Movie #261 - Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix
2007 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 18 min
Director: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Griffiths, Fiona Shaw, Ralph Fiennes, Brendan Gleeson, Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Maggie Smith, Jason Isaacs, Imelda Staunton, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Warwick Davis, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane

These movies are jam-packed with acting royalty, aren't they?  Seriously. If I could write a book series and have all of these actors in it, wow....  I can't even tag them all, that's how many there are! Blogger won't let me, stupid Blogger.

So this has always been my least favorite book.  It's too long, too dark, too much brooding.  But that's the whole point. I love it for what it represents to the series: Harry's adolescence ending, his painful adulthood beginning.  And isn't Imelda Staunton just the perfect "headmaster" you love to hate?  There are many great things about this book, all of which are captured here.  Not the least of which is Helena Bonham Carter's introduction as Bellatrix Lestrange, one of my favorite characters of all time.  Honestly, how crazy is this woman?

I guess I love this one for being unapologetically true to what it has to be, but it's still uncomfortable to read/watch.  I only wish there was more of the Weasley twins war on Umbridge in the movie.  That stuff is gold.

Movie #259 - Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban
2004 - Rated PG - 2 hr 21 min
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Richard Griffiths, Gary Oldman, Bonnie Wright, David Thewlis, Warwick Davis, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Tom Felton, Dawn French, Emma Thompson, Julie Christie, Timothy Spall

Watching these in a row, the actors are growing up right before my eyes. Actually, it's kinda cool.  It's also fun to watch the story unfold in succession like this.  It's not fun, however, to watch several 2+ hour movies in a row. My butt's starting to hurt somewhere around the end of this movie.

Still, this movie takes a marked turn away from the happy-go-lucky Hogwarts vibe that Chris Columbus established.  It's probably got a lot to do with the new director, but it aptly captures the feeling of the third book. Bleak, sad, dreary.  It's an important segue for Harry to go from Yay I'm a Wizard! to Crap, Voldemort Wants to Kill Everyone and I have to Stop Him.  Rowling does a good job in the series translating this to us and Cuaron was the right guy to take over for this film.