New On DVD, Blu-Ray: 'Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince'

'Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince' (PG-13): Those looking for a glimmer of light in the dark direction of the "Harry Potter" series will find comfort in the burgeoning romance in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth film in book-to-film franchise that takes a fresh turn away from the ominous tone of the last two movie chapters.

The common thread in "The Half-Blood Prince" is that Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) share in "The Half-Blood Prince" is that all three are growing more mature in their teen years. The are hormones raging on like wildfire inside the walls of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, as Harry discovers romance with Ron's sister, Ginny (Bonnie Wright), and Hermione finds herself jealous of Ron's new girlfriend, Lavender Brown (Jessie Cave).

While the tone of "The Half-Blood Prince" is considerably lighter than "The Goblet of Fire" and "The Order of the Phoenix," the crux of the new "Harry Potter" film remains focused on Harry and Dumbledore's (Michael Gambon) quest to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). And while Voldemort's appearance in the film is scant, his minions -- including the deliciously evil Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) -- more than make up for his absence with a fine share of mayhem and menace.

Also after a gaggle of delightfully evil sneers at Harry in the first five "Harry Potter" films, Tom Felton gets to finally strut his stuff as Draco Malfoy in "The Half-Blood Prince." Under the guidance of the ever-ambiguous Professor Snape (Alan Rickman), Malfoy is on a mission to carry out an evil assignment that, if successful, will shake the foundation of Hogwarts to its very core.

For those who haven't read the books, a major character dies at the end of "The Half-Blood Prince," setting up an epic showdown for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh book in the series that will be divided into two films. The first of which is December 2010 -- a very long wait for what promises to be a spectacular beginning to the conclusion of the "Harry Potter" film series.

DVD Features: Blu-ray disc includes Maximum Movie Mode, including focus points and picture-in-picture, with commentary from Radcliffe, Grint, Watson and Felton, director David Yates, and producers David Heyman and David Barron. Also included is a sneak peek of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" and more. (Warner Home Video)

Also New:
"Public Enemies (R): Johnny Depp stars as gangster legend John Dillinger after he's declared Public Enemy No. 1. by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) Christian Bale also stars as FBI agent Melvin Purvis. (Universal Studios Home Entertainment)

'Julie & Julia' (PG-13): Meryl Streep plays legendary chef Julia Child in this true story about how a New Yorker, Julie Powell (Amy Adams) sets out to cook everything in Child's book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and blog about it in one year's time -- and developed a following because it. (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)