The Special Effects of HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

The special effects company behind Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has released a video detailing the work that went into some of the film’s fantastic special effects.

Thanks to Mugglenet for linking this up.

Geek Force FiveCast 199: Half-Blood Who?

In which ECC wonders if the sixth film in the Harry Potter series was fit to be called Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Geek Force FiveCast 198: HP6 - Everybody Gets Stoned

In which ECC geeks out about all of the drug use in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Geek Force FiveCast 197: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

In which ECC reviews the sixth film of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

IGN’s Top 25 Harry Potter Characters

In honor of the release of the sixth film in the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, IGN has picked the top 25 characters from the Potter universe.

In describing their #21 pick, Nymphadora Tonks—”Don’t call me Nymphadora!”—IGN writes, “Most of the wizards we see in Harry Potter are either experienced adults – often professors of course – or the underage students who are the focus of the series. This helps make Tonks a refreshing change of pace, as she represents a young adult wizard – someone who’s completed all of her training, but still has the brash, energetic attitude of youth.”

She’s certainly one of my favorites, and I think she should probably be a bit higher (I’d knock #16, Cho Chang, down a few pegs to make that possible). But, other than that, I think IGN has got the list pretty much dead-on. How about you?

Behind the Magic of HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

As I type this, the clock on Mugglenet that is counting down to the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince reads 1 day, 7 hours, 36 minutes, and 22 seconds. While you wait patiently, here’s some choice linkage!

Yahoo! has an exclusive new scene of Harry and Dumbledore discussing horcruxes. Mugglenet has links to a five-part YouTube capture of an ITV special on the making of the new film (part one is embedded above, and the remaining parts are here, here, here, and here). And, if that still isn’t enough Harry for you, check out this interview with director David Yates on the forthcoming film adaptations of the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, wherein he calls the kiss between Hermione and Ron “a hell of a snog.”

Latest HALF-BLOOD PRINCE Awesomeness

A slew of new clips from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince have arrived over the past few days, including 20 minutes of behind the scenes footage from IESB.net, 7 clips from the film from Collider, 1 clip from MSN, 1 clip from MTV, and a hilarious interview that Potter star Emma Watson ("Hermione Granger") gave to Dave Letterman on The Late Show.

Basically, if you wanted to assemble all of the clips out there back-to-back, you could probably watch the whole movie at this point. It’d be a bit out-of-order, but you’d get the gist.

If you want to wait for the real thing, however, the wait is almost over: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince arrives in theaters on Wednesday, July 15.

HBO’s First Look at HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

Apologies to the non-Potter fans out there, but the next two weeks are likely to be pretty Potter heavy here at Geek Force Five. We continue today’s obsessing about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with video from HBO’s First Look at the film (1 and 2). Thanks Mugglenet for pointing the way, and to Snitch Seeker for capturing the video.

First Glimpse at Exterior of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes?

A new TV spot for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince offers the first glimpse I’ve seen of the exterior of Weasleys’s Wizard Wheezes. You have to wait until the end to catch it, and the credits are obscuring the view, but it looks pretty darned awesome nevertheless.

Seriously, this movie can’t get here soon enough. And if this new snippet isn’t enough for you—it’s barely enough for me—there’s also this clip of the full scene leading up to Harry and Dumbledore’s trials in the cave, which is available exclusively through iTunes.

New Footage from HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE Keeps Turning Up

New footage from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince seems to be popping up every day now, and the HP-geek in me is about to die of overexposure to awesomeness, or of Awesome Sauce poisoning, or something. First, there was the clip of the first five minutes that has been up and down on YouTube all weekend. And now, there are new clips from Yahoo UK and from a French preview that’s found its way onto YouTube.

My favorite bit comes from the Yahoo UK footage.

McGonagall (to Harry, Ron, and Hermione): Why is it, when something happens, it’s always you three?

Ron: Believe me, professor, I’ve been asking myself the same question for six years.

As I mentioned in today’s FiveCast, Stephanie and I are listening to The Deathly Hallows audiobook right now during any and all long trips we take, and I’m listening to the entire audiobook sequence during my walks to and from work. What are you doing to psych yourself up for the arrival of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?