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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, a review by Dragonfire

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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

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This is my least favorite of the movies - it is my least favorite book too - but I still liked the movie overall.  Entirely too much was cut out just so the director could make this movie shorter than any of the others.  I read that even before the movie came out originally, which caused me concern...which I think was justified.  Important explanations are butchered or left out completely - unfortunately not the last time Yates would do this.  It wouldn't have taken that long to include the explanations, but they got cut.  Some of what was cut out from this one does end up being referenced in the final 2 movies, so people who haven't read the books will be clueless about some of those things.  The fact that Harry wanted to be an auror comes up in this book, but it is left out of the movie..only to be brought up in the next movie briefly out of nowhere.  Umbridge is a horrible, nasty character, though she doesn't seem as nasty as she did in the book.  The music is changed a bit at times and what I think of as the main Potter theme is mostly missing.  Some of the music that is used is  bit out of place, sounding too upbeat or happy for what is happening on screen in those parts.  Snape's memory is bungled, being so short, it is almost like it wasn't even used.  The whole point of what that memory was Snape's worst memory isn't even shown.  I still don't think Yates was a good pick to direct these movies. 



I did post a longer review at Epinions if anyone wants to take a look.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

(From Marie's Random Movie Viewing on July 15th, 2013)

The Shining (Miniseries), a review by addicted2dvd

TITLE: The Shining (Miniseries) YEAR: 1998 DIRECTOR: Mick Garris LENGTH: 272min. PLOT: Jack Torrance (Steven Weber) and his family (Rebecca De Mornay and Courtland Mead) move into the sprawling, vacant Overlook Hotel to get away from it all. Away from the alcoholism that derails Jack's writing career. Away from the violent outbursts that mar Jack's past. But Jack's young son Danny knows better. He possesses a psychic gift called the shining-a gift the hotel's vile spirits desperately want. In the hands of Stephen King the "dead" Overlook comes horrifyingly alive. Phantoms lurk, the message "redrum" appears with scary frequency and even garden topiary lurches into macabre existence in this atmospheric shocker scripted by King from his own novel and directed by ace King screen adaptor Mick Garris ('Sleepwalkers', 'The Stand')

My Thoughts:
I can remember back... the very first horror movie I ever watch was Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining. And because of that... that film has always... as it does now... hold a special place in my heart. To the point that I was concerned when I heard they were doing a miniseries version of this movie. My concerns subsided a little when I heard that Stephen King himself was going to have more to do with the miniseries version then he did with the earlier movie version. When I actually watched it... I was SHOCKED... I actually prefer the miniseries version over the movie version! How can this be?!?! Well first of all, I think Steven Weber and Rebecca DeMornay both did a really good job. In the movie version I really liked Jack Nicholson... but I couldn't get myself to care about the character of Wendy with it being played by Shelley Duvall. I don't know why... just didn't care for her much in the original movie. In the movie version they had a maze of bushes. This was replaced in the miniseries with bushes sculpted into animals... and in my opinion this was much creepier then the maze. Lets face it... when you have a miniseries that is a good 4 and a half hours long... they ken get in much more then the can with an approximate 2 and a half hour movie. Which is a good length in it's own. Over-all I just feel they did a great job with this miniseries... to the point that they didn't only do the original movie justice... but they actually surpassed it.

(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Stephen King on July 25th, 2008)

The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Sixth Season, a review by addicted2dvd

The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Sixth Season Wikipedia |IMDb |Trailer/Intro | Whether on or above Earth, hilarity is outrageously universal in TV's most popular comedy featuring four forward-thinking but socially backward geniuses. Fun discoveries multiply: Leonard learns jealousy is bad for a relationship (with Penny) but science is good for seduction (of Penny). Howard finds life in the International Space Station is no escape from terrestrial turmoil between his overbearing mom and his new wife Bernadette. Raj meets someone special who may be a good match, if only he can keep her from fleeing mid-date. Even Sheldon learns a few things: a) what not to say when called in to meet the university's employee's relations director, b) what happens to childhood TV idols and c) that a Dungeons & Dragons adventure can be the icebreaker his relationship with Amy needs. For those who need laughter with scientific regularity, this 2-disc, 24-episode Season Six set of The Big Bang Theory will rock your cosmos. Episodes: 1. The Date Night Variable 2. The Decoupling Fluctuation 3. The Higgs Boson Observation 4. The Re-Entry Minimization 5. The Holographic Excitation 6. The Extract Obliteration 7. The Habitat Configuration 8. The 43 Peculiarity 9. The Parking Spot Escalation 10. The Fish Guts Displacement 11. The Santa Simulation 12. The Egg Salad Equivalency 13. The Bakersfield Expedition 14. The Cooper/Kripke Inversion 15. The Spoiler Alert Segmentation 16. The Tangible Affection Proof 17. The Monster Isolation 18. The Contractual Obligation Implementation 19. The Closet Reconfiguration 20. The Tenure Turbulence 21. The Closure Alternative 22. The Proton Resurgence 23. The Love Spell Potential 24. The Bon Voyage Reaction

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Stars:
Johnny Galecki as Leonard Hofstadter
Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper
Kaley Cuoco as Kaley Cuoco
Simon Helberg as Howard Wolowitz
Kunal Nayyar as Rajesh Koothrappali
Mayim Bialik as Amy
Melissa Rauch as Bernadette

Well that is it. I already finished watching this set. Another great season filled with laugh out loud moments. I really couldn't suggest this series high enough. I feel safe in saying this show is my favorite current sitcom... if not my all-time favorite sitcom. I always find it so easy to watch this show. No matter how long ago I seen the episode before. Matter of fact (while I am not going to do it... I could easily start at season 1 again now.... and re-watch all 6 seasons again. This season while probably not my favorite season... is definitely up there... a must see!



(From Addicted2dvd's Random TV Series Watched on September 12th, 2013)