Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Film Review
And this is where things are going to start getting difficult for the Harry Potter films. After the appalling Chris Columbus’ painfully mediocre interpretations of the first two books, this film series suddenly hit its straps - first with Alfonso Cuaron’s brilliant Prisoner of Azkaban, and then with Mike Newell’s surprisingly fine effort for the Goblet of Fire. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was always going to be a difficult book to turn into a film, with its extreme length and preoccupation with Harry’s incessant brooding and angst (hey, fifteen is a difficult age, OK?). Although new director David Yates struggles to craft a coherent plot out of it, there are certainly some things to admire in this one. That won’t stop hordes of Harry Potter readers clamouring for his head because of his rape and pillage of the storyline but, hey, you can’t have everything! Read the rest of this entry »
“Why would you pay good money to go to a cinema and see what you can get for free at home?” Well, lets face it - there haven’t been many Hollywood comedies released in recent years that would measure up to a single episode of The Simpsons in terms of laughs. So why not do a film version? 
Well, it’s aimed at kids. So you have to make allowances. But it’s damn hard to make allowances for something so lame. 
How must it feel to go from being the ruler of a fantasy kingdom, in your early twenties and in the prime of life, only to find yourself transported back into your teenage body back in World War II London? I can’t help but feel it would be somewhat deflating. So imagine your mixed emotions to get back to said fantasy kingdom one year later only to find it’s been crushed under the heel of a tyrannical invader for the several centuries that have gone by there in your absence.