HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE

Plot:

In this sixth installment to the Potter series, Harry (Radcliffe) and his friends Ron Weasley (Grint) and Hermione Granger (Watson) are still attending the school for gifted wizards and also experiencing the leap to adolescence (in regards to dating). This time Harry is taking up potion lessons, when it so happens he comes across a book of potions that use to belong to The Half Blood Prince who has ties to the Dark Lord Voldermort. When Head Professor Dumledore (Gambon) enlists the assistance of Harry ,his most gifted student, to inquire information from fellow Professor Slughorn regarding the evil intentions of the Dark Lord, he realizes that the book also holds some clues that were noted by the Half Blood Prince. Harry must also deal with his nemesis Draco Malfoy (Felton) who has an agenda of evil of his own that would put him in good graces with the dark one.

Reel Talk:

Well the gangs all back for another go round as Daniel Radcliffe, who seems that he hasn't aged since the very first movie (who is he Benjamin Button?), Watson and Grint take on another adventure in the Potter series.Unlike the previous movies this one has more dialog and very little action, which it appears is the set up for the next two installments. Director David Yates who directed the previous one and is tagged for the future movies does a good job with the visual cinematography, that captivates the mystical aura that makes up the Potter story. Unfortunately it's just not enough to hold your interest unless you have read the novels and can follow along. This one has no frills or thrills and makes for a long 2 1/2 hours of a dull moviel.

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Alan Rickman and Tom Felton
Directed by: David Yates
Rated: PG

I give it 3 corn dogs

By: Corndog - The Reel Hustler

I LOVE YOU, BETH COOPER

Plot:

It's graduation day and class Valedictorian Denis Cooverman (Rust) stands at the podium calling out his fellow friends and classmates for their quirks and bullish ways, and professing his love for Beth Cooper (Panettiere) a pretty girl who he has attended classes with but sat behind her never muttering a word. Problem is that she is dating a prior graduate named Kevin (Roberts), a junior jar head who was called out as well and now he wants to beat the crap out of Denis. When Beth accepts Denis invite to his graduation party along with her girlfriends Cammy (London) and Treece (Storm), all hell breaks loose as Denis and his best friend Rich (Carpenter) are in for one wild and interesting night.

Reel Talk:

This is your typical loser boy and pretty girl movie with crazed boyfriend trying to kill loser boy. Nothing new about the concept except the cast. I can honestly admit that I was not a follower of Heroes so outside her name and a few pics I knew very little about Hayden Panettiere, but she is a very attractive young woman who does the cameras justice. Paul Rust as the nerdy Denis was a good casting. This is not the best coming of age film but it is a good coming of age film worth seeing.

Starring: Hayden Panettiere, Paul Rust, Jack Carpenter, Lauren London, Lauren Storm, Shawn Roberts and Alan Ruck
Directed by: Chris Columbus
Rated: PG-13

I give it 3 corn dogs

By: Corndog - The Reel Hustler

PUBLIC ENEMIES

Plot:

It's the early 30's, The Great Depression Era, and crime is rampant with John Dillinger (Depp) and his gang at the very tip of the crimewave. With their ability to rob a bank in quicksilver speed, it makes them that much more elusive that FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (Crudup) assigns a special task force called G Men lead by Melvin Purvis (Bale) that are to hunt Dillinger labeled 'Public Enemy # 1' and his gang down by any means necessary. But with John's quick wits he is able to stay a few steps ahead of the G Men until he falls for the beautiful Billy Frechette (Cotillard), who has such an affect on him that rather than move on when the heat is thick, he stays around trying to figure a way to spring her after she was captured and used as bait against him.

Reel Talk:

This film has all the makings for a great movie: gangster theme, stellar cast and a great director. So what happened??? It was a slow and dulling depiction of a dashing bank robber. Sure Depp provides charm to the role but not flare and the unconvincing accents used throughout the movie by Bale and Crupup were more silly than anything else. Bale as Purvis was just plain boring, they could have taken his gun and let him kill the bad guys with boredom. There are a few action shoot out scenes, with the ones with Baby Face Nelson (Graham) standing out particularly. Even Academy Award winner Cotillard couldn't pull a rabbit out the hat for this one. If you don't mind a watered down Untouchables than you might enjoy this attempt at a gangster movie.

Starring: Johnny Depp, Marion Cotillard, Christian Bale, Stephen Dorff, Billy Crudup and Giovanni Ribisi
Directed by: Michael Mann
Rated: R

I give it 2 and a half eaten corn dogs

By: Corndog - The Reel Hustler