Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
First of all, because it's just too prominent -- and I apologise to any hard-core Emma fans out there -- oh, my god. Emma Watson is possibly the worst actress in the history of acting. Okay, so she's decent whenever Hermione is being calm and collected, which she is for, oh, approximately 20 seconds of the movie? The rest of the time she's so fucking wound up, and she overacts like crazy. Awful, just awful. I won't be sorry at all if the rumours turn out to be true and she won't be in the sixth and seventh movies. Not at all. And she's not pretty, either. Blergh.
And on the other end of the spectrum, Rupert has grown up for real, now. He's getting tall and that's good and he's just... he was great. Especially the scene where he's grinning for real. Which, by the way, is one of my top five scenes of them all. Brilliant.
Tonks. Disappointing. Why have her in the movie at all if you're not going to do anything with it?
Twins. Oh, my god, twins. The Phelps's must definitely have been taking acting lessons and it's fucking shows, the difference from GOF is immense. So believable, love it. They did an awesome job.
The Kiss. Yes, capital K since it's been so visible in trailers and reviews and everything, because it shows that Harry's grown up, I suppose. And I'm just, like, eeeeew. And it just went on and on and on. And on. And tongues. And on and on. And eeeeew. Get it away from meeeee.
Bellatrix. OMFG Bellatrix. Helena with her patented crazy, it was awesome. Crazy eyes, and the mad way she moved and the cackling "I killed Sirius"-singing, awesome, awesome. And the fucking licking of the fucking Dark Mark, could you kill me dead any more? Please? Please? It was worth the long wait, just for getting to see her, regrettably too few, scenes. The MINUTE there are good screencaps out of the licking thing, I'm making an icon. Dibs.
Umbridge's kitten plates. Laugh, laugh, laugh. Wonderful.
Dumbledore is still so unconvincing, Gambon is butchering the character. When would Dumbledore ever snap at his students? Can't someone please resurrect Richard Harris?
Luna was a disappointment, I'm sad to say. Bummer.
The fight at the Ministry was all right, I suppose, although the whole 'swooping along the walls with flashes of light'-thing really annoyed me. It had been established earlier in the movie, with F&G Apparating, that there are no flashes of light associated with it, so there is no excuse. I guess it was added to make the scene more dramatic and action-filled, but. Meh.
Lucius was awesome, of course. Nuff said.
And I guess I need to address this: the AK of Sirius. No, it is not explicitly stated in the book that Bellatrix uses the killing curse on Sirius, BUT, nor does it say that she doesn't. In the book, she attempts to stun him, he deflects it, and another ray of light is thrown his way. It does not mention the colour. For the sake of argument, yes, you would think that Harry would have noticed it IF it was an AK, but he makes no such mention even though he sees the spell hit its intended target, square in the chest. And still, Harry is convinced that Sirius is okay behind the veil, further indicating that it was not the killing curse that was used.
Now, arguing the other side, there are hints that it may have been AK after all. The most compelling evidence is the way Sirius is being thrown in a slow arch before he falls through the archway. We did not know it then, but when Dumbledore is killed in the 6th book, he is suspended in air in much the same manner. Of course, the slow falls of both men could be contributed to the POV, which is Harry's. Both men's deaths were great shocks to Harry, thus, perhaps, affecting the way he perceived the events. Also, in the book it is unclear whether or not Sirius is alive when he falls through the archway. Yes, his face is wearing a look of surprise, but that could have been there before the curse hit. There is no mention of him moving or doing anything after the impact.
So, in conclusion. It seems odd that the film-makers would not consult Rowling on such an important matter, and therefore I think we must assume that she gave it a green light. Perhaps she/they just really wanted the movie-goers to understand that Sirius is dead (which could also be interpreted as odd, since there is no explanation for the AK curse at all before it's used at the end, so you'd either have to be a book-fan OR have paid close attention to the GOF-film to know what it means, and in that case, why feel the need to empathise Sirius's death in the first place? But I digress...). I was actually a fan of the Sirius is not really dead-theory, but if JK green-lighted (ha ha ha) the use of the AK in the movie, I guess that means that Sirius really IS a goner.
This is getting long and I'm forgetting half the stuff I wanted to say, but I'll end with Snape. Love, love, love. Unfortunately, the flashback scene was so quick and distorted that it as over almost before I realised it had started, but I'll pay closer attention next time. Yes, there will be a next time. But. Snape-love. "Obviously."