Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

After spending two and a half hours trying to find a comfortable position in which my usually ridiculously long legs could rest on the seat in front of me (they couldn't, at least not without me stretching vigorously) I realized, these kids barely go to school. Seriously, they go to like one class a movie, and it doesn't even seem like that hard of a class.

And that's the problem with every Harry Potter movie. Every one of them (especially this one) is excruciatingly long and still distressingly short. After reading the immense amount of stuff that happens in the book (yes, i did read it - don't tell me you didn't either) this movie just plays like the cliff notes.

I know every single one of you knows the storyline but here it goes anyway. For some reason Harry likes to live in the subway system, riding the trains all day, when Dumbledore whisks him away to recruit an old friend to take his old teaching spot. Horace Slughorn, played brilliantly by Jim Broadbent, likes to know famous students, like Harry, and decides to take his old post as potions teacher. Which means Snape gets the post of defense against the dark arts teacher! (Gasp!) The movie barely focuses on this but more on Dumbledore and Harry's growing bond in the face of Voldemort. And on the 20 different relationship subplots between students (*barf*).

The movie is certainly rushed and leaves out the entire point of the title. I can give it away because it has absolutly no bearing on the plot of the movie. Severus Snape (coincidentally one of my favorite actors in the series) is the half blood prince. He doesn't say why, he just says he is. and that's that. Nothing changes. Harry doesn't go "oh my gosh everything makes sense now!" because it doesn't. They had to throw that part in there because it's in the title.

And here's the worst part of the movie, there is enough feelings to fuel a season of vh1's something of love show. As long as its PG. Relationships are pushed into happening much faster then they should be. If you didn't read the book it doesn't make any sense how fast they fall in love with each other.

"Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" ranks at about 3rd place in my list of Harry Potter movies, (I'll have to see Chamber of Secrets again). If you read the book you kind of have to see it and if you haven't go for Luna Lovegood, Severus Snape, and Horace Slughorn. Horace was a great addition to the cast and the other two are amazing in themselves.

Grade: B-

Christopher O'Connell