick Davis	Filius Flitwick
Tom Felton	Draco Malfoy
Michael Gambon	Albus Dumbledore
Alan Rickman	Severus Snape
Maggie Smith	Minerva McGonagall
Emma Thompson	Sybill Trelawney
Timothy Spall	Peter Pettigrew
Julie Walters	Molly Weasley

REEL Review
JK Rowling says that among the 6 film adaptations, Half Blood Prince is her favorite one. In contrary, this one is my least fave. I have high expectations, especially on the battle scene. You can feel the hard battle in the book. In this movie, the battle scenes were cut short. I am not disappointed that much though. It's just that something is missing. I have read that Heyman said that it was removed to avoid repetition with the forthcoming adaptation of the Battle of Hogwarts in Deathly Hallows. Okay, you are the producer. 

The death of Dumbledore is really moving. I can feel Harry's grievance on his headmaster's demise. It is like losing a great hero in a film. Michael Gambon is now the epitome of goodness, the man who knows pretty much about everything. The man in sweeping robes with stars and moons patterns will surely be missed. We will see him again at King's cross station for Harry Potter 7 film.

As with the trio's performance, still over-the-top. Radcliffe is still the same Harry that we watch since years ago. He just seems growing too fast, he might look older for the last HP installment. Rupert and Emma do not have the typical romantic spark as an on-screen lovers, but it is fun to watch them. The three are wonderful actors.

Alan Rickman also did well as he himself is the film title, since he is the Half Blood Prince. Tom Felton's performance is also notable. This film is his second best next to the Sorcerer's Stone. To prove that, he won as the Best Villain in MTV Movie Awards. He is in fact the only actor in the film to won a prominent award, the rest were just nominated. Though the film in general won many awards. Best Film (SFX Awards, Gouden Flip Award), Best Fantasy Movie (IGN) and Best Family Film (Digital Spy Movie Award, National Movie Awards) to name a few.

It is David Yates' second HP movie. After the Order of the Phoenix, he still amazingly came up with a mesmerizing material that is stunningly hearty and satisfying. HP5 grossed higher than HP6, though both ranked as no. 2 top grossers for 2007 and 2009 respectively. As for the visual effects, very realistically conjured, making the Harry Potter world tangible on screen.

The style and substance of a Harry Potter film has been once again seen. The movie is a little bot dark yet thrilling and fascinating. It would have been a Goodie for me, if not with the lacking 'action-packed' material that I wanted to see. Well, it is a Harry Potter film. Sectumsempra!

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