Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

For the avid Harry Potter reader the whole suspense leading up to HP Order of the Phoenix can be summed up in the word "how". How are they going to translate a nearly 900 page book to the screen, how are they going to tie together a storyline that in the 5th book breaks into dozens of streams like a mighty river coming to its delta.

This seemingly impossible task is well accomplished by astute summation of plot and concentration of action. Also, the heart and soul of the book, i.e. the thematic spirit of the story and Rowling's shining gift for characterization are given the fullest support in this film more so than in any previous HP movie.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix basically involves Harry being persecuted by the government for telling a truth they refuse to believe all while dealing with the same feelings of teen angst and emerging love that any ordinary teen finds stressful and consuming. Only through the love and dedication of family and especially friends does Harry come across the means to fight back against the government, elude his enemies and make some sense of his emotional turmoil.

Most reader's will come out of the theater saying "I wish they had shown this or that." However, all will leave satisfied that they have been treated to a faithful rendering brilliantly acted and directed. All the HP movies are a "good watch" but in this one we get a great movie.

We have the advantage of going to our HP movies with a non-reader and she was, to say the least, blown away and pronounced it a near classic. My daughter and myself have read and reread the books many times over and came out limp from exhilaration, our keen anticipation very much fulfilled.

A few highlights: The acting is best ever. The three principles push themselves to a new level. My favorite new characters were Imelda Staunton as Delores Umbridge, excellent (you'll love to hate her) and Natalia Tena as Tonks. Natalia is sheer delight. She is the penultimate punk rock witch girl(think Dead Milkmen here). And Helena Bonham Carter is in her medium (she played the witch Morganna in the movie Merlin) as the dangerous and demented Bellatrix LeStrange.

Battle scenes: breathtaking. Commraderie: The only HP that actually caused me to get teary so heartfelt are the portrayals of friendship and family.

See the film knowing that unless you want a 10hour movie some things are going to have to go. Leave having enjoyed a film that takes the beans and water and instead of a nice large coffee treats one to a perfectly concentrated, most artfully brewed and extremely tasty espresso. It has been said before but truth is truth: BEST YET!

Overall, not a bad film, especially the opening sequence which'll have you quivering behind the seat in front! Great effects as always.

For me, Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge completely steals the show. Her character was fantastically well observed - the odd little hysterical titters of laughter she gave had superb comedic timing. Helena Bonham Carter had a star turn too as Belatrix - she's completely bonkers and HBC totally did her justice! Loved it!

For me, both their successes stood out conspicuously when compared to the horrendously awkward acting from the younger members of the cast. Sorry(!) but there were so many cringe worthy moments (especially the more intimate ones) where you kept begging the director to cut away from the acting. Tighter editing could have prevented these distracting moments from constantly reminding me I was watching actors on a set.

Hermione (Emma Watson), Luna (Evanna Lynch) , and Cho (Katie Leung) were the main culprits, with Daniel Radcliff not falling far behind. Okay, I know they're supposed to be awkward teenagers in the story, but hey! My suspicion is that these poor kids feel so caught up in the huge franchise that is HP that the pressure to perform must be enormous. Couple that with the screenplay's stilted dialogue, and being surrounded by what must have been a huge crew with them all staring at you, it's hardly a surprise that a few cracks were shown. Still, you'd have thought the editing might have been able to get around it.

These cringes aside, I enjoyed the film. Also, a huge congrats to all those involved in the hard work that obviously went into the post production too.

I actually was lucky enough to see this at a sneak preview on Monday. The "experience" was lousy, but the film was good...IF you take it as a separate entity from the series of books. If you separate the film from the book, you won't be disappointed.

For the negative...there were, of course, MANY things that were omitted from the film. As a huge fan of the books, I still must be realistic. I knew there would be a lot of information left out. There were a few things that I felt could have made the story richer if they had been included, but I won't go into detail so I don't give away any of the film's changes. There were a few changes that made me frown at times, but as the story played out, it did make the film flow well. One of their worst casting decisions, Michael Gambon, was actually tolerable in this one, for the most part. I am NOT a fan of his portrayal of Dumbledore, but I guess he worked for this film simply because, for the majority of the story, he is supposed to be acting somewhat aloof towards Harry. That worked for him. I miss the subtlety that Richard Harris brought to that role, and, while he wasn't dreadful in this one, I still believe that there are countless other well known actors in the UK that could have done this role better justice. There wasn't enough Molly or Hagrid for me though. I love both of those characters.

On a positive note, the special effects were very well done. The thestrals were marvelous--eerie, but strangely peaceful creatures. Evanna Lynch could not have been more spot on as Luna. Her voice, mannerisms and demeanor were amazing. My only complaint about her was that she wasn't on screen enough. :o) Imelda Staunton, as Umbridge, and Helena Bonham Carter, as Bella, have to be two of the BEST casting decisions that they have with regard to these films. They were SO incredible. I was actually quite impressed with Dan, Rupert and Emma as well. They have come quite far in their acting abilities. They have finally achieved the art of saying a lot without necessarily opening their mouths. The scene in the common room following the kiss between Harry and Cho was hysterical. Kreacher and Grawp were great additions to the films. Fred and George's exit was very well done, albeit slightly different. The film, if taken by itself, was really good. Unfortunately, it's a lot different from the book. But, as I'm doing a film review and not a comparison, I'll give it 8 out of 10, because I was highly entertained.

Our "sneak preview" was interrupted in the middle due to a problem with the film, and I think we still missed some of it. We lined up 3 hours before the movie was supposed to begin, it started late, it was interrupted in the middle for over 30 minutes, we were wanded for metal and electronics every time we went in or out...I think we'll just wait until opening week next time. It's crowded, but a lot less trouble.

We are actually going to see it again.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is brought back to school where he faces a possible expulsion after using magic in the real world. Dumbledore (Jim McManus) comes to his defense and soon the two of them are warning people of the return of Lord Voldemort.

As I've said in the reviews for the previous films, I haven't read any of the stories so I honestly can't compare the movie to the book. With that said, I did find the previous installment to be an extremely entertaining movie and certainly the best of the series to date. This fifth film is certainly a major step backwards and sadly there are way too many boring moments to make it a complete winner.

Again, perhaps I would have picked up on more things had I been familiar with the book but I personally found the majority of the first half to be quite boring without too many interesting things going on. I honestly thought there was very little character development and I thought too many of the scenes just kept dragging on with dialogue that just wasn't all that interesting or thrilling.

The film does finally pick up during its final act and this is where thing get really good. The final battles almost rival what we saw in the previous film and there's no question that they pack a lot of energy and excitement. They also benefit from some wonderful special effects that really put you in the middle of the action and blend perfectly well with the cast members. Speaking of the cast, a lot of talented actors keep getting added to the series and once again everyone is quite impressive. Regulars like Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman and others return to their roles quite nicely and people like Emma Thompson, Gary Oldman and David Thewlis are of great value.

After his fourth traumatic year at Hogwarts that ended with a showdown with the franchise's very own Mr Bad, Lord Voldemort, it doesn't seem too much for Harry Potter to be asking for a peaceful Summer. However, he doesn't get such a wish – from the opening scene in which Harry and his despised cousin Dudley have close encounters of the life-threatening kind with two dementors in an underground passage, it is clear that Voldemort has unfinished business with the scarred lad, and that he has every intention of finishing it. Plus, nearly everyone in Harry's school believe him to be a liar, Professor Dumbledore refuses to look him in the eye, his friends don't understand him, and, on top of that, Harry must grapple with the skills required in mastering his first kiss. My, my, aren't teenage lives complicated?!

A word of warning. This is not a film for the uninitiated. If "patronum", "Avada Kedavra" and "ministry of Magic" sound like code to you, then best avoid watching this. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix makes no attempt to guide the newbies along the story (and rightly so, because any attempt at that would detract from the film and patronize its viewers). To fully comprehend the plot, you must have seen the four previous films as well as read the book from which this film is based.

The film itself is a wonderful jumble of goods, bads, and uglies. There is plenty to enjoy here, starting with the flawless turn from Imelda Staunton as the sadistic Dolores Umbridge. The woman who we are so used to seeing in roles as the sweet old lady, whether it be in Shakespeare in Love, or her Oscar-nominated turn in Vera Drake, her performance here is a shock and a half. Kitted out from head to toe in pink and sporting a sugary air, we soon find that Umbridge, whose methods of punishment include using quills that protract blood on her students, is anything but sweet. Staunton captures Umbridge's ruthless oiliness perfectly; never before has evil been such fun to watch.

Rupert Grint is also a joy. His ginger hair, large blue eyes, bumbling demeanour and spot-on comedy timing make him the true star of the show, and every scene that he features in benefits as a result of his appearance. Simply put, he is Godly. Sadly, the other two teen stars are nowhere near as good as Grint; Radcliffe, who gave an adequate performance in the West End's Equus, is back to his shoddy self here with an array of overreaching facial expressions and laughable deliveries of his lines. He is most embarrassing of all in the lead-up to kissing Cho Chang, in which everyone in my cinema was collapsing with laughter at his "performance." But it gets even worst, for Emma Watson, aspiring Cambridge student, World Peace Representative (probably) and general object of annoyance to average, frumpy teenage girls such as myself, gave a performance that was so awful, it damn near lost me the will to live. She just couldn't portray any of her emotions convincingly, and just settled for saying the lines that were written for her. Whereas Hermione was one of my favourite characters in the book due to her kindness, knowledge and appreciation for others' feelings, Emma's presentation of Hermione makes her insufferable and punch-worthy. It ain't good.

The two "actors" aside, my main other foible with this film was how it cut/altered some very important details of the book. For example, in the book, it is Kreacher who betrays Sirius and puts him in danger. The appearance of Snape's past as a hated and bullied student is also poorly put together and left to linger rather than properly dealt with. The Cho Chang storyline is pitiful, whereas in the book, we had been led to see that she wasn't all that she had cracked up to be as a person, in the film, she is the sketchiest of sketches and written off practically before she has begun. In terms of 2007 releases, only Pirates of the Caribbean III had more plot holes than this.

That said, I had a huge amount of fun in the 2 and a half hours that this film played, with three newcomers to this movie, Yates (director), Michael Goldenberg (screenwriter) and Hooper (composer). The direction was apt, not perfect, but acceptable. The score was acceptable. The visual effects were stunning, especially in the climactic finale between Dumbeldore's Army and Voldemort's Deatheaters, led by Jason Isaacs, where an entire storeroom containing shelved globes containing prophecies, one of which concerns Harry. It is here that Helena Bonham Carter emerges as Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the final and greatest joys of the film. Laughing manically and sporting long hair greasier than a Professor Snape-Cristiano Ronaldo mixup, she makes the most of her limited screen time to deliver one of the best performances in all the Harry Potter movies. Utterly haunting.

Thus, verily I say, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a worthwhile outing. If you can put up with the abomination commonly known as "Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson trying to act", as well as the slightly pretentious over-editing of Harry's dream sequences, not to mention the ten thousand odd plot holes, then you should venture out to the cinema to see this. Not capital film-making, but, as I'm yet to see Ratatouille and The Simpsons movie, about as good as you'll get this Summer from the cinema.