Mr. Potter, Meet Mr. Oscar?
At a special screening this morning, I had the privilege to see Warner Bros. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and I was blown away like a Quidditch player on a supercharged broomstick. Not only that, halfway through, I’m thinking the unthinkable: “Ten academy awards nominations are available this year ... hmm, I wonder ...."
Hey, the Lord of the Rings movies were nominated three years running, and I rank this right up there with those incredible films. Now I know people are going to give me crap about this, but please hold your judgment until you see the film yourself and then come back and point your stubby little Hobbit fingers at me if you don’t agree.
Lest you think this movie was preaching to the converted or that I am some sort of huge Potter aficionado, I will be honest and say that heretofore, I was not a huge fan of the franchise; certainly I understood the popularity of the books and the films, but they just were not my cup of tea.
Well, stand back because now the Potter-loving beast in me has been unleashed after having witnessed a film that was not only exquisite in its production values, but was also charming, funny, scary, enchanting, moving (stop me, the adjectives could go on and on) and dare I say, sexy. Brilliantly directed by David Yates (he directed 2007’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a tour-de-force that combines style and substance, special effects and heart and most importantly great performances from all of the actors young and not-so-young.
Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter himself, has evolved into a really fine young actor who gives the film its emotional core. However, if Radcliffe is the heart, Michael Gambon is the film’s soul as Albus Dumbledore; Gambon gives a powerfully subtle performance as the de-facto father figure to young Mr. Potter. Of course, the always great Alan Rickman gives another menacingly creepy and memorable turn as the evil and duplicitous Severus Snape. The cinematography, music, set design and costumes are all amazing, and the film has a truly rich look to it reminiscent of the best of the old-school Hollywood epics.
There are two more Potter films (both directed by Yates) with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows – Part 1 set for 2010 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows – Part 2 set for 2011.
I, for one, cannot wait to see what wicked adventures this way come for Mr. Harry Potter.MORE: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Stills
Photo(s) © 2008- Warner Bros.- All Rights Reserved
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