Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Plot synopsis:
Severus Snape, a member of the Order of the Phoenix, meets with Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mother, and Lord Voldemort's faithful supporter Bellatrix Lestrange. Narcissa expresses concern that her son might not survive a dangerous mission given to him by Lord Voldemort. Bellatrix feels Snape will be of no help until he surprises her by making an Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa, swearing on his life that he will protect and assist Draco in his mission.
Dumbledore picks Harry up from his aunt and uncle's house, intending to escort him to the Burrow, home of Harry's best friend Ron. On the way they make a detour to the temporary home of Horace Slughorn, former Potions teacher at Hogwarts, and Harry unwittingly helps persuade Slughorn to return to teach. Harry and Dumbledore then proceed to the Burrow, where Hermione has already arrived. The next morning, Harry, Ron, and Hermione get their Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L.) results, along with lists of school supplies. Later, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger follow Draco to Dark Arts supplier Borgin and Burkes. Harry is instantly suspicious of Draco, whom he believes to be a Death Eater.
The students return to school, where Dumbledore announces that Snape will be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts. In the meantime, Horace Slughorn will resume his post as Potions teacher. Harry now excels in Potions, thanks to having received a used Potions textbook that once belonged to someone named "The Half-Blood Prince," a mysterious former student who wrote numerous tips and spells in his Potions textbook that Harry uses to achieve superb results. After a class contest, The Half-Blood Prince's tips help Harry win a bottle of Felix Felicis, more commonly known as "Liquid Luck." Though Harry's success pleases Slughorn, his newfound brilliance in potions angers Hermione, who feels he is not truly earning his grades and does not trust the Half-Blood Prince.
Believing that Harry needs to learn Voldemort's past to gain advantage in a foretold battle, Dumbledore schedules regular meetings with Harry in his office. Amidst these lessons, Ron starts dating a girl named Lavender Brown, and so Ron and Hermione start yet another quarrel. Also during this time, Dumbledore and Harry use Dumbledore's Pensieve to look at memories of those who have had direct contact with Voldemort. Harry learns about Voldemort's family and his foe's evolution into a murderer obsessed not only with power, but with gaining eternal life. Dumbledore shows Harry a memory involving Slughorn conversing with the young Tom Riddle at Hogwarts, which has clearly been tampered with. He sets Harry the task of convincing Slughorn to give him the true memory so that Dumbledore can confirm his suspicions about Voldemort's rise to power and near-invincibility.
Before using the dose of Felix Felicis he won in class, Harry tries to ask Slughorn directly. Horace yells at Harry. Then, after being sent an invite to Aragog the spider's funeral, he uses an hour's dose of Felix Felicis to succeed in retrieving Slughorn's unedited memory, and he does. In it, Slughorn tells Riddle about the process of splitting one's soul and hiding it in several objects called Horcruxes. It is these objects, forged only through murder, that have gained Voldemort something close to immortality—by splitting his own soul into seven pieces, which is the most powerful magic number. Dumbledore explains that in order to destroy Voldemort, all the Horcruxes must first be destroyed. Two Horcruxes—Riddle's Diary from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and a ring belonging to Voldemort's grandfather Marvolo Gaunt—have already been destroyed, but four others remain.
As Harry learns more about his great enemy, the love lives of the main characters start to become more active. Ron and Hermione grow closer together, but after learning from his sister Ginny that Hermione had previously kissed Viktor Krum, Ron shuns her. Harry's attempts to repair things between the two fail, resulting in Ron going out with Lavender Brown and making Hermione jealous. After Ron is nearly killed in an attempt on Dumbledore's life, he and Hermione reconcile. Ron and Lavender break up when Lavender sees the two of them walking out of the girl's dormitories together. However, this was only because she hadn't noticed Harry walking ahead of them. Harry develops feelings for Ginny, but is reluctant to pursue her for most of the year because of his friendship with Ron. Following a wild Quidditch victory Harry and Ginny finally strike up a relationship, with Ron's reluctant consent.
Near the end of the year, Harry and Dumbledore journey to a cave to retrieve a suspected Horcrux, Slytherin's locket. Dumbledore expertly finds a secret passageway to a large, pitch black underground lake, which Harry and Dumbledore cross in a small boat to an island in the centre. The locket is at the bottom of a basin and can only be reached by drinking the potion above it. Harry helps Dumbledore, who drinks the potion, and though Dumbledore is severely weakened, together they manage to fight off Voldemort's Inferi that have been hiding in the lake. They take the locket and return to find that the Dark Mark has been placed over the highest tower in Hogwarts in their absence. Harry and Dumbledore ascend the tower where they are ambushed by Draco Malfoy, accompanied by Death Eaters that he helped get inside Hogwarts. Dumbledore freezes Harry under his Invisibility Cloak with a body-bind spell to keep him hidden. Draco disarms Dumbledore of his wand and then threatens to kill him, which turns out to have been his mission from Voldemort. Draco is unable to go through with it, and Snape arrives and casts the spell to kill Dumbledore instead. Harry ignores the battle raging in Hogwarts to pursue Dumbledore's killer. Snape successfully fights Harry off, and he reveals that he is in fact the Half-Blood Prince before he, Draco, and the rest of the Death Eaters escape.
After Dumbledore's funeral, Harry decides to break up with Ginny, saying it is too dangerous for their relationship to continue. Harry finds out that the locket is not the real Horcrux, containing only a note from someone named "R. A. B.". Harry is so devastated by Dumbledore's death (and upset by its futility) that he tells his friends he will not be returning to Hogwarts and will instead spend the next year searching out Voldemort's Horcruxes. Ron and Hermione insist on joining him in destroying Lord Voldemort for good.

Tags: comedy, mystery, boring, murder, fantasy, cult, revenge, flashback, good versus evil, romantic, entertaining

Review:
Emma Watson hits the spot, portraying Hermione's emotional vulnerability with gentle confidence and softness.As for Radcliffe, it's easy to miss the evolution he's undergone as Harry, since there are other actors ostensibly given more to do in this outing, like Tom Felton and Bonnie Wright, both of whom get the opportunity to take their characters to a new level.
Whether completely computer generated or practical dye clouds in water, the effect is pitch perfect, even dissolving each memory in sections, leaving important pieces, like young Tom Riddle, to be lingered on just a second longer than the rest.As for the leads, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson are solid as usual, (Radcliffe showing some solid comedic chops after taking luck elixir), and Rupert Grint's Ron Weasley gets some room to break free.
A blowhard and man with many "friends", his jubilant smile and need to collect powerful and famous wizards for his Slug Club are ever-present, bringing some levity as well as effectively hiding the dark secret that lies beneath.Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince succeeds in the details.
If you've read the novel then you know the subject matter is MUCH darker and the story would have been done greater justice with just a higher rating(and a better screenwriter, yes i'm looking at you Steve Kloves).Overall as a movie i'd give it an 8 out of 10.But as a HARRY POTTER movie it gets 4 out of 10.
Thus begins the sixth adventure of Harry and his conjuring cohorts Hermione and Ron (Watson & Grint) as they divide their time between studies in sorcery and the looming confrontation with Voldemort.Oh, and that crazy Slugborn mixes one humdinger of a love potion.REVIEW: 3 1/2 of 4 Java Mugs Other than the fact that they are both British, and that each is destined to save the world, Harry Potter and James Bond have one other thing in common: Their movie franchises have logged the highest box office totals ever, with Potter likely to pass Bond by the time you read this.
David Yates continues from where he left Order of the Phoenix, arguably the weakest of the seven books but one of the stronger films.In the sixth Harry Potter, Harry works with Dumbledore to unlock a key secret about Voldemort.
True Potter fans should see that Yates has broken the letter to preserve the spirit of Harry Potter.One note from the Potter die-hard within the competent film critic: it is disappointing to miss out on one crucial flashback that would have given Ralph Fiennes a terribly awesome scene to do with Michael Gambon.
Like all Harry Potter fans I have read all of the books and seen every film so far.
My expectations could not have been higher, possibly the highest for any movie I'd ever had.So is it absolutely crazy that my expectations were still surpassed?Whether it be the shockingly wonderful script from Steve Kloves, the perfect acting across the board, dazzling effects, or the absolutely excellent direction and cinematography, 'Half Blood Prince' is EASILY the best film in the series, and is a great cinematic achievement that becomes the first Harry Potter film, in my opinion, that stands alone as a fantastic film, one that could even be Oscar worthy.It appears as if the book series finally being finished has done wonders for the films, as this is the first film produced since the end of the series.
The biggest surprise of all is Michael Gambon, who plays Dumbledore to perfection this time.The faces of the Harry Potter franchise are the three actors that now appear to have grown up with their characters long enough to actually be them.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince mixes comedy, romance, drama, and adventure into one, and makes it so marvelous and fun to watch.The acting in this film than in the earlier ones is more mature and better in quality, also in part because of the maturity of all the actors in the film.
Half-Blood Prince is also very funny, and Ron will have you laughing a lot.A great film that most people will enjoy and especially fans of the books.
I've enjoyed watching the Harry Potter films (I've not read the books), but this is the first one that began to try my patience."Half-Blood Prince" doesn't make sense if you've not read the book it's based on, a crime for which I cannot forgive movie adaptations.
I don't remember Neville having a single line in this movie.Anyone who has read the books will know that there is a momentous event in year six, and while the film certainly covers it, it is rushed and altered such that the audience does not feel much when it happens.Certainly it is understandable that fitting everything from the book into the movie is impossible, and that certain liberties must be taken.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is possibly one of the only, if not the only, movie in the series that stays true to the novel on which it is based.
Well to start with the movie is a love triangle of Hermione,Ron and one another new girl.Yes harry potter plays a role too and he too tries to carry on his love story.This movie is more of a love story in which each of the character tries to be involved in the love.There is one action scene in the movie which lasts for 20 seconds and that too not good.Action sequences were hugely missed in the movie.The movie is not worth money.The director has played with the emotions of the audience.I am saying that because i am a big fan of Harry potter series.And the screenplay was also pretty bad.I would recommend that not to go for this movie.It will destroy your interest in the coming harry potter movies..
Well-made, even arresting filler, true; but come on.That said, it's a marvel how quickly this film's two-and-a-half hours fly by, a testament to the skill of director David Yates, who took over the series with "Order of the Phoenix" and will follow it through its two-movies-from-one-novel conclusion, "Deathly Hallows." Yates keeps you entertained.
Top wizard Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) asks Harry to try to pry the info out of Slughorn over the course of the school year.Also factoring in is a textbook that Harry conveniently stumbles on, a book that used to belong to someone called "the Half-Blood Prince," which contains all sorts of potions, spells and magical hints.Meanwhile, designated evil kid Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) is up to something bad, and Professor Snape (Alan Rickman) has apparently signed on to protect him.
Not only does it not stick entirely to the book (none of them really do) but it is dead boring and does not seem to excite me in the way the other movies have.I cannot explain why, but the acting from the cast is absolutely appalling in this film, even from Alan Rickman, who I always believed was the best actor in the series.On top of everything, it annoyed me how much emphasis was placed on romance in this movie.
You managed to make every scene lose its power and make a mockery out of the characters and the story and the logic.Harry Potter movies are supposed to be like riddles, you get subtle hints and in the end everything is supposed to come together but there was nothing like that here, you just threw it all out into the open.
If bringing Harry along was enough, then why go to the loo at all?3: Fixing the room, why not a short shot of the wizards back to back like in the book, would have been nice to see that at least 1 thing of the book came back in the movies and it wouldn't have taken more time.4: Horace Slughorn is supposed to be smaller than Dumbledore, and have a beard, and he was head of slytherin house, not some teacher.
That scene and all the scenes surrounding it were utter crap.7: no explanation to who Gave Katie the necklace and how Slughorn came by the mead, that was part of the riddle that you were supposed to solve but your lame ass movie didn't have any of that did it?9: Dumbledore's torture scene, weak weak weak, didn't have a bit of emotion in it, and missed the point entirely of what he was reliving.10: Dumbledore's death, changed for no reason, doesn't make sense, acted out badly.11: The worst one...You left out the battle in Hogwarts?
When I walked into Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I expected a terrible adaptation of quite possibly one of the weaker books in the series.
The ending is particularly effective in this sense, as the grandiose battle sequences of the novel have been traded off for two quieter scenes in which startling revelations are made, and loyalties are questioned.For fan boys, the film acts as a stepping stone to what will most likely be another book- ruining adaptation.
If you truly are a harry potter fan you will enjoy the movie, not off course love it, because the movies and the books will always be different, and thats the point!.
one should think of what the movie contains, not that its not the book.to begin with, i must say that i think this is the best Harry potter movie, it combines darkness,teenage love(witch by the way was not as cheesy as i though at the first time), and off course magic not to mention Humor.
The humor in this film is one of the greatest, its hard to explain, but its something most people find funny,the love witch i at first found stupid(because i have never like love in books) was in fact enjoyable to watch, not many people think this, but i found this movie to be closest to the book of all the movies.When Hermione gets angry over Ron being with Another girl, we get to see that she might have feelings for Ron, Emma Watson(Hermione) does an sweet and mature acting witch i felt was great.
The memories that belongs to Tom riddle was simply simply amazing, and Jim Broadbent was the perfect choice for Slughorn whom harry tries to get a memory from.The trios acting had become better, and off course the always amazing Alan Rickman(Snape) shows himself in his true colors.Furthermore, i will say to you that this movie is something i cannot understand why other people hate it.
Along the way, the acting seems sketchy (Watson has long ago lost the charisma that made her Hermione so lovable, while Radcliffe seems desperate to do something elseonly Grint provides the old magic), the adult cast are once again bypassed (including Alan Rickman, still the best thing in the movies), the emphasis throughout is on grand but soulless special effects, and there are only one or two genuinely good moments – like the bit at the end with the zombies, even if they do look rather too much like Gollum.
I choose to look at it from another perspective, at least I have read the book and I know the full story, if they leave bits out (which they have, in droves) then I know the actual story so I can fill the blanks (which there are many!) with the information I acquired from the book.So in my opinion, I feel sorry for Harry Potter fans who went to watch this and have not read the book, because there is so much more going on, there are so many more tales to tell and much more information given to the reader than this movie portrays.
And even after Harry learns important information concerning Voldemort and his past, he does not share it with Ron and Hermione, so for the first time in the film series, his best friends play extremely ­insignificant roles.The cinematography is one of the few strong points of the film; there is a visually stunning shot of Harry and Dumbledore standing on a rock jutting up from the crashing ocean as they are about to enter the great cave.
War, hormones, and dark magic equal a better-than-average year for the students of Hogwarts, and the best Potter movie since Prisoner of Azkaban.Burgeoning love is very much the new character in this film; the chaste smooches and not-so-subtle hints of mutual attraction have given way to unbridled make-out sessions and scorned teens in all their glory.
Everyone, whether or not they've read the Potter series, will leave this film knowing who likes whom, but far fewer will understand how Harry and Dumbledore wound up in a mountainside cave hunting for pieces of Voldemort's soul; and fewer still, unless they've really been paying attention, will grasp the profundity of Fawkes the Phoenix's departure from Hogwarts.
This was easily the worst film among the lot guys....I don't know what the other guys mean by "great film"....maybe Warner Bros them-self is posting these comments....I had read from newspapers that this film has lots of romance and comedy.....But unfortunately that is the ONLY thing that this movie has.....and these jokes were mostly un-laughable....and the romance was non-palpable I am a lover of HP series (movies and books both)....but i don't remember each and every line like some of the fanatics.....i only remember the outline.....I wont say a movie is bad just because it deviated from the book....I am judging the film just own its own merit...ITS REALLY Disappointing....virtually no magic, no mentioning of possible horcrux materials, too little Tom Riddle memories, and the final battle scene -well there was no battle..I seriously think Warner Bros was trying to save money by cutting down the battle scenes to NIL.If there is no magic what fun is a HP movie....?
Mixing several genres such as comedy, horror, romance, action adventure and even a bit of a detective story, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a thrilling summer movie.In this sixth instalment of the Harry Potter series, Harry begins his sixth year at Hogwarts knowing that the world is now in serious threat because the Dark Lord Voldemort and his fellow Death Eaters are on the loose, causing havoc, death and destruction to the wizarding and the muggle world.
In The Goblet of Fire, Cedric Diggory's death was shocking, but in The Half-Blood Prince, Voldemort is at full power, making us feel the constant presence of danger and evil and that anyone on screen could die at any moment (but don't fret; body count: 1).But the thing is, this movie does not only deal with the three actors like the films before it.
And despite its long running time, over 2 hours 30 minutes, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince seems adequate as David Yates pushes the movie to a cracking pace and some of us might even crave for more.
But all this turns into already second week and boring movie, which leaves no memories or emotions whatsoever.If I was a person, who had never heard of Harry Potter and the first movie I saw about him was Half Blood Prince - I would never even want to learn anything more about him.
As is any fan of the well-written Harry Potter saga, I expected great things from this latest film installment: The Half-Blood Prince; with David Yates again at the helm why wouldn't I expect anything less?
The Burrow burns down during x-mas break due to Bellatrix and Fenrir (who is never described as a werewolf) perhaps for the lack of action at the end of the movie...the Dursleys are completely cut from the movie, meaning when Dumbledore picks Harry up for the summer it's at the train station for some apparent reason...The Ginny/Dean/Harry dichotomy is skewed, there was no break up between Ginny and Dean and Harry is clearly in love with her from the start of the movie which eliminates his confusion on his feelings during the school year...Hermoine prematurely spills the beans on her feelings for Ron which was only speculation in the novels...Lavender Brown becomes a obsessive and crazed girlfriend rather than simply over-affectionate (a reminiscent Unis from She's the Man)...the battle scene is missing from the end giving Dumbledore's death an anticlimactic feel making it all the more unemotional and disappointing...Harry hides under the floor simply holding his wand looking like a coward while Dumbledore dies, Snape sees him hiding rather than Harry being frozen under his cloak compliments of Dumbledore ...There is no funeral or break up with Ginny at the end of it (there is no relationship between the two either simply a kiss)...Hagrid is basically deleted from the movie as is Neville...Pensive trips are deleted and the Horocruxes are never explained, not even slightly...Luna finds Harry on the Hogwarts Express rather than Tonks...The Slug Club simply makes a cameo rather than a proper introduction and explanation...the Inferi look more like skeletons compared to the white bodies described in the book...I'm sure more discrepancies are present, however I can only remember so many of them.It is absolutely a horrible interpretation of the book and I hope that they look at all of the mistakes and gaps left for the next movie and fill them in with more than humor (they are supposed to be in the middle of an all out war aren't they?) I mean I didn't even feel emotional when Dumbledore was killed, I was too busy trying to figure out why Harry was acting like a stunned coward under the floor boards and not doing something, isn't that his thing...doing seemingly impossible rescue missions?!?!
Since I consider myself a dedicated Harry Potter fan, I am going to try to put this as nicely as possible...If I had never read any of the books (hey they're long I get it) I would have thought this movie was pretty cool and a step up from past films in terms of laughter and the script itself including special effects.
i thought i went to see harry potter and the half blood prince but the whole time i was wondering what book it was based off of be there weren't many similarities.