Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Please Use Spoiler Tags

[Barkworm]

Anarky, the Nazi Aryans are spelt differently. Tststs...

[Mecha Cow]

Her star sign is Aries; they are described as adventurous and energetic [...] Her family and friends would certainly say that Emma is a true Arian.

Ar·i·an
n. One who is born under the sign of Aries.

[/10 characters]

[Anarky]

Yeah, but you're "a true aries" if you're born under the sign of Aries. Not an arian.

Besides: an alternate spelling of Aryan, Aryan race.

I'd have gone for another wording as well...

[Mecha Cow]

Anyone seen it yet? I just got back from it.

It was pretty cool, much better than the last one. Like in all of the Harry Potter movies, the pacing was a bit off, undoubtedly because there was so much to adapt in such a relatively short time. The final showdown made up was really well done though, and it made up for a lot.

I don't remember the book all that well, but I got the feeling a lot was left out, and I'm not sure I would have understood everything if I hadn't read it (This seems to be a recurring issue with the Potter movies).

Spoiler:

I noticed that they left out the mirror that Sirius gave Harry. That was in OotP, right? Wasn't that...really important?

All in all, while far from perfect, it's one of the better Potter movies, and I had a good time.

[PipingPringle]

I saw it last night. I really really liked it.

but what you said, mecha cow, I noticed it as well, but marked it off as unimportant, why was it important later?

Anway, what I liked best was

Spoiler:

When the final battle was at the ministry. That should have been longer due to it being so awesome! Man, how Lucius Malfoy was all "I'ma wear the mask" *poof* "Now I's not!" and then the Order poofed in with the light. It was SO badass. <3

oh, but it was quite awkward in many parts, making me squirm

[Mecha Cow]

but what you said, mecha cow, I noticed it as well, but marked it off as unimportant, why was it important later?

Like I said, I don't remember the book too well, but I recall it being pretty significant. Here's what Rowling has to say:

Spoiler:

"The mirror might not have helped as much as you think, but on the other hand, will help more than you think. You’ll have to read the final book to understand that!"

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[Dr. Doom]

I don't even remember what the hell the deal with that thing was at this point.

I forget so much about the books after I originally read them... and I don't think I have the will to read through them again. I guess it's Wikipedia for me.

[PipingPringle]

Originally Posted by Mecha Cow

Like I said, I don't remember the book too well, but I recall it being pretty significant. Here's what Rowling has to say:


I guess we'll have to wait and see.

ouh, I didn't know that Rowling had commented on it.. It had just been one of those nagging things that I had been all "what was that about?" about.
Now I'm even more psyched for the book! boo! I was trying to avoid this

[gobo]

Saw it last midnight. Was way better than the last MOVIE because I didn't have the urge to sleep through it. Other than that, my opinion is unimportant since I'm not a big fan of Potter and I'm not familliar with the source material. But, from an outsider's perspective, the cinematic appeal was certainly there.

[Ra]

I saw it, first screening ever in Australia, 10:00 am, Brisbane. I wasn't that keen on going, since they sort of raped their version of the 3rd book (which is my favorite of the series) and really downplayed Sirius (who was my favorite character at the time). Still, I tagged along and got ready for something to confuse me to no end and make a bit of a mockery of the 5th book of Harry Potter.

Boy was I wrong.

Spoiler:

The fireworks scene was the best part of the movie, and possibly the best scene from all five movies, hands down. Fred and George zooming around on broom sticks, creating a massive fireworks dragon, and just messing up the exams...man, how I wish that could happen to me in real life... *laughs* It was definately worth my money to see that

I loved that scene in the book, so I was a very happy camper

Imelda Staunton (Umbridge's actor) really shines in this movie. From that little cough she does to the little girly giggle...man, she sent shivers down my spine for that. I guess it's the little things that make the difference, no?

But...then we come to the end. Which kind of dissappointed me...

Spoiler:

Everything was fine until Sirius's death. It was...well, lame. Which sucked. Majorly. It's a "blink and you'll miss it" kind of a thing if you are wanting to see the spell that hit him. Only when he falls back into that smoking door do you realize what has happened. And the fact that it had no emotional impact on Harry what-so-ever wanted me to throw popcorn at the screne. This is the event that stops Harry from being so... "emo", as my friends called it. Yet all that happened was Radcliff screaming at the top of his lungs with the mute button on in slow motion. Bleh.

I'm kind of upset with lack of Draco Malfoy, too. He was probably in the movie for about 5 minutes total, and he plays a bigger role than what is portraied there. Ah well. Always movie 6...

And one last thing...

Spoiler:

Beware rabid fan girls in the flash back to young Snape. Nearly every girl in my cinema screamed at the top of their lungs...

[Masked Ninja]

See...

Spoiler:

I thought Sirius' death in the book was way more anticlimactic and/or confusing. He falls into the archway, and it takes several pages before you even figure out what happened. Here you see the spell hit and he kinda falls/gets sucked into the veil, so you can tell he's definitely going somewhere. The "Harry screams mutely" thing was an odd choice, but it gave the scene more emotion for me than when I read it. And it was less a "Darth Vader" scream than a "look, Gandalf fell" scream, which was not nearly as painful. Really, is there a non-corny way to handle that?

Overall, I did like it. I remember almost everything about books when I read them, so I was constantly noting missing and compressed scenes as I watched, but somehow I wasn't bothered. The scenes left in the book were fun, and will still be there if I choose to read it again, but the movie told one clean story (which is more than we got with Prisoner of Azakaban with all its loose ends and wererat wolf.)

Also,

Spoiler:

I love how the Harry/Cho Chang thing wasted like 200 pages in the book, and was compressed to a tasty 20 minutes. Huzzah! No weeping and girl-angst! Actually, Harry's angst overall was much more managable, I thought. He was peeved (and rightly so) by certain things but never went around SHOUTING IN ALL CAPS like he did in the book.

So basically, they took my least favorite of the Harry Potter series and made it watchable. I think some kudos are in order... though no doubt the ultra-purists will disagree with me.

[PipingPringle]

I agree, I liked this ending better, it's arrangement seemed to have more flow and was less confusing.
I didn't mind missing and changed parts at all. It was done well and, after all, certain changes have got to be made when you convert something onto screen.

[Swany]

I might be going to see it with some friends on monday, last 20 minute are 3-D, having read the book I'm looking foward to some good stuff. Except for the fact the voldermort is totally unscary.

A wee bit aprehensive though, when it comes to Harry Potter, I'm a bigger fan of the books. Especially after all the "Hate Katie" stuff about the girl who pays Cho, I have to wonder, are the fan girls angry because she kisses Daniel Radcliff, or because she kisses the guy playing Harry Potter. Its mental.

[PipingPringle]

That's dumb, I mean, I really dislike the character in the books (which, btw, I'm a bigger fan of as well). But hating an actor because of who she plays? W/E stupid.
I'd never heard of this Hate Katie thing before.

also- I'm jealous that you get to see the 3D version. The last 20 minutes were amazing!

[Swany]

I actually hate the Chos character as well, I hard about the sites in the news paper, the things people were saying was really horrible, racist type stuff too. I really dont get how people an be so nasty.

It a maybe for the 3-D thing though, I hope it goes ahead though, I really want a a pair of 3-D glasses.

Speaking of which, how awesome would sanglasses that looked like 3-D glasses be, I would totally buy a pair. But I'm cool like that.

[gobo]

Originally Posted by Masked Ninja

I think some kudos are in order... though no doubt the ultra-purists will disagree with me.

Originally Posted by PipingPringle

I agree

Isn't reverse-psychology fun?

Well, my viewing-party/couple of friends who do know all the HP stuff (I guess that makes them purists) were only disappointed that a few significant parts of the book were downplayed:

Spoiler:

the prophecy (including who made it and how), and the archway Sirius was sucked into.

[PipingPringle]

Originally Posted by gobo

Isn't reverse-psychology fun?

Dang! I'm a psych major and everything!

Originally Posted by gobo

Well, my viewing-party/couple of friends who do know all the HP stuff (I guess that makes them purists) were only disappointed that a few significant parts of the book were downplayed:

Spoiler:

the prophecy (including who made it and how), and the archway Sirius was sucked into.

Hrm, I suppose those points not being expanded on more would make it confusing for non-book-farmilliar people...

Spoiler:

I mean, a giant arch -just there- is kind of random

but really, I didn't mind at all.

[Jo Dawn]

Just got back from seeing it...

The big thing I was disappointed in was that they cut out

Spoiler:

EVERY SINGLE RON/ HERMIONE part from the book, practically. It was all so important, so cute! (Yes, I said 'cute'. )

I understand why they had to cut out alot of the major fight, as it wasn't really PG-13 safe, though I wish they hadn't.

Spoiler:

Liked how they foreshadowed Harry/Ginny a bit... and I actually liked how they transitioned using the newspapers.

I really did like the little girl that played Luna, heh. She was pretty good. And always good to see Remus again!

And, I'm sorry... But in the movies, Lucius is pretty darn cool. That actor is perfect. Most of them are, for their parts.

And the twins blasting moment... so poignant... so moving... so cool.

Spoiler:

But I still mourn the loss of Ron/Hermione moments. Though they tried to sneak in a few.

[Warhorse]

Just got back. I was actually with the movie. Like everyone here is saying.

Spoiler:

Not enough Hermione and Ron, actually, there was hardly any Ron at all. And I always found Rupert Grint, along with Tom Felton, to be the stronger of the child actors, and they had hardly any speaking moments. Where are Ron's clever little comebacks to Hermione's know it all sarcasm? On a good note, I was pleased with how Luna was handled.

[Roseangelo]

Just got back from the movie... wow, I actually really disliked it. I can deal with all the stuff they had to cut, I knew that was going to happen, but I was screaming obscenities in the car on the way home about the stuff that they blatantly changed. UGH!!!

It felt like everyone spent the entire movie just staring at each other a giving funny looks, watching while something occasionally happened. The biggest criticism of Goblet of Fire was generally that everything moved too fast. Well, I'd take that over this any day.

That said, there were some fantastic character moments in the movie, but that's all they really were: isolated character moments.

Ugh... I still need to decompress from this. As of right now, though, this is my least favorite of all the movies.