{"id":824,"date":"2009-07-16T04:01:54","date_gmt":"2009-07-16T04:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2009\/07\/harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince.html"},"modified":"2009-07-16T04:01:54","modified_gmt":"2009-07-16T04:01:54","slug":"harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/07\/harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince.html","title":{"rendered":"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"},"content":{"rendered":"

I went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood<\/em> Prince today with my family. As most of you know, this is the sixth of the Harry Potter films. And as you might have heard, it is surely one of the better movies in the series.
\nI thought I’d share a few comments with you. I’ll be sufficiently vague so as to avoid serious spoilers.
\nComment #1 \u2013 As always with the Harry Potter movies, The Half-Blood Prince<\/em> is\u00a0 about one-fifth as entertaining, thought-provoking, clever, and moving as the book. I always find this a bit disappointing when I see a Harry Potter film, though I’m not faulting the screenwriters or the filmmakers. It’s simply impossible to capture the richness of J.K. Rowling’s writing in a movie with a realistic length. (This one is just longer than two and a half hours, as is.)
\nComment #2 \u2013 The characterizations of and relationships among the three main figures (Harry, Ron, and Hermione) are outstanding. The parts are well-written, well-directed, and well-acted.
\nComment #3 \u2013 Some guy named Mark Roberts was part of the Visual Effects and Animation crew for the movie. I was excited to see my name in the credits.
\nComment #4 \u2013 The depiction of teen romance was over-the-top, but delightful and often hilarious. I laughed more in this Harry Potter film than in any of the others, I think.
\nComment #5 \u2013 As you would expect, there are some fantastic special effects in this movie (thank, in part, to that Mark Roberts guy). But the effects did not overpower the movie.
\nComment #6 \u2013 I sometimes wonder how anyone can follow a Harry Potter filme without having read the associated book first. I highly recommend that you don’t see this film until you have read the book.
\nComment #7 \u2013 My biggest gripe, by far, with the Harry Potter movies is the depiction of Albus Dumbledore, especially the characterization of Dumbledore by Michael Gambon. I wish I could say that The Half-Blood Prince<\/em> is different, but I can’t.\u00a0 Albus Dumbledore is one of the most delightful, fascinating, mysterious, funny, and loving of literary characters. But in the Potter movies, he comes across as relatively flat. This is too bad, especially given Dumbledore’s crucial role in The Half-Blood Prince<\/em>. It’s too bad that we rarely taste Dumbledore’s sparkling wit or his deep, fatherly love for Harry. Rats!
\nComment #8 \u2013 The Half-Blood Prince<\/em> is a great set-up for the final Harry Potter movies. As you may know, the seventh book will be portrayed in two, count ’em, two full-length films.\u00a0 The Half-Blood Prince<\/em> wonderfully whets one’s appetite for what is still to come.
\nComment #9 \u2013 I’d give The Half-Blood Prince<\/em> four out of five stars. There are some great scenes in this movie, which is generally well-acted and well-filmed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince today with my family. As most of you know, this is the sixth of the Harry Potter films. And as you might have heard, it is surely one of the better movies in the series. I thought I’d share a few comments with you. I’ll…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-holy-week-easter"],"yoast_head":"\nHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/07\/harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince today with my family. As most of you know, this is the sixth of the Harry Potter films. And as you might have heard, it is surely one of the better movies in the series. I thought I’d share a few comments with you. 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Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}