Movie Watch: Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince

Yesterday, Queenie and I went to watch the latest installment to the Harry Potter movie franchise, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

It was supposed to be a gathering where 3 of us would watch this movie together. However Moonie chose love over friends and decided to watch it with her boyfriend instead of us. I do feel disappointed at her choice since we have been following the Harry Potter movies ever since the first day it was aired.

Anyway I have learned not to ask Moonie to go out with me anymore. Attached people are best left alone. They usually would want to spend all their free time with their partners rather than friends. I'll just let her be. One day it will be my turn. When I have my partner, I will also dump Moonie and choose my partner. Ha! Eh... I gotta get a partner first.

Right.

This post is getting out of topic. I am supposed to write about the Harry Potter movie loh...

Daniel Radcliffe reprises his famous role as the boy wizard in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. By now he has already mastered the art of portraying Harry and in this particular movie, Harry gets to date. Hee... Yep.

There's a kissing scene between Harry and Ginny, Ron's younger sister. The actress, Bonnie Wright, has certainly grown up differently from the days when she was acting in the second installment, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Little did we know that her role would turn out to be such a major factor in Harry's life.

It was in this book that Harry fell in love with Ginny for real. For once, Ginny's affections finally gets returned and we get to see a little bit of their romance in the movie as well. Too bad majority of their love story gets cut off but that is to be expected since the book is way too thick to be fully adapted into a movie.

Tom Riddles a.k.a. Voldemort's past also gets revealed through Dumbledore's memory. Riddles' odd question on horcrux finally set the events for Harry's future when he sought to be immortal by destroying all that stood in his way and making little trinkets into his soul carriers.

It is truly scary to see that Riddle could think up such an evil plan at such a young age. No wonder everybody is so scared of him. Even the mention of his name sends shivers down everyone's spine.

However the next book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, seems destined for a better treatment as Warner Bros will release the film in two parts. Well it makes economic sense for the company as the movie is going to be the last huge cashcow in the Harry Potter franchise. After all there are only seven books in the Harry Potter universe and being able to make eight movies out of that is already amazing enough. Furthermore no other recent book series has managed to get adapted fully into movies the way Harry Potter series did. Narnia didn't even come close.

Sadly in this movie, we also witnessed the final moments of dear old Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Personally I liked his character as he has always been so supportive of Harry. At the very last moment, he sacrificed his life for Harry so that Harry could go on to defeat that damn Voldemort. It was fitting that it was Severus Snape that ended Dumbledore's life. I'm sure we wouldn't have had it other way, unless its a natural death.

I am looking forward to the final installments to the movie franchise and I'm sure Warner Bro will do a good job. J K Rowling would not have it other way too.

Wow! Lots of great pictures of Daniel Radcliffe on Deathly Hallows Set

This website here has posted lots of yummy pictures of Daniel Radcliffe doing takes on the set of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.






Filming has just started for the movie, which is scheduled to be released in 2 parts. Part 1 will be released on November 19th 2010, with the second part following on July 15th 2011. That means we will be getting 3 Harry Potter movies in 3 years straight.

Oh well, I suppose Warner Bros is making up for the postponement of the Harry Potter and Half-Blood Prince last year, which is going to be released on July 17th 2009.

In any case, Dan is looking very good in these latest production pictures and I'm sure more pictures will be out once the filming gets really underway. I shall be on the lookout for more!

^_^

Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe on Yahoo! Movies '20 Stars 20 and Younger' List

According to HPANA, Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe are listed in Yahoo! Movies '20 Stars 20 and Younger' List.

Apparently, Watson tops the list with her famous role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movie franchise. Overall her total domestic box office gross is $1,461,797,64! *gasps* That's hell a lot of money that girl's been raking in for the studios!!!

As for Daniel Radcliffe, he ranks number 2 in the list alongside Watson. He also owes his success to his titular role in the Harry Potter movie franchise. Overall his total domestic box office gross is $1,411,173,590! Slightly lesser than Watson but still an awesome feat. So now we know Warner Bros is actually a super rich studio firm, eh? They have to thank JK Rowling for writing such an amazing book series in the first place. She's amazing, aren't she?

Now I am looking forward to the upcoming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie which will be showing in July 2009. Gosh, time better fly faster this time!

Movie Watch: Slumdog Millionaire is worth to watch

Yesterday I went to watch a newly acclaimed and crowned Best Picture at the 81st Academy Awards 2009 recently, Slumdog Millionaire, together with Queenie. A winning film directed by newly minted Best Director, Danny Boyle, it's a heartwarming story about how a boy from the slums win his way to a 20 million rupees prize on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

Poster for the movie

Poster for the movie

Dev Patel, Actor for the main protagonist, Jamal Malik

Overall, the movie is neither too serious nor too light-hearted. It has just the right amount of story twists to entertain viewers while ensuring that the plot doesn't sink. I admit that I watched the show mainly out of curiousity generated by the Academy buzz. So many articles has been written about this film and critics have been giving it a glorious report card.

Since there are none other movies that I want to watch, I thought this movie might just be the one to beat the blues. After all, it is marketed as a feel-good movie. Hmmm, I think the feel good part is due to the fact that Jamal has a happy ending together with Latika and that probably makes all viewers, including me, happy at their joy. So our protagonist got his money and the girl, what's there not to like? And of course, being an Indian film, we get to see the compulsory dance routine performed by Jamal and Latika at the movie's ending despite the fact that the director is a foreigner.

Generally speaking, it all seems too good to be true and so when I found out that it's just a fiction story, I heaved a sigh of relief. If you have watched the movie, you'll understand why. Who on earth will get to live a life like Jamal? Or have a bastard of a brother like Salim? I really can't think of anyone.

Good or not, it's all based on personal preferences but still, this movie is worth the movie ticket price. Wanna see how much I pay? See below:



Ahahaha! Yep. S$7.50. Not that cheap nor that expensive. So go watch the movie while it's still being aired. Again, this movie is distributed by Warner Bros so now we really know that they have lots of moolah to spare. LOL. Well Warner Bros has to share the moolah with Fox Searchlight though.

Slumdog Millionaire is now raking in all the money from all over the world. Worldwide total as of Mar. 6, 2009 is estimated at $217,030,943. With all those cash, Warner Bros can comfortably rest its laurels this year. Not to mention that they have another blockbuster on hand, the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. That is a certain huge cashcow for the studio.

As for us lesser mortals, we can only drool at the amount of money that we will never get to see in our own bank balances ever. Haiz....

Happy Birthday, Ronald Weasley!

Today is Ronald Bilius Weasley's birthday. He is one of the main characters in J K Rowling's famous Harry Potter book series. He is the best friend of Harry Potter and is the second youngest Weasley, just in front of Ginny Weasley.

In the movie adaptation, he is played by Rupert Grint. Some pictures of the actor are shown below:

Rupert Grint

Rupert Grint with Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

From left to right: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint

Hmmm, they always seem to be standing in the same order, don't they?

Well, actually Daniel Radcliffe is my favourite actor out of the 3. But his birthday is in July so I have to wait till then before I can gush about him. Anyway I found some pictures that are backdated to 2001, when they first appeared in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone:

From left to right: Rupert, Daniel and Emma

From left to right: Daniel, Rupert and Emma

They are so cute, aren't they? Now they have grown up so fast and by the time Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince arrive this July, they would have been adults, in western terms. Man, I can't wait for the movie to arrive!!! Warner Bros better not delay the movie again. Grrr...

New Half Blood Prince Movie Posters

According to HPANA, there are some new high resolution movie posters released for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

They look quite mysterious and gloomy at the same time. See the pictures below for illustrations.

Professor Dumbledore

Harry Potter

According to the date printed on the poster, the upcoming movie is slated for release on 17 July 2009. Oh man, I can't wait for the movie to arrive soon! It was supposed to be released last year but Warner Bros changed its mind. *sighs*

Anyway, Daniel Radcliffe looks so cool in this poster. He has certainly grown into this character ever since he first started acting as Harry Potter when he was just 11 years old.

Let's hope the new movie will surpass its predecessors and create new records for the Harry Potter franchise.

New Japanese Trailer for Half Blood Prince

According to HPANA, a new Japanese trailer for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince has just been made available online via Youtube. I have attached the video below for easy referencing:





Daniel looks good in this trailer and I can't wait for the new movie to be released as soon as possible. July seems so far even though I know time can fly by in a flash. Warner Bros is making the fans wait and wait even though it has no reason to. *sighs*

Harry Potter game delayed too

Now the effect from the postponed Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince has finally rolled over to the HP game franchise.

According to this report from Los Angeles Times, Electronic Arts (EA) has decided to delay the next installment for the HP games but no date was stated in the report. Although I am not a big fan of the games, I do feel a little annoyed at all these delaying stories.

Does it do any actual good for the companies involved? If they are bent on hurting their own reputations, so be it.

Just don't try to pin the blame onto the consumers when their sales take a dip, that's all.

HP Half Blood Prince Release Date Changed!

Oh no! The release date for the latest Harry Potter film has been pushed back! The website for the movie now reflects the new date as July 17, 2009.

That is a sad news for me as I have been waiting for a long time for the movie to be released. But there's nothing that we can do except to continue waiting for the movie to come to the cinemas. Many fans are upset at the sudden change but what could we do? Many cried foul but Warner Bros stands by its change.

I can only hope that time will pass by quickly so that I can watch the film.

=(

Harry Potter Stars to Attend Teen's Funeral

According to Telegraph, Daniel Radcliffe and other Harry Potter stars will be attending Robert Knox' funeral, who was tragically killed on May 16 in a knife attack.

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter in the upcoming Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

It will no doubt be a sombre affair but at the same time, it's touching to know that Dan and the other stars are paying their respects to a barely known star. Such an amazing display of camaradie is indeed heartwarming.

May Robert Knox rest in peace.

Upcoming Harry Potter Star Dead

Robert Knox (right) with his mother Sally and younger brother Jamie.
Photo from Telegraph Media Group Limited

Whoa! I had just gotten news from this post that a new Harry Potter star has died in a brutal attack.

Robert Knox is playing the role of a Ravenclaw student, Marcus Belby (I wonder if there's such a character, gotta hit the books again) in the upcoming film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Seemed like he died while trying to protect his brother from a knife attack. Such a heroic boy yet he had to meet with such a tragic end. I hope the attackers are duly caught and brought to justice.

When the film opens in Singapore, I will look out for any scenes that contain Robert. It was such a wonderful opportunity for him to snag a role in the Harry Potter movie franchise but now it's all gone.

This kind of senseless killing should be stopped at all costs in order to prevent the loss of innocent lives. Young people are especially vulnerable to such attacks since these attacks often happened in area which are mostly frequented by young people.

To the family of Robert Knox, my sincere condolences to you.

To Robert Knox, rest in peace. You will forever be remembered in all Harry Potter fans' hearts.