In Theaters:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
At what point did the Harry Potter film franchise become a race against repetition? In J.K. Rowling’s series of popcorn-munching fantasy-lite page-turners, the cycle of familiar events is something that helps power them along. Without the susurrus of new classes, new teachers, school holidays, and the rising and falling of friendships and crushes humming in the foreground, the books would have been lost beneath a crashing din of Rowling’s hyperactive plotting. As fantastical fictionalizing of the dreary retread of school years that march one towards adulthood, the books’ magic was rarely about exploration or discovery, but rather about circling the wagons of home and hearth against the darkness outside. Repetition, in the correct dosage, helped reinforce the sense of normalcy and protection that progressively shriveled from book to darker-hued book…
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opened everywhere in the universe and beyond at midnight. By now, everyone in America has apparently already seen it. If for some reason you haven’t, you can read the rest of this review at Short Ends & Leader.
Chris Barsanti 