Movie: Order of the Phoenix (2007) ... and some fic recs

[seraphcelene]

Sunday after I posted my lynnevitational fic I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Mostly because I was so anxious about the fic that I needed something to distract me and going to the movies ensured that I wouldn't be clicking the refresh button every five minutes to check for comments.

All in all, I'm glad that I went. I wasn't planning to go, not really. My experience with the HP movies has been less than stellar, but this one ... this one I was surprised to discover I totally adored.



Prisoner of Azkaban was the last HP movie that I enjoyed. I loved that Alfonso Curon darkened the movie and made the shift away from the Disneyfied version that was sweetened up for the audiences. Although, I still largely disliked Steven Kloves' scripts. Order of the Phoenix did a much better job, I think, with rewriting the book for the big screen. I have to say, though, that I finally let go of the idea that the movies were going to come anywhere close to the books and with that relaxing I think that the movies became much more enjoyable. Plus with a better director and better scriptwriter ... well, you get the picture.

Anyway,

Of the Good:

- The films texture. Yates went back to the Curon film and that was perfect. Goblet of Fire had lost a lot of that and OotP brought it back beautifully. Loved the cinematography and the dream sequences. Most everything in the film looked exactly as I imagined it, especially the hallway in the Department of Mysteries and Order's HQ.
- Gary Oldman. YAY!! Perfect as Sirius. He shifted quite beautifully from the madman in PoA to the loving godparent in OotP. I also love that you really got a feeling for his connection to Harry, the way that he misses James and that terrible desire that they both have for family. And hello chemistry!! I might just be ready to start shipping Harry/Sirius because, dude! What was that? Seriously?!
- Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. For the first time, Gambon was Dumbledore for me and not just the guy that replaced Richard Harris. There was something about his forcefulness and intensity that were perfect for the way he has changed with the return of Voldemort.
- Ginny's dirty looks at Cho Chang. Woot!!!
- Ron! Totally cute and still a total doofus, but adorable. And a little bit beefcake there Ron. There's something about that smile that I love and I think he's definitly improved as an actor. Granted, he's totally in the sullen teenager mode, but it translated rather well to the screen especially next to Emma Watson who was way too shrill.
- Neville!!!!
- I am in love with LUNA LOVEGOOD. That girl was perfect in the role. Absolutely the ingenue. She got the daffy whimsy down pat. Loved it. Although I am a bit of a Harry/Luna fan, her and Neville in the DoM were pretty awesome.
- Bellatrix LeStrange. And who could have played that part better than Helena Bonham Carter?
- Loved the way the DA scenes and the bits with Umbridge were montaged. There is a lot in that book and they did a good job with covering time and events between the newspapers and those montages.
- I am amazed at how awesome Daniel Radcliffe looked. Pretty yummy there.
- Loved Umbridge's office and the kitten plates. Another perfect recreation!
Crookshanks and the Extendable Ears.

I fell asleep on Goblet of Fire and found it pretty boring. I also lamented the fact that you never really got a chance to develop a connection with Cedric and so his death in the end, though surprising, wasn't as stunning as it was in the book. However, in OotP they went a long way to connecting the emotional dots. Harry's isolation, Sirius' nostalgia, Snape's prejudice, etc. I really do credit the scriptwriter. That said, the movie felt surprisingly short to me, perhaps because of the amount that was cut out which was pretty significant. I would have liked them to have included more, but I can see how they couldn't or wouldn't considering that this is a film of a very big, very active book.

The Not So Good:
- The Howler to Petunia. That is so important!!
- The shrieking paintings in the hallway of the OotP HQ. That's a detail that I think could have easily have been added. Just one of those background things that Curon did so well in PoA.
- More Kreacher. He's so creepy and disturbing!
- The wizarding hospital and the visit to visit Mr. Weasley. Mostly I mention this because I think it was crucial in the book to see Neville's parents. It made Bellatrix and Voldemort that much more sinister. I think, in terms of the film, that it would have also gone a long way to explaining Neville's intensity in the DA classes.
- Mrs. Weasley and the Bogart.
- Re-writing the betrayal of the DA. Having Cho give up the information because of, a later revealed, douse of Verita Serumm as opposed to having Marietta tell Umbridge. I loved the SNEAK that showed up on her face in the book, it was a highlight. I'm not sure I understand the reasoning for the re-write.
- I really would have liked to have seen Lily storm in and save Snape in that flashback memory.
- I totally missed the myteries in the Department of Mysteries. Although, I totally understand the not wanting to work that in because of the time and additonal sets, but still ... that was such an awesome part of the book.
- The rest of the OotP. In the movie they were such minor characters. I totally missed Tonks. She was very Run, Lola, Run, as well and I think they could have made her a look a little more punk rock.

That sees like a lot, but I really did enjoy this film. I am surprised at how much I enjoyed this film especially considering my dislike of the second and fourth films. So. YAY!!



In other news, the lynnevitaional has been a resounding success, I think. I've gotten to read through some of what's been posted, although not all because there are quite a few WIP's. Anyway, I am in love with:

Birds in Cages (Spike, R) by cadhla
Poggra-mengri (Giles/Jenny, PG-13) by stakebait
Chthonic (Fred/Faith, G) by inlovewithnight
The Drizzle and the Sunshine (Gunn/Buffy, Wesley/Gunn, NC-17)by viciouswishes

Outside of the ficathon, I've also just read a fabulous Addams Family/Angel cross-over. Totally had me laughing and those voices are beautifully spot on. A great, great read.

Her Beauty and Her Terror. Addams Family/AtS crossover. (Harmony/Wednesday, PG-13) by ijemanja

Comments

[lettered.livejournal.com]

More people need to be doing reviews like this of OotP. I love the play by play!

-The films texture. Yates went back to the Curon film

Yes! Did you read ros_fod's post on this? Very insightful.

-Gary Oldman as Sirius is interesting. None of the actors (except for Luna) fit my visions of the characters. GO doesn't either, but for him and him only, that aspect doesn't dissatisfy me. He brings a different vision to the character and he is the character, even if he's not what I imagined. I've always been a big fan of GO. Since middle school! But I particularly love him in this.

I did think there was a lot of Harry/Sirius chemistry. I've always been a bit keen on that pairing. *cough*becauseIhaveadaddykink*cough* I'd read it if you wrote it! I've thought about writing it myself, but Harry/Draco GETS IN THE WAY AND I DUNNO WHY.

-I quite dislike Gambon as Dumbledore. He never seems twinkling or friendly or gentle. Dumbledore's none of those things in OotP except for at the end--and the end is very important. Then again, I didn't like Harris as AD either; there was no fire to him.

-I am so totally a canon!Harry/Ginny pantyfan.

-I thought Emma Watson was awful. Rupert Grint isn't that great to me either, though not as annoying to me in his lack of capacity as EW is. I thought Daniel Radcliffe was fabulous, though, and I've never been a fan of his (thought he sucked in the first 2 movies, frankly).

- The Howler to Petunia. That is so important!!

This was the biggest thing I missed. It's one of my favorite moments.

- The shrieking paintings in the hallway of the OotP HQ. That's a detail that I think could have easily have been added. Just one of those background things that Curon did so well in PoA.

That would've been very easy to do; you're right!

- The wizarding hospital and the visit to visit Mr. Weasley.

I also missed this: Mrs. Longbottom giving Neville the gum wrapper! Lockhart! But at the same time, I was pretty certain they were going to cut it. Not enough happens and so much else is going on. I thought they did a very good job replacing the info we do get in those scenes--about Neville's parents--with the photo of the old Order. We did get to see the Longbottoms' faces and that was very important.

- Re-writing the betrayal of the DA.

I'm a little conflicted about this. On the one hand I understand why they did it; in the interests of time they couldn't establish a whole 'nother character to be the sneak. At the same time, I hate what it does to Cho. I like Cho; she always read as very real to me. She's not someone who'd betray her friends--she doesn't betray Harry, and she also doesn't turn on the friend who does betray Harry. At the same time, she's also weak willed, insecure, and frightened. She has both faults and strengths and I always appreciated there being good reasons Harry doesn't end up with her, but her not getting painted as the villain in the end.

Making her the sneak makes her the villain. Making it be a result of Veritaserum completely exonerates her. NEITHER is true with Cho. Movie!Cho got made into a scapegoat.

-Missed Lily, too! Snape crushed on her so hard.

-I missed Tonks as well!!!

I rather liked both PoA and GoF. I hated the first two movies though. I think I'm happy with this one, but there are things that just unsettle me. I know when I get farther away from it I'll be happier.

[seraphcelene]

I just read ros-fod's post. It is totally made of awesome and I will need to be commenting very soon, cause ... LOVE. And if I ever tried to write Harry/Sirius my head just might explode, although...

I quite dislike Gambon as Dumbledore. He never seems twinkling or friendly or gentle.

I quite agree. Gambon's Dumbledore is very loud and brash and, to me, vaugely sinister. I never liked him, however, here, I don't know, he seemed appropriate. Everything has gotten very dark and very intense and his intensity is finally matching the intensity of the film. I would have loved to see what Richard Harris would have done. I really loved him as Dumbledore, although, I never felt that we got to see enough of him to really get a feeling of his personality. In retrospect however, Dumbledore really is in the books less than one would imagine. He's more of a presence than an active character.

-- Emma Watson was such a disappointment because I felt like she was improving in GoF, but here she went right back up to shrill. She was yelling her lines and emoting all over the place. It was rather a mess. Rupert Grint is the opposite, such an incompetent actor, but I guess I just adore the dorkish, hulking-ness of him. :) Total random fangirl moment. He is SO NOT an actor.

DanRad (and how much do I love that nickname) was pretty amazing. I think Fodain mentioned his vulnerablity in the film and I quite agree. I FELT for Harry and that was something I wasn't expecting. I mean I didn't really feel it in GoF the way that I did in the GoF book and that was sort of a litmus for the shift in OotP, so to see the way that he has improved as an actor was awesome.

-- The photo of the original Order definitly did its job, but the sense that I got was that Neville's parents were dead and its more horrific for them to be alive and living as they do in the book. Neville broke my heart in the book and the movie didn't quite take me there, at least not with Neville.

Movie!Cho got made into a scapegoat.
-- EXACTLY! And that's what I didn't like. Harry's relationship with Cho is much more complicated than what they show and the way that they simplified it comes nowhere near to doing justice to the relationship between Harry and Cho, Harry and Cedric or Cedric and Cho.

I know when I get farther away from it I'll be happier.

That is terribly true. I liked the first movie, really disliked the second, was very happy with the third and the fourth went right back down the tube for me. I find that I have to force a disconnect between the movie and the book, if I can do that then I'm more likely to enjoy myself. Unfortunatley, it can be really difficult to forget the book you've read.

[lettered.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean about Gambon's harshness finally suiting the mood, but to me part of the point of Dumbledore is even when things are at their worst he still has a twinkle in his eye.

I disliked Richard Harris because he seemed very frail and very old and very tired. I feel sorry saying that because obviously there was a reason he was that way; it wasn't his acting and he is brilliant in other things. But to me Dumbledore should be very energetic. I'm just nitpicky!

I think it's interesting that I thought EW and RG were quite good in the first and second movies, and that DR sucked. In PoA I thought they were all okay. In GoF I started thinking EW and RG lacked a bit while DR was seriously improving. In this I thought DR was just stellar. I think it has a lot to do with DR managing to be subtle while the other two aren't--when they were kids, lack of subtlety was more permissible because kids tend to be so expressive. Although I don't think RG is that great of an actor, I still think he was excellently cast as Ron.

The movie definitely did not make my heart break for Neville, but I just don't think they had the time.

It's interesting how everyone ranks the movies--no one seems to like all of them and most people seem to have strong feelings. For instance, I pretty much hated one and two. I quite like three, but I think I might like 4 even better. While I realize the latter was less artistic and cinematic I think part of the reason I liked it was I didn't like book-GoF that much and movie-GoF made me appreciate it more. I also suspect I liked GoF better ...'cause there was a lot of hotness in it. I'm a shallow, shallow person. I still don't know where I rank 5 among the others! I don't know why but that stresses me out.

OMG, L. Book 7. I'm gonna pee my pants.

[viciouswishes.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the rec!

[seraphcelene]

You're very welcome!!