Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

When the Harry Potter books and movies started coming out I could have really cared less. I went with my oldest son to the first movie, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, only because he really wanted to go. I went and at the time thought it was OK. Then he wanted the novel. So I bought it for him. One day, when I noticed that it had sat on his dresser since I bought it for him, I decided to pick it up and read it. I finished in about 2 days and I loved it. I quickly went to the book store and bought the second one, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I have been addicted ever since and I can not wait until the seventh and final Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, comes out on Saturday.

The Harry Potter novels appeal to anyone. Some people may not dig them, may not be their cup of tea. But to those who enjoy fantasy, science fiction or make believe, will love these novels. That's me!

The five Harry Potter movies that have come out have shown the progression of Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione as they grow into full blown wizards and as teenagers. The first two, directed by Chris Columbus were very cute, colourful and fun. These three looked like babies who were just trying to walk in this world. The acting was OK. Daniel Radcliffe who plays Harry, Rupert Grint as Ron and Emma Watson as Hermione did a fine job as these three characters. They were all cute and cuddly and performed well enough to get the story across. And I like Michael Gambon as Dumbledore, but he still doesn't quite compare to Richard Harris, who played Dumbledore in the first two movies before he passed away.

It wasn't until the third movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, that the movies really got moving. This movie, directed by Alfonso Cuaron, was much darker and mature. It portrayed a much more grey vision of the Harry Potter world. After the latest installment, Prisoner of Azkaban, is my favourite. All three of the main actors, Radcliffe Grint and Watson, really came into their own and showed that they really can act and be a part of this landscape. They showed that they just weren't three cute kids who were lucky enough to win these parts, but actually actors with some chops.

Then came Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the four installment in the Harry Potter story. This movie was very well done as well. Although the director, Mike Newell, had to chop a lot out from the novel, which was 636 pages, Goblet of Fire, continued the darkened trend of the novels. This movie though, dark as it was, was still a fun movie. We get to see Harry, Ron and Hermione become teenagers, hormones rocking as they begin to notice the opposite sex. We really get to see Radcliffe do some acting as Harry matures and the effects of what his life is becoming has on him. And we also get to see Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort. Although on screen for only few minute, Fiennes kicks ass as this character. He owns the screen every second he is on it. What a perfect choice for this character.

Finally, we get to the fifth and latest installment of the Harry Potter movies, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. My opinion, the best of the five movies. I had to see it twice before I was able to do my review of it. The first time I saw it, we sat in the third row and it didn't quite see it the way I wanted to see it. This movie, as I have stated earlier, is much darker and more mature. We see Harry as he is dealing with his life...seeing Cedric die, fighting Voldemort, everything that he has had to deal with since all of this began. We see him as he deals with how so many think he is lying about the return of Voldemort. He is brooding, angry and shutting everyone out, even his best friends. The only person he wants to be with really is his godfather, Sirius Black, played marvellously by Gary Oldman.

Some of the best scenes in the movie are when Harry is teaching the fellow members of Dumbledore's Army how to use defensive spells. This group was put together because the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Delores Umbridge, will not teach them these skills. These were just nice scenes as we again get to see Harry grow and really see him enjoy himself as he teaches these spells. We also get to see him get his first kiss with Cho.

The Umbridge character I hated in the novel. I don't mean she didn't deserve to be in the book. I mean she is just one mean bitch who loves to make the students of Hogwarts lives hell, especially Harry's. Delores Umbridge played this character very well as you just want to reach through the screen and strangle her. Well done performance.

The best part, and also the one part that disappointed me a bit was the fight scenes at the end of the movie at the Ministry of Magic. I just wanted to see some kick ass fighting, and we did. These scenes seemed a bit abbreviated, and maybe that was the point. I guess I, and a lot of other people wanted more. But there is no taking away from what they did show. The Army fighting the Death Eaters and then the Order showing up to finish the fight was still awesome. I did think that Sirius' death just kinda happened though. Bang, he was gone.

The final fight between Voldemort and Dumbledore didn't disappoint. Very good fight seeing two master wizards do their thing. Again, Fiennes was the perfect choice for Voldemort. He just exudes pure evil and he is deadly. He is perfect. Also at the end of the fight where Voldemort possesses Harry, I thought was very moving. We see Harry in such pain. Going through everything he has to love through. We see that through him, but we also get to see the love he has for his friends and his family. True gold and probably my favourite part of the movie.

I really enjoyed this movie. Like I said earlier, probably my fav of the five. It seems the darker they get the more I enjoy them. I will check it out again. I will buy it on DVD and I will enjoy every minute of it. I will also miss Harry Potter when all is said and done. At least there is going to be two more movies for us to enjoy.

Can't wait until Saturday!!

Take care everyone and enjoy the movies!!!