Intro to "We Can't Wait"Directed by David Yates (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)
Starring The Order of the British Actors
Synopsis Potter discovers an old book belonging to the "Half Blood Prince" and begins to investigate the youth of Voldemort
From Warner Bros and the mind of JK Rowling
Expected Release Date November 21st, 2008
Nathaniel: So here we are at the sixth Harry Potter film in eight years. In this episode --excuse me, MOVIE, we investigate the backstory of Lord Voldemort and those meddling kids looking for his horcruxes (someone on the panel will explain for Potter agnostics) How on earth did franchise entry #6 make the list? Did Imelda Staunton's inspired chirping Dolores reinvigorate Hogwarts for all of you as it did for me? Are you just anxious to see Jim Broadbent bring the franchise one step closer to actually including all famous living British actors from the 20th century? Do tell.
Joe: No reinvigoration necessary for me here. Each Potter film has improved upon the last, and the credit for last year's Phoenix doesn't just go to Staunton, you actressexual, you. David Yates managed to get right to the heart of what made Phoenix great -- those training sequences and the frightening awe with which Harry and the kids experienced the Ministry of Magic -- and I trust he'll be able to do the same here.
Broadbent's going to be a fine addition to the cast (and, yes, he's one step closer to British completism) but I'm really hoping this will be the Alan Rickman showcase that he's deserved all along. In the grand scheme of things, the Voldemort backstory isn't the most compelling stuff, but again, I trust Yates to focus the attention where it belongs. On Daniel Radcliffe's sweet, sweet...hey, who wrote that??Glenn: The fact that David Yates is returning - the first director to make two Harry Potter films since, *shudder*, Chris Columbus - makes me more anticipated for the sixth (SIXTH!) installment than I normally would be. I'm fairly certain when I say that, for me, no HP film will better The Prisoner of Azkaban, but Phoenix was fiiine entertainment so I'm sure for yet another year the franchise will continue on its merry way.
MaryAnn: Count me in as a Yates lover, too. The stuff he's done for British TV has been so adult and so intense that I can't believe he was chosen to direct a "kids'" movie... and then his first Harry Potter last year was the best horror movie of the year. Amazing. I can't wait to see what he does with the next.
Gabriel: At the risk of being called a muggle or a quidditch or some other adorably medieval put-down, I've never really been much of a Potter fan, books or films. They've always struck me as quintessential rites-of-passage tales dressed up in magical clothing that was a bit too precious for my tastes. Nevertheless, I have seen Potters 1, 2, 3, and Order of the Phoenix, and I did adore Imelda Staunton's campy turn. But in truth, I may save my pennies and go see Daniel Radcliffe on Broadway next fall instead. (He'll be naked, which is something you'll never get at Hogwarts.)MaryAnn: Oh, Gabriel, you've never been out behind the quidditch patch on a Friday night with a flask of dragonblood wine, have you?
Nathaniel: Hee.
I'm surprised at how I've slowly but surely succumbed to the Potter franchise, myself... even if I'm still less than impressed with the boy wizard himself --bit of a cipher as heroes go, really. How about the readers: Is Half Blood Prince on your list or did you give up long ago?
the countdown
#10 Sex & The City: The Movie
#11 The Lovely Bones
#12 WALL-E
#13 Stop-Loss
#14 The Women
#15 Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Introduction / Orphans
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