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First review: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"

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Kenneth Turan leads the charge with this review:

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” is being described as an excursion into the dark side for this venerable series, but don’t let the chatter fool you. Now in its sixth episode shot over an eight-year span, with two more features still to come, this one-of-a-kind film cycle has become as comfortable and reliable as an old shoe, providing a degree of dependability that’s becoming increasingly rare.

As directed by David Yates, who did the previous film and is on tap for the final two, “Half-Blood Prince” demonstrates the ways that the Potter pictures have become the modern exemplars of establishment moviemaking. We don’t turn to these films for thrilling or original cinema, we look for a level of craft, consistency and, most of all, fidelity to the originals — all of which we get.

Who’s going to a midnight screening tonight?

P.S.: I think I’ll try and track down an interview with screenwriter Steve Kloves who’s written most of the screenplays in the Harry Potter series.

6 thoughts on “First review: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"”

  1. I just back from it. I can say that it was definitely the most beautifully shot of the films, and the special effects were superb. Writing top notch.

    But I just don't know yet. I don't know what to think…

  2. Considering we all know the story intimately they've extracted some nuanced humour and not the obvious gags, and done so with a lot of style. The actors have clearing matured into their chops – which have to make the final two must see titles.

  4. David Yates (director) did a superb job just magnificent to watch, may be Alfonso Cuarón would have made them ROCK. I am a great fan of Harry Potter series. My favorite still remains HP3: Prisoner of Azkaban. But Half Blood was simply outstanding on levels. I'll be seeing it again Saturday on IMAX which will be even better as it's one of the original IMAX screens that loom up and over the audience as opposed to newer screens that are just big.
    Being a great fan I have collected a list of good sites and articles (may be around 200) related to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (movie information, movie schedule, movie reviews, books, games, news, wallpapers and many more). If you are interested take a look at the below link

    http://markthispage.blogspot.com/2009/07/all-you-want-to-know-about-harry-potter.html

  5. I can't wait to check out the IMAX screening; a couple in my town have been delayed for Transformers…

  6. I saw the last Harry Potter movie in an IMAX and it actually detracted from my enjoyment. The screen was so big that I was overwhelmed by the sheer size of the images, and couldn't take in the entire screen at once, which made it difficult to follow the story!

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