Hogwarts Is Rife With Homosexual Tension

At the box office, the chaste rule, writer says

(NEWSER) - Remember the old teen sex comedies, where hormones ruled and no one talked about their feelings? Hollywood doesn't, ST VanAirsdale writes in Esquire. Today's sexless blockbusters—think the Harry Potter flicks and Twilight—reflect how "our PG-13 imperative has scrubbed mass culture of its libido." The new leading men's "heroic priorities must supersede their biological urges." And their leading ladies love them for it. More»

(NEWSER) - Though rarely a fan of wizards and witches, the Vatican has declared the latest Harry Potter film a positive tale of “friendship, altruism, loyalty" that achieves the "correct balance" in depicting teen romance, reports the Guardian. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, opening today, makes clear that good must overcome evil "and that sometimes this requires costs and sacrifice," said a review in the Holy See's newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano. More»

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.”

Radcliffe exudes class at premiere

(NEWSER) - Daniel Radcliffe didn't need his onscreen counterpart's wand to charm a very cub reporter at the New York premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. As journos pressed in on all sides, Radcliffe zeroed in on the nervous 11-year-old Scholastic News reporter, New York reports. He continually—but politely—held off the adult reporters, assuring he’d get back to them, as he put the girl at ease and answered her questions. More»

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»