Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Goolphipp Award: 4.25

Where we stand: Both fans, not fanatics

Phipps: I read the books a long time ago, and haven’t read them a second time. I have these overall summaries in my head. I don’t read them before I see the movie to keep myself from nitpicking. The first five had to leave out a ton of stuff because of time, and mostly I agree with the calls made. I felt satisfied every time that they captured the spirit and plot of the book. This movie was different…didn’t feel like the others in terms of satisfaction.

Goolsby: I joined the Harry Potter scene late in the game. I saw the first five movies before I buckled down and read the books. After the fifth installment, I read all the books back to back in about one month. So for this sixth book, I thought I would take advantage of my knowledge and re-read the book to experience something different. So I bring a more book inclined view to the movies, but like most book adaptations, there is a stage of “making peace” that you have to go through. Oh, and of course, we attended the midnight showing.

Audience: Everyone – who doesn’t like HP?

Goolsby: Of course the story of the Chosen One gets darker. Good and evil, and all that jazz. You’ve got your teenage bumpkins in the audience who make stupid snide remarks as the romance develops. I would recommend older viewers to see the movie during a time where “kids” won’t be in abundance.

Phipps: As we go on, the plot gets darker. As a result, sometimes that translates into scary. So parents, know what your kid can handle.

Storyline: The Cauldron starts to boil over…

Phipps: Followed the book, sort of. The focus was the changing relationships, which could have been done in a shorter amount of time. That would have freed up some time to lay crucial groundwork for the next two. My biggest complaint is the end scenes…it didn’t feel right. And according to Goolsby, there were major deviations. And if I felt that way, I’m sure most people will feel it, too.

Goolsby: Well, if we look at the storyline compared to the book, there are obvious deviations. The most crucial being the Gaunt family history, potions class, and the battle sequence. I suspect they will tie up the loose ends of Voldemort’s history in the next movie as flashbacks or something similar. I understand why they left out the potions class, and I have “made peace” with that. The battle sequence, I understand, but don’t see the reasoning. The storyline based in regards to the other movies is however linear and fitting, I’ll give it that. I did however feel the storyline was split too drastically in obvious halves. The first half is the blustering romance and comedic relief. The second half is completely dark. I feel the two halves were not meshed well, but that is minor and expected.

Where’s the Drama: Love, friendship, good, and evil.

Phipps: Y’all know the story. Harry vs. Voldemort; however, this movie is much like the Prisoner of Azkaban, where Harry is fighting henchmen most of the time. The love stuff is much more fun in the book, and I feel sorry for the actors as they try to turn their sibling chemistries into romance.

Goolsby: The gusto in this movie was dispersed throughout. I loved the high school drama-ness of the budding love. I also loved the darker side of the film. The subtle rifts between the characters were executed with precision.

Continuity: Hmmm…

Goolsby: I feel this movie was consistent with the last, but had a very different feeling than that last, which is surprising. I think perhaps Yates wanted to strengthen the three amigos before sending them off on the rest of the journey – wanted the viewers to feel that bond in this movie. This movie picked up right where 5 ended, and I greatly, greatly appreciate that. Thanks Yates.

Phipps: This movie generally felt different. While the last 5 were all different there was a x-factor that tied them together. I think Yates wanted to make his own mark a bit too much. Felt a bit choppy too…with love, then dark plot, comedic love, dark plot, etc, but I have a feeling I will like it better the second time around.

Delivery: Expected and surprised

Goolsby: Of course we’re so used to everyone that it is almost impossible to disappoint us. I think everyone did very well. Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint are really getting to test out their wings. I was pleasantly surprised by Tom Felton (Draco). In the last scenes I thought he did a great job. I was also happy with the portrayal of Slughorn. Congrats everyone, job very well done. I mean come on, it would be so hard to kiss someone who is more like your sister or brother than anything else. Oh oh, the whole Felix Felicis scene was so perfect it made my heart smile.

Phipps: In true Harry Potter fashion, everyone was expertly cast and portrayed their respective characters so well that this is basically a non-issue for me. Everyone gets an A.

Phipps overall: 4
Solid 4, for now. I’m sure on my second viewing, it might hop up a couple notches.

Goolsby overall: 4.5
First viewing I give it a 4.5. I would like to say it is more, but honestly I was so cheesed that I had to vent out my differences. Overnight I made peace.
Second viewing I still give it a 4.5.

Goolphipp award: 4.25 (No peanuts chucked)

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