OotP, FTW
Order of the Phoenix-Movie Thoughts
Seeing as how I’ve seen the movie twice now, I figure I am now qualified enough to give my opinion.
Nearly perfect:
- Luna Lovegood: I honestly thought Evanna was pitch perfect in this role. She was basically exactly as I imagined her, not just appearance-wise, but in her spacey, ethereal behavior. Of all the book-to-movie character adaptations, this was easily among the best. The scene with her and the thestrals was beautiful. And I also like the idea that she carries around raw meat with her in her purse. Hehe.
- Thestrals: I know a lot of people I know were like, WTF, I didn’t think that’s how they were supposed to look, but to me, they were PERFECT. Exactly how I saw them in my head. Lovely.
- Dolores Umbridge: Well, she might not look exactly the way I imagined her, but she nailed the attitude. Haha. The “HEM HEM” was gorgeous. And her final, “I will have ORDER” was fantastic.
- The DA: Pretty freaking sweet. The DA scenes were easily some of the best in the movie.
- Dumbledore: I've been kind of unsure about Michael Gambon as Dumbles ever since PoA, but I really, really enjoyed his performance in this film. I'm not sure if it was just the writing or what, but he was pretty fierce.
- The Kiss: HOT. Seriously. Hot.
- Ron and Hermione: Not the ship, just the characters in general. They put a MUCH better emphasis on the Ron and Harry friendship in this movie. I miss that aspect from the first two movies, and I could see them bringing it back. I liked that Hermione was actually WRONG sometimes, which is a change from the Pink Power Ranger we’ve been seeing since PoA. I thought there were some very positive changes in this movie, and I hope they continue in the next two.
So glad they left in:
- The Post-Kiss Scene: Haha. Oh MAN. I almost died in giggles when I realized they kept it. “How was it?” “Wet.” Hee. And of course, the “emotional range of a teaspoon” line was preserved. I don’t understand exactly WHY that needed to result in a giggle fit, but whatever. I’m not complaining.
- “Probably infested with nargles.” “What are nargles?” “I have no idea.” *kiss*
- Neville vs. Bellatrix: The fact that they set this up was good… it made up for the lack of the St. Mungo’s scene. This really makes me think that Neville will be avenging his parents in the end.
- Fred and George: As one of my favorite parts of all six books, the fact that they kept this scene makes me extraordinarily happy. The twins have never had enough play in the movies. At least they gave them their last stand.
- Tonks: It would have been very easy to do away with Nymphadora altogether, but as one of my personal favorites, I’m glad they left her in.
- Kingsley: and that line about Dumbledore’s style. HAHA.
I didn’t care it wasn’t exactly like the book:
- Grawp: The Hermione-loving-bike-bell-ringing was hilariously cute. I’m sorry. But it was. Also, Ron vs. Grawp made me giggle like an idiot.
- Umbridge and Her Love of Cats: HAHA. The cat pin… the cat ring… the cat plates with pictures of cats in them… beautiful.
- Filch and His Love of Umbridge: So creepy. And amusing. Hehe.
- Ron/Hermione: Ahh, all the lovely little R/Hr moments. Christmas, homework help, post-kiss, Grawp, clever ideas, DA duel… should I continue? Isn’t it obvious? Hee. I can’t wait for the HBP drama.
- Patronuses: I liked seeing everyone’s patronuses. Did we know Ginny’s was a horse? And that Luna’s was a bunny? Ahh, good stuff.
- Kickass!Ginny: Hella yes. A nice way to set up for some good HBP lovin’.
- I’m-Going-to-Look-at-You-Longingly!Ginny: Oh, man. After Hermione’s comment… pre-kiss… post-Christmas… it was all gold.
- McGonagall: Despite the lack of the career advisory scene, she still totally bitched out Umbridge. Beautiful stuff, truly.
- Dumbles vs. Voldy: Hee! SO KICKASS. I can never properly imagine action sequences when I read. That was pretty damn amazing.
Could have been done better:
- Cho: WTF? What was the point of this, really? Pshh.
- Fred and George: I’m sorry, but it could have been better. I wanted the Peeves line SO bad, but seeing as how there’s never been a Peeves in the movies, that was kind of a lost cause. Alas.
- The Veil: This is so nitpicky, but I always imagined an actual... you know... piece of cloth in the archway. I think that would have been a lot creepier than just flowy air... WTF. It also would have helped...
- Sirius’ Death: I thought they did a good job of emotionally connecting Harry and Sirius up to the death, but then when it happened, I was like, meh? Okay. He’s… er… dead? Oh well. I’m not one for crying, anyways. And what was with Avada Kedavra? It was a stunning spell in the books... am I wrong?
Needed to have more of:
- Lupin: What the hell? He didn’t even go to pick up Harry and he had, like, three lines in the whole movie. At least he held Harry back from Sirius. Glad they included that.
- Tonks: There will never be enough Tonks for me. The stuff they had was great, but I still wanted more. They didn’t even explain her metamorphagus-ing! *grumble* We didn't even get a "WOTCHER!"
- Lupin/Tonks: Not that there’s supposed to be a lot in the fifth book… but a little bit would have been nice. Just a hint? Maybe?
- Ginny: I felt like they gave Neville and Luna a lot of play… Ginny seemed like the odd-man-out of the six.
- The Black Family Tree: Ahh. My hardcore Potter-loving heart wanted to see MORE! AH.
Why did they leave that out?
- Quidditch: COME ON. I’m so pissed about the lack of Weasley is Our King. That was easily the second best part of the book.
- Petunia's Howler: I thought that was a pretty significant reveal in the book. Supposedly not? What evs.
- Valentine's Day: That date had to be one of the most amusing parts of the whole book. Come on. At least it would have helped flesh out the Harry/Cho relationship a *tad* bit more.
- Regulus: If Regulus IS R.A.B., you would think that they would include that, right? Right?
- The Mirrors: Is this important or not? I know when I read the books, I thought it was very significant. Err, I guess not?
Why did they put that in?:
- Anything Remotely Harry/Hermione: I know the fucking Delusionites are going to have a fit with some of the stuff in there. Ridiculous. Just… stop it. You’re confusing people, you know.
So confused about:
- Snape: Is he good? Is he evil? This set it up to be incredibly ambiguous. He taunts Harry for his affection for Sirius right before Voldy uses Sirius to lure Harry to the DoM. But he also alerts the Order to the situation. WTF.
- Neville/Luna: STOP TEMPTING US. GOD. She said it wasn’t going to happen! What is WRONG with you?
Overall :
I would say this was the second best movie after PoA-NOT because it was a perfect translation of the book or anything, because it was probably the worst of the five in that respect-but because it was an entertaining representation of an 800+ paged novel. I’m sure people are going to be bitching about all the inconsistencies, but what can you expect? I enjoyed it, and I recommend it highly.
WOTCHER.
-A
Seeing as how I’ve seen the movie twice now, I figure I am now qualified enough to give my opinion.
Nearly perfect:
- Luna Lovegood: I honestly thought Evanna was pitch perfect in this role. She was basically exactly as I imagined her, not just appearance-wise, but in her spacey, ethereal behavior. Of all the book-to-movie character adaptations, this was easily among the best. The scene with her and the thestrals was beautiful. And I also like the idea that she carries around raw meat with her in her purse. Hehe.
- Thestrals: I know a lot of people I know were like, WTF, I didn’t think that’s how they were supposed to look, but to me, they were PERFECT. Exactly how I saw them in my head. Lovely.
- Dolores Umbridge: Well, she might not look exactly the way I imagined her, but she nailed the attitude. Haha. The “HEM HEM” was gorgeous. And her final, “I will have ORDER” was fantastic.
- The DA: Pretty freaking sweet. The DA scenes were easily some of the best in the movie.
- Dumbledore: I've been kind of unsure about Michael Gambon as Dumbles ever since PoA, but I really, really enjoyed his performance in this film. I'm not sure if it was just the writing or what, but he was pretty fierce.
- The Kiss: HOT. Seriously. Hot.
- Ron and Hermione: Not the ship, just the characters in general. They put a MUCH better emphasis on the Ron and Harry friendship in this movie. I miss that aspect from the first two movies, and I could see them bringing it back. I liked that Hermione was actually WRONG sometimes, which is a change from the Pink Power Ranger we’ve been seeing since PoA. I thought there were some very positive changes in this movie, and I hope they continue in the next two.
So glad they left in:
- The Post-Kiss Scene: Haha. Oh MAN. I almost died in giggles when I realized they kept it. “How was it?” “Wet.” Hee. And of course, the “emotional range of a teaspoon” line was preserved. I don’t understand exactly WHY that needed to result in a giggle fit, but whatever. I’m not complaining.
- “Probably infested with nargles.” “What are nargles?” “I have no idea.” *kiss*
- Neville vs. Bellatrix: The fact that they set this up was good… it made up for the lack of the St. Mungo’s scene. This really makes me think that Neville will be avenging his parents in the end.
- Fred and George: As one of my favorite parts of all six books, the fact that they kept this scene makes me extraordinarily happy. The twins have never had enough play in the movies. At least they gave them their last stand.
- Tonks: It would have been very easy to do away with Nymphadora altogether, but as one of my personal favorites, I’m glad they left her in.
- Kingsley: and that line about Dumbledore’s style. HAHA.
I didn’t care it wasn’t exactly like the book:
- Grawp: The Hermione-loving-bike-bell-ringing was hilariously cute. I’m sorry. But it was. Also, Ron vs. Grawp made me giggle like an idiot.
- Umbridge and Her Love of Cats: HAHA. The cat pin… the cat ring… the cat plates with pictures of cats in them… beautiful.
- Filch and His Love of Umbridge: So creepy. And amusing. Hehe.
- Ron/Hermione: Ahh, all the lovely little R/Hr moments. Christmas, homework help, post-kiss, Grawp, clever ideas, DA duel… should I continue? Isn’t it obvious? Hee. I can’t wait for the HBP drama.
- Patronuses: I liked seeing everyone’s patronuses. Did we know Ginny’s was a horse? And that Luna’s was a bunny? Ahh, good stuff.
- Kickass!Ginny: Hella yes. A nice way to set up for some good HBP lovin’.
- I’m-Going-to-Look-at-You-Longingly!Ginny: Oh, man. After Hermione’s comment… pre-kiss… post-Christmas… it was all gold.
- McGonagall: Despite the lack of the career advisory scene, she still totally bitched out Umbridge. Beautiful stuff, truly.
- Dumbles vs. Voldy: Hee! SO KICKASS. I can never properly imagine action sequences when I read. That was pretty damn amazing.
Could have been done better:
- Cho: WTF? What was the point of this, really? Pshh.
- Fred and George: I’m sorry, but it could have been better. I wanted the Peeves line SO bad, but seeing as how there’s never been a Peeves in the movies, that was kind of a lost cause. Alas.
- The Veil: This is so nitpicky, but I always imagined an actual... you know... piece of cloth in the archway. I think that would have been a lot creepier than just flowy air... WTF. It also would have helped...
- Sirius’ Death: I thought they did a good job of emotionally connecting Harry and Sirius up to the death, but then when it happened, I was like, meh? Okay. He’s… er… dead? Oh well. I’m not one for crying, anyways. And what was with Avada Kedavra? It was a stunning spell in the books... am I wrong?
Needed to have more of:
- Lupin: What the hell? He didn’t even go to pick up Harry and he had, like, three lines in the whole movie. At least he held Harry back from Sirius. Glad they included that.
- Tonks: There will never be enough Tonks for me. The stuff they had was great, but I still wanted more. They didn’t even explain her metamorphagus-ing! *grumble* We didn't even get a "WOTCHER!"
- Lupin/Tonks: Not that there’s supposed to be a lot in the fifth book… but a little bit would have been nice. Just a hint? Maybe?
- Ginny: I felt like they gave Neville and Luna a lot of play… Ginny seemed like the odd-man-out of the six.
- The Black Family Tree: Ahh. My hardcore Potter-loving heart wanted to see MORE! AH.
Why did they leave that out?
- Quidditch: COME ON. I’m so pissed about the lack of Weasley is Our King. That was easily the second best part of the book.
- Petunia's Howler: I thought that was a pretty significant reveal in the book. Supposedly not? What evs.
- Valentine's Day: That date had to be one of the most amusing parts of the whole book. Come on. At least it would have helped flesh out the Harry/Cho relationship a *tad* bit more.
- Regulus: If Regulus IS R.A.B., you would think that they would include that, right? Right?
- The Mirrors: Is this important or not? I know when I read the books, I thought it was very significant. Err, I guess not?
Why did they put that in?:
- Anything Remotely Harry/Hermione: I know the fucking Delusionites are going to have a fit with some of the stuff in there. Ridiculous. Just… stop it. You’re confusing people, you know.
So confused about:
- Snape: Is he good? Is he evil? This set it up to be incredibly ambiguous. He taunts Harry for his affection for Sirius right before Voldy uses Sirius to lure Harry to the DoM. But he also alerts the Order to the situation. WTF.
- Neville/Luna: STOP TEMPTING US. GOD. She said it wasn’t going to happen! What is WRONG with you?
Overall :
I would say this was the second best movie after PoA-NOT because it was a perfect translation of the book or anything, because it was probably the worst of the five in that respect-but because it was an entertaining representation of an 800+ paged novel. I’m sure people are going to be bitching about all the inconsistencies, but what can you expect? I enjoyed it, and I recommend it highly.
WOTCHER.
-A