Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Caution: Spoilers Ahead!

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Okay, if you're still reading, you have accepted the risk of spoilers, 'k?

So I just got back from the movie theater, after seeing the latest installment of the massive Harry Potter franchise. Half-Blood Prince (HBP from here on out) is my favorite of all the books. Here's why:

1. Harry finally grows up.

Book 5, Order of the Phoenix, is my least favorite of all of the books because Harry is this angry, angsty, snotty teenager throughout most of it. And Delores Umbridge makes me want to kick the wall. I actually have a difficult time reading that particular book. So imagine my pleasant surprise when I cracked open HBP and found Harry, while mourning the death of his godfather, Serius Black, had matured quite a bit over the summer and come to terms with who he is. It also helps that Umbridge, while mentioned, isn't heard from too much.

2. Love is in the air...

Cue the violins! Lavender is hot for her Won-Won, Hermione is jealous, and Harry is finally, finally, attracted to Ginny, who has had a crush on him since the very beginning. And Ginny--she's awesome. Not only smart, but she's got that wicked streak her twin brothers, Fred and George, have. I like that in a girl character.

Bat Bogey Hex, anyone?

Voldemort, revealed

Finally, we learn more about Voldemort, and the boy he once was, Tom Riddle. We see how he went from a child with a sadistic streak to the most feared Dark Wizard in the world.

Of course, HBP also sees the death of Dumbledore and the betrayal by Severus Snape. (For the record, I'll have you know that I never thought he was really working for Voldemort--I wanted so badly for Snape to be good, and I got my wish, didn't I? Just had to wait for it.)

I've been anticipating this movie for a long time now--it was, of course, supposed to open last fall, but was pushed back several months, to my dismay.

But it's finally here, and tonight, I saw it with Heather. And now I must process it before I go to bed, or I'll be up all night. I shall now commence with a Good, Bad and WTF?! to break down what I thought of the movie.

THE GOOD

1. Hormones! Seriously, the little flirtations and the love-dramas were so cute. They had Heather and I giggling and squealing and making fools of ourselves in general. I can tell you, from teaching high school in the past, that the actors pretty much spot-on in their portrayals, too. Adorable.

2. Special effects. But this is, of course, Warner Bros. and the Harry Potter franchise...so it's too be expected.

3. Won-Won!!! (Given three exclamations because I was channeling Lavender Brown.)

Of the three main characters, I thought that Rupert Grint really progressed the most in this movie. Daniel Radcliffe has always been pretty solid, but this time out, Rupert knocked my socks off. His comedic timing--Ron is, of course, comic relief a lot of the time--was spot-on, and I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard.



4. Snape. Alan Rickman...what can I say? World's sexiest voice, even as it is saying "Avada Kadavra" to Dumbledore. Beyond that, we start to see Snape's two sides, and the deep torture that lies within him. HBP left me stunned when he killed Dumbledore, but I couldn't believe he could really be the bad guy. Rickman not only has a sexy voice, he is one of England's best actors. He has played Snape to perfection in all of the films so far, and this one is no exception.



5. Harry and Ginny. DUH.



6. Tom Riddle. Played by two different actors who, to me, looked like the same kid, Tom Riddle came across as creepy, sadistic, and just as one would picture a young Voldemort. Creepy, creepy, creepy. Excellent. He's supposed to give you the creeps.



7. Malfoy. Yes, Malfoy! In every other movie, I've hated even looking at his smirking, nasty little weasel-face. I never understood all the young girls with their Tom Felton love. But dang! Kid has grown up, become more manly, and traded the smirk in for some real feeling. Whether he's pissed off, or sobbing in the lavatory, the character development is great. And Tom Felton really shone.



8. Bellatrix LeStrange. As I said to Heather during the credits, "Ooooh, Helena can do creepy like no one's business!" Bellatrix has fun causing pain and chaos wherever she goes, and it is obvious that Helena Bonham-Carter is having a blast in this role.



9. Slughorn. Played to perfection by Jim Broadbent...who also played Bridget Jones' father brilliantly. He wasn't quite as fat as I expected, but he did come across much as he did in the book, so I can forgive a wee bit of an appearance change.



10. Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Fred's and George's shop was all kinds of awesome.



11. Luna. I offer two pictures, and my humble opinion. This kid is adorable, and a good little actress.





THE BAD (But still forgivable)

1. The Beginning. What in the world is up with Harry being in a train station flirting with some pretty young Muggle? What? That's not in the book! Why no Dursleys? What's a Harry Potter movie without the miserable, horrible Dursleys?!

Okay. I'm over it.

2. The Fight. You know, that big fight seen between the Hogwarts Teachers, a few of Dumbledore's Army, and the Death Eaters?

Come on, you know, right?

*crickets chirping*

Oh, that's right--they left it out!

3. The Funeral. It was nothing like it was in the book...because, you know, they left that out, too. Okay, fine, it's a time issue. I get it.

4. Hello! House of Gaunt!

Where the hell was that? Were they over budget, and they couldn't afford to cast three people to play Marvolo, Morfin and Merope Gaunt?

REALLY? We see Tom Riddle as an 11-year-old (and a damn fine creep he was, too). But they don't show us just how all that sadistic, snake-charming, creepy evil got into his DNA in the first place?

While we're at it, there was no mention of Tom Riddle's quest to acquire the items that would eventually become Horcruxes...or the fact that he murdered his own father.

5. Pensieve.

Oy vey! They got it soooo right in the fourth movie--just what the Pensieve should look like (a big stone bowl) and how the person who goes into the memory actually walks around in it. This time, the Pensieve was a big silver thing that levitated, and it wasn't about Harry and Dumbledore going in there together and discussing things.

But this, too, is forgivable.

6. This is NOT: Why do they insist on dumbing down Ginny? Not one mention of how awesome she is with her Bat Bogey Hex and sassy mouth. She's just sort of there, acting cute, waiting for a chance to kiss Harry.

Plus, I don't recall Ginny EVER crying over Dean Thomas. No way, no how. She got pissed at him, but she didn't cry.


THE WTF?!

There they all are, enjoying a lovely Christmas at the Weasely home, when Bellatrix and Fenrir Greyback come along and BURN THE HOUSE DOWN.

Special effects: Awesome.

Acting: Awesome.

Tension: Awesome.

But how does it pertain to the bloody story? That never happened in the book--nothing like it happened in the book. It stuck out like a sore thumb and made Heather and I look at each other and say, "Uh-uh! No way!"

THE VERDICT

Overall, I liked it. I'll see it again soon and probably bump that up to "loved it." I love the characters, I love the story--but I still think the fourth movie, Goblet of Fire, is the best yet.

And before you ask, yes, I felt that way before I started lusting after RPattz.