10 Things to Love About Half-Blood Prince: the Movie
10. Michael Gambon was slightly less (annoyingly) clueless about who Dumbledore actually is in this movie. He didn't bother me at all, actually, and there were no awkward deliveries, like "DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE?!?!??!" like a crazy, un-Dumbledore-esque person.
9. Jim Broadbent got all the nuances of Slughorn right. The desperation, the cowardliness, and the comedic timing: all perfect.
8. Nicholas Hooper's music was wonderful. Simplistic, haunting at times, and it quietly strengthened the emotion of each scene. AND no annoying themes for each character, no overblown symphonic crescendos, nada. Listen to me, WB: please have him back for Deathly Hallows. John Williams is indeed a master, but really, I'm sick of the looping, all-too-familiar themes and the total lack of subtlety he's known for... Keep Hooper so the good moments in DH won't be disturbed by the score. If not Hooper, then Sigur Ros. Siriusly.
7. Rupert Grint, somewhere along the line, went from being just the guy who made faces in the background to a really brilliant comedic actor. The combination of good acting and a better script has really paid off. Ron in this movie is not only hysterical, but heartfelt and loyal and true. In short, he's everything the books have made him out to be for years. It's a good thing the movies have finally caught up.
6. Harry Potter on acid, erm, I mean Felix Felicis. Hilarious.
5. Lavender Brown (or rather, the actress who plays her) is PERFECT. Comically creepy and infatuated. Kudos to that casting. It's over the top and awesome.
4. Ron and Hermione. They are the stuff that all great romances are made of.
3. Dan Radcliffe. I know I'm biased, but he really is becoming a great actor. It's really kind of amazing to me how I can get so much now from just one facial expression or little movement from him. That kind of subtlety in acting usually takes decades of experience, and yet here he is at 19, holding his own and sometimes pwning the veteran actors in the scene with him.
2. Tom Felton. I have always felt, if given the chance to shine, he'd be one of the best actors in his generation of the cast. I found out last night that I am not wrong. There wasn't enough Draco for me still (when would there be? Honestly? When they make the movies into Draco Malfoy and That Annoying Bloke With the Scar?) but literally every scene with Draco was pitch perfect. I loved the progression of his storyline, the moments when he was fixing the Cabinet, his conflicted emotions in the bathroom scene and the tower scene, it was all just wonderfully done. I feel like he really got inside Draco's head and made us all feel what Draco was feeling inside.
1. Ginny and Harry. I can't believe I'm going to say this, and I think it's coming out as #1 because of shock more than anything, but I LOVED their romance. I've honestly never been a fan of the Harry/Ginny relationship in the books because I didn't feel like it was properly introduced or developed. Jo Rowling spoils us in that she sets up most things from Sorcerer's Stone and eases us into it over the course of several books . I didn't feel as though she did that with Ginny. I felt a little rushed with this relationship while reading. But the movie lands it. Yeah, it's pushed a bit, but by pushed I don't mean forced. There's never anything unnatural, or out of order, and Bonnie and Dan have great chemistry. The kiss was playful and innocent, not angsty like the kiss with Cho, and I really feel like the movie just nailed the unfolding of their story.