Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Alan Rickman

Directed by David Yates

Rating: B+

There's a saying, "keep your friends close but your enemies closer." Sometimes it's best to know some background information on who you're going up against. For the past few years, Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) has been digging up lord Voldemort's (Ralph Fiennes) past. Lord Voldemort had made horcruxes, magical objects containing a part of your soul. He stopped at six and now Professor Dumbledore is on the hunt to search and destroy these. He recruits Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), teaching him about Voldemort's past. To be able to finally defeat his enemy, all of the horcruxes will have to be destroyed.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a darker movie than those made in the past. With Voldemort's rise to power, a war continues to rage on. It's a busy year for Harry, not only is he getting private meetings with the Headmaster, he is also trying to find out who the Half-Blood Prince is. Harry finds a used Advanced Potions book in class and to his advantage, the book has handwriting throughout each page with short cuts on how to make a potion. Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) is also a busy student, with a special task from the Dark Lord himself.

Half-Blood Prince could have been directed a little better. The casting was picked well, with new editions Professor Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) and Cormac McLaggen (Freddie Stroma). Unfortunately Frank Dillane, cast as the sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle, was a disappointment. In the books, Tom Riddle was portrayed as manipulative and handsome (sorry Dillane). Though his acting was convincing, I felt that Dillane wasn't the right fit. The movie was in some respects, pretty faithful to the book even though a few scenes were tweaked. For example, The Burrow (the Weasley house) was never burned down due to Death Eaters. I'm guessing this scene was created to show the danger of the times they live in.

Half-Blood Prince did get a good rating from users on the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com), better than some previous Harry Potter movies. While Half-Blood Prince was not the best out of all eight movies, it was decent enough.

Hot Fuzz

Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent

Directed by Edgar Wright

Rating: 5 stars

"For the greater good."

Sergeant Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is an excellent cop. In fact, he's so good at his job that he makes everyone else on his team look bad. Angel gets transferred from the hectic London life where crime happens every day to the quiet country side of Sandford. While everyone in town accepts what is going on (like under-age drinking), Angel makes arrests anyway. His fellow partner, Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) is fascinated by Angel's active past in the police force. When the murder of two actors occurs, Angel becomes suspicious and starts his own task to find the culprit. With the help of Danny, they try and solve the mystery of the multiple murders in Sandford. However, a surprise ending as to who is killing these people bring a funny and satisfying ending.

I would rate this movie five stars. It's clever and hilarious. Simon Pegg does an excellent job in this movie and Nick Frost is hilarious as his partner. I loved this movie the first time I saw it. The ending was funny, finding out that there was more than one killer and that it turned out to be the Neighborhood Association. Edgard Wright drops subtle hints in the movie, such as when Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are in their cop car, people watching and Simon Pegg takes a notice to a man with a long coat on. He notices someone else too and the scene goes a little like this: Simon Pegg: "Ask yourself, why has he got his hat pulled down like that?" Nick Frost answers, "He's .... ugly." Simon Pegg adds, "Or he doesn't want you to see his face." Nick Frost persists, "'Cause he's .... ugly."

Just a warning, there's lots of cursing in this movie. As you tend to find in quite a few British films, the "F-bomb" is used quite a bit. If cursing in a movie doesn't bother you, then I would recommend watching this one. This movie is funny throughout the two hours and keeps you laughing at short jokes and pranks. If you liked this movie, you might enjoy Shaun of the Dead which has Simon Pegg and Nick Frost working side by side as well.

Moulin Rouge!

Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman, Jim Broadbent, Richard Roxburgh

Directed by Baz Luhrmann

Rating: 5 stars

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."

Though Moulin Rouge! is a tragic love story between a prostitute and a penniless writer, don't write this story off just yet. When Christian (Ewan McGregor) meets Satine (Nicole Kidman), their love is doomed from the start. By accident, Christian becomes the writer for a play, "Spectacular Spectacular". While Satine plays the lead, she is promised by her boss, Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent), to sleep with the Duke (Richard Roxburgh) on opening night. However, Christian and Satine fall in love and try to keep their relationship a secret. Soon it becomes evident to everyone what's going on but the Duke remains oblivious and in the dark. The couple is forced to end their relationship before the Duke can find out. The Duke plays an important role since he is supplying the money to re-build the Moulin Rouge into a theater. This does not stop them and opening night arrives by the end of the movie, full of surprises.

I would give this movie five out of five stars. Though Moulin Rouge! may seem odd the first time you watch it, watch it enough times and you will love it too. Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman each have amazing voices and sing their songs quite astonishingly well. Who knew they could sing? This just makes you fall head over heels for these characters. It's hard not to fall in love with them, singing along to Ewan McGregor's "Your Song" as well as the duo's "Come What May". Baz Luhrmann did a great job with this film.

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I can watch this movie over and over again. I watch this movie so many times a year; whether I'm feeling sad or happy, this beautiful movie brings the characters to life. The soundtrack is on my iPod, it's a great way to listen to "Elephant Love Medley", as well as the other songs, without having to watch the whole movie all over again. Especially if you're out of the house and have a craving for some Moulin Rouge! You can play the soundtrack and follow the movie in your head with each song.

Give Moulin Rouge! a chance. Personally, I'm not into musicals but Moulin Rouge! is a great exception. The songs they sing are a variety of tracks from Elton John to Madonna to U2 to the Beatles as well as many other famous artists. This is a movie you have to see at least once in your life. One unforgettable quote from this movie I want to leave you with that is so true when it comes to real life, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."