While the fifth Potter film was dedicated largely to the title character, Half-Blood Prince will bundle plot lines for a wider section of the ensemble and set the stage for the intense crescendos that will dominate the final two movies. It delves into the creepy past of villain Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), introduces a key newcomer in bon vivant Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) and also climaxes with one of the major characters giving up the ghost.

Despite that grim loss, there’s also charm and a sweetness, and romance too, as the students, now in their late teens, learn the bittersweet lessons of love. Emma Watson, who fills out the trio of pals as Hermione, said that after so many years of battling magical beasties, it was a treat for the students of Hogwarts to tussle with their own passions and enjoy some pratfalls.

Hugh Jackman’s X factor

Two months after hosting the Academy Awards, Jackman returns to his cinematic dark side with Wolverine, his fourth major film with the character at the centre

Two months removed from the dapper, soft-shoe duty as the host of the Academy Awards, Tony winner Hugh Jackman has returned to his cinematic dark side. And, with the release of the Fox’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the Marvel Comics character is at the centre of a fourth major film.

The first three appearances of Jackman in the Wolverine role were in X-Men films, a trilogy that pulled in more than $1 billion at theatres worldwide with each installment making more than the last. In this new feature, Wolverine’s previously murky past is explored with revelations about his family, his secret military career and the origin of those unbreakable shiny blades that pop from his hands.

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