Daniel Radcliffe Movie:

		List Price: $35.99		Label: Warner Home Video Salesrank: 10 Released: December 8, 2009
		Our Price: $14.60
		Used Price: $12.65
		MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort's defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Even as the decisive showdown looms, romance blossoms for Harry, Ron, Hermione and their classmates. Love is in the air, but danger lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same.

The Blu-ray disc of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will feature Warner Bros. Maximum Movie Mode, an interactive viewing experience that examines the entire film with such features as Focus Points, Picture-in-Picture, photo galleries and more. Maximum Movie Mode includes commentary from director David Yates, producers David Heyman and David Barron, and stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Tom Felton.

The disc also includes Warner Bros. BD-LiveTM, which allows users with web-enabled Blu-ray players to access exciting additional content and connect and share with other BD-Live users via the My Commentary and Live Community Screening features. Another feature of the BD-Live interactivity is Facebook Connect, which allows users to interact with their friends from Facebook, update their Facebook status while in BD-Live and invite their Facebook friends to a Live Community Screening.

Description of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (+ BD-Live) [Blu-ray]:
The sixth installment of the Harry Potter series begins right where The Order of the Phoenix left off. The wizarding world is rocked by the news that "He Who Must Not Be Named" has truly returned, and the audience finally knows that Harry is "the Chosen One"--the only wizard who can defeat Lord Voldemort in the end. Dark forces loom around every corner, and now regularly attempt to penetrate the protected walls of Hogwarts School. This is no longer the fun and fascinating world of magic from the first few books—it's dark, dangerous, and scary.

Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) suspects Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) to be a new Death Eater recruit on a special mission for the Dark Lord. In the meantime, Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) seems to have finally removed the shroud of secrecy from Harry about the dark path that lies ahead, and instead provides private lessons to get him prepared. It's in these intriguing scenes that the dark past of Tom Riddle (a.k.a. Voldemort) is finally revealed. The actors cast as the different young versions of Riddle (Hero Fiennes-Tiffin and Frank Dillane) do an eerily fantastic job of portraying the villain as a child. While the previous movies' many new characters could be slightly overwhelming, only one new key character is introduced this time: Professor Horace Slughorn (with a spot-on performance by Jim Broadbent). Within his mind he holds a key secret in the battle to defeat the Dark Lord, and Harry is tasked by Dumbledore to uncover a memory about Voldemort's darkest weapon--the Horcrux. Despite the long list of distractions, Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) still try to focus on being teenagers, and audiences will enjoy the budding awkward romances. All of the actors have developed nicely, giving their most convincing performances to date.

More dramatic and significant things go down in this movie than any of its predecessors, and the stakes are higher than ever. The creators have been tasked with a practically impossible challenge, as fans of the beloved J.K. Rowling book series desperately want the movies to capture the magic of the books as closely as possible. Alas, the point at which one accepts that these two mediums are very different is the point at which one can truly enjoy these brilliant adaptations. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is no exception: it may be the best film yet. For those who have not read the book, nail-biting entertainment is guaranteed. For those who have, the movie does it justice. The key dramatic scenes, including the cave and the shocking twist in the final chapter, are executed very well. It does a perfect job of setting up the two-part grand finale that is to follow. --Jordan Thompson

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (+ BD-Live) [Blu-ray] Reviews:
Good despite its flaws(3.5)
2009-12-26 -

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood prince is one of my favorite books in the series and it was with great expectations that I went to see it this in July in theaters. I left somewhat thrilled AND disappointed. Why? For a few reasons, just look at the other reviews here and you will see that about half of them are positive and half negative. They left quite a bit of what I would think is important material from the book which is sad and ruined the experience for many fans and it could have been one closer to the book. It's going to be hard to make the last two HP movies because of this. On the good side the special effects were great and the scenes that were present from the book are great and besides HP 6 being very dark it's also very funny at times and the movie looked amazing. The acting was mostly good I've got no complaints here. It seems each year the movies get darker and this one is really dark, I think it's great and it makes a progression from a movie to another. They clearly didn't follow the book enough like a fan would have wanted but I want to make it clear that didn't prevent me from liking this movie and even buying it. When watching the excellent special features, you may notice how some deleted scenes should have made it to the final cut. Besides all that, there is only so much time in a movie that can't include everything they might have wanted to. I'm not only a fan of the books but a fan of the movies as well and I don't think this one is bad at all, it should have stuck more to the book it's true but the result is still a great movie.


The Sixth "Harry Potter" Movie
2009-12-26 - With a unique title slapped across it's glossy face, "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" is the sixth movie in the world of adapting the wildly popular book series into blockbusters. I originally saw it in theaters (in a special, chaotic midnight showing, in fact, which will be the first and last one I attend) and thought I loved it. But when I recently purchased it, upon seeing it released into DVD format, and re-watched it, I fluttered down from my cloud and realized it was, sadly, less than perfect.

Being a movie of beautiful cinematography and amazing computer graphics, it is far from being a fail. Do not listen to the parts of the audience who wailed about it being too different from the book- it's called an "adaption", not "an exact replica of the popular book" for a reason- it is indeed a good movie. And yet I felt it didn't succeed as well as I expected it to, as much as a HP movie should have.

The movie has some definite slow and dry parts; parts that I admit I fast-forwarded through, since my memories from the silver screening in July aren't frayed yet. There was a bit too much dialog; it ran a bit too long; some sequences were, admittedly, twisted a bit too drastically from the book. Not exactly in a bad way, but in a weird way.

For example, they destroy the Weasley's home in this movie. What?! I was baffled as I saw it collapse before me- well, on the screen before me. And the ending, where instead of Dumbledore freezing Harry motionless, Harry is left capable of stopping Draco and Snape, yet stands below and does quite nothing.

But I decided against complaining, because it is still a winning movie. It has some clever, funny parts- parts that are certainly aimed towards it's chunk of the audience that are teens and young adults- and I love how dark it has gotten. It was filmed grainer, too, and I love the feel it shimmers towards the audience. The actors all did well, I thought, and overall, I found myself shutting off the DVD player with a refreshed sense of easiness, yet not completely satisified.

So as I wrap up my review, I think I can easily say this- not the best Harry Potter movie out there, but a far cry from the worst. A very good one to buy, but perhaps not golden enough to slip the brittle words "classic" and "beloved" over it's cover.

Another Great HP Movie
2009-12-25 - Bearing in mind that the movie is never as good as the book, (and that I have never read any of the HP books anyway) I found this to be the best Harry Potter movie yet!

This is the first I have seen in HD and thought the quality was very very good. The actors sure have grown up and do their parts well. The special effects are second to none, and the "how-it-was-made segments are amazing! The other features were also very interesting, using the main actors to show us around the sets etc.

I can't wait for the final episode next summer, because this movie has enough possible endings to make it potentially tantalizing!

In case anyone is wondering why I have not divulged any of the movie details, it is because I would like everyone to see the movie. Just make sure you watch all the other movies first to understand the characters and the ongoing plot.

This gets two big thumbs up from a (Movie only) Harry Potter fan.


Boring mess of a movie.
2009-12-25 - Being well beyond the targeted audience, I've never read the Harry Potter books so I don't know how this mess measures up with the original. Still, as a movie, it's damned boring and more murky than "dark". The characters wander around aimlessly until I reached the point where I not only did not know what was going on, but, more than that, I no longer cared. The principle child actors have not aged well. Daniel Radcliffe mumbles incoherently, Rupert Grint consistently looks like he needs a bath and detox. and Emma Watson, though quite a beauty, appears shallow and clueless. It's now very apparent that these three have no real future as adult actors.

I spent most of the movie gritting my teeth over the horrendous miscasting of Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. I can't believe that they couldn't find anyone who was closer to the style and demeanor of the late Richard Harris. Gambon, who was quoted as saying, "I just play me" appears incoherent and senile and apparently doesn't know that no one is really interested in watching him play himself. I suspect that Rowling killed Dumbledore off in the books because it was the only way to get rid of Gambon. He's really that bad!

Even my 10 year-old, who should be within the target demographic couldn't sit through this. I recommend renting this if you're dead set on watching this drivel.

Harry Potter films
2009-12-24 - Harry Potter films are all great and the sixth film is good. I enjoy the story and I love it.