Hollywood.com has reviewed Half-Blood Prince after seeing the movie at an early screening!

Not only that, halfway through, I’m thinking the unthinkable: “Ten academy awards nominations are available this year … hmm, I wonder ….”  Hey, the Lord of the Rings movies were nominated three years running, and I rank this right up there with those incredible films. Now I know people are going to give me crap about this, but please hold your judgment until you see the film yourself and then come back and point your stubby little Hobbit fingers at me if you don’t agree.

Well, stand back because now the Potter-loving beast in me has been unleashed after having witnessed a film that was not only exquisite in its production values, but was also charming, funny, scary, enchanting, moving (stop me, the adjectives could go on and on) and dare I say, sexy. Brilliantly directed by David Yates (he directed 2007’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a tour-de-force that combines style and substance, special effects and heart and most importantly great performances from all of the actors young and not-so-young.

Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter himself, has evolved into a really fine young actor who gives the film its emotional core. However, if Radcliffe is the heart, Michael Gambon is the film’s soul as Albus Dumbledore; Gambon gives a powerfully subtle performance as the de-facto father figure to young Mr. Potter. Of course, the always great Alan Rickman gives another menacingly creepy and memorable turn as the evil and duplicitous Severus Snape. The cinematography, music, set design and costumes are all amazing, and the film has a truly rich look to it reminiscent of the best of the old-school Hollywood epics.