Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The Half-Blood Prince just might be the most emotional film in the Harry Potter series. Not to say that the joys, triumphs and tragedies of the other films aren’t emotion filled, but The Half-Blood Prince is the first time the characters we’ve grown up to have truly become adults themselves and realize all that this means.

While the entire school suffers at the death of Cedric Diggory during the Tri Wizard Tournament, and Harry is devastated by the death of Sirius Black, Dumbldore is the first real death of all hope for the entire wizzarding world. On top of an already bleak new war against Voldomort, this is a crushing blow and one that sets the entire last chapters of Potter, Granger & Weasley into action – a trio that won’t stop fighting because that’s what Dumbldore would have wanted them to do.

I have no idea how the scale of The Deathly Hallows will translate into a film. However, if the teaser and poster are any indication the films will leave audiences pinned to their seats and in the end, probably wiping away tears. If you thought The Half-Blood Prince was gut wrenching, just wait to see what lies in store in The Deathly Hallows.

Harry: Did you know, sir? Then?
Dumbledore: Did I know that I just met the most dangerous dark wizard of all time?

The Book of Eli

If you plan on seeing The Book of Eli don’t read this yet. If you don’t think you want to see it and need details to convince you – keep reading. There are spoilers in this, but it’s mainly a through look at the story, not the twists and turns.

I’m blogging out of order because I have to tell you about The Book of Eli during opening weekend; I have to tell you during opening weekend because I don’t know how many big screens this film will stay on after the box office nose dives next weekend. The box office will nose dive next weekend because The Book of Eli isn’t a typical Hollywood action film, post-apocalyptic film, or anything of the sort. The Book of Eli is about God.


Roughly 30 years after the flash destroyed the world Eli is walking across the ravaged United States to get to the west avoiding marauders and hijackers that want to steal his few belongings and more than anything trying to survive the harsh landscape that surrounds him. On his way west Eli passes through one of the ragged towns that has popped up, headed by Carnegie a despot enjoying his power. Carnegie sends out marauders day after day looking for a book, a book that only he knows and he won’t rest until he finds it.

When Eli comes through town he causes trouble and comes to Carnegie’s attention because of his expertise in defending himself and the fact that there are very few people left that are as old as he and Eli. Eli refuses the position that Carnegie offers him and flees town, intent on continuing west. But his plans are foiled as Carnegie realizes Eli is in possession of the book he desperately seeks and pursues. As if that weren’t enough young Solara has become fascinated with Eli and follows him out of town. Together the two flee Carnegie while Solara tries to understand the purpose behind Eli’s journey and conviction and Eli tries to keep the book safe so he can complete his task.

The Book of Eli has one of the most unique takes on a post-apocalyptic world that I have ever seen. What makes this movie entirely different is that it explores how religion would influence society in this wasteland. You see after “the flash” people began to speculate that religion, specifically Christianity and The Bible, was the cause for wars and violence and The Bible was burned world wide. Christianity was eradicated and The Bible disappeared.

Except Eli managed to find the last copy. He found this copy because after “the flash” a voice told him where to find it and set him on his path to protect it. He’s been protecting it ever since and following his path.

Where most films have religious sub-text there is noting “sub” about The Book of Eli - this is all text. Eli is the last follower of Jesus, a prophet of God set on a path. Just like Moses and the prophets before him he is flawed, makes mistakes and learns as he goes along, but knows more than anything else that God is real and has a purpose. The Book of Eli is not subtle. Eli is an amazing character and an extreme example of faith.

As powerful a character as Eli is he is matched by Solara. A young slave in Carnegie’s city she begins to get to know Eli when Carnegie tries to get her to proposition Eli. Instead of taking advantage of Solara, Eli takes the time to get to know her, shares a meal with her and even prays with her for the first time. Eli’s life and actions intrigue her so much that when Eli flees Solara follows him, trying to discover what it is about him that is so different and all the way he has to explain to her what faith means in a literal and religious sense. Her arch is natural and astounding.

I still can’t believe that Hollywood allowed The Book of Eli to be made. This film has Jesus all over it. I know it can’t be a hit in theatres for very long because as the movie went along the audience got more and more uncomfortable. As Eli and his path were revealed the audience clued into the message and did not want to admit that the film was about Christianity; in fact at one point during the credits an audience member actually got mad that it turned out to be a “Christian movie”.

Not everyone will like this movie, but those that believe in the message will absolutely love it.

Directors: Albert & Allen Hughes
Writer: Gary Whitta
Eli: Denzel Washington
Garnegie: Gary Oldman
Solara: Mila Kunis
Redridge: Ray Stevenson
Claudia: Jennifer Beals
George: Michael Gambon

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Fantastic Mr Fox
Originally uploaded by ablogvoyage

Mr. Fox is an expert bird thief and loves it, until the day Mrs. Fox tells him that they are expecint a child and makes him promise to get an honest job. Mr. Fox does and begins writing a column for his local paper but pines for the job he was good at; in an effort to better his family’s life he buys a local tree and they move in – into the shadow of Boggis, Bunce & Bean, three of the meanest farmers in the land. When Mr. Fox decides to take up his bird thief ways again he unwittingly brings disaster onto all of the animals in his community.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox is a brilliant little movie; somehow, Wes Anderson did manage to turn a children’s story into a family film with his own personal flair. But this film has Wes Anderson stamped all over it, from the way the characters deliver their lines, to the quirky costumes they wear and the way they get stuck in situations of their own making. Don’t let the claymation stop you – this is a Wes Anderson film.

The one thing I have to mention about The Fantastic Mr. Fox is something that’s been festering for awhile. I keep overhearing people talking about how they don’t know why such a big deal is being made over the animation technology in this movie because the same thing was done in movies like Over the Hedge. I love Over the Hedge, have seen it many times and that’s why I know that’s a computer animated film. The Fantastic Mr. Fox is stop motion – totally different technology & completely different visual style to it. These were actual little models of the characters that were moved and photographed one frame at a time, not drawn inside a computer. If you really can’t see that it’s time to get your eyes checked.

I am going to go out on a limb and say that this film will be nominated for Best Animated Film at the Academy Awards this year. I do think it deserves the nomination, but I’m not sure it will win. The stiff competition for this film comes from Up, another brilliant family film that also deals with responsibility & family. It will be interesting to see who wins.

Director: Wes Anderson
Writers: Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach
Mr. Fox: George Clooney
Mrs. Fox: Meryl Streep
Ash: Jason Schwartzman
Badger: Bill Murray
Kristofferson: Eric Chase Anderson
Bean: Michael Gambon
Rat: Willem Dafoe
Coach Skip: Owen Wilson

Mr. Fox: Who am I, Kylie?
Kylie: Who how? What now?
Mr. Fox: Why a fox? Why not a horse, or a beetle, or a bald eagle? I'm saying this more as, like, existentialism, you know? Who am I? And how can a fox ever be happy without, you'll forgive the expression, a chicken in its teeth?
Kylie: I don't know what you're talking about, but it sounds illegal.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry is content at home knowing that the wizarding world is in search of Voldemort, but Dumbledore has other plans. He begins Harry’s 6th year at Hogwarts by having him accompany him on his way to sway former Professor Slughorn to come back to Hogwarts and begins to bode to Harry that there are bigger things than classes that Harry will need to concentrate on this year, and one of the most important is befriending Slughorn. Thus begins Harry’s apprenticeship to Dumbledore as they begin the secret work of collecting memories, people’s memories of Tom Riddle before he became known as Lord Voldemort. Meanwhile, Ron discovers the bliss of the opposite sex and Harry and Hermione reel over what it feels like when the person they each like pursues someone else as Ron goes after Lavender Brown and Ginny dates another boy. Life and love continue at Hogwarts while Harry suspects Draco Malfoy of becoming a Death Eater and thanks to the mysterious Half-Blood Prince becomes a master at potion making.

While Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is not a happy tale, it is probably the single best Potter film to date. David Yates has completely captured the spirit of the book series in a way that no film has yet; while a few events may have changed the look and tone of the film is masterful and pitch-perfect, not only the best Potter film to date but one of the best films of the year. The special effects, acting, directing style and every element of the film tells of a director who took the time to craft an excellent, character driven piece and to fold the world around them, not fold the characters into the world. Yates manages to weave past and present together in an interesting way so that the flashbacks (memories) never seem stale, and he somehow manages to use these flashbacks to develop Voldemort into an even darker villain than he was before.

What makes The Half-Blood Prince the most engaging film so far is that it spends the most time developing our lead three into full fledged beings with feelings, crushes, desires, ambitions and pain. When Hermione realizes Ron is denying feelings for her the audience feels it to, when Harry & Hermione call each other their best friends we realize there is nothing sexualized in this, just a pure familial love for one another, and when Ron gains victory on the Quidditch field you cheer with him. Luna and Ginny are even developed further though both have only small roles in the film.

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson & Rupert Grint have truly grown into fine actors and were able to sell a script like this. This Harry Potter was far more character than action and the leads were captivating enough that no one I know has even realized this.

For those that want no spoilers you might want to skip this paragraph because I have to talk about this plot point. What makes The Half-Blood Prince so sad is the ending – the death of Dumbledore. It is heroic and tragic in the book and the film, even if the film omits his funeral, the single saddest scene in the series. What made this so tragic for me in the film is that this is the film that finally got Dumbledore right. Dumbledore is the hardest character to capture; he is whimsy, brilliance and sternness wrapped into one incredibly powerful man and while Richard Harris & Michael Gambon have both been excellent Dumbledore’s the character has never been that perfect melding on screen until this film, which is what made it so sad for me that I knew he had to die. About half way through the film the realization that Dumbledore was the Dumbledore from my imagination hit me, and as they walked through Voldemort’s youth together I realized that Dumbledore’s life was about to come to his inevitable conclusion and I was not going to see this Dumbledore in the next film.

Though the film’s ending strays from the book I have to say that it ends in the perfect place. Ending at the funeral with the new Minister of Magic approaching Harry while perfect in the book would have seemed artificial and tacked on in film; the characters would have seemed forced into making decisions that were far beyond them. Instead, The Half-Blood Prince ends almost like The Empire Strikes Back, it sets the characters on the precipice of what comes next as Harry, Ron & Hermione realize they need to find the horcruxes and finish what Dumbledore started.

Director: David Yates
Writer: Steve Kloves
Harry Potter: Daniel Radcliffe
Ron Weasley: Rupert Grint
Hermione Granger: Emma Watson
Professor Dumbledore: Michael Gambon
Professor Slughorn: Jim Broadbent
Draco Malfoy: Tom Felton
Professor Snape: Alan Rickman
Ginny Weasley: Bonnie Wright
Hagrid: Robbie Coltrane
Professor McGonagall: Maggie Smith

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.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The Order of the Phoenix is by and far a dark chapter in Harry Potter’s life in and out of Hogwarts. While Harry has been forced into spending summer at home in the muggle world the atmosphere around him has changed and not just because Harry knows Voldemort is back, the literal climate hot, stormy and depressed. One afternoon Harry and Dudley race home to avoid a sudden storm and are attacked by dementors forcing Harry to use magic to keep them both alive, an activity forebidden to underage wizards outside of school. Harry is expelled from Hogwarts and only allowed back in after a full trial in which Dumbledore manages to throw in Harry’s favor. Once Harry gets back to school he finds a distant Dumbledore, a Professor who is attempting to take over Hogwarts for the Ministry and he faces the fact that he and Dumbledore are being berated in the media as the Ministry begins a full fledged propaganda campaign because they refuse to believe Voldemort is alive. This means that Voldemort and his Death Eaters are running rampant and the world’s only defense is a small crew of wizards lead by Dumbledore including Sirius Black and the Weasley’s who refuse to let Harry, Hermione and Ron help and Harry learns there is a connection between he and Voldemort that goes deeper than a scar.

I will admit that as a book and a film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix grew on me; it is one of the darkest chapters in the Potter series and it takes me awhile to respond to that. This is the film where Harry begins to believe he is alone in the world, literally gets tortured by a teacher and is forced to grow up faster than ever before. However, The Order of the Phoenix is the film that David Yates took ahold of and proved that he is the visionary match for Rowling’s writing; all of the elements of fantasy, reality, light and dark were perfectly blended and all of the ups, downs, joys and pains that were going on in the film were as real as they were to the characters.

In this film Dumbledore and Voldemort come face to face for the one and only time in the present, and an incredible action scene ensues. However, what I love about this scene is that it is used as so much more than an action scene, it actually developes the characters. It paints the triangle between Harry, Voldemort & Dumbledore and the fact that it is Harry’s choice to be good or evil, he has just as much choice as did Tom Riddle or Albus Dumbledore did. The scene also climaxes with the vindication of Harry and Dumbledore in the eyes of the Ministry and the public.

This film is also a turning point for harry and his group of friends. For the first time they make the choice to fight because no one else will, they make the choice to go the difficult thing even though they know it may mean death for them. This is the first film where the students make fully adult decisions and face evil knowingly, not because they are roped into it, or stumble upon it – they make the choice and face the darkness head on.

I do think that each time I watch The Order of the Phoenix it will grow on me. As compared to the other Potter films this is only about the third time I’ve watched this film and I was surprised at how much it entertained me because I mostly remember an impression of sadness the last time I watched it. I genuinely think that this film is part of why I was able to love The Half-Blood Prince as much as I did, but that is a blog for another time.

Director: David Yates
Writer: Michael Goldenberg
Harry Potter: Daniel Radcliffe
Ron Weasley: Rupert Grint
Hermione Granger: Emma Watson
Sirius Black: Gary Oldman
Dumbledore: Michael Gambon
Delores Umbridge: Imelda Staunton
Snape: Alan Rickman
Hagrid: Robbie Coltrane
Bellatrix Lestrange: Helena Bonham Carter
Voldemort: Ralph Finnes

Harry Potter: This connection between me and Voldemort... what if the reason for it is that I am becoming more like him? I just feel so angry, all the time. What if after everything that I've been through, something's gone wrong inside me? What if I'm becoming bad?
Sirius Black: I want you to listen to me very carefully, Harry. You're not a bad person. You're a very good person, who bad things have happened to. Besides, the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

It’s Harry, Ron & Hermione’s 4th year at Hogwarts and they start the year to a flurry of excitement when magical schools Drumstrag & Beaubatons send students to stay at Hogwarts and participate in the Tri-Wizard Tournament; one champion will be chosen from each school and put through a series of challenges until one is declared victor. As these challenges are extraordinarily dangerous no one under 17 can submit their name for consideration, which is why it’s remarkable when not only do 4 names come out as Tri-Wizard champions, but Harry is the 4th candidate, well under the 17 year old age limit. While this is going on Harry gets close to the new defense against the dark arts teacher, a former auror Mad Eye Moody who has been responsible for tracking down and putting away a large number of Voldemort’s Death Eaters. Harry also becomes more of a public figure as Rita Skeeter, a reporter for the Daily Prophet focuses her stories about the Tri-Wizard Tournament center on Harry. The Tri-Wizard Tournament takes Harry and his relationships to a breaking point until ultimately, Harry must face his darkest fear and the wizarding world will never be the same.

Until The Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was my favorite Harry Potter film, and I think it is still tied for number one; I actually have the teaser poster for the film hanging on my bedroom wall because I think it captures Rowling’s world best. In my opinion Mike Newell was the first director that really understood J.K. Rowling’s world and that need for a balance between fantasy, darkness and reality. Chris Columbus understood the fantasy, Alfonso Cuaron understood the darkness, and Mike Newell began to intergect the much needed dose of reality into the series. Along with making a brilliant film, he put the series in the perfect place for David Yates to make the series into the perfection it is now.

My favorite character in Goblet of Fire has got to be Rita Skeeter. This is one of the most eccentric characters in the series and she tries to royally interfere with everything that goes on between Harry and his friends. I really hope they bring Miranda Richardson back into the series. Me, myself & I want her back.

However, this was the first film where the Fred & George Weasley I know and love from the books came to the big screen. While they’d always been the funny, irksome older brothers to Ron they finally became the comedic, brilliant, troublemaking wizards they were in the book. They are beyond fantastic.

There is one scene in the book that makes me emotional just thinking about it, and as a fair warning this is a spoiler. This scene is when Dumbledore has assembled all the students in the great hall after Cedric Diggory has been murdered and Voldemort has risen, Dumbldore delivers a speech about how everything has changed and warns that they must all remember what Voldemort has done, the truth of the situation as the Ministry of Magic will cover it up for their “protection”; he repeats a phrase several times – “Remember Cedric Diggory”. I cried when reading it in the book. Newell doesn’t get quite that emotional response out of me in his version of that scene but he does evoke a pretty powerful emotional response from me; the scene sets up a dynamic that will come to play largely in Order of the Phoenix and the rest of the wizard world.

Goblet of Fire had a lot of differences between the finished product and the book, but like so many of the changes that the series has embraced I have to say that I don’t mind them. While I still wish the racial war from the books was being played up a lot more, the only genuine things I miss thus far have to do with things missing in the first two films. I don’t mind that Nevel not Dobby helps Harry breathe under water, or that it’s a Death Eater not a house elf that gets caught making the dark mark at the Quiddich World Cup, or the dozens of other differences in the series. As long as the series hits the important points, and completes the fantastic character arch’s that Rowling wrote into the series I will be a happy viewer.

Director: Mike Newell
Writer: Steve Kloves
Harry Potter: Daniel Radcliffe
Hermione Granger: Emma Watson
Ron Weasley: Rupert Grint
Fred Weasley: James Phelps
George Weasley: Oliver Phelps
Ginny Weasley: Bonnie Wright
Cedric Diggory: Robert Pattinson
Hagrid: Robbie Coltrane
Dumbledore: Michael Gambon
Professor Snape: Alan Rickman
Mad Eye Moody: Brendan Gleeson
Professor McGonagall: Maggie Smith
Fleur Delacour: Clemence Posey
Viktor Krum: Stanislav Lanevski


Dumbledore: No spell can reawaken the dead, Harry. I trust you know that. Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.

Harry Potter and the Prisioner of Azkaban

In Harry Potter’s third year at Hogwarts life does not get easier. In fact he finds out that mass murderer Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban prison and is dead set on finding him. As the year marches on Hermione seems to be everywhere at once, the Divinity professor drives Harry & Ron crazy with forebodings of doom, and the three friends discover that perhaps there is a mysterious secret the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is hiding. Much to Dumbledore’s chagrin, the Ministry of Magic begins to interfere with Hogwarts by sending Azkaban’s Dementors to protect the school from Sirius Black.

Part of what I love about each installment of the Harry Potter series is the new cast that gets added to each film. In The Prisoner of Azkaban we get Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, Emma Thompson as Professor Trelawney. They are great characters and fabulous actors that become enjoyable parts of the rest of the series. Also, Azkaban is the first film with Michael Gambon as Dulbledore; Richard Harris died between films two and three and Gambon masterfully fills his shoes and still makes the role his own.

The Prisoner of Azkaban is also the first in the series to be directed by someone other than Chris Columbus, and let me say I shouted “halleluiah” when I found out he was not going to do all of the films. For this film the masterful Alfonso Cuaron took the reins and for the first time the Harry Potter series had something is never had in the earlier films – atmosphere. Suddenly, Harry was the dark, tousled boy he always was in the books, and the world was not as shiny and friendly as Chris Columbus portrayed it in the first two films. This film was a directorial turning point in the series, and while Azkaban is one of the weakest in terms of what it does to the franchise in continuity, it gave the series the starts of the tone that needed to be set.

While I do think that the front end of the Harry Potter films were weaker than the later films there is no bad film in the Harry Potter franchise. I am excited to see how the films finish out.

Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Writer: Steve Kloves
Harry: Daniel Radcliffe
Sirius Black: Gary Oldman
Ron: Rupert Grint
Hermione: Emma Watson
Professor Lupin: David Thewlis
Dumbldore: Michael Gambon
Professor Snape: Alan Rickman
Professor McGonogall: Maggie Smith
Hagrid: Robbie Coltrane
Professor Trelawney: Emma Thompson

Harry: He was their friend, and he betrayed them. He was their *friend*! I hope he finds me! Cause when he does, I'm gonna be ready. When he does, I'm gonna kill him!