Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Front and Centre for Dumbledore's Army. Term 5 at Hogwarts for Harry and the gang and it's a deeply unsettling time. Harry faces getting expelled and finds himself shunned by many around him. This at a time when the Ministry of Magic compounds his misery by insisting to all and sundry that "you know who" is not back again. Given that JK Rowling's fifth book is considered to be something of a door stopper, a book more of interim Potter filler than any great amount of substance, credit has to go to new to the franchise director, David Yates. For Yates and his screenwriter Michael Goldenberg have managed to craft a briskly entertaining segment in under 2 hours and 20 minutes of film. Yes it's safe to say that it ultimately does feel like an interim filler movie, one that is for fans and not newcomers to the series, but the effects are superb (except Grawp that is), the action is much and suspense is not in short supply. While it also finds Radcliffe as Potter finally hitting his acting stride. New into the magical fray comes the wonderful Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbrage, the sort of cheery psychotic teacher we all had bad dreams about in our formative years. Also most welc

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is another solid entry into the series with fantastically high stakes, production value, and emotional scenes that leave a lasting impact. From the beginning minutes, the movie is doubling down on the dark tone the previous two began to establish. The threat of Voldemort still looms, but it is incredibly frustrating that no one seems to believe Harry and Dumbledore. That frustration is perfectly mirrored with Harry as he grows incredibly angry throughout the film, paralleling his connection with the Dark Lord. This more mature and seasoned Potter is a highlight, and his leadership begins to take center stage as he organizes his classmates to train to fight against the dark arts. These scenes are some of my favorites in the film. This entry expands on the wizarding world with the Ministry of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix. The Ministry of Magic is terrible in this film, they are completely mad and delusional to accept any other explanation for the events that have taken place in the previous entries. This is none more present than the introduction of Mrs. Umbridge. She is the worst, and Imelda Staunton does an excellent job of bein

"Harry" has an extra-curricular experience with a "Dementor" which draws the attention of the newly rejuvenated Ministry of Magic and after a show trial in which he is ably defended by "Prof. Dumbledore" our trio return to a school that is all but under martial law. A new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher (a rather Margaret Thatcher-esque Imelda Staunton) is taking over the school by degree, imposing strict rules that merely serve to encourage the pupils to go underground to learn the more practical skills that will be needed if they are ever to face and defeat the evil "Voldemort". All of the characters from the previous stories are now knitting together much better; I still miss Richard Harris as "Dumbledore" but Stauton is as magnificently evil as Emma Thompson is wonderfully pathetic and we have a cracking battle at the end. Our wizards are now fully cognisant of the dangers they face and have a much clearer idea of the enemy, too. David Yates does better, I think, in condensing this super-long novel into one film; again a two-parter would probably have done better justice to the detail and nuances of the JK Rowling story; but we get more than enough of the gist of the stor