SPOILERS: So, who has seen OotP?

The movie was awesome, I've seen it 3 times now. The second time in IMAX, though it was a huge disappointment because the people at the movie theater messed up the film and it look terrible! They have us free tickets because we complained so I'll see it again this week hopefully!

I love the movie!!! The casting was great and the director was excellent.

It took me forever, but I finally got to see the movie a few nights ago. The movie was okay. The actress playing Umbridge was great...but I did have a couple of problems with it.

Snape's Worst Memory should have had the "mudblood" insult included since it does play a bit of a role dealing with Snape's character later on in the books, unless it's dropped or something. Knowing what I know for the later book, that scene doesn't make sense and seems irrelevant.

Ron's character. He seemed completely pointless, but I understand why. His character wasn't even in book 5 much, and since the whole Quidditch thing was dropped, he didn't even have much of a reason to be there, so they had to rewrite it to include him.

The other thing I semi-had a problem with...at first...was the fact that there was no Marietta to betray DA, and used Cho instead. I was thinking, "Here we go...more Cho bashers will probably show up." But, I liked how they got the info out of her. She did it against her will.

Oh, one more thing....who is Nigel? Wasn't he in the 4th movie too? What in the world happened to Colin's character anyway? He and his brother was in the 5th book.

The actor who played Colin got too old for the role.

I realy liked the movie! I saw it in IMAX so the minisrty scene was in 3D but it was kind of weird because you could see that it wasen't made for IMAX so it was kinda blurry, but it was still really cool! I thought Luna and Umbrige were great!!

Ok time to inject something new for discussion.

What did people think of the directing style of Yates?

I do have to say that Yates has a pretty good editor because everything flowed very VERY well. In comparison to GoF, like I said before, it makes Newall look like a clown, a novice clown at that.

One thing I didn't particularly like is how dark the lenses were. In some degree I guess this is how most people who liked Columbus' warmer colour palette and thought Cuaron's is too dark; Yates is far darker than Cuaron's to certain points that somee details of the film you can't see at all or at least you'd have a hard time to see them.

There are however many neat little things about the film that I absolutely love and seem to borrow heavily from all sorts of film styles. Mainly Dudley Demented, it was something straight out of Saw 3, The Hills Have Eyes or whatever new-age horror movies have happened in this decade. It's positivly a great little deviation from the whole HP film atmosphere which at the same time sort of mimics what GoF did with the Riddle House introduction. GoF basically had a cheesy horror movie reference in the way they shot that scene.

Other tidbits that enjoyed was the Citizen Kane like banner of Fudge, the White Hat/Black Hat Cowboy reference with the White Smoke/Black Smoke apparation, and the flashback/memory invasion montages. Not to mention the huge amount of references to the previous films even taking perhaps extra footage/takes of the PS Mirror of Erised shot and making a new scene with it which just blew my MIND.

One of the best things though is how I very much is how Yates composes a shot. There is a lot of symbolism at times with the obvious "One rational voice against many irrational ones" of Dumbledore vs. the Wizengamot, but things like that are repeated throughout the film such as when Harry was celebrating Christmas with the Weasley's at 12 Grimmauld place, you can clearly see the division in Harry thinking about who his family is. Is it the Weasleys at one end of the table? Or Sirius who is at the opposite end of the kitchen? This choice or mindset is reflected when Harry is concerned about Sirius' wellbeing "post-Twins breakout" when he says to his family of Ron and Hermione that Sirius is the only family he's got.

Another thing that I've noticed is how much Yates decided to compress the composition of a lot of scenes. There are a lot of places where he emphasizes the crampness or narrowness of certain places rather than the wide shots we've been used to. Shots like the beforementioned X-Mas table celebration or even when Harry has arrived at Grimmauld place for his first dinner; the narrow maze like corridors of the Prophecy room; the long cramp space of where Harry and Dudley got attack by Dementors and even the Wizengamot. The most noticiable one is the long rickety bridge Hogwarts of which Harry and Hermione meet up with the rest of the DA, it's always been used for a wide shot to show it's length across. But this time around we are definately INSIDE the bridge looking down it's length which once again emphasizes this cramp space.

I like this style a lot (at least for this film) because it's done very well, to the point where even something as cramp as Grimmauld 12 still was detailed with various items and trinkets of the wizarding world in the background. It's like a compact Cuaron shot at times. It also serves a great thematic choice of emphasizing how isolated and alone Harry is in the novel, which I hope was the concious decesion for Yates to have done it like that. The problem is that even though I like this composition style, it'd hardly suit other installments of the film with a different tone. I just hope that he could adapt to a different style that is suited for HBP just as sucessfully as he did with OoTP.

What about your guys' thoughts?





ok now time ti inject some new discussion....i think the acting has always been great emma has been geting compliments since SS/PS and daniel and rubert were great too i honhestly never saw any acting flaws and if i did they would ruin the movie for me....

i think ralph fiennes was good in this but he should stay on for the next to cuz he may get bored unless he gets some juicy talky scenes again so he should have the jobhunting at hogwarts scene with DD and then definiatly DO deathy hallows!! i can already see fiennes doing the things voldy does in that and making it great for film.....


Dumbledore was a little off in this he plays the character so diofferent he was not as comb and cool in the fight scene at the end as he was in the book and that was my fav part ....

LUNA is sooo sweet i love her she is so well done!! i just wish we had more with her...

gary oldman as sirus wasgood but like the book, he does very little in my opinion...but it was still good.

the death eaters were cool and ilove the order fight with them but it seemed to short but still exciting...

i felt bad for the dursleys they were reduced down alot again but at least they were in it this time

I saw OotP on the opening night (11th July here in Oz). My initial reaction was just "Hmm...". I had great expectations for the duel at the end, and that (the duel), didn't quite do it for me. My interpretation from the book was Dumbledore being in control for most of the duel. In the book the only time Dumbledore seems to be in trouble is when he has the killing curse coming at him, as well as that snake Voldemort conjured. Unfortunate that Fawkes wasn't featureed in the duel scene.

Anyhow, the rest of the film for me was rather spendid.

OotP's scipt was so much better than Kloves'! I don't want him to return! :(

I saw OotP on the opening night (11th July here in Oz). My initial reaction was just "Hmm...". I had great expectations for the duel at the end, and that (the duel), didn't quite do it for me. My interpretation from the book was Dumbledore being in control for most of the duel. In the book the only time Dumbledore seems to be in trouble is when he has the killing curse coming at him, as well as that snake Voldemort conjured. Unfortunate that Fawkes wasn't featureed in the duel scene.

Anyhow, the rest of the film for me was rather spendid.




Well, thats pretty much what i keep saying DD is not as caml and cool as he is in the book when fighitng VOLDY which was one of my fav parts michale seems tro play him different

Well, he seemed a lot more Dumbledore-ish in this film than in GoF. Yeesh, Newell must have been way off to give him those directions... :(

Well, he seemed a lot more Dumbledore-ish in this film than in GoF. Yeesh, Newell must have been way off to give him those directions... :(



he is always beating harry up shaking him violently in GOF then knocking him down (yes i know to save him but stil..) in OOTP then he says "i care about you too much ...yea, you have a funny way of showing it!!!!:p:lol::lol:

Well, that's what I've been saying; he's calmer in this film. The scene would have applied better to Richard Harris, but oh, well... :sad:

I personally thought the whole Harry/Cho thing was very well handled, it was horrifying when she was outed as the sneak. And I couldn't help but feel sad for her when Ginny and Harry, after that scene, looked through her when she was (I think) looking for someone to explain it to. And given that the whole thing had to be so tightly paced, the idea of having the relationship fall apart because of something that wasn't the fault of either of them, was a pretty good one. She actually comes off as a whole lot more sympathetic in the movie after Snape tells the room they force-fed her Veritaserum than she did in even the book.

Well, I've finally seen the movie - just today.
Here are some things I want to say: :)

1) One of the funniest parts of the movie (which actually make me laugh) was the juxtaposition of the baby Thestral to Ron eating. That was great - as well as the way he said "I'm hungry".

2) Dumbledore was so grumpy throughout the whole movie. Not the Dumbledore who tried an Every-Flavoured Jellybean. And when he yelled at all the students to go back to their classes...yowch.
If only he'd just smile - at least.

3) Grawp was adorable...It was funny to see Hermione get a soft spot for him.

4) Bellatrix was creepy. And like someone said, after she just kills Sirius, she seems to want to cry...but then breaks into an evil smile. Great!

5) I did get the feeling that the movie felt like a montage of important scenes. It was like, ok Fred and George fly out of Hogwarts but in the middle of the cheering Harry has to get that vision of Sirius and Voldemort so we can cut to the next major scene. And when Hermione gets the idea that Harry should teach defence, the camera immediately zooms over her head into the stormy sky...and then we get to the Hog's Head.

So yes, I agree with whoever said it all felt like a montage. Lots of good seperate scenes which were a lot fun - but not very smooth.

I didn't read through the whole thread (69 pages!), but I'm a bit nervous I'm about to be flayed alive for saying this: OoTP was the second worst HP film.
I should make this clear, as abrasive as I might get in my posts, I never intend for it to hurt anyone so it's never personal. I might seem to flay but I don't.
First of all, why was OoTP the shortest film when it was the longest book in the series? What kind of flawed logic was that? When I left the theater, I felt it had been too short. I felt like I was deprived of something.
Well to me it certainly did lack a certain something. Whereas it made up with it use of cinematic devices, it really did seem this story was a bit more concentrated on a single storyline than most. It doesn't help that the storyline itself is sort of single minded of which it lacks a certain new fresh explorative adventure feeling of the Potterverse but starting herein most of the books are more about emotional adventures as opposed to physical adventures. In the end it does miss out on a lot of things but it's nothing new and to be expected almost, much like the lack of actual school classes in HBP.
- Care of magical creatures and the threstral lesson
Threstrals are a plot device for Harry being able to get to the Ministry without having a broom or floo network. Now while it wasn't the most important thing in the storyline aside from being a new form of transport, in the end if there is a oppurtunity to combine certain repeatative elements; might as well do it. Much like how the Hogsmeade visit in PoA combined the attack on Malfoy and the revelation of Sirius being his Gofather, you might as well combine the Threstral instances.
- St. Mungos and Neville
In another thread I mentioned that involving St. Mungo's for just showing another magical place and showing Neville's secret is just a bit of a waste of time. This addresses another problem in filmmaking; repeating things that shouldn't be repeated. Involving the St. Mungo's scene would be like a repeat of the Ministry of Magic, they have paralells in the sense that the entrances to them are similiar, the revelation of a Magical place is similiar and it'll just result in something that will be addressed later at the Xmas Dinner.

Now granted Neville's character development is quite peculiar, given far more development than any other tertiary character in the series. Our lovable buffoon is growing up. But to partially dedicate an entire scene to him seems a bit out of hand. I personally was disappointed that Neville confided in Harry about his parents fate and yet didn't reveal that his parents were crazy now in St. Mungo's; however it seems appropriate enough now even though they could be mistaken for being dead by what Neville said in OoTP.

The nice thing about cutting out St. Mungos? You get to see a creat use of symbolism in the cinematography. As we get the congratulations to Harry that if it wasn't for him, Arthur would be dead right at 12 Grimmauld place, we also get to see how Harry isolates himself from his real family (The Weasley's and Hermione) to consider Sirius his only family. This is a pretty powerful symbolic scene because eventually despite being feeling entirly alone and losing everything that was Sirius, he realizes during the possession that he has something to fight for...his other family. Cutting out St. Mungo's and not dilluting the power of that symbolism with praise and congratulations in St. Mungo's only makes this theme throughout the film more powerful.
- Snape/Sirius tension in the Order headquartersh
Although this is sorely missed, it isn't necessarily needed. It would have been good to just remind people how nasty the grudge of Snape to Sirius is, which would make the SWM far more revelent; but considering that no mention that Snape informing the Order about the attack or anything more than that, it's really not needed. I think at the time being what is always concentrated is the fact that Snape hates Potter and that relationship is only strengthened without the interference of outside grudges.
- Harry/Dumbledore final scene with the prophecy
Luna basically did the MoviePoA!Sirius replacement dealy in substitute to most of Dumbledore's heart to heart chat with Harry. Granted it is a bit lost, one should remember what's needed here isn't poetic confusion or a prophecy that would confuse people as much as the Analyzing the Prophecy Thread V 6.7; but the straight up hard fact that Harry must kill Voldemort or be killed by him. I don't think there should be an emphasis on Dumbledore being oh so wise and telling him that Voldemort is basically a dummy for thinking every prophecy being true and in trying to prevent it; he actually instigated it because in the end...the story is about Harry vs. Voldemort. Besides there's enough meat as there is with the discussion of Harry's love vs. Voldemort's hate in the films.
- Cho sticking up for Harry in the Owlery
She likes him, he likes her. Doesn't need more sticking up to emphasize that they'll kiss later.
- Cho/Harry in Hogsmade
Sadly I think the only reason they kept that in is to make the betrayal all the more powerful. Otherwise all that is pretty much as important as emphasizing the future love between H/G in CoS. H/G's situation in CoS was merely to make Harry care enough for one person to save them from the Chamber and actually know them. I guess in this case the H/C relationship was only to give face to someone who gives up the DA's practices.
- Sirius, not Mad-Eye giving Harry the original Order picture
We needed some more time to show the relationship between Sirius and Harry being closer. Otherwise if it was Mad-Eye doing it, Sirius' death would be less worthwhile.
- Cho being the snitch and that being why she and Harry broke up
Makes sense. Be glad that was in there because really, imagine if it was included. The way the Movieverse is proceeding people probably still think Harry/Hermione is going to be the relationship in the end. It's cluttered enough with people being confused that Harry and Hermione might get together, but to involve someone in the film actually thinking that only would reaffirm this idea. In the end it's better to be left well alone to avoid a new Shipping era of movie-only-fans.
- Umbridge using the last of Veritaserum on Cho, not Harry
Makes logical sense.
- Neville finding the Room of Requirement
Gives him a bit of spotlight, it helps develop his character a bit more. See nothing wrong with that, especially that Neville being the poor sap that he is (God bless his soul though) he is the one who requires the most of all the Gryffindor boys.
- Harry not being mad at Dumbledore at the end
I don't think this is especially appropriate because if it was included people are going to wonder why he calmed down so much right after. I think it was appropriate to have this period of mourning and adjusting to the facts of things to Harry, the whole fate of the wizarding world now on his shoulders and head. It'd be plenty confusing enough with Harry being mad at Bellatrix that he would now be mad at Dumbledore. Also people should realize that Harry's anger at Dumbledore in the first place before Xmas could make people think that Voldemort still has power over him and thus expressing his animosity towards Dumbledore through Harry still...a connection that Harry expelled when Voldemort possessed him already.
- Harry seeing Sirius being tortured outside, not in the Great Hall
Makes sense. Just to combine them.
- Harry seeing the Black family tree during Christmas, not summer
Makes sense just to combine them as with Hogsmeade visit.
- Harry seeing Snape's worst memory in his mind, not the pensive
People probably won't remember what the pensieve is all about anyways. While it might have been just as easy to show that scene with pensieve and the memory, the easiest way is just to use what method Snape is using to invade Harry's mind to rebound onto him. Now I don't remember if Protego is used again, but it certainly does create a precedent or introduction to the spell that was used in the MoM battle.
Oh and completely random, but what was with Dudley's gangsta look? Ridiculous.
I thought he was supposed to be a gangsta looking kid in OoTP.

Yup. Dudley the chav... :lol:

Oh, one more thing....who is Nigel? Wasn't he in the 4th movie too? What in the world happened to Colin's character anyway? He and his brother was in the 5th book.
Nigel replaced Colin in the films. The kid who plays him won some contest in the 4th movie but he isnt in the books. Most non book readers wouldnt remember Colin from CoS so its easier I guess...

Yup. Dudley the chav...
How funny was Dudley! The guys who played his gang were terrible actors (I know they were just background kids but still they were awful)

I missed the whole Dudley Demented part :sad: Bloody buses, always getting late!

One thing that bothered me from the time I first saw it in a trailer: "Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?"

Not a great line by any means, nor a terrible one. But only good jokes grow old.

But the delivery...

i loved the film... i thought the Dudley demented part was really good, i felt so sorry for Harry when Dudley said: "Where is your mum Potter? Where is she?.....Is she dead? Is she dead Potter?" i was like AWWWWW! hes so mean!

it bugged me a bit the way Sirius' animagus changed, he doesnt look so vicious any more, he looked like a cute little family pet, but it wasnt a bit deal really.

One thing that bothered me from the time I first saw it in a trailer: "Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?"

Not a great line by any means, nor a terrible one. But only good jokes grow old.

But the delivery...
I think that was one of the worst lines in the entirety of the Potter movie series. And it isn't even a good joke anymore. I doubt anyone could make that type of sitcom garbage sound funny anymore unless it's a really REALLY talented writer and perfect timing and delivery but everytime I heard this...I cringed.

I think that was one of the worst lines in the entirety of the Potter movie series. And it isn't even a good joke anymore. I doubt anyone could make that type of sitcom garbage sound funny anymore unless it's a really REALLY talented writer and perfect timing and delivery but everytime I heard this...I cringed.

I think the problem with that line is that it was shown in almost every single trailer. I heard that line tons of time before I saw the film... In trailers, in "behind the scenes" specials, so it felt like it was overplayed.

If they wouldn't have shown that line in the trailers then the first time it was heard in the film it wouldn't have felt so... used. If that makes sense....

This movie also had Nigel falling from the air, getting up and saying, "I'm alright. I'm alright."

Pretty much the worst two jokes I can think of. I thought most of the humor was pretty good and less embarrasing than what Kloves comes up with though, so I can overlook it.

I liked the movie as a whole. I felt that the book had so much in it, that they couldn't possibly fit it all into 2 hours, but they did a pretty good job of it. I wish they had made it seem less about the Umbrige v. Harry and more along the lines of "Voldemort's Back". As a stand-alone movie, it was excellent. The movie is never going to be better than the book (and OotP is my favourite book) but they did a pretty good job. I would've like to see more in the end, ie. the statues coming alive to fight, a little more explanation about the veil, and the brain scene with Ron. I really wanted to see a brain attack him. Oh well, maybe in the deleted scenes on the DVD.

I think the problem with that line is that it was shown in almost every single trailer. I heard that line tons of time before I saw the film... In trailers, in "behind the scenes" specials, so it felt like it was overplayed.

If they wouldn't have shown that line in the trailers then the first time it was heard in the film it wouldn't have felt so... used. If that makes sense....
I guess it would, but for me I'm just too familiar with it from decades of watching sitcoms. It's quite sad because I clearly associate that joke with alien abduction so it hardly belongs in a fantasy children's film about wizards and witches. However if they did show aliens coming down and the kids needing to fight them, I would be so stoked to see that in the movie.
This movie also had Nigel falling from the air, getting up and saying, "I'm alright. I'm alright."

Pretty much the worst two jokes I can think of. I thought most of the humor was pretty good and less embarrasing than what Kloves comes up with though, so I can overlook it.
I actually thought that was bearable. Sometimes when kids act like adults that impresses me far better than the adults doing it themselves. Like imagining someone like Anthony Anderson, Kevin James or Steve Carrell doing it, I would ask myself whether they shuddered at the lows they have to go in order to make a film. Still one of the most horrid lines that still sticks out for me is "Follow the spiders? Why can't it be follow the butterflies?" More like follow me out from this mess.

i loved the movie, and i thought it was probably the best of the harry potter films. i thought the director was brilliant, and i'm so happy he's directing the last 2 films as well!

Honestly, I think there are more rabid purists among HP fandom than anything else I've ever encountered. It's quite ridiculous! I know some people have a really hard time separating movies and books when they're so devoted to the source material, but you enjoy things so much more when you can manage it.

That aside, this was by far my second favorite of the HP films, PoA being the first.

I agree Raethul.

I've seen the film 3 times now. Twice before reading DH, and once after. It's gotten better with each viewing in my opinion.

The first time I saw it I felt a bit disappointed. My biggest complaint was that I felt the pacing and editing were all wrong and that most of the movie felt like a giant montage. After seeing it two more times it feels a lot better.....

I still have a problem with some of the editing choices, but for the most part I really enjoyed OOTP. It's not perfect but I still greatly enjoyed it, and it's way better than GOF in my opinion. I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy it even more once I can get the DVD.

OOTP comes in a very close 2nd to POA (which also isn't perfect, but POA is my favorite Harry Potter film so far.)

So....the order of my favorite HP movies....

POA
OOTP
GOF
PS
COS

i loved the movie, and i thought it was probably the best of the harry potter films. i thought the director was brilliant, and i'm so happy he's directing the last 2 films as well!

Really?! That's what I didn't want to hear. I really didn't like the movie at all; everything was horrible. I thought it was the one movie that didn't keep closely with the books. The Snape's Worst Memory part was very disappointing, I was so excited for that; finally being able to see young James and Sirius but it was only a quick glimpse, which is going to bite them in the butt when they go to make the seventh movie. Sirius's death, made me mad; it wasn't like it was suppose to be at all! I hope they make up for this movie with the next (which is my least favorite book, so hopefully the movie will change my mind about the book.)

I'm still trying to rehabilitate myself after such a shoddy Dept. of Mysteries sequence.

One of my favourite scenes in the movie was the "Emotional Range of a Teaspoon" scene. For some reason it just cracks me up.

I don't quite see why so many people are complaining.

I thought that this movie was one of truest to the books. There were so many lines picked word for word from the book.

Granted, not all of it was how I imagined and they had to cut some corners. I think people should remember that it was impossible to keep the whole contents of the book in the film.

Overall I was happy.

i was a bit disappointed with how sirius died, he just sort of floated away, i wanted him to do an almighty fall over like when neville gets frozen in the P/S film. i must say i was disappointed there.

i loved the film... i thought the Dudley demented part was really good, i felt so sorry for Harry when Dudley said: "Where is your mum Potter? Where is she?.....Is she dead? Is she dead Potter?" i was like AWWWWW! hes so mean!

I thought Harry Melling's acting in that bit was awful. Honestly, the pantomimical expressions contorting his face were just too much to not laugh, mostly out of embarrassment... :(

I still have a problem with some of the editing choices, but for the most part I really enjoyed OOTP. It's not perfect but I still greatly enjoyed it, and it's way better than GOF in my opinion. I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy it even more once I can get the DVD.

OOTP comes in a very close 2nd to POA (which also isn't perfect, but POA is my favorite Harry Potter film so far.)

So....the order of my favorite HP movies....

POA
OOTP
GOF
PS
COS

I agree with you about the editing and the order of the films.

There were some cuts that seemed to just skip parts. When Harry, Ron and Hermione go into Umbridges office and are caught, Ginny, Luna and Neville suddenly appear as if they were with them all along. That kind of confused many people in the audience. There were other moments like that, but I haven't seen it for a while.

i think that GoF was one of the bad ones

This was the best one. It was the only one that had an intellectual point to make. The others were nothing more than flashy popcorn chompers.

I thought it was pretty good, overall. As it has been said, how could you possibly cram 800 and some odd number of pages into two hours worth of film? Simply put, it's impossible. Overall, decent job, could have been better.

I think overall that it was a good movie. I was a little disappointed with some of the changes they made. Such as Cho, being the one to out DA instead of her friend or them not showing Sirus giving Harry the two way mirror, which I think, may be a problem when they go to make the last movie. Overall, better than almost all the other movie's.

I thought the movie was OK. It's real failing was in giving all the screen time to the Umbridge plot, at the expense of everything else. The whole prophecy plot felt tacked on, and was never explained fully, and moments that should have had huge impact, like Dumbledore escaping or Sirius dying came off as inconsequential due to the mass of useless guff that they kept in the movie. The Dementor attack, Arthur being injured and Grawp were all unneccesary, that screentime should have been spent on the prophecy, Sirius, and Dumbledore's distant treatment of Harry.

That said, the acting was the best so far, even though major players like Michael Gambon and Ralph Fiennes were underused, even wasted. The use of the Daily Prophet was inspired, but I thought the editing was ghastly, worse than GOF, and the Ministry battle was underwhelming. The scene with Dumbledore and Harry at the end was a laughable attempt to finish the prophecy/DDs behaviour plot points, despite those plots barely being there in the film.

Only POA has really felt like I was watching a Harry Potter book, OOTP, felt like a competent director trying to include as much fluff from the book, whilst clumsily 'condensing' the major plots. A wasted opportunity to break away from the convoluted quagmire of the book and make a flowing, sensible film. We ended up with a watered down summary of every major scene, with little clear-cut resolution to anything.

i felt that the movie was pretty good actually.... i think that they needed to have shown more of the exam process though... and how all of the DA members did really well and all of that. and im also suprised that they didnt show harry and cho in that little lovers cafe whatchamacallit lol. they did really well on more scenes though. like umbridge being taken ino the forrest and the nailing of all the new rules onto the wall i thought was a night touch. but as for true complaints... i think that umbridge was casted wrong and her part in the movie was dumb. where was the toad (type thing) on her head??? and that infamous harry/cho kiss.... can we say randomly placed??? and what about everything that happened in the DOM before they got to the rows of prophecies (sp?) grrrrrr the movie was only 2 hours and 15 minutes long.... so what if they added an extra 45 minutes... i would have sat there for a 3 hour HP movie... bah!

but like i siad... i did think that it was actually fairly good. what they actually covered from the book was done well. had many laughs thoughout the movie. sometimes the little things just add up i guess

I think that was one of the worst lines in the entirety of the Potter movie series.

But not as bad as the Diagon Alley line Julie Walters was saddled with in CoS.

Even had it not been in the trailers as suggested elsewhere it wouldn't have worked. RG's delivery was painful from the first time i saw it.

I think overall that it was a good movie. I was a little disappointed with some of the changes they made. Such as Cho, being the one to out DA instead of her friend or them not showing Sirus giving Harry the two way mirror, which I think, may be a problem when they go to make the last movie. Overall, better than almost all the other movie's.

I agree on both points, especially making Cho the sneak, albeit an unwilling one (under the power of Veritaserum) - I love Cho and I think it was unfair to her. I also felt so sorry for her, when they all passed her, giving her the cold shoulder, she looked so forlorn, poor thing! :(

I understand why they did it. Introducing another character (Marietta), a really minor one, would have been complicating the story needlessly. Cho being the sneak also explains better her break-up with Harry. In the book, her sticking with Marietta didn't really make sense.

Yes they should also have put in the magic mirror, but actually it wasn't of extreme importance in the book.

They should also have explained why they didn't have brooms (Umbridge had confiscated the twins' and Harry's) and had to fly the thestrals to get to London and the MoM.

Also, they showed Luna able to see the thestrals, but not Neville. It's a minor point, but why did they bypass it?

This movie was good, but my favorite remains Goblet of Fire. That book and movie were really the pivotal ones in the series. Also the first one where one of the good guys - and a young one at that - dies. That, in my opinion, is when the series stopped being kiddie lit, became too dark for children.
I missed Quidditch...

"Whooo..." *crazy/bewildered expression*
"I know you dont like him Minister, but you've got to admit, Dumbledores got style!"

Best line ever :)

So no one else here had a problem with Ron's character for the movie, or the extremely condensed version of "Snape's Worst Memory"? I know that movies are adaptations of books, but, imo, this really really shouldn't have been cut down the way that it was. They showed when James had him hanging upside down...why didn't they have a young Lily defending him?The actor who played Colin got too old for the role.I don't see how. If they can keep the actor who plays Dean, who doesn't play a major role, I don't see why they couldn't keep in Colin, even if it's for comical reasons.I understand why they did it. Introducing another character (Marietta), a really minor one, would have been complicating the story needlessly. Cho being the sneak also explains better her break-up with Harry.Now I disagree with this. If anything, this should have strengthened it. Harry learned that Cho told against her will. It's not like she purposely waltzed into Umbridge's office and spilled her guts out to Umbridge, like Marietta did. I'm sure that if everyone knew what happened to her, they would've instantly became friends with her again since it wasn't her fault that she told.In the book, her sticking with Marietta didn't really make sense.It made perfect sense. Marietta was pretty much the only "friend" she had after the Cedric incident. In PoA and GoF, Cho was always written with having a group around her. When OotP came around, the only person by her side was Marietta, which, in a way, showed that Marietta was a true friend at that point. Cho was having a tough time, and Marietta was obviously there for her. After telling on the DA, I was under the impression that Marietta was sorry for doing so. True friends "forgive" or try to empathize to get a better understanding of the situation.

Cho, imo, for the book was trying her best to keep Marietta and Harry after that incident.Also, they showed Luna able to see the thestrals, but not Neville. It's a minor point, but why did they bypass it?So it wasn't just me. I thought Neville could see them too, but I just figured I was remembering the book wrong. I didn't have a way of checking.

If they can keep the actor who plays Dean, who doesn't play a major role, I don't see why they couldn't keep in Colin, even if it's for comical reasons.

Actually, the actor who played Colin sort of grew up and became all emo-ey... not exactly the type of person canon-Colin is. :no:

As for Cho, I never liked her, anyway. Too weepy, that one... :sad:

Actually, the actor who played Colin sort of grew up and became all emo-ey... not exactly the type of person canon-Colin is. :no:

As for Cho, I never liked her, anyway. Too weepy, that one... :sad:

OPINION ALERT:

Interesting thing I noticed about Cho and the movies in general.

JKR was stressing how pretty Cho was and the filmmakers totally undo this. Not that the girl that played her wasn't pretty, but when you put her on set with Luna, who alot more arresting, visually and personality-wise, Cho just fades straight into the background. My Mom, who knew about Cho beforehand, whispered to me in the theatre, "She's not very impressive, is she?" I think this was the problem with making Luna so much more attractive than her book counterpart. She could have just stood there and stole the spotlight from Cho (Remember the opinion alert).

OPINION ALERT:

Interesting thing I noticed about Cho and the movies in general.

JKR was stressing how pretty Cho was and the filmmakers totally undo this. Not that the girl that played her wasn't pretty, but when you put her on set with Luna, who alot more arresting, visually and personality-wise, Cho just fades straight into the background. My Mom, who knew about Cho beforehand, whispered to me in the theatre, "She's not very impressive, is she?" I think this was the problem with making Luna so much more attractive than her book counterpart. She could have just stood there and stole the spotlight from Cho (Remember the opinion alert).

I would definitely agree. I mean, Katie Leung is a very pretty girl, but I was expecting someone a little bit different for Cho. And Evanna Lynch, of course, steals the limelight in every scene she is in. I think she is really really pretty, but not just that, she's a much better actress that Katie.

I wish that the Harry Potter fans had a chance to cast the next two films - we'd choose exactly the right people. ;)

I was not that impressed by Evanna Lynch. Sure, she looked very pretty in an ethereal way, but as far as I was concerned, Katie Leung was just as impressive. And I hate to say this, but I feel that Ms. Leung was the better actress. Anyway, here is my review of the movie:


http://ladylavinia.livejournal.com/45101.html#cutid1

Cho was cast in GoF. I don't think that they had Luna cast for film five at the time. And I guess we have to look at this as beauty being in the eye of the beholder...to coin a cliche.

But not as bad as the Diagon Alley line Julie Walters was saddled with in CoS.

I will have to totally agree with you one this! I cringe when that line comes in CoS. I think it is by far one of the worst in the series.

Meh. Evanna was all right, but Katie was... eugh. :no:

Meh. Evanna was all right, but Katie was... eugh. :no:

I'd pick Katie over Evanna any day. I'm sorry, but the movie Luna came off as a little too unemotional to me.

really???? i didnt that she she came off that way at all... i thought that she was very well portrayed... though i thought that the earrings that she had that were made of beets were goig to be bigger... but they were small and went rather unnoticed... but yeah i think that luna's airy-ness was really captured... at least in how i imagined it would be.

I found Evanna actually kind of good. But Katie was rubbish actually... She was barely in the movie too (No complaints there).

Actually, I think Katie was (surprisingly) better in GoF than in OotP.

The characters in the "emotional range of a teaspoon" scene looked positively stoned, and the laughing didn't help. I even yelled out "Pass the bong man" (Don't worry, it was the middle of a weekday, the theatre was only 10% full and no one was near me).

If held up against the book, this movie fails. But on it's own, it's an ok movie.

I like how Luna was portrayed in this movie, although Evanna Lynch looked a bit young for the part.

Well, the laughing wasn't originally part of the scene, but Yates decided to keep rolling once the actors started it up. It might seem high to you, but to me, it only helped the scene... :)

The only problem I found with Luna is that I'm used to the Jim Dale impersonation of her which sounds a lot more throaty and relaxed than Lynch's portrayal. There were some parts where her mind wandered where I thought she did well, but most other times she just didn't seem weird enough. It's hard to say because I didn't want her to be so weird that it's like a typical stupid comedy movie with your typical crazy head-tilted-to-the-side weird person but at the same time she seemed more blind than actually different. It's quite sad though because most of her weirdness is more in the scenes which were cut and moreso of the situations that she gets herself in rather than her own personality. Such as people s******ing at her or laughing at her.

Leung I really didn't care for. Aside from the nigh racist bowl-cut haircut she had there which was God awful (whoever had creative control over that should be kicked in the face) she was "meh" at most. In the end I don't really care for her performance either. It's kind of funny because I think this is like one of the few times where the trio even outshines the guest characters for this installment which in the past films it was the opposite.

Nicely put, DarwinMayflower. I agree, Lynch could have been a bit more out there.

As for Leung, she wasn't as good as she had been in GoF, so I'm glad her role was rather short.

For Lynch's portrayal as Luna please check out Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=83801)

You'll find the actor threads in the Casting Couch (http://www.cosforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=142)

The characters in the "emotional range of a teaspoon" scene looked positively stoned, and the laughing didn't help. I even yelled out "Pass the bong man" (Don't worry, it was the middle of a weekday, the theatre was only 10% full and no one was near me).

If held up against the book, this movie fails. But on it's own, it's an ok movie.

I like how Luna was portrayed in this movie, although Evanna Lynch looked a bit young for the part.

I agree, it's quite obvious that the book is much better then the movie. But on it's own, the movie is quite good.
And I find Luna splendid in the movie. Evanna Lynch did a good job.

I think they'll definately have problems with the last one, by leaving the two way mirror out, as it plays quite an important part in the book, and explains how Harry knows it's Aberforth. Also a very emotional thing in the end of the fifth book as Harry is trying so hard not toaccept the trut of Sirius' death, he uses the mirror to try and get him back.

But not as bad as the Diagon Alley line Julie Walters was saddled with in CoS.

What line was that then?

What line was that then?

"There's only one place we'll be able to get all this. Diagon Alley!" Or words to that effect. She might as well have winked at the camera, such is the ridiculousness of that line. Terrible screenwriting, excrutiatingly simpering delivery.

:lol: i remember now, her facial expressions and the way she moved her head as well made it comletely stupid

I think that for the first time in the series the movie was far better than the book. The two way mirror can easily be left out of the entire DH film's plot since Dobby's inclusion is reason enough for speculation of Aberforth's help.

"There's only one place we'll be able to get all this. Diagon Alley!" Or words to that effect. She might as well have winked at the camera, such is the ridiculousness of that line. Terrible screenwriting, excrutiatingly simpering delivery.Wow, I honestly didn't think anything of it.

Wow, I honestly didn't think anything of it.

Well, I thought it was ridiculous. Where else exactly would they get all their school stuff? And why do you need to say it like you're adressing the children in the audience? It was strange.

I thought the film was brilliant. My favourite line was Bellatrix's Lestrange saying 'How's Mum and Dad?' to Neville. I know she's evil but it made me laugh anyway. :lol:The only thing i didn't like about it was that they had cut out Ron's Quidditch part. :grumble:I really liked that when it was in the book and i know it would have made the film longer but it would have been worth it.

"There's only one place we'll be able to get all this. Diagon Alley!" Or words to that effect. She might as well have winked at the camera, such is the ridiculousness of that line. Terrible screenwriting, excrutiatingly simpering delivery.
I re-watched CoS recently and it made me cringe again.

Well, I thought it was ridiculous. Where else exactly would they get all their school stuff? And why do you need to say it like you're adressing the children in the audience? It was strange.I still didn't think anything of it, and it wasn't enough for me to even remember it. As a matter of fact, I still can't recall it. Lines by actors don't really seem to stick with me (unless it was something funny or a line that could be interpreted in a way that's loaded with innuendo), as much as acting in scenes go or screwed up characterization.

I thought the film was brilliant. My favourite line was Bellatrix's Lestrange saying 'How's Mum and Dad?' to Neville. I know she's evil but it made me laugh anyway. :lol:The only thing i didn't like about it was that they had cut out Ron's Quidditch part. :grumble:I really liked that when it was in the book and i know it would have made the film longer but it would have been worth it.Maybe, but this is "Harry's story", so that's the main reason Quidditch was cut. Harry wasn't on the team (not long anyway), so they just dropped it. I felt it would've been nice to mention Ron's being on the team, though, then we wouldn't have gotten "forced Ron scenes" in the movie.

I thought the film was brilliant. My favourite line was Bellatrix's Lestrange saying 'How's Mum and Dad?' to Neville. I know she's evil but it made me laugh anyway. :lol:The only thing i didn't like about it was that they had cut out Ron's Quidditch part. :grumble:I really liked that when it was in the book and i know it would have made the film longer but it would have been worth it.

Oooh, i loved that line! so evil! i love the way Bella looked. I liked Sirius' line too "Good one James!".

My fave scene by far was the possession scene though, gotta love the eyes!!


Another really cheesy part from CoS was where Harry uses the Floo powder, he clearly says "Diagonally" he doesnt even try to say "Diagon Alley" and then the cringeworthy part "What did he say?" "Diagonally" "I thought he did" *Cringe*

"There's only one place we'll be able to get all this. Diagon Alley!" Or words to that effect. She might as well have winked at the camera, such is the ridiculousness of that line. Terrible screenwriting, excrutiatingly simpering delivery.

That's the one. Talk about telling and not showing. Awful line, and even someone of the calibre of Julie Waters couldn't save it.

There were quite a few cheesy lines in CoS though, but i loved Lockharts lines, they were all so hilarious, and i love the actor for him's facial expressions :rotfl:

Meh. Evanna was all right, but Katie was... eugh. :no:

I though Evanna Lynch was perfect for the part of Luna. She was innocent and weird at the same time which is just how I imagined the character. Her part was also really sad especially when she tells Harry about her mother dying.

I though Evanna Lynch was perfect for the part of Luna.

I agree, i loved her voice, fitted her perfectly. :)

You know....I really didn't enjoy it as much as 1-4. I really liked 4, thought it captured the book well. But OOTP didn't give enough time to Sirius and his death, Kreacher, and how all the crazy Black cousins are related and fighting each other.

Bonnie Wright, though, was great in this movie, and Evanna Lynch plays an amazing Luna.

JG

That's the one. Talk about telling and not showing. Awful line, and even someone of the calibre of Julie Waters couldn't save it.
I just wish every bad line in Harry Potter will be filled by a Stunt-Line-Delivery-Actor. Namelin Christopher Walken.

Just imagine Christopher Walken saying that.

Dere's only owen playce....to get this all......Diagon.....ALLey

And let's bring this back on topic...Who's seen OotP?

I saw OotP a while back and enjoyed it a lot. OotP is my favourite book of the series, but I try not to compare the movies to their respective books, since that always leads to some disappointment when they chop scenes. However, the movie matched my feelings of the book in one way - that in my opinion it was the best so far. I *loved* Luna in particular; Evanna is perfect! I can't remember it too well right now, but I thought the pacing was very good, especially considering the size of the book, and there was a lot of humour (and unintentional innuendo... don't ask :p) to balance the more emotional parts. So for me it's a :tu: overall.

i liked it. . . it made me laugh. i thought umbridge was amazingly perfect

Oooh, i loved that line! so evil! i love the way Bella looked. I liked Sirius' line too "Good one James!".

My fave scene by far was the possession scene though, gotta love the eyes!!


Another really cheesy part from CoS was where Harry uses the Floo powder, he clearly says "Diagonally" he doesnt even try to say "Diagon Alley" and then the cringeworthy part "What did he say?" "Diagonally" "I thought he did" *Cringe*

Uh... what's so cringy about that?

:err:I"ve seen it on Sat with my brother. Had to explain damn near everything as he's a muggle. Anywho, to me the movie didn't mesh. The scenes and plots just jumped from one thought to another, but hey I'm a smart woman wasn't chinese arithmatic. All and all, I must say that I knew that a lot of parts would be chopped up. The common demoninator of the series are definitely the books, WE KNOW THIS. However the numerator is always changing: THE DIRECTORS OF THE MOVIES.

Ootp is book 5/movie 5. WHEN WILL SOMEBODY GET IT RIGHT?!??!!!!

Take LOTR for example. The complete trilogy is directed by one person. Peter Jackson. WHY, OH WHY Can't one person dedicate at least two years to study and know and feel what the author is building into the characters in the HP series!!!

Five down, two to go. And no one seems to get it right. Find a trustworthy director who is dedicated and is on the same page as the author. (yes, pun intended!!)

There are two particular parts I enjoyed in OOTP. That was Umbridge taking over Hogwarts with those crazy rules of hers and the fight scene between Voldemort and Dumbledore.

Kudos to Neville!!!!!! He's really starting to come up.

Ginny: I see you, girl:tu:

My order of fav HP movies go as this:
PoA
GoF
OotP

To future directors: Let it flow; take your time. I don't mind watching a well on point, to the nitty gritty film as it relates to the book. I don't care if I have to sit through it for three hours and some change. JUst please....make it worth the time for the fans ultimate enjoyment. PLEASE!:(

Last weekend I saw the movie and in short I thought it was a good movie. I still think that PoA was the best to date, but that's just my opinion.
I liked the montages they did in the beginning with Umbridge's actions, the Daily Prophet headlines and the introduction of all the new educational decrees (although if I remember correctly the book only introduced 7 new decrees).
I mostly liked the developments they have shown for Ginny. The way they made her noticeable to Harry (without Quidditch they had to resort to other means) and especially her non-verbal reactions to the Harry/Cho developments. I like how Filch's character is used since GoF to bring some comedy in the movies. His stake-outs before the entrance to the Room of Requirements were really funny to watch. I also liked the mirror with GoF with Snape hitting Ron after his reactions to Snape's inspection by Umbridge.
Although I loved the visuals I didn't really like how the Weasley twin's departure from Hogwarts was shown as with this they disrupted exams, which isn't really in line with their character (in the book they are unwilling to disturbe the Easter holiday revisions and as such I believe that it is highly unlikely for them to disturbe exams). I also didn't really like that it was Cho who betrayed the DA, but as they never showed the Valentine Day disaster I think they really needed a reason for Harry's loss of interest in Cho for the next movie. Although these reasons were slightly removed due to Snape's statements regarding the use of Veritaserum on Cho.
The worst part of the movie to me was the beginning. I didn't like the way Dudley and Harry's conversation was presented and I totally disliked the way they portrayed Mrs. Figg. The way I have read the book she was in in panic and her appearance, movement and lines should have reflected this.

Best lines? "Justice!" by Vernon, "Obviously" by Snape and "Good one James!" by Sirius. That last line really showed that Mrs. Weasley was right in her statements that Sirius though that Harry was James.

Vic

Take LOTR for example. The complete trilogy is directed by one person. Peter Jackson. WHY, OH WHY Can't one person dedicate at least two years to study and know and feel what the author is building into the characters in the HP series!!!
Meh LotR were great movies and deserve the praise it receives, but I think people overestimate it as an example and use the backward logic of 'it worked for LotR- it will work for [insert franchise]'. I mean the original Star Wars films changed directors and imo Empire Strikes Back and Return of Jedi, were more closely connected stories than the first 5 Potter movies and books ever were (ie. the end of ESB with Han being taken and RotJ picking up only with the formulation of the plan to rescue Han happening off screen). Even from OotP to HBP the themes of Harry's sanity and the Ministry controlling Hogwarts are tied up in OotP and the grief from Sirius plays no core role.

Now enough of my ranting, sorry peeps. Anyway just a quick comment of what I like most of OotP - Luna flippin Evanna. Maybe her accent helped but she had a really dreamy voice and even when she was talking about her mom's death I could here a sadness but that Loony Luna feel of her never faltered, but maybe because I really like Luna. I also think that Evanna and Dan had really great chemistry on screen and there seemed to be an easy but very real connection between the Harry and Luna characters despite Luna being a new character. Anyway gonna post my comments on Alan Rickman as Snape which was my next favorite part of the movies later.

The worst part of the movie to me was the beginning. I didn't like the way Dudley and Harry's conversation was presented and I totally disliked the way they portrayed Mrs. Figg. The way I have read the book she was in in panic and her appearance, movement and lines should have reflected this.

I agree. Harry Melling totally botched his delivery, and the actress who played Mrs. Figg was just... wrong. I wanted her to be more batty! :grumble:

Wow, I honestly didn't think anything of it.

Same for me too. I didn't realise that some people found that cringeworthy...(and I still don't understand why). To me, she was simply letting the audience (man of whom may not have read the books or seen the 1st movie)know where all the books and stuff are bought.

About Mrs. Figg...I expected her to deliver the line "Keep your wand out!" in a panicky and exaggeratedly paranoid way. She was just too calm and poised in the film! :no:

Yeah the Dursley/Figg opening was dissapointingly weak. It didn't have that same dramatic/comedic "start off with a bang" strength that it had in the first three films. That was the only let down for me. The rest of the film was very enjoyable though. I would have LOVED to have seen what Newell would have done with them had he had the chance. I remember him saying he was dissapointed and really wanted to do a Dursley opening too (in keeping with the series format) but ofcourse as a great director that he is, realised that it would have slowed the first act down. Shame because I just know Newell's take on them would have been by far the best and most "English" of the series.

Why was DA practice Levicorpus? I thought Harry never learned it 'till HBP?

originally posted by Carinae
Originally Posted by SSJ_Jup81
Wow, I honestly didn't think anything of it.

Same for me too. I didn't realise that some people found that cringeworthy...(and I still don't understand why). To me, she was simply letting the audience (man of whom may not have read the books or seen the 1st movie)know where all the books and stuff are bought.

About Mrs. Figg...I expected her to deliver the line "Keep your wand out!" in a panicky and exaggeratedly paranoid way. She was just too calm and poised in the film!

Actually, I've always found that to be very cringe-worthy. They tell him to speak clearly, and the moron says it all fast and clipped. I don't mind Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's comments after that, but I always cringe when Harry says it.

And I was so disappointed in Mrs. Figg. I had this hilarious image of her, and she didn't come off as even remotely batty. She was very poised and not panicky at all. I was so, so disappointed.

I have to say though, that I was happy with the movie over all. I loved the DA montage, and I liked that Ginny was developed in this movie. I loved all the glances she kept throwing at Harry and Cho! At least muggle movie-goers won't be totally shocked now when the moment arrives in HBP.

And I liked that the trio was more balanced in this movie. I loved the part where Neville explained how Ron got them out of Umbridge's office and Hermione said, "Wow, that was clever, Ron!" And Ron replied, "Well, it was bound to happen sometime," or something like that. I thought that was so funny!

I remembered thinking all throughout the posession scene that that could've been a very cool scene, and it was good to show Harry realizing all of these things, except that he hadn't realized them yet! I remember thinking, "YES HARRY!" because of his attitude of needing to do everything alone at the end of HBP.

I remembered thinking all throughout the posession scene that that could've been a very cool scene, and it was good to show Harry realizing all of these things, except that he hadn't realized them yet! I remember thinking, "YES HARRY!" because of his attitude of needing to do everything alone at the end of HBP.

I sorely missed the line "And I'll be with Sirius again..." during the possession scene. Also, I found it a little odd when Ron and Hermione burst into laughter during the "emotional capacity of a teaspoon" scene. Huh? :no:

Take LOTR for example. The complete trilogy is directed by one person. Peter Jackson.

LotR wasn't a triology. It was a single book chopped into thirds by the publisher.

WHY, OH WHY Can't one person dedicate at least two years to study and know and feel what the author is building into the characters in the HP series!!!(
It's logistically impossible to film the movies in one shot as the lead ages seven years which is possible if the starting age is adult, not so when he starts as a child.

And no director of note would make a commit themselves to passing up everything that may come their way to work on one project.

Well, that's very true... :)

New version! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=109860)