Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince

***WARNING: If you have not finished the book or seen the movie, I'm about to spoil it for you. Continue at your own risk.***

How many Harry Potter fans do we have? Now I started with I'm never going to get caught up in another craze(e.g NKOTB, Beanie Babies, ect.) but after all I heard I had to see what all the hype was about. So, in defense I only saw the first 5 movies. Too busy with work and Audrey to ever get to a book, let alone catch up to all the movies with the books. So, I shortcutted those but decided that the sixth book I could finish before the movie. I cut it pretty close. I started the book when I was pregnant with Nathan and just finished it before our 4th of July vacation(yeah, 2 years!) What can I say, slow reader. LOL!!

Today, I was all excited about going to see the movie. This book was so eventful and I knew the movie would be intense. Just like the ending in the 5th movie. Maybe reading the book spoiled the movie magic. They(Hollywood) cut so much out of the book and then reworked scenes as if Harry knew stuff all along when he didn't. They never had Malfoy's buds, Crabbe & Goyle turn into girls as lookouts for him. Actually, they're always are around Malfoy and I think we only saw them twice in the whole 2 1/2 hour movie.

The potions class was so crucial in this book as Harry learned a great deal of potions. Mainly from the class and the potions book he had that belonged to the half-blooded prince. Totally cut out. There was one scene in the beginning of school so they could introduce the Felix Felicis. Probably because J.K.Rowling actually had a chapter named after it in the book. And it was this class (and potions book) that gave Potter the knowledge of the bezoar, since he didn't remember from his 1st year. This saved Ron from being poisoned.

The memories that Harry was to learn with Dumbledore about Voldemort was minimized also. I think that all those memories where useful and should have been used in the movie.

They didn't use the elves to keep tabs on Malfoy when Harry was at Quidditch. This showed how Harry was suspuscious of Malfoy and Dumbledore didn't want to hear about it. Once again crucial because Malfoy is who got the Death Eaters into the protected Hogwarts to kill Dumbledore.

They didn't cover the 17 year old(which they all are) learning apparition.

They didn't have the funeral for Dumbledore.

Also, the whole romance between Ginny and Harry was protrayed differently and she had nothing to do with the Room of Requirement or Harry hiding his potions book there.

And the big killer of the movie for me was the fight between Hogwarts and the Death Eaters where Harry learns that Snape was always a Death Eater and hoodwinked Dumbledore for so many years and that he was also the Half-Blooded Prince. They just covered the murder & the get away.

I sure there were other things here or there and more things were just applied someplace in the movie as to edit out "extra" scenes but I really didn't feel I got my monies worth with this one. I don't know if it has anything to do with me reading the book or not. I am definitely going to read the last book(which is coming in 2 movies). Just wondering what some of you think. Anybody want to comment?