Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

I had to follow tradition and see the Harry Potter movie on opening night. Pickle and I managed to sneak away during Hot Rod's soccer practice and catch the flick.

I enter the theater each time with some trepidation because the movie maker is walking on hallowed ground because I loves me some Harry Potter reading. And, honestly, OOP was one of the hardest of the books for me to read. It was painful to see Harry being persecuted as he was and for him to be a little asshole about it all, too. I forget that he is only, what, 16, in OOP? But, regardless, I think so much of Harry, that it is sometimes easy for me to forget that he is just a kid, after all, like most teenagers just with a lot bigger worries about the world's most powerful wizard wanting him dead and having been responsible for the death of pretty much everyone he has ever loved like a parent. But, I digress.

I was worried about how hard it would be to watch this film and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to watch. There are little things that go without explanation for those who haven't read the book. You see Kingsley Shackleford protecting Harry with the Order, yet you see him try to arrest Dumbledore. If you hadn't read the books, there was no sense to that. Little things that I know are probably really hard to get all in the movies. However, Umbridge was as awful in the movie as she is in the book. Hem, hem. I loved all the time spent in the Defense Against the Dark Arts with Harry as the instructor. I was disappointed that I didn't get to see more of Hermione and Ronald in this film. It was clearly about Harry.

It was not near as dark or scary as I thought it might be either. The colors used in the film were very bright and cheery. It has a PG-13 rating, which I think is fair. The mom sitting next to us brought a boy around 5 and he was clearly frightened and crying by several very scary images, which were central throughout the film. Don't get me wrong, there were scary repetitions including Harry's nightmares about Lord Voldemort among other scenes. I think it is too intense for the little ones - thusly the obvious fear it struck in the kid next to us.

Anyway, going into it with concerns, I came out happy. Even with the death of a beloved character, I feel it was handled pretty well. I'm telling you, though, Helena Bonham Carter was really scary as the crazy Bellatrix LeStrange. I swear, that woman has a knack for playing nutters. The next time we see Bellatrix on the big screen is going to be a doozie, I think. I hope she has more to do.

Now, just eight, ok nine, days to go for HP and the Deathly Hallows.