Alright, so I went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince tonight, just got back so it is fresh in my mind. Let's first elaborate on how much of a die-hard fan I am of the books. I read the first two in the second grade and I was instantly in love with them, in my grade school we would hold Harry Potter trivia games at recess, I would win, eventually they wouldn't let me play and I had to ask the questions for the other kids to answer. I quote, I read over and over and over, and yes, I LOVE them. NO doubt about it. And as such, I am rather biased, but this is what I thought of the film.

The acting? Terrible. Radcliffe and co. seemed to peak at the ripe age of 12 or 13 in the second movie and then... fall. Down. Fast. BOOM! They were emotionless when emotion was needed. There were moments where they were rather funny, there were subtle things that mostly only readers caught, little looks from Hermione to Ron in the beginning, looks that you know leads to their future relationships and eventual marriage. Little things like Lavender (They said her name only once in the film and it was after Ron chucked her... doesn't seem to make sense to me, and WHY get a different actress for every film? and for the Patel twins too? in the fourth they were Indian, and now... white? Wtf?!) looking at Hermione then to Ron, and Hermione's looks at Lav-Lav, all very amusing. Ginny and Harry seemed awkward at best, one fish lipped kiss in the Room of Requirement... Where Harry did NOT place a tiara on a bust with a wig. HELLO!? This was crucial in the 7th when he is looking for the diadem (tiara) now what? is he just going to RANDOMLY come across it? "Oh look! it's the diadem, what do you know? I'm so brilliant! I'm Daniel Radcliffe, I'm a right tosser" (Sorry) Back to Ginny and Harry. There seemed to be no connection between them, and then no connection to the audience. But that was the whole film. No emotional connection. Not even in the very end, one of the most emotional parts of the series for me... nothing.

Tom Felton (Malfoy) did a rather good job in this one, Draco had a larger role, and he played it well, he always has. He played the smart-ass Malfoy well, and he also played the fearful, marked, suffering Malfoy well. I have to say he was the shining star in an otherwise dark and dismal sky.

There was an extra scene added into the film, during Christmas at The Burrow, the Death Eaters attack, Harry runs after Bellatrix (played by a very sexy Helena Bonham Carter, I am rather in love with this woman) Ginny runs after Harry, and peril ensues. Arthur Weasley and Lupin chase after the kids, and try to protect them from the Death Eaters, then The Burrow BURNS DOWN. YES. I SHIT YOU NOT. IT FUCKING BURNS DOWN. WHAT THE HELL!? They added a scene not in the book, WHY!? You run out of time to add details because you MAKE UP SCENES! /fail.

OH! And Lupin and Tonks are together at Christmas time. They were supposed to get together at the end. Not a big deal, just something that irked me. It seemed out-of-the-blue. And to someone who is not a reader, they would not register the lady as Tonks. No pink hair, and no use of her name.

One of the hardest scenes for me to read was the one in the lake with the potion. This scene had no emotion, once again. Micheal Gambon is not as good as Richard Harris was (Dumbledore from film 1 and 2). He does not play a good Albus. Too angry in the 4th, and too... cold in the 6th. There was no attachment to Dumbledore. None. And that saddened me greatly. Radcliffe was too calm during his beloved Headmaster's delirium, and Gambon didn't suffer as greatly as the Wizard should have. The fear, the wishes for death, they didn't tug at my heartstrings, they didn't make me lose my breath. In films there are so many ways to catch an audience, to make them feel an emotion, with different shots, speeds of shots, cuts, music, lighting. And that's only the technical work. The actors have the big job, and they didn't do it. They didn't make me feel anything.

The death. Oh Dumbledore, how your death made me mourn for weeks when I read the book. I didn't even tear up in the film. I just... wish i felt something. I cried so hard when Cedric died in the 4th, and when Sirius went too. (Radcliffe redeemed himself with his reaction to Black's death. THAT was emotion. THAT caused a pain in my heart.) Felton did excellent work, and so did Alan Rickman (although "Pretty Women" from Sweeney Todd is still stuck in my head) they both did their parts in the death of Dumbledore well, the headmaster himself... not so much. And where was Harry's despair? where was the boy clinging to the body of his beloved professor? where was the pain? Not in the film, that's for sure.

There was no funeral. They could have had it if they didn't add the stupid made-up-Burrow-burning scene. BUT NOOOOO! That would make too much sense. Let's piss off the fans and make shit up! GOOD IDEA!

The effects... well done as usual. That's all there is to say about them really.

The castle. Why does it change every movie? and the grounds too? I do not know. I do not like.

Even Hagrid lacked emotion. I wanted to see him breakdown over Aragog's dead, curled up, grotesque body. Didn't happen. I. DON'T. GET. IT. WHO SUCKED ALL THE EMOTION OUT OF THIS FILM? OUT OF THE ACTORS? WAS THERE AN EMOTION DEMENTOR ON THE SET? Must have been.

More than once I thought to myself "I should make these movies."

The meetings with Dumbledore seemed random, never did Harry and Albus discuss the need for the lessons in order to destroy Voldemort, never did they explain what was going on. They just went into memories. And only two. Dumbledore's at the orphanage, and Slughorn's with the horcruxes. I wanted to see the Gaunts. Voldemort's past was very interesting, and would have been good to added. The locket and the ring seemed too random, they had no significance, when really, they had so much.

If the director added less little funny things between the love triangles, and added more to the actual necessary plot details, it would have been a hell of alot better, oh, and if the director wasn't an emotion sucker (I have come to the conclusion he is the Emotion Dementor).

There was no epic battle scene either. Nope. Remus was not scarred by Greyback. Nothing happened. Harry chased after the few Death Eaters, screamed at Snape, then the Death Eaters set fire to Hagrid's cabin. The POOF back to the tower, where Dumbledore's body lay. One single tear was shed by Hermione. The remaining wizards/witches raised their wands and made the scary skull in the sky go bye-bye.

FML.

I still stand by that I would sit through a 6 hour Harry Potter move to see it done perfectly. And I'm sure I am not alone in this.

I have more to say, but it is almost 4 am, and I work tomorrow, so I am wrapping this up now (and I think it's long enough).

I hope you stayed clear of this blog if you didn't want to read spoilers.

I hope you don't let my views ruin anything for you. Go out. See it for yourself. Make up your own mind about it. This is just what I thought. 1.5 stars out of 5. Felton is a whole star on his own.

Goodnight, fellow Harry Potter geeks.