.jeri.

Now that I've seen this movie three times, I feel I can write about it fairly comfortably. I saw it once when I took off of work early to see it with some girls from work, saw it again when Ric wanted to see it, and then again when Ric's family was visiting and all wanted to see it a second time. At least all these trips to the theater come with rewards like free popcorn, drinks, and movie tickets!

Like last year, I re-read the book in preparation for this movie, and I'm glad I did. For the most part, it centers on two different things. The first is a potions book that Harry borrows from the potions classroom that was once owned by someone calling himself the Half-Blood Prince. It has all sorts of helpful tips for potions and also features some interesting spells the writer seems to have invented. While Hermione is interested in discovering the original owner of the book, Harry's just happy with how it helps him out in potions class. Meanwhile, with death eaters attacks on an uprise in London and several near-death experiences around Hogwarts, Harry and Dumbledore start going through all of Dumbledore's acquired memories that reconstruct the formative years of Lord Voldemort. They hope to find clues as to how they can bring him down.

In the movie, the potions book is featured here and there, sufficiently enough, with the glaring exception that Ryan pointed out, which is that when its owner is revealed, there's no attempt to explain what "Half-Blood Prince" means. The memories of Voldemort's youth are fewer in the movie, but they do get to the point of what Harry and Dumbledore were learning in the book. I loved the way they were crafted, from the liquid surface of the pensieve to the blues and greens of the palette. They certainly got some creepy kids to play young Tom Riddle, one of whom happens to be Ralph Fiennes' nephew. That's a nice touch.

I think this movie is an example of how an adaptation doesn't always have to be completely literally adapted from a book, especially in the case of Harry's attraction to Ginny Weasley. Pretty much all of their interactions happen differently than the events of the book, but the spirit of their story is captured. My only qualm would be that Bonnie Wright plays Ginny a little more straight-faced than I'd prefer. The only two areas of the movie that bothered me were a fiery scene at the Weasley home, and the final scenes at Hogwarts after Harry and Dumbledore return. The scene at the Weasley home served no purpose whatsoever. The writing and staging Rowling provided for the final scenes at Hogwarts were perfect, and I think they could easily have been accomplished, but for some reason, they were changed or left out, which left an anticlimactic ending.

Overall, though, I think the movie is good. I like seeing the themes mature, the fights mature, and the kids too. For a book that seemed rather dark, I appreciated the efforts of the movie makers to take advantage of the humorous moments, and there were a lot more laughs than I expected. The special effects are great as always, and thank goodness, Michael Gambon finally came into his own as Dumbledore. While it's not my absolute favorite of the movies (I think I'm leaning towards Goblet of Fire still), it's up there for me.