If you haven’t seen "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" yet, go see it! I loved it, and highly recommend it for kids aged eight to eighty. Read my review here.

Here are a few pics from the North American premiere of the movie, held in New York on July 9, 2009. The young stars all look beautiful, don’t they? And Emma Watson is gorgeous! She says she wants to take a little break and focus on college in the States.

More pics after the jump!

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One thing I love about Harry Potter movies is that they appeal to all age groups. We saw "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" last night, and the people in the theater spanned at least eight decades, kids from 8 to 80. Aside from that, it’s just a really great production with beautiful cinematography, stunning locations, and thoughtful performances. And oh yeah, a fantastic storyline that hooks you from beginning to end, even if you’ve never read the books by J.K. Rowling. My only complaint is that at 153 minutes, it’s a little long. But I’ll forgive that one thing, and not even mark it down. 

We catch up with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his pals Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) well on their way to young adulthood. Along with the spells, wands, and broomsticks, we’ve got three kids dealing with hormones and young love (and lust!). It’s been fun watching them grow up on screen, and like seeing old friends again in this latest installment. 

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For anyone who’s paying attention, the Vatican has changed its tune on Harry Potter. Just a mere four years ago, the wizard movies were condemned by the Pope as a corrupter of children, ”a subtle seduction, which has deeply unnoticed and direct effects in undermining the soul of Christianity.” Harsh!

But his Holiness has softened a bit on the Hogwarts clan. Yesterday, the Vatican’s official newspaper praised the latest movie, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” noting that it makes clear that good must prevail over evil. It also gives a big thumbs up on the film’s treatment of adolescent passion.

The article in L’Osservatore Romano also notes that this is the best adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s novels. The paper once said Harry Potter was the "wrong model of a hero," and lumped the books in with two other British fantasies, C.S. Lewis’s “Chronicles of Narnia” and J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.”

What’s your take on this? Think the Vatican has it right? Or should we even care what they think?

Image: TM and (c) 2009 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc; Source: The Guardian

It’s finally arrived! "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" flies into theaters this Wednesday, July 15, 2009. Click here for all of Film Gecko’s coverage of the movie, including trailers, clips, photos and previews.

Here are seven clips courtesy of MTV, with Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson discussing the movie and other things, like Robert Pattinson and kissing a co-star on set! 

Daniel Radcliffe: Being Harry Potter isn’t good for my love life:

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On the MTV Movie Awards awards last night, a new clip from "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" was shown. Professor Dumbledore is showing Harry a memory that reveals something about the early beginnings of Lord Voldemort. Check out the clip on MTV.com.

Early buzz for this 6th installment of the Harry Potter franchise - which hits theaters July 15, 2009 – hasn’t been that great, but I’m still looking forward to it. I mean, it’s Harry Potter!

Interesting that it’s rated PG (for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality), whereas the last two — "Goblet of Fire" and "The Order of the Phoenix" – were both rated PG-13. In one way, it’s good that "Half-Blood Prince" is more family-friendly. On the other hand, you wonder if they’ll lose some of the intensity with the milder rating.

Image: TM and copyright, 2009 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Ok, so here’s a question I’ve been mulling over. I’m a big fan of the “Harry Potter” series, but let’s face facts. It’s coming to an end soon. We’ll have to move on. And I don’t know about you, but I need a new series to follow and “Twilight” just might be it.

But “Harry Potter” is SUCH a good series with great characters, an interesting story, and awesome effects. We’ve got both “New Moon” and “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” coming up this year. It’ll be interesting to see how they compare at the box office. Will “Twilight” measure up in the long run?

Vote in my poll and tell me your reasoning in the comments below! n

Photo Credits: TM and (c) 2008 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc; TM and © 2009 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved

The second international trailer for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is online, and it’s getting me even more hyped for the movie.

The Scoop: With Voldemort tightening his evil grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds, their beloved Hogwarts is no longer a safe place for Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends. He suspects that dangers may lie inside the castle, and Dumbledore ramps up his efforts to prepare Harry for the final battle with Voldemort.

More after the jump, including photos and the 2nd trailer…

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A few days ago, I posted about the 16 movies I’m looking forward to in 2009, with "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "Public Enemies" leading the pack.

Now it’s your turn! Tell me which movies you’re excited about. And if they’re not listed in the poll, feel free to add your own or tell me in the comments.

Image: © Paramount Pictures

Here’s the most recent trailer to emerge for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," arriving in theaters July 17, 2009. I was surprised to learn that the film is rated PG for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality. As dark as the trailers seem and with "Goblet of Fire" getting a PG-13 rating, it seemed natural that this movie would stay the course with a PG-13 rating.

In some ways, it’s good. It means more kids will be able to see it. On the other hand, it might mean the film isn’t as intense as they’re making it out to be. Or they could be completely off on their ratings, and maybe it SHOULD be rated PG-13. That happens quite often, in my view.

What do you think? Should "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" be rated PG-13?

There are some fantastic movies coming up in 2009, and while you never know how a movie will fare until you actually see it, I’ve picked out 16 movies that I think will knock us out with their awesomeness. See if you agree, and add your own in the comments!

1. Watchmen (March 6). “Who watches the Watchmen?” That’s the question in this graphic-novel-turned-movie directed by Zach Snyder. Vigilantes, murders, superheroes, and lots of good and bad karma populate this movie, along with stars Billy Crudup, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Jackie Earle Haley. [Trailer] [Film Gecko Links] [Official Site]

2. Sunshine Cleaning (March 13). This probably won’t hit all the mainstream theaters, but it looks like a quirky film that will hit all the right notes. Amy Adams is a single mom who, along with her slacker sister (Emily Blunt) starts a crime-scene cleanup biz as a way out of their dead-end lives. Alan Arkin plays the doting dad in this dramedy that scored big at Sundance last year. [Official Site]

3. Knowing (March 20). Nicolas Cage and Rose Byrne star in this latest movie about number puzzles. Cage plays an MIT professor investigating a mysterious sequence of digits unearthed in a time capsule. Oh, and the numbers foretell tragic events, like a jet crashing on a freeway. [Official Site]

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