it was the last full show, the one that began at 11:40 PM on a friday, when i watched harry potter and the half-blood prince. by 12:30, half of the people on my side of the theater were fast asleep, only waking up when the sounds became too muchto ignore, as with scenes of quidditch and spells being cast, and the run-of-the-mill wizard violence of harry’s world.

i wasn’t surprised really. the only way this would still be interesting to any audience is if they have read the books, or have a clear memory of all the movies before this. for half-blood prince in particular, the novel had too many silences about both protagonists and antagonists, about each and every character, that the movie couldn’t help but render as well. (more…)