Vatican Charmed by Potter

Sixth installment is one of the best in the series

(NEWSER) - Our sixth cinematic trip to Hogwarts holds onto the magic with stunning visuals, great acting, and a maturing storyline:

• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is “spellbinding, even though it is more grounded in reality and less fanciful than previous installments,” writes Claudia Puig in USA Today. “The cinematography is stunning, and the story unfolds in a stately and unhurried fashion.”

Seeking 'normal' life, Hermione gets ready for Ivy League

(NEWSER) - After 10 years at Hogwarts, Emma Watson is ready to move on to the Ivy League, the New York Daily News reports. The Harry Potter actress, who’s been playing the boy wizard’s pal Hermione Granger since she was 9, is taking a break from acting—and movie shoots, screaming fans, and paparazzi—to attend college. "If I've lived my whole life on film sets and on red carpets, how am I meant to portray someone who has a normal life?" More»

Deathly Hallows Part 2 collects $475.6M globally in massive opening weekend

(NEWSER) - Harry Potter went out with a true bang: The final installment in the wizarding saga, the Deathly Hallows Part 2, notched almost half a billion dollars internationally, with an opening weekend take of $475.6 million. That shattered the previous record, Harry Potter and the Half -Blood Prince, which the Hollywood Reporter notes pulled in a not-so-paltry $394 million. On the domestic front, Deathly Hallows Part 2 pushed The Dark Knight out of the way by more than $10 million, with $168.6 million . More»

Cast burbles on last day in latest Warner Bros. film

(NEWSER) - Now it can be shown: The last day of filming of the last Harry Potter movie was not so magical. It was rather heartbreaking. Cast mates applauded one another, and burbled, and recalled their amazing time together and expressed grief that it was over. "How do I put into words such an incredible experience?" asks Emma Watson on a just-released Warner Brothers film of the Big Wrap. "I feel so blessed that I was chosen. I was given the chance to experience all this and have this be part of my life. We were the chosen ones. We were very lucky." More»

Quidditch gets swapped for bleak tone in penultimate film

(NEWSER) - The penultimate Harry Potter movie hits theaters today, and while reviews for Deathly Hallows: Part I range all the way from "best Potter movie ever" to "worst Potter movie ever," most critics are positive about it and are looking forward to next summer's grand finale. The movie currently has a 77% rating at Rotten Tomatoes .

• The Potter movies have gotten progressively darker, and this one is no exception, writes Brandon Fibbs at the Colorado Springs Gazette . "The mischievous and playful whimsy that defined the series in the beginning is now almost completely absent," he writes. "Deathly Hallows lacks almost all perceptible warmth, hope, and fun. And that is precisely what makes it great."