Order of the Phoenix Movie
So today I finally went to see Order of the Phoenix. I'm putting my thoughts about it behind a cut though, as I don't want to spoil anything for those of you who haven't seen it yet. I will note outside of the cut that the trailers they showed before the film were all interesting. They were fore "The Dark is Rising", "Get Smart" (I love the TV show Get Smart and always thought that Agent 99 was so cool), a new Disney movie "Enchanted" that looks hilarious and clever, as well as something or other about Santa Claus' brother Fred? That one was the least interesting to me, but it still looked somewhat interesting. Anyhow, now on to my report/review/comments on the movie!
First of all, I thought that the film was really good. I was disappointed about some things though, as was expected.
I thought that opening with the overlapping newscast and the Dudley confronting Harry + Dementor scene was a great way to start things off. Also, looking at the playground in the film, it made me almost positive that that had to be the same playground that Snape, Lily, and Petunia played at as children. I think that most likely the Dursley's only live a little ways away from the house that Lily and Petunia grew up in, and therefore that Snape must not live all that far away from the Dudley’s. I wonder what Snape and Harry would have done if they had randomly run into one another at some point earlier on in the series? Like maybe Harry went exploring one day and got somewhat lost and wound up in Spinner's End and there was Snape standing outside his own house XD I don't know, for some reason this amuses me.
I was happily surprised with Natalia Tena's performance as Tonks. I had some doubts about her, but I think she did a good job, and hopefully they'll let her have more lines (and have her pink hair!!!) in the coming films. I'm looking forward to the Tonks/Lupin things in the movies to come. Speaking of Lupin, I was disappointed that he wasn't included in the rescuing Harry from the Dursley's part as he was in the book. I was also disappointed that he wasn't there at Christmas, and that he had like, one or two lines in the whole film. I was really hoping for more speaking parts for him, but was glade that he was featured in several scenes even if he wasn't speaking. David Thewlis did a good job again though. Back to Tonks, while I do think that she has more control over abilities than to let her temper turn her hair red, I loved Natalia Tena's expressions like when Moody was talking and she kind of rolled her eyes a little, and especially the looks she gave Harry when they got inside #12 Grimmauld Place. I don't exactly know why, but those looks really seemed very Tonksish to me. It made me smile.
Going into the film, I really expected that I would be bawling throughout much of the film. Much to my surprise, I only actually cried once: when Mrs. Weasley gave Harry a hug when he arrived at #12 Grimmaul Place. Why that part made me cry, I'm not entirely sure. There were lots of other parts that made tears swell up in my eyes and made me think I was going to start crying, but I never did. Excepting for that bit.
Harry and Mr. Weasley's trip to the Ministry was adorable. I loved watching Mr. Weasley's excitement and curiosity over the muggle transportation and so forth.
Whoever played Amelia Bones did an excellent job. She stood out to me in the trial scene as being such a great representative of a Hufflepuff. While we don't know for sure that she was a Hufflepuff, I'm assuming so as Susan Bones is, and Amelia just seems so "just, loyal, and unafraid to toil". I like her.
Throughout the film, I kept expecting there to be at least some acknowledgement of Percy being there. I mean, he was in quite a lot of scenes - though I don't think he had any lines - and it's pretty important for them to establish his split from the Weasleys in the movie. They didn't include his letter to Ron, and nobody ever said "Oh look, there's Percy siding with the Minister," or had one of the Weasley kids say something about Mrs. Weasley being upset about Percy's distancing himself from them. There better be something along those lines in the 6th movie, something to show Percy's split with the family, because otherwise it won't be so dramatic having Percy return to them in the 7th film, and if that's not dramatic, Fred's death won't be as heart wrenching. I mean obviously it would still be horrible and sad, but Percy's involvement in it makes it so incredibly more tragic. Side note - in my previous post I said that I couldn't decide on a favorite Weasley, but after thinking about it a bit more, I realized that I do. My favorite Weasley is Percy.
Evanna Lynch was such a fantastic Luna! I thought that I would like her as soon as I read about her shortly after her being cast, and I was glad that I did. I'm glad they found her! The addition of her fondness for pudding was random and charming. I also thought that the movie was very Luna/Neville shippy with Neville's expression on the carriage when he was sitting next to her, and later their holding hands, etc. It's really too bad that JK Rowling decided to have Luna marry Rolf Scamander (sp?). Bah!
Anyway, loved the Thestrals, and thought that the baby thestral was cute.
I liked the scenes between Luna and Harry, btw. Very sweet. Luna is one of the few characters that I think honestly does understand Harry. I'm not a Luna/Harry shipper though.
On the subject of ships though, I thought it was a nice touch to have Ginny looking a bit sad when Hermione was mentiong Cho liking Harry, and then later Ginny looking back as everyone but Cho and Harry left the Room of Requirements. It's really showing that Ginny never stopped liking Harry. I think that's sweet.
Umbridge was of course disturbing. The cats on the plates in her office were even more creepy than I had expected. There was something though about the portrayal of Umbridge that was a little off for me though, and I'm not really sure what. I did think that her inspections of the classes was well done, and how creepy was it that she was measuring Flitwick?
On the subject of Flitwick though, I still miss his old look that he had in the first two films.
I wonder why they decided to take out the bit about Trelawney having a drinking problem? I thought that Emma Thompson did a great job, once again, as Trelawney, even down to the way that she was eating. I felt so badly for her.
It's great seeing Filch getting so excited. He always cracks me up. I wonder if he thought that Madam Pince sent him those heart shaped candies? lol. Poor guy.
I was happy that they've improved on doing the "talking to someone in the fireplace" thing in the movies. It was really odd how they did it in Goblet of Fire, the way that they portrayed that in this film was much more as I imagined it.
I thought that the things at Christmas should have been longer, and I really would have liked to hear Sirius sing "God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs". Whenever I hear "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" I always think of Sirius and that part of OotP. I did however enjoy the little Santa that was flying around in the kitchen.
It's additionally too bad that they cut the hospital scene.
The occulemency lessons were interesting. Alan Rickman, of course, did another fantastic job as Snape. It was so sad when he appeared to be part of what Harry was seeing in the Mirror of Erised. Snape's worst memory should have been expanded though. I mean, at least they should have included Lily in it. The relationship between Snape and Lily is so crucial to the entire plot of the series that not to show her - even for a second - seems like a mistake.
I liked the little bit in which Fred and George were shown comforting a small boy after the group detention. I thought that it showed their, I don't know, softer side or something like that? The departure of Fred and George was of course fun, though I would've liked it to have been longer and include the swamp. It was cool how they showed a Slytherin girl cheering them on and cracking up. It seemed like a way of showing that not all Slytherins are evil or whatever, despite what Harry thinks of them.
Grawp was really well done, and his interactions with Hermione were sweet. I loved how defensive Ron got about that too, getting almost jealous of Grawp lol.
I don't understand why they cut the fact that Ginny helped Ron, Luna, and herself escape from the Inquisitorial Squad, as it was in the book. It would have been nice to have given Ginny some more credit.
The part that I had major issues with was the Department of Mysteries. I felt like it was much, much too short, and that it seemed to make the kids less talented than they were. It didn't make sense to me that every one of them would have been captured there at the end. It should have been more drawn out, more suspenseful. They should have left in the injuries that they sustained and let it be just Harry and Neville that were fighting the death eaters together at the end - well I mean, and you know, the Order members that came in. It just seemed to go by so quickly, when in the book it was such an intense and suspenseful battle. Oh well.
Additionally, I was hoping that they would have kept the part with Harry discovering the mirror and note that Sirius had given him, but that he had ignored, along with the scene with him and Nearly Headless Nick. When I was reading the book, these parts were so heartbreakingly sad, and they really show how Harry was dealing with Sirius' death. It seemed a little like they were ignoring that aspect of the story and I think it's important to show how desperate Harry was about trying to see Sirius again.
Overall, really good film, great cast, it just should have been much much longer and included more things.
First of all, I thought that the film was really good. I was disappointed about some things though, as was expected.
I thought that opening with the overlapping newscast and the Dudley confronting Harry + Dementor scene was a great way to start things off. Also, looking at the playground in the film, it made me almost positive that that had to be the same playground that Snape, Lily, and Petunia played at as children. I think that most likely the Dursley's only live a little ways away from the house that Lily and Petunia grew up in, and therefore that Snape must not live all that far away from the Dudley’s. I wonder what Snape and Harry would have done if they had randomly run into one another at some point earlier on in the series? Like maybe Harry went exploring one day and got somewhat lost and wound up in Spinner's End and there was Snape standing outside his own house XD I don't know, for some reason this amuses me.
I was happily surprised with Natalia Tena's performance as Tonks. I had some doubts about her, but I think she did a good job, and hopefully they'll let her have more lines (and have her pink hair!!!) in the coming films. I'm looking forward to the Tonks/Lupin things in the movies to come. Speaking of Lupin, I was disappointed that he wasn't included in the rescuing Harry from the Dursley's part as he was in the book. I was also disappointed that he wasn't there at Christmas, and that he had like, one or two lines in the whole film. I was really hoping for more speaking parts for him, but was glade that he was featured in several scenes even if he wasn't speaking. David Thewlis did a good job again though. Back to Tonks, while I do think that she has more control over abilities than to let her temper turn her hair red, I loved Natalia Tena's expressions like when Moody was talking and she kind of rolled her eyes a little, and especially the looks she gave Harry when they got inside #12 Grimmauld Place. I don't exactly know why, but those looks really seemed very Tonksish to me. It made me smile.
Going into the film, I really expected that I would be bawling throughout much of the film. Much to my surprise, I only actually cried once: when Mrs. Weasley gave Harry a hug when he arrived at #12 Grimmaul Place. Why that part made me cry, I'm not entirely sure. There were lots of other parts that made tears swell up in my eyes and made me think I was going to start crying, but I never did. Excepting for that bit.
Harry and Mr. Weasley's trip to the Ministry was adorable. I loved watching Mr. Weasley's excitement and curiosity over the muggle transportation and so forth.
Whoever played Amelia Bones did an excellent job. She stood out to me in the trial scene as being such a great representative of a Hufflepuff. While we don't know for sure that she was a Hufflepuff, I'm assuming so as Susan Bones is, and Amelia just seems so "just, loyal, and unafraid to toil". I like her.
Throughout the film, I kept expecting there to be at least some acknowledgement of Percy being there. I mean, he was in quite a lot of scenes - though I don't think he had any lines - and it's pretty important for them to establish his split from the Weasleys in the movie. They didn't include his letter to Ron, and nobody ever said "Oh look, there's Percy siding with the Minister," or had one of the Weasley kids say something about Mrs. Weasley being upset about Percy's distancing himself from them. There better be something along those lines in the 6th movie, something to show Percy's split with the family, because otherwise it won't be so dramatic having Percy return to them in the 7th film, and if that's not dramatic, Fred's death won't be as heart wrenching. I mean obviously it would still be horrible and sad, but Percy's involvement in it makes it so incredibly more tragic. Side note - in my previous post I said that I couldn't decide on a favorite Weasley, but after thinking about it a bit more, I realized that I do. My favorite Weasley is Percy.
Evanna Lynch was such a fantastic Luna! I thought that I would like her as soon as I read about her shortly after her being cast, and I was glad that I did. I'm glad they found her! The addition of her fondness for pudding was random and charming. I also thought that the movie was very Luna/Neville shippy with Neville's expression on the carriage when he was sitting next to her, and later their holding hands, etc. It's really too bad that JK Rowling decided to have Luna marry Rolf Scamander (sp?). Bah!
Anyway, loved the Thestrals, and thought that the baby thestral was cute.
I liked the scenes between Luna and Harry, btw. Very sweet. Luna is one of the few characters that I think honestly does understand Harry. I'm not a Luna/Harry shipper though.
On the subject of ships though, I thought it was a nice touch to have Ginny looking a bit sad when Hermione was mentiong Cho liking Harry, and then later Ginny looking back as everyone but Cho and Harry left the Room of Requirements. It's really showing that Ginny never stopped liking Harry. I think that's sweet.
Umbridge was of course disturbing. The cats on the plates in her office were even more creepy than I had expected. There was something though about the portrayal of Umbridge that was a little off for me though, and I'm not really sure what. I did think that her inspections of the classes was well done, and how creepy was it that she was measuring Flitwick?
On the subject of Flitwick though, I still miss his old look that he had in the first two films.
I wonder why they decided to take out the bit about Trelawney having a drinking problem? I thought that Emma Thompson did a great job, once again, as Trelawney, even down to the way that she was eating. I felt so badly for her.
It's great seeing Filch getting so excited. He always cracks me up. I wonder if he thought that Madam Pince sent him those heart shaped candies? lol. Poor guy.
I was happy that they've improved on doing the "talking to someone in the fireplace" thing in the movies. It was really odd how they did it in Goblet of Fire, the way that they portrayed that in this film was much more as I imagined it.
I thought that the things at Christmas should have been longer, and I really would have liked to hear Sirius sing "God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs". Whenever I hear "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" I always think of Sirius and that part of OotP. I did however enjoy the little Santa that was flying around in the kitchen.
It's additionally too bad that they cut the hospital scene.
The occulemency lessons were interesting. Alan Rickman, of course, did another fantastic job as Snape. It was so sad when he appeared to be part of what Harry was seeing in the Mirror of Erised. Snape's worst memory should have been expanded though. I mean, at least they should have included Lily in it. The relationship between Snape and Lily is so crucial to the entire plot of the series that not to show her - even for a second - seems like a mistake.
I liked the little bit in which Fred and George were shown comforting a small boy after the group detention. I thought that it showed their, I don't know, softer side or something like that? The departure of Fred and George was of course fun, though I would've liked it to have been longer and include the swamp. It was cool how they showed a Slytherin girl cheering them on and cracking up. It seemed like a way of showing that not all Slytherins are evil or whatever, despite what Harry thinks of them.
Grawp was really well done, and his interactions with Hermione were sweet. I loved how defensive Ron got about that too, getting almost jealous of Grawp lol.
I don't understand why they cut the fact that Ginny helped Ron, Luna, and herself escape from the Inquisitorial Squad, as it was in the book. It would have been nice to have given Ginny some more credit.
The part that I had major issues with was the Department of Mysteries. I felt like it was much, much too short, and that it seemed to make the kids less talented than they were. It didn't make sense to me that every one of them would have been captured there at the end. It should have been more drawn out, more suspenseful. They should have left in the injuries that they sustained and let it be just Harry and Neville that were fighting the death eaters together at the end - well I mean, and you know, the Order members that came in. It just seemed to go by so quickly, when in the book it was such an intense and suspenseful battle. Oh well.
Additionally, I was hoping that they would have kept the part with Harry discovering the mirror and note that Sirius had given him, but that he had ignored, along with the scene with him and Nearly Headless Nick. When I was reading the book, these parts were so heartbreakingly sad, and they really show how Harry was dealing with Sirius' death. It seemed a little like they were ignoring that aspect of the story and I think it's important to show how desperate Harry was about trying to see Sirius again.
Overall, really good film, great cast, it just should have been much much longer and included more things.