Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix
This is the perfect example of the end justifying the means. The movie starts a bit slow and doesn't seem to speed up until the climax. However, it's a mirror image of the book. Not in information (bc of course they left out A LOT), but in feeling. The fifth book was about being an angry teenager, though Harry was completely justified in that. This movie is dark, hard, and poignant. The actors have greatly increased in skill (Radcliffe is wonderful, as are Grint and Watson though both don't get enough screen time). The new characters are great. Luna is perfect and Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix is freakin brilliant, too bad she's hardly in it.
This movie was probably the hardest for me because Sirius is my favorite character. The most powerful moment is in the end (all you HP book fans know what I'm talking about) and I had to choke back the tears...but it was made beautifully and Radcliffe showed off what a powerhouse actor he could be (as he did throughout the film).
The shortest of the films, my main qualms would be that there isn't much of the normal student/quidditch life which could've easily been added (but the need for more could be said for each of the HP movies). I also don't know how I feel about the directing, and David Yates is already set for the the 6th movie. They should've brought back Alfonso Cauron. He would've done a much better job bc he's the mac daddy of combining light and dark film making. Hell, they could've brought in Tim Burton for that matter. But then they would've had to cast Johnny Depp somewhere and we know in these films they won't use American actors - hehe. But seriously, Yates sort of sucked the fun out AND there was hardly any background music which could've easily lighten up the happy parts which needed emphasis since they were few and far between.
Overall this movie was amazing, the allstar cast of Britain's Best was fantastic (god I love Maggie Smith). The 6th book is much lighter so maybe that's when Yates is at his best - let's hope. I can't wait!