Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Year: 2009

Genre: Fantasy

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon

Dave - 3.5 Stars - On it's own, away from the book I would give this a 4, but if you throw in all the plot that they left out, and the lack luster ending in comparison we fall down to a 3.5. I understand why there are so many people up in arms, because it did not do the book justice or build the suspense to Book 7 enough. Visually awesome, great casting for Slughorn and a good movie, but could have been so much more.

Lexie - 3.5 Stars - Even though I'm without the bias of having read all of the Harry Potter books, I was not as impressed with this movie as I have been with the others. While I thought the development of the students' relationships was fun and entertaining, I didn't feel as excited for the next movie in the series as I have in the past. One of the most important aspects of the previous movies, is that after watching one, you can't wait to watch the next one. I enjoyed the intensity and darkness of this film, but what I kept thinking was how I hope that the next film will bring more details together than this one did.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417741/

Coraline

Year: 2009

Genre: Fantasy/Animation

Starring: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Robert Bailey Jr.

Dave - 3.5 Stars - Cool story, well developed, but just didn't have the "it" to really make something special. It was visually awesome, and probably better suited for the living room big screen. The snowglobe of the Zoo was really neat, and of course how can you not like a guy wearing an MSU sweatshirt the whole movie. Good movie all in all.

Lexie - 3.5 Stars - It was not until after we watched the movie that I discovered the story was written by Neil Gaiman, so without that knowledge I was surprised by the adult themes and images in the movie. The animation was fluid and beautiful. The story started out as an engaging fairy tale, but I couldn't help but drift as it developed and I had a lot of "Wait, that doesn't work," moments. Overall, this is a good watch, even if only for the artistry of the execution.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327597/