What's on Bangalore Film Reviews
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Movie: Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince
Director: David Yates
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Gambon, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Jim Broadbent, Tom Felton, Alan Rickman
Theatres: PVR Cinemas, Inox, Fame Lido, Fame Shankar Nag
Rating: ****
Following the success of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, director David Yates returns to helm the sixth installment of the series. The mix of comedy, romance, drama and adventure makes Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince fun to watch.
What it's about: The film kicks off with a dizzying sequence where the Death Eaters attack Central London, resulting in the crashing of the Millennium Bridge into the Thames. The main focus is on Dumbledore, (Gambon) luring former potions- professor Horace Slughorn (Broadbent) back to Hogwarts so Harry (Radcliffe) can dislodge a key clue regarding the Dark Lord from the professor's resistant mind.
Slughorn taught Tom Riddle, who transformed into Voldemort, and only he knows the information to unlock the Dark Lord's defenses. Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy (Felton) is experimenting with a Vanishing Cabinet in Hogwarts, while Professor Severus Snape (Rickman) makes an unbreakable vow.
Back at Hogwarts in the sixth year, Harry finds a book on potions that has copious handwritten notes by The Half-Blood Prince, which he uses. Harry's newfound 'skill' at potion-making draws the attention of professor Slughorn.
What's Hot: Grint is as hilarious as Ron. The scene where he consumes the love potion and looks at the moon is hilarious. Watson looks beautiful as Hermione. There's a wise and sad air about her as she falls in love.
Radcliffe's acting is mature and there's a depth to his work this time. The CGI work is stellar and the sequences look magnificent visually. The cinematography sets the tone right from the start, and turns the series darker.u00a0
What's Not: Die-hard fans of the book will surely complain about deletions, especially in the showdown between good and evil in the climax. But this is a difficult book to adapt as it is setting up the platform for the action-packed final chapter, which will be made into two films.
When you watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, you realise that Yates has done a great job of building the story to the extent that you are left longing for more. When it ends, it feels as if the film has just begun.
Verdict: Worth more than one watch!u00a0
Lots to laugh about
Movie: Eddelu Manjunatha
Cast: Jaggesh, Yajna Shetty and Tabala Naani
Director: Guruprasad
Theatres: Aparna, PVR Cinemas
Rating: ***
Eddelu Manjunatha is director Guruprasad's second film, and this time he makes a real entertainer.
What's it about: Manjunatha (Jaggesh) is a lazy lout, married to a hard-working girl, Gowri (Yajna Shetty). He has little ambition and no sense of responsibility. Fed up with his lazy ways, Gowri decides not to have a child but her drastic decision does not bother him.u00a0
What's Hot: Jaggesh and Tabal Naani are a riot. Yajna Shetty's acting, if you can call her copious crying that, is passable. The music is catchy.
What's Not: Shoddy camera work. It's hard to make sense of the choppy images on screen.
Verdict: A good watch if time-pass comedy is what you are looking for.
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