Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Half Blood Prince (Vodcast Review)

Katey and I braved the outdoors (I'm not a summer person) for a change of vodcast pace. So here we are blathering on about Hogwarts Episode VI: The Search for the Horcrux more commonly known as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.



Katey prefers the books to the movies and I'm not a particular convert either way -- I've read books 1,2,6 and 7 -- but have learned to love like the movies along the way once The Prisoner of Azkaban erased my memories of the first two.

I stopped by the movie theater on my way home tonight to see about tickets for a friend a few days from now. The electronic signage just had the word "out" blinking by every Harry Potter showing (the "sold" is silent, apparently). Can it beat Transformers 2? Likely not, given the Potter franchise hi$tory at the box office.
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22 comments:

Andrew K. said...

Okay, Nathaniel I know that you don't like the first two Harry Potter films. I love the novels, and of course the films are not as good [I think The Goblet of Fire is the worse], but you keep mentioning that you hate the first two, Part One especially. Why??? I mean, I think I have a love of the first one because I saw it when I was really young and I was alone in the cinema&etc...but I haven't seen it in a while. Why do you hate it?

Joe Shetina said...

Cuaron should have stayed with that series. Maybe Goblet of Fire would have turned out half-way decent.

JK Rowling said...

its not really a spoiler when they released a clip of that scene online =P

Starfounder said...

HP has been such a phenomenal success, why? Rowling has done such a fantastic job of creating a vision and laying the groundwork for the series. Here is an interesting post about Harry Potter and business culture that I thought I'd share.

Chris Na Taraja said...

How did you get into Hogwarts!! And which house di the sorting hat put you in?

Thanks for the spoiler warning, I hate to be spoiled.

london said...

I am the biggest fan of harry's movie. firstly i read the story and i like.

NATHANIEL R said...

chris the hat put us in Gryffindor of course! that's where the important good people go and Katey and I are very important and good ;)

moremony services said...

Cuaron should have stayed with that series. Maybe Goblet of Fire would have turned out half-way decent

Scene-Stealers said...

Katey said "If you're seeing the movies and you haven't read the books," she doesn't understand why. This is a big sticking point for me and probably the reason this series becomes more frustrating as it wears on. In order for the movie to succeed on its own terms, I don't think that one should have to have read the books. The bigger this mythology gets, the more they leave out in the books and the more amorphous these characters become until they are making choices in this movie that make no sense whatsoever UNLESS YOU'VE READ THE BOOKS. That, as a film fan, is alienating and it means that as a movie, it fails. This should be remade as a TV series and given the breadth it deserves.

Katey said...

I agree, Scene-Stealers. And that's why, while I've always enjoyed the movies, they never work for me nearly as well as the books. They're like facsimiles of the real thing.

Anonymous said...

I just dont see the big thrill in Potter....I just dont get it!!! Explain it to me..
http://c-trainsentertainmentreviews.blogspot.com/

adelutza said...

In my opinion it's for kids and teens - and adults that probably were teens when the books started to come out. I couldn't get into the books at all and, while I admit I haven't seen any of them from start to finish, the movies seemed just a showcase for nice wizard effects and such. I enjoyed some of the supporting performances , but that's about it.

CrazyCris said...

Great vodcast guys!

I'm still having trouble wrapping my mind around an attack on the Burrows, and now you tell me there's no final battle?! WTF?! Does you know who still kill you know who when the other guy chickens out? Will there be no plotline with were-wolf Bill?

I'm afraid I have to wait another 10 days to see this... by choice! In 10 days I'll be able to see it in English instead of dubbed. But enjoyed hearing you guys' take on it!

adri said...

One of the tricky things about making the movies must be that the leads are the kids, who are potentially good/improving semi-skilled actors, while the supporting cast are fantastic top-level actors.

Cuaron did a great job in HP3 of keeping the focus on the kids and showing them to advantage.

But I felt Yates in the last movie was totally seduced by the higher level of skill and interest and characterization of the older actors and let Imelda Staunton be the lead. Yes, she's more interesting than Harry, but the story is about the kids.

This one sounds more teen-centered again. Although yes, I admit, I do really want to see Alan Rickman play Snape in the film(s) of the last book.

jfranz said...

Did nobody have a problem with the changed ending of the new movie?
I'll get to that in a sec, but first of all...
There was way too much focus on the love stories, especially Ron and Lavender, and not enough focus (or none at all) on the unraveling of the story, background, motivation of Voldemort. The book finally reveals why Harry is who he is and why he is destined to kill Voldemort, which is the key to the entire series. This however is not even addressed. Further there is no explanation of what Harry has to do in the last movie or how impossible and desperate his mission is.

Anyways, besides all that I am very confused about the ending.
Maybe somebody can shed some light on it for me. What is the significance of Dumbledore sacrificing himself for no apparent reason? They both could have easily escaped or Dumbledore could have fought, being that he is the greatest wizard to ever have lived. It makes sense in the book. All he had time for is to save Harry. He sacrifices himself because Harry's life is more precious than his.
Somebody tell me why he dies in the movie?

Unknown said...

I'm surprised by my reaction, but I'm 100% with Stephanie Zacharek at Salon.com on this one. Wonderful. Possibly (probably?) better than Azkaban, but I want to watch both again.

Just to put my feelings into context, I think the others are boring to forgettable.

Also, Jim Broadbent was superb. He won't be getting an Oscar nod, but, at this point, I don't see him missing my "ballot".

Ryan Ray said...

I LOVE the idea of it being a tv mini series. Maybe the BBC will go ahead one day and remake it--then perhaps the story on film will come close to the quality that exists in the books.

The ending doesn't really make sense and it bothers me. I don't think the actions of the characters are true to what they really are. The romances were a bit awkward as well, especially the one between Harry and Ginny.

Lola said...

Are you guys all serious? As a faithful but not hardcore fan, I found this movie to be THE one I've been waiting for, ironic considering that the Half Blood Prince was my least favorite book in the series.

The balance was just perfect, the acting well done, no cheesy gimmicks or artsy inputs (love Cuaron but Azkaban was incredibly flawed and at times just had many unnecessary scenes). This one was not only coherent and complex, but really got to the emotional heart and core of the books, with seamless transitions and some seriously great moments. The other movies always just rushed from scene to scene, eager to keep the attention of their young viewers. This one's slower paced and thus gives time for the scenes to really sink in. Loved this movie.

Lola said...

BTW, I agree with Nathaniel that the first two were wrecks. Silly, contrived, incoherent, just godawful.

William said...

To be honest I thought this latest film to be the worst of the series it lacked just about everything, story wise it was all over place and just when you came across a bit of action it soon fizzles out. It just felt like this film was about setting up the next and final films.... yawn.

C List Celebrity Workouts said...

Really? I loved this movie. I definetly thought it was tied best with the 3rd and 4th Movie, in the Harry Potter series.

Movie Blaster said...

The most recent Harry Potter movies aren't that good anymore especially since most of the young characters got older now.... There was a certain cuteness to Harry Potter before that appealed more to kids... I doubt if its still there.