Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Since it's already shattering box-office records that may actually last until next summer, chances are pretty good you have already seen "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth film to chronicle the adventures of a boy wizard who I maintain looks nothing like me.
This time around, Harry's objective is to extract a memory from Professor Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), an old friend of Dumbledore's (Michael Gambon). The memory regards a key moment in the life of Voldemort when he was a young student at Hogwart's, still going by the name Tom Riddle. Slughorn is a jovial and likable fellow, but getting the truth about this memory will not be an easy task for Harry. But when has anything ever been easy for Mr. Potter?
In other goings on, Harry's two best friends are still Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), who finally are very slowly getting to the point where they're realizing they have feelings for each other. Well at least Hermione's realized it. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) meanwhile, still has a crush on Ron's sister, Ginny (Bonnie Wright). These storylines, along with some moments of comedy and quidditch keep things light in between flashbacks of Voldemort's childhood and the sneaky dealings of Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton).
As someone who has not read any of the novels, "Half-Blood Prince" is most likely my favorite film of the series (it's between this one and "Goblet of Fire"). David Yates (who directed "Order of the Phoenix") continues to add depth to the already atmospheric universe of the "Potter" series. He gets terrific performances from his actors, all of whom are old hands by now. As always, Alan Rickman's Snape is a standout. Playing a character that keeps the audience guessing across six films is no easy task and he's been pulling it off beautifully.
It's hard to try to sell someone on seeing the sixth film in a series. Either you've seen the first five and are definitely in for this one or you just have no interest in "Harry Potter." I will say if you are a fan of these films you will not be disappointed. If you're a fan of the novels you will probably have some complaints, but overall you're going to like it. 8.5/10.