2008 Woodie Awards
Best of Movies: A Summer to Watch
Anna Reagan
Issue date: 8/30/07 Section: Arts & Features
- Page 1 of 3 next >
Whether your summer was jam-packed with boring jobs and parties, or you were just sitting around watching the latest episodes of Entourage, there is one thing for sure: there were tons of movies to be seen - mostly sequels and blockbusters. But the question is: Were they any good?
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
Directed by: David Yates
Released: July 11, 2007
A die-hard Harry Potter fan must never expect to be wholly satisfied with the movies that are, at best, a rough rendition of the books. And this one had the usual tricks: dazzling special effects, breathtaking cinematography and the playful charm brought by the tight-knit ensemble cast of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.
There were parts of the story that the movie did as well as J.K. Rowling herself. The evil of Professor Umbridge is spine-tingly due to the pitch-perfect performance of Imelda Staunton. And when Dumbledore is trying to reach out to Harry, who is being possessed by Lord Voldemort, he reminds Potter that, "It's not how you are alike. It's how you are not." This theme is a favorite of Rowling's and quite nicely tucked into this scene.
There was one overarching problem that the movie could not escape, demonstrated in a few of Radcliffe's lines and the overall pace of the film: the film seemed rushed. Phoenix is the longest book with the U.S. edition coming in at eight hundred and seventy pages. But Director David Yates chose to make it the shortest film to date with a running time of one hundred and thirty-eight minutes. The build-up to the final battle is all there. Harry, Ron and Hermione are constantly on edge and aware of the rising tension among the school, their peers and the ministry of magic. But once we get there, once we are at the point of climax, the movie seems to hit fast forward. The death of Sirius Black, Harry's beloved godfather, is almost put in as an afterthought. Harry is seen fiddling with a sweatshirt later on to signify some loss, but how is that accurate or meaningful? And the discussion of the prophecy -- the thing that Albus Dumbledore has been waiting and yearning to tell Harry for five years -- is nothing more than a conversation that takes place in an awkwardly spaced and creepily lit nook.
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
Directed by: David Yates
Released: July 11, 2007
A die-hard Harry Potter fan must never expect to be wholly satisfied with the movies that are, at best, a rough rendition of the books. And this one had the usual tricks: dazzling special effects, breathtaking cinematography and the playful charm brought by the tight-knit ensemble cast of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.
There were parts of the story that the movie did as well as J.K. Rowling herself. The evil of Professor Umbridge is spine-tingly due to the pitch-perfect performance of Imelda Staunton. And when Dumbledore is trying to reach out to Harry, who is being possessed by Lord Voldemort, he reminds Potter that, "It's not how you are alike. It's how you are not." This theme is a favorite of Rowling's and quite nicely tucked into this scene.
There was one overarching problem that the movie could not escape, demonstrated in a few of Radcliffe's lines and the overall pace of the film: the film seemed rushed. Phoenix is the longest book with the U.S. edition coming in at eight hundred and seventy pages. But Director David Yates chose to make it the shortest film to date with a running time of one hundred and thirty-eight minutes. The build-up to the final battle is all there. Harry, Ron and Hermione are constantly on edge and aware of the rising tension among the school, their peers and the ministry of magic. But once we get there, once we are at the point of climax, the movie seems to hit fast forward. The death of Sirius Black, Harry's beloved godfather, is almost put in as an afterthought. Harry is seen fiddling with a sweatshirt later on to signify some loss, but how is that accurate or meaningful? And the discussion of the prophecy -- the thing that Albus Dumbledore has been waiting and yearning to tell Harry for five years -- is nothing more than a conversation that takes place in an awkwardly spaced and creepily lit nook.
Be the first to comment on this story