Who is the mysterious Half Blood Prince? What is a Half Blood Prince? Why Half Blood? Oh, and what is Ron Weasley wearing on his head? Yes, Ms. Rose is back from her holidays, so it’s back to a diet of kids’ movies and constant questions for me. And Harry Potter is back too, so that’s fortunate for all of us. The only trouble is I haven’t read the books and I haven’t seen a single HP movie since the very first one, so I’m not entirely sure what on Earth is going on…..
Anyway: is it a good film? Yes, but also no. All I can tell you is that the HP world – part English Heritage, part flight of fantasy – is incredibly well-realised, and the usual roll-out of Brit Thesps is impressive as ever. (Helena Bonham Carter plays herself, I believe….) However, the whole Boarding School thing still gives me chills, so that was kind of off-putting. And having once been a teenager myself, I believe there’s not a chance in hell that Harry and Hermione (both too pretty by far) wouldn’t have been snogging themselves silly, just to see. Hermione and that really ugly redhead? – not so much. It also takes a while for the action to get going, so that by the time it does, you’re kind of mentally already heading for the exit.
JK Rowling – now as rich as Oprah of course, but apparently just as nice – notoriously insisted that this remarkable fantasy world be created only in England. So much for “Runaway Production.” Tour Operators the country over must be rubbing their hands with glee.