DVD
REVIEW:
Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince
12/8/09
OVERVIEW: Wizards and muggles beware! No one is safe as Harry Potter returns for his sixth year at Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which arrives on Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD this December 8th from Warner Home Video. The entire ensemble cast is back for the sixth installment of the record-breaking franchise based on the best-selling book series by J.K. Rowling.
SYNOPSIS: Emboldened by the return of Lord Voldemort, the Death Eaters are wreaking havoc in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that new dangers may lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. He needs Harry to help him uncover a vital key to unlocking Voldemort's defenses--critical information known only to Hogwarts' former Potions Professor, Horace Slughorn. With that in mind, Dumbledore manipulates his old colleague into returning to his previous post with promises of more money, a bigger office...and the chance to teach the famous Harry Potter.
Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry's long friendship with Ginny Weasley is growing into something deeper, but standing in the way is Ginny's boyfriend, Dean Thomas, not to mention her big brother Ron. But Ron's got romantic entanglements of his own to worry about, with Lavender Brown lavishing her affections on him, leaving Hermione simmering with jealousy yet determined not to show her feelings. And then a box of love potion-laced chocolates ends up in the wrong hands and changes everything.
As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof with far more important matters on his mind. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.
FILM REVIEW:
Harry Potter: Did you know, sir? Then?
Albus Dumbledore: Did I know that I just met the most dangerous
dark wizard of all time? No.
Ah, the mystery that surrounds Tom Riddle, a.k.a. Voldemort. An
unsolvable puzzle, or is it? And that is the basis for this next
episode. The kids are growing up fast and so does the content of
the movie . . . a little more adult. There is still plenty of
mystery, of course, plenty of fun and wizardry, plenty of
feelings including love, relationships, attachments and
detachments, plenty of thrills, and an okay amount of action.
This movie seemed to have a lot more visual detail compared to
the others. It’s almost as if the camera was a little more in
focus. We see more detail of Hogwarts, the train that takes them
there, the quidditch field and the match itself as well. We also
begin to see a little more detail of the characters such as Mr.
Riddle. As with the last Harry Potter movie, things are becoming
clearer and the story told by the film is less and less
confusing. It is becoming more evident that the overall story is
beginning to wrap up (sad but necessary).
You really can’t go wrong with these Harry Potter movies. Each
of them is great and they each have a personality of their own.
Even though this one lacks a bit in action and intensity, it
makes up for it in emotion and plot. It is more realistic and
down to earth if that is even possible for a story about
wizards. Of course the special effects are as good as always. It
is almost at the point where you start to take it for granted.
The cinematography falls into that category as well. It is
exceptional but it always has been so you take it for granted.
There is good color transitions used throughout the movie. When
things are upbeat there seems to be more vivid color and when
there is despair and/or gloom there is a lot less color, nearly
black and white at times.
The performances are as you would expect and have grown
accustomed to, with focus on the “three musketeers” of
course along with Dumbledore as your primary screen hogs. It
gives me great pleasure to see how they have been able to keep
the cast pretty much intact for all these movies. It makes it so
much easier to attach and relate to these characters. There are
a handful of new characters this time to shake things up a bit.
One of my favorites, though, within the smaller roles is Evanna
Lynch as Luna Lovegood. What a character . . . I just want to
squeeze her with hugs. Luna is so odd coupled with her odd voice
and her odd outlook on things that she is such a joy to watch. I
have to admit, however, that as far as the dialogue goes, there
were many times that I couldn’t understand what they were
saying. Almost all of the actors have strong accents and if you
add the fact that most of the time they are talking fast, it’s
over . . . I’m lost. But even if you don’t understand,
you’ll have a good idea of what’s going on at least. All in
all, I think David Yates is doing a fantastic job with the Harry
Potter series, this being his second direction of an H.P. movie.
Looks like he is the man for the next film too. This is a good
thing.
Film Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
DVD: The DVD
includes the full screen versions of
the film. The picture is complemented with a 5.1 Dolby
Digital audio in English and Spanish . The surprise in
this DVD version is the absents of extras. If you want to
get and inside look at the making of the film you should go
for the Blu-ray version.
VIDEO:
Standard [4:3 Transfer]
AUDIO:
English, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles - English Spanish
Francais
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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