} ootp

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was as good, if not better than I expected. su already wrote a very nice review about it but i just wana talk about some stuff. of course there were a few disappointments:

1. sirius' death was too fast, and unlike reading the book the movie doesnt leave you with a sad sinking feeling that a (good) character's death is supposed to do. harry's dramatic silent 'NOOOOOO' was done well, but didnt fit cos the impact of the death wasnt done so well.

2. the subplots! they're gone! =( the less serious parts of the book, like the quidditch and ron & hermione's squabbles weren't included at all, so that the overall tone of the movie was (i thought) a little too dramatic at times.like uh the numerous scenes in which misc characters look out the windows into the storm brewing ahead. i guess i know why they wanted to do that but it was a bit overdone to me.

3. dumbledore. actually i've been disappointed with michael gambon since his appearance in the third movie. he just lacks the warmth, the twinkling humour and calmness that dumbledore is supposed to have. in the trial scene, dumbledore was supposed to be sitting in a 'squashy' armchair quite comfortably while calmly rebutting the accusations thrown at harry. i just dont think they portrayed dumbledore's character that well.

4. the ending was way too rushed, leaving things not fully and sufficiently explained. eg. the full significance of the prophecy wasnt really shown, and also harry's sadness at sirius' death. in the movie it just looked like harry was all, 'oh my godfather just died. ok. bummer.'

but then, there were things that were done really well:

1. harry. theres no doubt that dan radcliffe is much better at acting now. the movie managed to make the audience feel sympathy for harry, something that the book failed to do, at least for me. unfortunately dan's acting ability is inversely proportional to his looks and im already shuddering to think how harry would look by the 7th movie.

2. harry's scenes with luna. i liked them a lot, even though they were deviating from the book a bit.

3. the little nuances and hints. like the signs, between ron and hermione. ginny's little jealous glance as harry made his way to cho chang after the dumbledore's army session. they're already setting up the ground for the sixth movie, which i think is really well done!

4. the casting. ohmygoodness. Imelda Staunton (umbridge aka the crazy teacher in pink) was FANTASTIC. the character was portrayed so perfectly. Helena Bonham Carter also did well with a perfect mix of madness and evil. and of course Evanna Lynch as luna lovegood. she was really really good and extremely accurate, dreamy but also quite wise in an truthful way.

5. the fight with voldemort at the end. especially when voldemort tried to possess harry. i think they should have included voldemort's attempt at getting dumbledore to kill harry (with voldemort inside him) but it wasnt much of a letdown. the scenes of the memories passing through harry's head as he tried to fight voldemort inside him (the producers also included scenes from previous movies, which was very thoughtful) was enough, i think. they really managed to show that with the love of others around him harry will be able to conquer voldemort.

6. the set! we've seen privet drive and hogwarts before, of course, but the ministry of magic! it was just great to look at. their elevators move in all directions! something nicely different from the book and pleasantly reminiscent of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. the Department of Mysteries looked great also, although a pity that they couldnt show the other rooms as well (including the 'love' room, which i thought would be quite important). the prophecy room was done well. while reading the book i couldnt totally imagine the expanse of the room, tall shelves full of shining orbs and the movie helped me to see it more clearly in my mind.

so overall the good outweighs the bad. plus watching the movie with good friends and ah poot, who unhesitatingly says his comments out loud every few scenes ('CRAZY AH!' at umbridge, at which point everyone around turned to look at him, and us), is a priceless experience no matter how good or bad the movie is.

now im eagerly awaiting the 6th movie next year, and the FINAL BOOK next week! almost forgot about it until i remembered that 21st july is only a week away...! excitedexcited.

2007-07-15, 11:09 a.m..
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