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HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE In terms of sustained quality, I daresay that the Harry Potter franchise trumps all other series featuring more than three entries – and now here's the sixth installment to add more fuel to the fiery debate. Chris Columbus was unfairly lambasted in some quarters for the first two Potter pics, but I think his comparatively lighthearted approach worked since the early chapters were as much about the Disneyland appeal of the Hogwarts school as anything else. But as J.K. Rowling's books progressed, the child actors matured, and the directors changed, the franchise began to take on a decidedly darker tone, with a likable character killed off in each of the three most recent works and teen protagonists Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) continually having to contend with raging hormones that prove to be as challenging to conquer as any Dementor. Here, there's the feeling that the bad guys are winning, and Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) needs to quickly come up with some sort of game plan. He enlists the unwitting aid of a former professor, the jovial if distracted Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), and instructs Harry to discreetly probe him for information that might help them defeat Voldemort and his minions. Harry takes on the task, albeit not at the complete expense of a social life. He finds himself becoming increasingly attracted to Ron's younger sister Ginny (Bonnie Wright, the weak link in the cast), even as Ron and Hermione continue to be drawn to each other. Director David Yates mixes personal scenes involving the students with more weighty material that furthers the blackest aspects of the saga. These latter-named segments are suitably moody – and often allow the FX team to show off their handiwork – yet the heart of the piece remains the interactions between the characters, both teen and adult. ***
MANAGEMENT Combining a jock's air of entitlement with a slacker's sense of detachment has allowed Steve Zahn to carve out a lengthy career in all manner of indie fare. Not charismatic enough to hold his own in major-studio efforts, Zahn can usually be found in supporting roles in small-scale efforts, sniffing around the edges while the top-billed stars soak up all the acclaim. With Management, writer-director Stephen Belber takes a chance by handing the quirky actor the largest part. It's a move that neither helps nor hinders the project, since the end result would have been desultory no matter who was holding the reins. Zahn stars as Mike Cranshaw, who works for his parents (Margo Martindale and Fred Ward) at their rinky-dink motel in Arizona. A lonely loser with no real prospects, Mike only finds his senses awakened once pretty Sue Claussen (Jennifer Aniston, trying hard under the circumstances) walks up to the front desk. A cold-fish businesswoman (because Hollywood believes no other kind exists), Sue is annoyed by this man-child but eventually decides to screw him in the motel laundry room just before taking off to return to her Maryland home. Now hopelessly smitten, Mike drops everything and goes to Maryland, where Sue, instead of scrambling for a restraining order, develops a friendship with her stalker. From here, the movie only gets more idiotic, most noticeably in the introduction of Sue's psychotic boyfriend, a grotesque caricature played in loco-emotive fashion by Woody Harrelson. So does it all end happily ever after? No fair spilling the beans, but let's just say that, according to this misguided movie's wisdom, every woman should be so lucky to have her very own stalker to help her get her life in order. *1/2
THE MERRY GENTLEMAN If there's one fault to be found with the Coen Brothers' superb Oscar winner No Country for Old Men, it's that there simply aren't enough scenes featuring Kelly Macdonald, the wee Scottish lass who's previously appeared in such diverse works as Trainspotting, Gosford Park and Finding Neverland. Her No Country role as Josh Brolin's sympathetic wife is small but pivotal; to catch her in a part that's both large and pivotal, check out this low-simmer drama that marks Michael Keaton's directorial debut. In addition to directing, the former Batman stars as Frank Logan, a despondent hit man. Yet the film belongs to Macdonald, who wields the largest role; she plays Kate Frazier, who escapes an abusive relationship and starts again in a place where nobody knows her. But the fragile, soft-spoken Kate is the sort of vulnerable woman who draws the attention of all sorts of men, both good and bad. Among those she attracts are an alcoholic cop (Tom Bastounes) and the bullying ex (Bobby Cannavale) who's determined to bring her home. Yet her most unusual relationship is the one she shares with Logan, a stone-cold killer who nevertheless softens whenever he's in her presence. Working from a script by Ron Lazzeretti, Keaton has fashioned a nicely modulated film that overcomes any hesitancy one might have about yet another movie centering on low-life assassins. Crucially, the picture isn't really about Logan, whose screen time is even less than that of Bastounes' well-meaning cop; instead, its primary focus is on Kate and how she works hard to make her life an acceptable one. Macdonald's performance is one of understated beauty, and the film's lucky to have her on board. ***