Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Director: David Yates
Year Released: 2009
Rating: 1.5
The soulless Potter cash-cow continues going from childhood to a sense of 'maturity' ... and with the series' increasing focus on 'maturity,' comes its decreasing palette (honestly, it makes noirs look cheery). There are two major issues are here: one being the hunt for information about the Dark One's past (Ralph Fiennes is sadly missing), the other about dealing with issues of jealousy as the teenies all see their love interests 'snogging' with other people (Potter spots feature wife Ginny doing the same, but he's too preoccupied with potions to care). Basically a tedious bridge to the final (and undoubtedly even longer) component: after two and a half hours, it leaves you with a curiously unmoving 'cliffhanger' (Snape kills Dumbledore, naturally). At least Rowling is a better writer than Stephenie Meyer....
