HP: Order of the Phoenix- the film (important non spoiler, then unboxed spoilers)

Cafe Society
41

From someone who hasn’t read the books, I thought it was the best one yet (loved PoA, hated GoF).

I loved the pacing of the movie. IMO you could just feel the movie move. Moving from slow scenes I could just feel the pace quicken. The Centaur shooting the arrow gave me a “shot heard round the world” feeling.

I fully agree with dannyness I think Harry is becoming a great actor. Emma Watson seemed lost. Ron was good. Not such a babbling idiot.

Luna was perfect. Tonks made my pants tight. :wink:

I’m pumped Yeats is on for Half Blood Prince.

42

I had a very rare moment of freedom yesterday and saw it in a packed theater at noon.
I thought it was the best so far.
They took the worst book of the lot, condensed and stream lined it brilliantly.

Daniel Radcliffe really showed he can act in this one. The scene in Dumbledore’s office where he yells at Albus made up for the crying scene in 3.
I was very worried about Grawp and really dreaded any scene with him. I thought it was handled beautifully and made the watcher sympathetic to him instead of wanting to throw something at the screen. ( He did look a little like Alfred E. Newman and a little like brit 80’s singer Rick Astley.)

I think what made it flow was there were not 1000 scenes of Hermione explaining every scene. The director and writer must have decided to cut all her exposition dialog and go: these are fans and it is the 5th movie. They know this stuff. Lets speed things along a bit.

Notes: In no particular order.
I didn’t see Susan Bones at all. ( She is the daughter of the first director.) did I miss her ?
Luna Lovegood was excellent. The actress really nailed it.

Mr. Weasley looked like he just had a fresh dye job or plugs or something. His hair looked a bit off.

Imelda Staunton was Superb as Delores Umbridge. Absolutely perfect casting. (The cat plates on the wall were a hoot.)

**Is it just me **
Harry’s scene at his trial for using magic against the dementors, he…uh…looks like he has a nice package when he is sitting in the chair. Is he 18 yet?
I have more thoughts and notes I took during the movie, scribbled in the darkness, but I have to get ready for the day.
I definately want to see it again.

43

I saw it last night, and I liked it a LOT. I think it’s the best of the 5 films so far. They did do a lot of changes / cuts from the book, but I really can’t disagree with any of them (as opposed to GOF, where I disagreed with a lot of the changes…the maze anyone?) I really liked how dark and well, real, everything felt. Luna was outstanding, and I really think Daniel Radcliffe is turning into an excellent actor. I do agree that Emma Watson isn’t keeping up with the two boys. The “Large intake of breath and set yourself” before each ‘important’ line bugged me.

I would have loved to see the swamp, but Fred and George’s exit was wild and fun enough to get the gist, without spending too much time on it. I thought the battle at the end had just enough razzle dazzle without being crazy. I loved Ginny’s super powerful “Reducto” abilities!

How Harry breaks Voldemort’s posession try was done very well. It could have been very, very cheesy, but I thought it worked. I like the change on Snape’s memory…short, sweet, and effective. I also like the change on how we learn about thestrals. It gave Luna a bit more time, and avoided an unnecessary Care of Magical Creatures lesson. Cho being the betrayer DOES work well for the film, and you can sort of forgive her because she was forced to take veritaserum. I do sort of wish I’d seen ‘sneak’ in sores on someone’s face, though! :slight_smile:

Overall, very, very well done. I had mixed feelings after seeing GOF (I was very miffed about the maze…Harry did practically no magic!), but I left this without any real complaints.

44

Don’t they have books where you are from?

45

A few reasons. First, apparating requires you to pass a test (like getting a driver’s license) that you become eligible for when you turn 17. Second, it’s impossible to apparate at Hogwarts for security reasons.

46

Saw it last night. Definitely my favourite movie (and it was my least favourite book).

Since I really didn’t care for the book, I didn’t re-read it like I did the others, and am hoping someone can answer a question for me: At the end, when Harry and Sirius are fighting Lucius Malfoy, Harry disarms Malfoy with expeliarmus. Sirius then shouts “Good shot, James!”.

Did he do that in the book as well?

47

No - it was added for the film (at least from my recollection.) I guess it was just another link at how Harry and James are so alike, and perhaps an allusion to the non-included discussion where Sirius is told by someone (forget who) that he treats Harry like he’s James, and he’s not.

48

There’s a place in the book where Mrs. Weasley (I believe) scolds Sirius about Harry and reminds him that Harry isn’t his friend James.

49

I haven’t read the books either and I am fully aware where I could find them (aside from the school library and county library that are both a block away, Border’s that is a mile away, Barnes and Noble that is two miles a week, and my roommate’s room that is . . . 5 feet away), I have absolutely no desire to read them. I’m not a big fiction reader to begin with, but I’m particularly not interested in “fantasy” or whatever genre you would throw this series in.

That said, my friends all drag me to the movies, so that’s where my knowledge on the series lies.

Maybe it’s just me, but I really don’t think Harry Potter is a very likable character. IRL I hate people that constantly cause themselves problems by trying to not inconvenience others, so perhaps that’s why Harry irritates me. That’s only part of it though, as I can’t really put my finger on the rest.

That said, the movie wasn’t bad- though it was my mistake to have gone to a midnight showing with my friends, as I could have done without the cheering, clapping, “woo hooing” 16 year olds.

I felt that the whole look of the movie was quite good and less fake looking than some of the others, also things flowed better than in the past, I think.

50

Overall, I liked it. I wish Tonks had been given more to do, I really like the character, and the actress seemed to have done her justice.

   The actress for Luna was also great, and Filch's part in the movie was great fun. Honestly he stole the show whenever he was arround. 
  

  My only complaint was the CGI tile walls in the ministry of magic.  They looked way to much like Sin City. I kept expecting Harry and his DA friends to find the heads of dead hookers mounted there, or at least Marv and Mad-Eye to get together and give the Death Eaters a REAL smackdown.
51

I just saw it at an IMAX. The 3D effects start when the gang gets on the Thestrals to fly to London and end after the big battle sequence before the denouement between Harry and Dumbledore. The 3D effects were a little off putting. The characters were in your face but the background gets washed out. Neat effect but distracting. It was worth it to see the rest of the movie on the huge screen.

From the beginning, I liked the Dementor scene with Dudley, but it really needed the howler to Petunia where she tells Vernon about the Dementors, that she knows more than she lets on. Having the team fly Harry away wasn’t that great. Whatever happened to the whole mania Mad-Eye has about not being seen? They flew in sight of hundreds of muggles. Grimwald Place, the outside wasn’t nearly as shabby as it should have been.

The story moved along at a good clip. The newspaper headlines did a pretty good job of exposition and keeping the story moving. If you didn’t read the book I’m not so sure how well it followed… I knew what was coming and when to expect it so I liked it. Posting decree after decree worked well to get the point across how fast Umbridge was taking over the school.

Having Cho telling the truth under veritaserum was a nice quick stroke to move a lot along quickly. As did Harry getting into Snapes head. The real question is why did they cut the scene short? After all the talk about Snape having a thing about Lily, she wasn’t even shown in the flashback. Takes a little wind out of the sails for that theory in book 7.

About Umbridge, I agree that Having a room of kids doing detention I think Staunton was fabulous. Her twittering laugh said as much as an over-the-spectacles glare from Maggie Smith can. Putting a big group in detention showed how malevolent she is to everyone not just Harry. Having Fred and George comforting the young kid about how the marks on his hand will fade was a nice sweet moment. There is a little more to them than comic relief.

Speaking of Weasleys, did Ginny even have a line in the movie? She was in the background all the time but I don’t remember her saying anything. I did notice when Harry was hanging back to talk to Cho before the kiss, Ginny was one of the last to leave. She looked over her shoulder at Harry with a sad look knowing what was going to happen. I guess a nod to all the shippers who were happy to see her and Harry get together in Half Blood Prince. Percy Weasley too, he was a few scenes and didn’t utter a peep. Spending all the money on CGI effects and paying the actors at a lower scale?

Don’t-call-me-Nymphadora Tonks was really underused. A great character totally wasted. The whole Order was pretty well ignored. Lupin, McGonagall, everybody. I understand that that’s how the story was structured, but still, some great characters ignored.

Oldman did a fine job. It was nice to see him dressed like a normal person and I agree they gave him a lot of extra screen time to show how much his loss meant to Harry. I also adored how Evanna Lynch nailed Luna. A little out there, but not as spacey and dreamy as she could have been. The scene at the end when she squeezed Harry’s hand and said she was sorry about Sirius was another sweet moment to change the mood nicely. Neville has grown up nicely. From the boy who couldn’t do anything, to somebody with an axe to grind when he found out Bellatrix escaped. I really wish we could have seen St. Mungos.

The minor character that got a lot of attention and looks to be taking much glee in everything is Filtch. Nailing up all the decrees, and rubbing his hands in bliss at the idea of real discipline upon students was dream for him. The keystone cops attempts and getting to the door of the room of requirement were fabulous. Sitting in the chair eating a sandwich staring at the wall made me laugh out loud. It almost makes up for omitting Fred and George’s swamp.

More CGI effects than you could wave a wand at. From the kitty plates (sorry no pictures) to a million times improved face in the fire to the thestrals were well done to me. The opening broom sequences was the only one I was disappointed with. The Ministry of Magic lobby was a lot bigger and cooler than I envisioned in my head. The extendable ears were pretty damn cheesy. Funny about Crookshanks attacking it though.

The end battle was fast, that’s what will make me want to see it again. There was so much going on it was hard to take it all in. Hearing Bellatrix say Avada Kedavra and seeing Sirius fall through the veil was clear and to the point. It was a little fuzzy in the book where she hit him with a red bolt and he fell back in the veil. Dumbledore and Voldy’s fight was OK, but not as massive as I thought it should have been. Hell, the statue wasn’t even touched. What worked a lot better was Harry’s struggle against Voldy in his mind. Just like Sirius death this came across a lot better on screen than as written.

Azakaban was my favorite movie so far, I’m holding out until a second viewing before I pass judgment.on this one. I really liked it.

52

Oh my gawd, yes. I have a liking for long haired guys, though.

53

I’m so glad they’re cutting out the Jar-Jar factor by not doing so much with the house elves. When it comes to the movies…Dobby must die. Dobby’s significance seems to be completely filled by Neville. Neville tells Harry about gillyweed, which made perfect sense since he’s so good at Herbology and Neville discovers the Room of Requirement.

Boo annoying house elves! Horray Longbottom!

54

I really liked it. I think part of why I thought it was so well done was that IMO the book is one of the worst – could have done with the good bit of editing and tightening up. The movie did an excellent job of streamlining the book and conveying the important pieces. I thought in this case the move was better than the book.

I also thought DR (and the director) did an excellent job of conveying HP’s teenaged angst and loneliness without turning him into a whiny brat. That’s a fine line to walk and I thought they walked it successfully.

There was a lot more exposition and emotionalism in this one, with less special-effects Quiddich matches, but I thought that was appropriate at this point in the series.

I read a review (NYT maybe?) which said that the adult British cast did not condescend to the material, and I completely agree: These are some A-list actors (Oldman, Smith, Rickman, Stuanton, Thompson), this is (allegedly) kids’ stuff, and some of them had little more than cameos this time, yet they were all wonderful. I thought the cast of kids was pretty solid, too, no obvious duds. The girl who played Luna Lovegood was remarkable – she made the character much more dimensional and sympathetic than it was in the book.

Mediocre book, greatly improved as a movie. I’ll definitely be seeing it again.

55

May I just say thank you for this? I always wait until the end (learned my lesson with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), but I don’t want to waste the theatre staff’s time if there’s nothing for which to wait.

56

I caught a midnight showing on release day and I loved it. It’s right up there with the Prisoner of Azkaban movie as the two best. There was a really great crowd in the theater and they even cheered when Neville finally managed to disarm someone.

The movie didn’t really capture the feeling of of despair around the school when Dumbledore leaves and the Weasley twins’ exit was a bit lacking but I’m resigned to believe that some things just don’t work as well in movies the way they do in books.

I really hate that they omitted the hospital scene with Neville’s parents. One of the best parts in any of the books.

Umbridge stole the show. An awesome performance. Oh, and Tonks is a cutie!

57

Maybe JKR let on to the screenwriter that this just unnecessary. Just like making Cho the traitor to Dumbledore’s Army instead of whomever. And how they found out Cho was a traitor wasn’t by the coin method that Hermione came up with, but by Veritas Serum. It was a brilliant work of streamlining the script, without having to deal with just how crying and teenagerish Cho and Harry were. Everyone is spared and we come to the same point in the story.

There has to be a reason for specific scenes being left out or manipulated in another direction entirely.

Maybe the Petunia Dursley’s Howler Letter scene is just a scene in the book and hints at something deeper, but is really nothing, ergo, left out of 5’s movie.

In a couple weeks, we will all know.

58

Wow. I agree with most of what is posted.

I read the reviews prior to going to the movie–and maybe that swayed me. I can see some of the weaknesses the critics complain of, but overall, this is a really good movie–at moving the whole sage on to its next phase.

I really liked Radcliffe’s performance in this one-much better than GoF. I also thought that Ron made the most of his too few lines. And Hermione even toned down the overacting-by-hummphing-alot-and-looking-exasperated. The dynamic between the 3 was especially nice–that one scene about how Cho is feeling and their laughter afterwards was a nice touch.

I miss the howler and Aunt Petunia’s knowledge revealed. (and how about that sundress–ye, gods). I am also somewhat puzzled–I thought Vernon was going to throw HP out, like in the book, and AP stops him. Oh, well. At least the Dursley’s got screen time.

Why o why couldn’t they just mention something along the lines of “she’s even banned Quidditch”? re Umbridge. And why o why couldn’t Ron or Hermione say that they’re prefects?
I liked the telescoping with Snape–very effective. I have no liking of creepy kid Nigel-why NOT let Colin Creevy play it–it’s not like we need another student character.

Fred and George should have been able to tell Peeves to “give 'er hell.” (has peeves been in the films, though? I forget).

I liked the pacing. Luna was very good-but a bit slow in her line delivery. Staunton was superb–I didn’t like her in the previews, but she blew me away.
I liked the Grawp scened (I tend to skip that whole subplot when reading)–the bicycle bell was brilliant.

I do wish we could have watched Umbridge freak out to the sound of “clip-clop” in St Mungo’s though…and seen Neville’s parents. I do hope Neville doesn’t die–he is so cool.

Ministry of Magic–I didn’t like the black tile at all, the Prophecy room was like I pictured it, though. The battle was meh for me–too fast, not enough on the adult wizards, not enough on the teens, either.

Clunkers:

AD’s speech to Harry–about “I care for you too much.” Stick to the book–better dialogue, IMO.

Harry’s end speech–I thought for sure he was going to say “we have something that [Voldy] doesn’t, each other.” instead he says, “something to fight for.” Well, so does Voldy–supreme power. duh. Bad last line.
I thought Daniel Radcliffe did a great job of conveying teen angst and growth. I also like that he finally told Hermione off “It’s not simple.” Yes!

I’m going again on Sunday–just to take it all in again.

59

Agreed. The St. Mungo’s scene should have been included in the movie. Mrs. Weasley’s concern over Arthur’s near-death, combined with the appearance of the Longbottoms, showed very dramatically how Voldemort and his minions are a threat to everyone, not just Harry. That part of the book affected me much more deeply than the death of Sirius.
The scene in the movie where Neville tells Harry about his parents was nice, though.

60

Guess I’ll be the first to say that I flat out hated it. Worst movie of the lot.

The movie felt jumpy and abrupt due to the heavy lack of dialogue. In many cases, plot points were established using as few lines as possible. “Harry. Lestrange tortured my parents to death. I’d rather not talk about it any more.” End scene and plot thread. All the implications were left up to various knowing looks and morose glances. In turn, the lack of dialogue wastes what was a pretty good cast by giving them a line and a look before hurling them out of the movie. It also shoves plot points in and leaves them hanging. Take Hagrid’s “This is my all giant half brother now I have to go” scene and the lack of resolution to the “Cho confessed but under duress” idea.

Speaking of abrupt scenes, the bit with the room of requirement reminded me of a video game. Longbottom wanders down a hallway when a door appears right out of nowhere. Cut to Hermione explaining all about the room and it’s various properties. I kept waiting for her to tell me to press “X” to cast a stunning spell and “O” to block an incoming spell. Not to mention if Hermione knew so much about the room and all, why not just let her suggest and find it instead of having Neville stumble upon it while staring at his shoes.

The scene with Harry’s hand was another stinker. Harry sits reading a book with one hand covered. Hermione appears and asks about Harry’s hand before she’s even had a chance to notice anything, then jumps to the conclusion that it’s Umbridge’s fault without even so much of a word from Harry.

The directing was just as awful. Half the movie consisted of sweeping shots with sweeping musical flourishes that really added nothing to the movie and subtracted valuable speaking time. There was a tremendous lack of subtlety to the scenes as well. Take the Citizen Kane-esque Fudge tapestry dangling in the beginning that symbolically gets shredded at the end. The staircase scene with Umbridge and McGonigal (Umbridge climbed two steps on your ass. Owned.). The kids writing in the bleak room with the hurty pens that had me chanting (quietly mind you. It’s a theater after all.) “Tear down the wall. Tear down the wall.”

To me, it’s not even that the movie was a bad adaptation. This was just a bad movie. It’d fit right in with anything from the Michael Bay library.