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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – Opens November 21st

So Warner Bros. owns the summer with box office behemoth The Dark Knight, and what does it go out and do next? Own the Christmastime season, of course. Well, at least that's what practically anyone would think about the latest in the Harry Potter franchise, due in theaters on November 21st. These films have been nothing but gravy for WB, earning upwards of $280 million apiece, and showing no signs of slowing down. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, released summer 2007, accumulated the second-highest total – both domestically and worldwide – in the series, falling short only to 2001's debut film.

This fall, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince concerns Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts, and in my mind is a standout in the series in that its main purposes – exploration of the past, further development of character, set up for the series' final chapter – had never been charted on quite this scale. It's all set up, really, for what's to come next.

And as the books continue their descent into darkness, the films surely have followed suit. The one-minute preview released this week is no exception, either, as Harry's troubles with that pesky Voldemort are only growing increasingly severe.

Grade: A
Also expected to be released on this date: The Soloist

Terminator Salvation – Opens May 22nd, 2009

If the future – in this case, 2018 - is anything like the Terminator franchise predicts, I certainly don't want to be around to see it. What, with its giant, flying machine monsters (which are, in few words, quite hostile) and vast deserts of nothingness, the future Terminator Salvation hints at in this sneak peek certainly makes the Iraq war and the West's fear of terrorism a bit petty.

The film, which thankfully dropped its ridiculous The Future Begins tagline in its title, looks very promising and certainly quells my fears of the series making its first misstep, especially since the franchise's fourth departs greatly from the Arnold Schwarzenegger-led trilogy. Not only are there new scribes and a new director in McG, the series itself has undergone a complete reboot as well. A Terminator no longer arrives from the future to either attack or protect humanity. Instead, we are finally in the future itself, battling against machines in a war to end all wars.

You know why else I have faith in this title? Two words for you: Christian Bale. Talk about striking while the iron is hot, Warner Bros.

Grade: B+
Also expected to be released on this date: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

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