Day: July 16, 2009

This entry in the Harry Potter franchise constitutes four-fifths of a great film. The good? First, the art direction and special effects are excellent. The sequences involving the pensieve and the “liquid memories” are gorgeously unsettling. There is a Quidditch match which looks fantastic, and an early sequence in what appears to be a ramshackle manor house is playfully fun. In terms of art direction, David Yates seems to have cast a thick veil of coal smoke over everything. Hogwarts has never looked so dilapidated and distressed. More impressive, Yates ratchets up the emotional angst and agony, capturing strong performances from all and delivering one of the most ominously creepy installments of the series. Continue reading Half-Blood Prince