Episode #40: Order of the Phoenix Review
Last night, at 12:01 AM, we saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at Baltimore’s historic Senator Theatre. Beforehand, we took our video camera and interviewed some of the faithful waiting in line for the movie. In this episode, we recount the whole experience, from the theories to the costumes, along with our review and discussion of the OotP movie.
In the news:
- The movie is out!
- The book is coming out in NINE days!
- The Baltimore Sun wrote an article about last night’s premiere and interviewed a few local prognosticators.
You can listen to the podcast with the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.
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July 11th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Aw, c’mon, you call out everybody else by name for their contributions…
July 11th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Sorry William! thanks for posting it on the last thread. We actually did know about it first thing this morning (my proud mother let us know) but we appreciate it. We’ll have to call you out the next time. How’d you find it by the way?
July 11th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
A YAHOO LINK!!! You’re totally mainstream!!!
Found it on my phone Yahoo mobile while waiting in line to see OOTP today…
July 11th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
emma watson wasnt that bad. but the strange chick kind of gave me the creeps
July 12th, 2007 at 3:57 am
I’m so impatient!!!! I’m gonna try to go and see it this saturday night… I’m gonna escape cause my mom wants to see Hairspray…
July 12th, 2007 at 7:32 am
the movie is awesome
and ive seen it 3 times already to make up 4 my being on holiday when the book comes out
also ive been working on another celtic mythology theory but never had time to finish but GO TO
http://www.novareinna.com/constellation/description.html
its about the celtic zodiac in relation to the different woods used for wands
but look closely at the pictures as the pictures show
Name – Wand Wood – Horcrux
Harry – Holly – Spear
Voldemort – Yew/Reed – All 4 Horcruxes (locket is the stone)
Fred & George – Alder – Spear and Sword
Ron – Willow – Locket (by process of deduction/image shows the original hallow the stone of fal)
? – Hawthorn – Cup
as i said before because jk swithched the places of the cup and the locket
it should be
Ron – Willow – Cup
this could well mean that the weasleys are descendents of Helga Hufflepuff
? – Hawthorn – Locket (see above)
Name – Wand Wood – Important time of year
Ron – Willow – Samhain
Snape – Birch – Beltane
Beltane (May 1) and Samhain (November 1) are 2 celtic festivals when the veil was at its thinest, the wood of the veil is the birch, represented by a white stag(prongs) and a golden eagle. (see web link)
these festivals occur simulteniously on opposite sides of the world (antipodean)
May 1st
Northern Hemishpere- Beltane
Southern Hemishpere – Samhain
November 1st
Northern Hemishpere – Samhain
Southern Hemishpere – Beltane
this is were the antipodean thing comes in
also the wood of beltane is birch (snape’s wand)
and the wood of samhian is willow (ron’s wand)
if you click on the image link of Hawthorn
and scroll down to the animals section
The animal is a Bee
and Albus Dumbledore means White Bee
this drew my attention to the other animals of the woods
Birch- White Stag (James’ Animagus)
Ash- White Kelpie (The Loch Ness Monster)
Oak- White Horse
Holly- White Unicorn (From PS/SS)
Vine- White Swan
Reed/Yew- White Hound (Sirius’ Animagus)
Elder- Black Horse
Ivy- The White Boar
Rowan- Green Dragon (Antipodean Opaleye)
Also you know we see the reflection of a fox on the white stag on the inside flap of the uk childerns edition
Fox represents the Alder, those wand wood is Fred and Geogre’s.
The Fox symbolizes skill in diplomacy. It is a cunning and sly animal, possessed of the ability to make fools out of those who chase it.
Now doesn’t that just sound like fred and geogre, n i bet they got the idea of becoming animagi off the maruders.
Now Nevilles wand is the weird one because first he had his grandfathers and now his new wand is made of cherry/elder
this does not co-inside with the method used by rowling for wand wood
occurding to the celtic zodiac nevilles wand should be the same as harry’s (holly) but isn’t
The magickal purple berries of the Elder relate to inception…the beginning of the mystical birth of the Celtic Sun God. In this illustration, a gigantic Black Raven flies above the child, a wreath of Mistletoe around its neck and a lustrous Black Pearl held in its beak. This bird is the messenger of impending death…the physical death that precedes spiritual rebirth. To the Celtic people, the secret of Annwn was revealed at this time…the time of the Winter Solstice, which marks the shortest day and heralds the rebirth of the Sun.
This appears to mean that Neville will die and what secret will be revealed when he does.
So i then looked into the celtic festival calender
Samhain, Alban Arthan (winter solstice), Imbolc, Alban Eilir (spring equinox), Beltane, Alban Hefin (summer solstice), Lughnassa, and Alban Elfed (fall equinox).
Alban Arthan – The Light of Arthur
Alban Eilir – The Light of Earth/Equinox of the Butterfly
Alban Hefin – The Light of the Shore
Alban Elfed – The Light of the Water/Equinox of the Stag
Now Albus’s brother Aberforth has somethingto do with butterflies (not sure what) and i read some where he has something to do with it neway.
and it kind of fits seeming as albus-bee and aberforth-butterfly.
The butterfly is synbolic for the wood Ivy
The gemstone of Ivy is Opal and is given as a gift/symbol of love.
The Butterfly is the keeper of power and the souls of the dead, wherever it is found in the Otherworld (behind the veil) no harm will come to you.
Could this mean that Aberforth goes with the trio behind the veil in ordear to protect them.
Back to Hawthorn
The Hawthorn is symbolic of the spiritual quest that demands chastity and purification following the earlier festivities of May. The Goddess is depicted here holding the silver chalice of the Holy Grail…also known as the Cauldron of Cerridwen. A young warrior prince is seen to be abandoning his weapons in preparation for the ascent up the hill which looms before him…representative of the Sun’s journey toward the ultimate act of sacrifice which will take place at the Summer Solstice
meh you can read all about it at
http://www.novareinna.com/constellation/description.html#top
there’s some really interesting stuff
There is loads more to talk about but havn’t got the time, if you ever do a podcast on the myth behind Harry Potter id be happy to help
See You In 2 Weeks
July 12th, 2007 at 7:53 am
Awesome podcast, I am still working on my review of the movie. I have to admit after I first saw it was a bit heart broken as I walked out the theater, while I thought the movie was great I just felt disappointed. I don’t think I disliked the book as much as you guys, and I had pretty high hopes for the movie.
Whereas you thought it was a great for them to show “passing of time’ with the news paper headlines I felt as though the movie jumped around so much and moved so fast that they had to use the newspaper headlines to help tell the story. We can all agree that anyone who has not read the books would have left out of that movie totally clueless. So many things were unexplained, so many things I actually enjoyed in the book just hit the cutting room floor I guess.
Some things were blatant, the wizarding world is suppose to be a secrete which means pulling out a wand in front of people and flying through the City and near cruise liners is probably frowned upon. While it was cool to watch it really was not in accordance with the “rules”.
The fight scene was totally awesome at the end, I enjoyed the possession scene even with lame line at the end. While I enjoyed the CG of Gwarp, they could have left it out. I wished they could have worked more Kreature into the movie. I wanted more explanation on the veil. I am reading the OOTP now and I don’t even know if the movie qualifies as a cliff notes version of the book…but it was still entertaining and like you guys I plan to see it again in the theaters (I plan to go at a decent hour).
July 12th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Oh just bin reading through HBP gen
and was at the part were everyone is over for christmas when Celestia Warbeck is singing and was wondering why on earth Jk would put in the lyrics
“Oh, come and stir my cauldron,
And if you do it right,
I’ll boil up some hot strong love,
To keep you warm tonight.”
I wondered if the cauldron refered to means Hufflepuff’s cup, we know it has certain powers that we do not know of and with people thinking “did lily work in the department of mysterys in the love room?”, i wondered if lily knew the prophecy then she tried to envoak the protection that the cup could proved. But i dont know cus if the cup is a horcrux then she myght not have bin able to get to it and if she did it’s probably why voldemort said she had a choice. Meh, not very sure, just wondered why jk myght drop that in.
“Oh, my poor heart, where has it gone?
It’s left for a spell…
…and now you’ve torn it quite apart,
I’ll thank you to give back my heart.”
I wondered if this had nething to do with voldemorts soul. “my poor heart” could be voldemorts soul. “It’s left for a spell…” we know that you have to split ur soul using some sort of spell. “and know u’ve torn it quite apart” could be refering to how many times it has been ripped apart as it has been torn apart quite a few times (7). but bit confused bout the “i’ll thank you to give back my heart” cus if voldemorts soul is whole agen he would be mortal and killable, which he does not want.
meh, i think there is something more behind celestia lyrics, cus i dont see why they would just be put in lyk that.
July 12th, 2007 at 9:29 am
I have to disagree with you on this, Momantai. I think the lyrics were just adding more color to the scene (not to mention give Fleur a touch more creedence when she bashes the song. “Boil up some hot, strong love…” excrutiating!)
July 12th, 2007 at 11:22 am
Grawp was not CGI but instead played by Tony Maudsley: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0560806/
We saw the movie last night at 9:45 PM at a 3-D theatre. I might go and see it again when it goes to the second run.
July 12th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
Momantai – cool information, celtic origins seems to be strong within the book and also with Wicca so there could be some valuable information there, esp the wand woods. Using your theories I had a thought though what if Harry is reaching for a butterfly(Aberforth) on the cover of the US book? Could that be Harry’s way of finishing off Voldemort by drawing him through the veil and then leaving him there? wouldn’t have to AK him then.
Going to see the film for my birthday next weekend so will have to enjoy everyone elses experiences until then.
July 12th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
Daniel,
Grawp was CGI, but the performance was done in a similar why that Gollum/Sméagol from LOTR was made/performed. They used a new technology that could read and capture facial muscle movement and animate the 3d model’s face that way. The body animation was done with motion capture technology. It’s really neat seeing how it’s done. (I’ve been in a motion capture lab..)
July 12th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Hello, My name is Aaron and I am a Potterholic. They say admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. Did anyone get that support group going yet?
July 12th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Pshaw! Does one “recover” from a brilliant sunset? Is deep love a problem?
The support group is for those having difficulty coping with the end. Which should be… all of us…?
July 12th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Glad to hear I’m not alone Michal.
;
July 12th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
I went to see this movie really with a mindset of not expecting much from it. Ever since Chamber of Secrets, I’ve gone to see these movies, expecting so much and getting thoroughly dissappointed. I was pleasantly surprised that I came out of OOTP with a large grin on my face. Finally, a harry potter film besides sorceror’s stone that didn’t make me cringe to watch it. I agreed, for the most part, on the cons both of you mentioned of the movie: lack of character development for Kreacher, Sirius, and Bellatrix, cheesy one-liners, moments of bad acting, etc. But unlike the chamber of secrets, prisoner of azkaban, and goblet of fire, there never came that moment, like Greg said, where you just want the movie to end already. It was well made, so much so that I was able to just enjoy watching it and participate in the laughter and cheering of the crowd around me. Some of the scenes I felt were done exceptionally well: the dementor scene (nice and creepy, scary), Umbridge’s interuption of Dumbledore ( Imelda got the “he hem” done pack), both flying scenes, arthur weasley’s snake attack (very creepy), Bellatrix licking her dark mark (real sick and mental), order of the phoenix fighting death eaters at the ministry, Sirius’ death scene, and Voldemorts possession of harry. Halfway into the movie, I was thinking about how grateful I was that David Yates will be doing Half Blood Prince and I absolutely look forward to it…and the release of Deathly Hallows next week.
and Aaron,
like Michal said, love of harry potter is not something to recover from, but to savor.
July 12th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
Ok so recover was not the best choice of words. When I went to work last night I was surrounded by my fellow workers asking me how I liked the movie. I first thought they were messing with me but in fact were quite sincere. ( You have to envision Hank Hill and his King of the Hill crew standing around having a conversation about OOTP.) I was almost late because I wanted to hear Greg and Penny’s review in this episode that poped up just as I was leaving for work. Well I rushed home after a busy night to listen and realizing I had drank way too much coffee made a pitstop into the nearest bathroom where I tripped over one of my 3 HBP books. ( Made me think of Greg). So I finally got to listen to the episode this AM. I liked the review and having satisfied my Progs fix went to take a nap. My daughter gave me a hug and said , remember dad nothing is hotter than Harry Potter cept us. Have a nice nap. So I slept and dreamed dreams of Deathly Hallows. I was awoke by very loud Wizard Rock some hours later. MOM or Parselmouths I think and went to tell my teenage son to turn down the music but found it was my wife playing the music just singing right along. Dismayed I went into my 16 year old sons room who was busy trying to read up on HBP so he could impress all the girls he met at the movie. My youngest son was watching GOF in his room so I just walked on by quietly. So now here I sit staring at the count down for book 7, quietly savoring this moment in time.
July 12th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
You guys do such a great podcast! This was really good how you categorized your review. Good job!
I really liked this movie. This was the first time I have read the book before watching the movie, so it was a different experience for me. I am going to see it again b/c a) there is a lot that happens that you miss the first time and b) I was distracted by what was left out of the movie. Oh and c) I went to the midnight showing and it was WAY past my bedtime!
Given that the movie would be extremely long if they put everything in the book in the movie, I liked how they moved the story along. There were some things that I wanted put in the movie that weren’t needed but would have been fun to see – like the other rooms in the department of mysteries and Sirius’s mother screaming from the portrait.
While disappointing that they didn’t expand on the Sirius feeling trapped in his home storyline, I thought they did a decent job of showing his recklessness by subtely encouraging Harry to be reckless. (i.e. winking and rolling his eyes).
Oh and did anyone find the Harry/Cho kiss just a little long and nothing like a first, timid kiss that is described in the book!?!
And Penny, I did think that Emma Watson’s acting was better in this movie than in the other 4. Maybe by 7, she will have it down pat. And I did think that Danielle Ratcliff’s acting also greatly improved!
July 12th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
I noticed something in the movie… during one of the battle scenes in the Ministry, was Harry using non-verbal spells? I thought they didn’t learn non-verbals until book 6? Or did I miss something?
July 12th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Ok Aaron, I’m excited but I think that’s too much!!! Hahaha!
July 12th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Aaron- that’s really very sweet. We do have to savor the moments… but doesn’t it feel like they’re passing so fast?? (Especially since I just realized that I’m only about halfway through Order and I have a WEEK to finish HBP… and I would prefer to have at least a day between HBP and DH, just to get a little distance.)
July 12th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
As this is my first time commenting, I must first say that I love your podcast! I love knowing that I’m not the only upper-twenty-something Harry Potter fan who puts this much thought into it!
I saw the movie last night and listened to your review on my drive to work this morning. I agree with you on most points (especially with you, Penny, on Emma Watson – I don’t think the girl knows the definition of subtlety!), but there are a few things that I wanted to add/ask.
1. What do we think of Michael Gambon’s portrayal of Dumbledore this time around? Personally, I thought it was better than Goblet of Fire, but still not like the wise grandfather-type I picture when I read the books. If only we could have a Harris-Gambon hybrid! It’s really a shame they cut the final scene between him and Harry so short since now it looks even more like Dumbledore was just being a jerk.
2. Not to spend too much time on idle speculation with only a week to go, but I personally believe that Grawp was intentionally left in for the same reason Kreacher probably was – that he’s going to become important later on. This is the same reason I think there was a point made to continue to mention his name in Book 6, even though he didn’t do anything directly related to the plot.
3. What’s with the movies pushing plot points earlier than the books? Ron & Hermione have practically been dating since movie 3, and Ginny is already crazy powerful in this movie. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s just something I’ve noticed for a while now.
4. I completely agree with your assessment of Harry’s cheesy line after Voldemort possesses him at the end, but I’d like to add another one to that tally. Did anyone else catch Sirus’ line during the end battle where he calls Harry “James”? It was really quick and kind of lost amid all the other battle sounds, and I really think I was one of the very few in my theater who caught it (based on my quick once-over in the dark to see if anyone else reacted). I thought it was kind of lame since they rushed through the Sirius storyline so quickly in this movie that the whole “Sirius is reckless and sees Harry as James” storyline took a backseat to his love for Harry (which is ultimately more important). If they did it for those viewers who hadn’t read the book, then I’ll bet they just left them more confused.
I guess that’s all I can think of now, but I reserve the right to come back after I see it again this weekend at the IMAX. Thanks for providing me an outlet for my pointless rambling (my friends thank you too)!
July 12th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
Mariela- Good thoughts. I TOTALLY forgot about Bellatrix licking the Dark Mark. That gave me serious goosebumps. she is one sick woman!!
Susan- I agree with you totally on the flying through muggle london point (as well as a lot of your other points). I hear what you are saying about it being jumpy.
Wendy- during the kiss, the girl next to me said, “I can’t watch this, it is totally unrealistic!!” Also I had issues with Harry’s describing the kiss as “wet” in a dreamy tone. In the book when he said that the kiss was wet he seemed more perplexed- almost wondering what the big deal about kissing was.
Angie- thanks for the clarification- you took the words out of my mouth (or hands in this case)
Silat- I didn’t notice the non-verbal spells- anyone else?
Amy- so many of your points are things I thought during the movie but didn’t remember when Greg and I recorded. First of all Michael Gambon- I agree with you 100%. While he was better in this than in GoF (that out of control HARRY POTTER part in the beginning of that movie still gives me nightmares), he still didn’t seem like the Dumbledore in the books. Dumbleodre in the books has some of the best one liners of any character, EVER and I can’t see Gambon doint them. It is too bad.
I was thinking the same thing about the movies pushing the plot lines earlier than the books. Once again, I think that these directors, screenplay writers, etc. give absolutely NO credit to the minds of the audience. It is a shame.
July 12th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
See, I always thought you and I were of a similar mind, Penny
I know what you mean about thinking about stuff to point out while watching the movie and forgetting them the second you walk out of the theater. I’m seriously considering taking notes when I see it again – and I don’t even have a podcast! Perhaps I should look into that support group with Aaron…
July 13th, 2007 at 5:12 am
Nigel Tufnel!! This is Spinal Tap! “We are Spinal Tap from the UK – you must be the USA!!” LOL! I agree you must read the book to full enjoy this film in particular. Gary Oldman is an amazing actor and is Sirius Black (as far as I am concerned)!! Also Alan Rickman is Snape so whether he is bad or good he is the man to play him. I mean just think Die Hard for bad guy and Love Actually for good guy! Isaacs is Lucius! I agree Ron has more depth. Maggie Smith, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon(although I thought Richard Harris was a better Dumbledore and better fit my vision of him), Emma Thompson, David Thewlis, Robbie Coltrane were solid as always and were great. Imelda Staunton did a great job as Dolores but I must admit she wasn’t what I pictured. Emma Watson is ok she isn’t that bad. Luna Lovegood was very good and played it very well! I agree the opening is always made for comic relief and overplaying it. Adaptation of the book was good not great. I actually wish the film was longer. I mean being the longest book it should be one of the longer films. I was really looking forward to the DA part because I really enjoyed that in the book. But it did run long. The CGI was great and well used. I think the best Harry Potter film was “The Prisoner of Azkaban” to date. I agree the films should get more grown up and not market to younger kids as much just as the novels made that progression as the series moved on. I agree that the directors and screenplay writers in particular don’t give us enough credit. All in all a solid, entertaining(which is the bottom line) and very good film.
July 13th, 2007 at 5:26 am
Seeing Sirius die was very sad for a few reasons. First he is my favorite char. in the series. Secondly, Gary Oldman won’t be seen as much in the future. Finally its just a sad moment!
July 13th, 2007 at 6:41 am
I completely agree about Gambon’s portrayal of Dumbledore. He seems scary at points. Not someone that Harry feels comfortable confiding in. He doesn’t seem warm or really protective of Harry. Something that is definitely key in the books. I wonder how that will affect the portrayal of their relationship in HBP.
July 13th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
All the hate for the movie. It was a good movie!
I think it’s a movie that requires undivided attention to get the single lines of dialogue that set up much of the character developement. Sirius set up Umbridge’s half-breed biases in one line in the fire, her measuring Flitwick reinforced that but without that line from Sirius it might have made less sense. Harry scolding Sirius for leaving Grimmauld Place to see him off followed by his mentioning his volunteering his home for the Order was all the expanation given, and really all that was needed- it isn’t all that important after all. I also liked the line where Sirius called Harry James, i thought that was not only accurate but appropriate. Sirius not so much as falling but enveloping into the viel was really well done.
I thought the pace of the movie was so furious it left lttle time to absorb what was happening, which is fine because most of the story telling was in dialogue which is harder to remember. I also like the way things were rearranged for better pace. The story of the Black family tree, Sirius saying the world is divided into more than good and Death Eater. They gave the the story a flow that didn’t detract from the amount of the novel that was ommited, it made it feel like a regular movie.
I really disagree with Penny about Emma Watson. I still think she is adorable and i always thought Hermione took herself too seriously and everything she says is improtant, and i think EW gets that. I also really liked Harry’s lines fighting off the possession:
“You’re the weak one. You know knothing of love and friendship. And i feel sorry for you”.
I didn’t take that as a “get out because”, but more of Harry understanding the prophecy, which he heard. I think this when/ how he figured out his real power, what separates Harry from Voldemort.
I also disagree with Greg on this theme’s of the books. Yes Order is about truth and disallusion. but i also think this book is about unity versus isolation, which is theme for the movie as well. The Sorting Hat omitted, they used the forest scene with Harry, Luna, and the Thestrals, where she explains how it is Voldemort’s plan to make Harry feel alone, that it’s to make him weaker. If you read Order in this light, you might see that a lot of the scenes where Harry is disallusioned he is also alone, but when he is persuing truth he is with his friends.
I liked the movie but i am hoping the DVD is a Directors cut that is about 45 minutes longer with more development in some of the scenes. I certainly liked it more than Transformers.
July 13th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Just saw the movie. I am very disappointed. I wanted more of the Ministry of Magic rooms. There was so much that was left out. This was my least favorite book and now my least favorite movie. I didn’t like what they did with Hermione’s character. I don’t mind Emma’s acting, she seems fine compared to the actors that play the Dursleys. I understand that their purpose is to contrast Harry’s powerlessness in the muggle world with his power in the wizarding world as well as comic relief, but they could have found better actors. I did like the fight between D and V. I loved the fire and water imagery.
My son noticed the “non-verbal” spells. He hasn’t read the books and felt there was so much attention drawn to proper wand motions and verbal commands and then all of a sudden they can do spells by just pointing their wands and with no verbal commands. He also felt that the movie didn’t go anywhere except that Sirius dies. From the last movie to this it took an hour and a half to get everyone to believe Harry and then everything goes back to the way it was in movie 4 — Voldemort is back. He liked the fancy CGI and minor character development ~ Ron is more mature now and Harry and Cho’s relationship helps the audience to understand that Harry and Hermione’s relationship is platonic.
I did explain to my son that JKR was using a traditional fantasy literary device that has a character become holy by having to endure the ridicule and scorn of disbelieving peers (and/or community). The disbelieved character is redeemed in the end by being true to themselves and upholding Truth. This doesn’t translate very well to the screen however.
I will have to see the movie again to become reconciled to its deficiencies.
July 13th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
I am going to go see the movie again jst because I know my brain missed a lot.
July 13th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
I want to see it again only because I kept feeling like I was too tired to really enjoy it and well seriously kept wishing it was over. It was way too late for me..
July 13th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
Just listened to your podcast and can’t wait to see the movie. Love your podcast; you are so sharin g and welcoming that you seem like family. Let me know when I can get a t-shirt. I live in Carney and could even pick it up if the option is available. Also, please orchestrate a Baltimore get together. I’m sure there alot of locals who would like to meet you.
Also I’d love to see you get together with the Snapecast girls (and occasional guy). Its great to have HP poscasts like yours and theirs that get way beyond the surface. I’m so glad I found a world beyond the entertaining but limited Potter/MuggleCasts. You give both historical perspective and literary observations that they don’t.
July 13th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Went to see the movie @1201 at our local theater. I thought it was great. had a couple of queastions though that mabey someone can answer. 1: In the room of requirement did anyone notice Ginny give Cho a very dirty look when Harry was telling everyone bye and lingering behind for ‘”the kiss”?(Set up for the next movie?) 2. In the book I don’t seem to remember Bellatrix Avada Kedavering Sirius into the veil, but rather him just falling into it. Am I wrong about this? 3. Did anyone notice what Neville’s Patronus was or did I miss it? Was he able to make one?
I had a 10 year old fidgitiing in the chair next to me and missed some stuff. Might just have to go back and watch again.
Hey guys, only 8 more days(7 if you are going to Book release party’s)until Book 7!!! I think I know where everyone will be…lol
July 14th, 2007 at 6:03 am
Seeing the pre-movie hype, the movie looked to be “kitschy”, almost as if the characters were cookie-cut and baked in the oven. I felt the same when walking out at the end of the movie. Being a fan of the books, I brought certain expectations with me. You need to separate cannon from the movies, and follow the simple themes David Yates uses.
Like sugary Umbridge, the pre-movie hype was just too much sweetness. I was glad that Luna Lovegood was able to balance the overly icing-drenched movie with simple observations. There was not enough time dedicated to the movie and should have probably been left in the oven a bit longer with a few more ingredents added.
July 14th, 2007 at 8:14 am
I’ve been thinking about the movie and what was left out ~ like the cleaning of Grimmwald Place and the locket; Kreacher hording items. So then the locket Harry comes across must not be important or “The Locket.” And therefore, none of the items mentioned in the book must be significant.
Also, Dumbledore (Gambon) I agree with earlier comments about him. He does seem angry all the time. I miss Richard Harris.
July 14th, 2007 at 10:55 am
So, the more that I think about the movie, the more it’s growing on me. I’ll email you guys my movi review so I don’t take up a ton of room on here.
We had quite a few people dress up at our theater. I think we had some Slytherins, a Hagrid, and a little boy that had uncanny likeness to Harry. Of course, a ton of people were wearing HP shirts (I made my own lol), and many were reading the books while waiting in line, and there was also one interesting character who had taken all six of his HP books and taped them to his body…. I’m not sure that I would subject my books to that kind of abuse lol.
But I’ll get that review to you guys soon!
Great podcast!
July 14th, 2007 at 11:59 am
I totally agree about gambon as Dumbledore. I never have liked this Dumbledore. The Dumbledore in the books is very laid back and quite like. Patient if you will. Richard Harris did really bring that across. Everytime I watch the movies with Gambon it is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. He seems to be overacting ALOT. But look on the bright side. We have only one more movie of his pathetic portral of Dumbledore.
July 14th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
I just remembered what I was going to say about Luna Lovegood. (Graet portail and excellent actress BTW) At the end of the movie she said something I really didn’t remember from the book(now I have to back and research), but made a very signifigant point in the movie. At the end she was posting up lists of her missing items and Harry asked if he could help her find them. She said no thats ok. I might quote this off a bit, but “The things you miss always find a way to come back to you.”……Hmmmmm
Insite into what might happen in Deathly Hallows? Certainly made my mind go crazy with a whole new theory. Will Harry be somehow be reuinited with his parents and Sirius? Could they come back through the veil since it seems to be a big question about what it is and how it works.
July 14th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Oh, also the other prophecies that were in the book that we only heard part of must not be important:
“Two figures pearly white as ghosts, fluid as smoke, unfurled themselves from the fragments of broken glass upon the floor and each began to speak. Their voices vied with each other, so that only fragments of what they were saying could be heard over Malfoy and Bellatrix’s shouts.
‘. . .at the Solstice will come a new. . ” said the figure of an old bearded man.’ . . .’. . .and none will come after. . .’ said the figure of a young woman.” (784,85 OotP American edition)
This tells me that either this is unimportant or Yates, or the screen writer, has made a rather large mistake. I don’t think he had the reader in mind when he made this movie in some respects.
I understand boiling the movies down to what is important but this isn’t soup it’s broth; it has no meat in it. I feel like we are spoon fed information.
July 14th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
When will we be able to order t-shirts and how much will they cost?
July 14th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
When will we be able to order t-shirts and how much will they cost?
July 14th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
I just wanted to say how happy I am that you guys did a review of the movie (and very quickly, I may add). I haven’t heard any other podcast review the movie yet and it’s pretty disappointing seeing as how they’ve only got a week to do so. Let’s face it, after the book comes out no one will want to talk about the movie.
Interesting thought, jjgotaas, the locket not being in the movie may very well mean that it’s not “The” locket. It would be brilliant for Jo to leave that kind of hint in the movie and distract us with all this talk of Kreacher CANNOT be cut. Or in movie seven Harry could just go, “Guys, I remember seeing this locket in Grimmauld Place, maybe Kreacher or Mundungus has it, let’s check with them.” That’s about how well the movies have illustrated the brilliantly subtle hints in the books so far.
July 15th, 2007 at 7:37 am
I think I agree with Doasis the most. I really enjoyed the movie. Planning to see it again at an IMAX theater so I can see the Ministry scenes in 3D. yeah! Loved the bits of humor, the pace, the acting. The climactic scene where Voldemort was trying to possess Harry – perfect! I felt that edge of your seat tension even though I knew what was going to happen.
I must say, though, that if I could change anything about the movie, it would be to make that final scene with Harry and Dumbledore longer and more like the book. I think the whole story really builds up into that emotional interaction.
Greg’s comment about Bellatrix saying Avada Kedavra was a good point. I hadn’t thought about it in that respect. At first I figured they assumed it was a killing curse. But it makes more sense that Rowling would have had to approve something like that. But that rather dashes my hope that there was a small chance for Sirius to return.
July 15th, 2007 at 11:45 am
Hello all. My name is Regan writing from Perth, Australia. I’ve just got back from seeing the movie. Maybe It’s because I have only just seen it but I don’t really have a bad word to say about it.
There was some excellent acting in it; Imelda Staunton as Umbridge I especially thought was an excellent choice for the role. She just oozed unpleasantness. When she slapped Harry in her office I was actually shocked. Daniel Radcliffe has given his best performance by far in this film. I thought he tackled the emotional upheaval of Harry very well. The adorable Evanna Lynch as Luna was cool; she seemed to give her the floating-but-thoughtful impression I got from her in the books. There’s been some debate about Emma Watson. Personally someone else may very well have played the part better; there were two moments where I though the acting was a little bit dodgy (I forget which part it was but in one part she way over-acted a reaction and there was a line where she delivered it so fast that even I didn’t catch it all). That said I really have no problem with her.
It was suitably tense but not over the top, which I thought was handled well. Overall I think transforming the story into this film was a success. There were parts I would have liked to see expanded on. Most notably Sirius’ cabin-fever existence at the OOTF headquarters (although with everything to fit into the movie it is a small sacrifice). But the confrontation that Harry & Dumbledore have at the end was brief, maybe even slightly anti-climactic. I was expecting that to be a prominent scene with real attention paid to each characters struggles.
The last 20 mins had me on the edge of my seat.
Overall it was an excellent movie. It could even rival Prisoner of Azkaban as the best Potter movie so far. I’ll be going to see it again soon.
Thanks all.
July 15th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
Hey! I saw it twice at the local shopping centre in Sydney and we had half an hour of previews…urgh. I absolutly loved it, especially Aberforth with the goat scuttling past him and when Sirius died…it was really moving. I hated the ‘you’ll never know love, or friendship. And I feel sorry for you’ that bit just…didn’t work. But even worse, I thought, because I am a huge Neville fan, was:
Bellatrix: How’s mum and dad?
Neville: Better now their about to be revenged!
Urgh. I don’t like that at all. My mum came with me, she hasn’t read any of the books and she was really confused. She was asking like ‘how did Umbridge get out of the forest’ and even ‘where are they?’ when they were in the hall of prophecy. I’m not sure if mum just didn’t pick it up or if it really isn’t clear in the movie. I really liked it but I think it was made for fans of the books, and it wasn’t completly accesable if you are not.
July 16th, 2007 at 8:40 am
I just saw OOTP for the second time and it was MUCH better. I could actually focus on enjoying the movie rather than what was cut out, different, etc.
Plus, I saw it in 3D and how can you go wrong with the battle scenes in 3D?
I still can’t get past Gambon as Dumbledore. I am not looking forward to seeing him in HBP. I am concerned that he won’t be able to pull off the connection with Harry without appearing to be attacking or accusatory. But, we shall see….
July 16th, 2007 at 11:17 am
No there is no Nigel in the books. But nigel is in Movie 4. He comes up between Ron and Harry and Ron says “Not now Nigel” because he wanted Harry’s autograph.
July 16th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Hi guys, great review of the movie on the last podcast. Just wanted to throw in my two cents. The movie was alright, especially given it was the longest and least visual of the six books so far. So much of the story takes place in Harry’s head it had to present problems in translation to a movie. My biggest complaint is how the director stripped most of the intensity from the movie. Harry isn’t nearly as angry in the movie as in the book, nor is Sirius allowed to be the frustrated and depressed man from the book. Mrs. Figg is made to look far to meek on screen, what a waste. But most of all, I am so upset with the direction Dumbledore is being taken. Everyone complains of Gambon, but if the director didn’t want the performance Gambon is giving, he should change it, so I blame the director and his staff. I read Dumbledore in this book as never, NEVER, out of control. But in the movie, he practically begs with Fudge, basically admits Umbridge has his number after Trelawny’s sacking, and looks way overmatched in the battle with Voldemort. Why did he need to say the aurors are on the way, Dumbledore doesn’t need auror backup! This is just a continuation of the terrible, confused Dumbledore of GoF and it is tragic. I swear Gambon even looked scarred of Harry when Harry yells “Look at me” in his office. The movie was good, but I liked PoA and GoF better than this emasculated and simpering offering.
July 16th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
I am one of the few people who admits to liking Gambon’s Dumbledore. In fact, I think his acting exemplifies what is happening in the books.
In POA, Dumbledore is somber with the addition of the dementors at Hogwarts and his worry about Sirius getting to Harry. By the end of the movie, he is humming like a bumblebee – which was Jo’s vision of him – as the dementors are gone and Sirius is proven to be innocent.
In GOF, Dumbledore’s fear is given a freer reign when Harry’s name comes out of the goblet. Also, once Harry says he didn’t put his name in, Dumbledore starts thinking again and calms down. I see that he is feeling out of control of the situation, which naturally would upset a person. We see at the end of GOF that Dumbledore is very serious, but also has time to be friendly with Harry and that Harry holds no ill will toward Dumbledore for yelling at him.
In OoTP, Dumbledore has limited time, but still shows every bit of the avoidance of Harry that I pictured when reading the story. Also, every time he looks at Harry, all three times in the movie, he shows his grave concern.
One of the FAQs on Jo’s site is, “Will we ever hear the the school song again?” She answers that if we hear the song again we can be sure the wizarding world is safe once more. I can just see Dumbledore’s portrait singing the school song, and driving McGonagall batty, at the end of DH.
The movies show he is less than happy from POA on. To me, Gambon is simply playing the encroaching darkness correctly.
As I grossly misquoted the actual FAQ, here is the link to it.
http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/faq_view.cfm?id=104
July 17th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
After seeing the movie a second time over the weekend, I only have one other thing to add. Did anyone else notice the goat behind the bar in the Hog’s Head with the bartender (who I can only presume is meant to be Aberforth, but I’m sure I’ll be proven wrong when they have to cast that character in Movie 7) ? It was very quick right when Harry, Ron & Hermione walked in before the first DA meeting, but I laughed like an idiot when I noticed it on the second viewing. Unfortunately no one else in the theater noticed it or knew what was funny about it, so it was quite awkward for me. Anyway, just thought I’d share because I thought it was pretty funny and almost too perfect to be an accident.
August 7th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Hey. I was one of the people who was interviewed in the line at the Senator Theatre and I was wondering if you were going to post the video of it or if you already have.
August 7th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Hey Annie! We will be posting it eventually. Believe it or not with all the potter hullaballoo, I haven’t had time to edit it to put it up…please come back to check!! Were you dressed up?
October 8th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
Another beautiful day in paradise, eh? Thanks for the great post (about Episode #40: Order of the Phoenix Review) I think that Floor Hardwood Oak in regards to this topic is also important.