Lack of blogging again. I’ve been in kind of a funk lately (work sucks) so I haven’t been up to it.

But I went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince last week and I HAVE to write up my thoughts! I liked it (but didn’t LOVE it). I think I’m getting old because I really wanted to go to a midnight showing (love the crowd, the anticipation, etc) but was too tired after work. Heh.

I sat next to a pair of IDIOTS who talked the ENTIRE TIME. I couldn’t actually hear their conversation but I don’t think they were even trying to whisper. UGH. Why pay $11 for a movie and then not even pay attention? You can talk outside for FREE.

Anyway.

First off, they really had to cut A LOT. And I know that’s the nature of adapting the book to a movie but if I wasn’t a fan, I don’t know how I would follow along!

I guess I should cut for spoilers?

Things I Loved
1. Dan, Rupert, and Emma’s chemistry… you can tell they all have a great relationship with one another and it trickles down to their characters.
2. The Humor. This one seemed to have lots of subtle humorous moments. One moment that I remember in particular was when Harry took the Felix Felicis potion and Professor Slughorn said “Harry” indignantly and Harry turned to him and snarked “Professor!” in a mocking tone. Loved that. Lavendar Brown was also hilarious. As was Professor McGonagall when she told Harry to “take Mr. Weasley with you. He looks far too happy.” Hee.
3. Professor Slughorn and Young Tom Riddle. Jim Broadbent and Hero Fiennes-Tiffin were pretty darn perfect.
4. The entire cave scene was really well done. I TOTALLY knew the Inferi were coming but I STILL jumped when they reached up and dragged Harry into the lake.
5. My favorite scene was after Dumbledore’s death… Professor McGonagall lit her wand and raised it in the air and the other students and teachers followed suit to eradicate the Dark Mark that was over the castle. 🙁

Things I Didn’t Care For
I guess I’ll start with some minor nitpicks…
1. Bonnie Wright’s acting. She’s such a cutie but she’s just NOT the Ginny I imagined. She’s not as charming or charismatic as the Ginny I envisioned while reading the books.
2. The casting of Narcissa. She just doesn’t look like Narcissa! I always imagined Nicole Kidman — she’s beautiful and can do scornfully arrogant very well.

And more significant nitpicks…
3. The Burrows burning down. It doesn’t even happen in the book!
4. The Half-Blood Prince storyline and Snape’s reveal to Harry was a huge disappointment. It almost seemed inconsequential when it’s not – it’s an important part of understanding Snape’s conflicts, motivations and ultimate allegiance. And there was no real confrontation with Harry at all after Dumbledore’s death – it was such a throwaway scene.
5. The “battle” at Hogwarts when Harry was standing below not doing a thing while Dumbledore was being attacked – it is SO out of character for Harry to do absolutely nothing. Book Harry is petrified (I think) by Dumbledore so he can’t do anything and isn’t seen. I can usually understand minor changes to make the movie flow better but this is a HUGE change! It makes no sense to me.

All in all, it was a good movie but it definitely felt like a build-up to the next two movies. It’s too bad because the end of Half-Blood Prince is powerful and climactic on its own. I hope to watch it again soon but for now, I think I’m due for a re-read.