40cakes | Order of the Phoenix, fer reals this tiem

Trailers
- Nothing really amazing, though Enchanted looks kinda cute.

Movie

- Hey, they're not starting out with Harry hiding in the rose bushes! It's daylight out! They've changed things from the book and it works! Nice.

- Oh Dudley. What a perfect way to sum up what kind of person you've become in a single shot, without all those pesky readin' words.

- The pacing! So quick! No mention of Mundungus Fletcher, Dursleys take Dudley somewhere (a hospital?) discreetly, thus allowing the Order to come for him that night, and allowing THEM to say that Dumbledore's fighting his expulsion, without a scene of owls going back and forth and days passing in between. THIS IS HOW ADAPTATIONS ARE SUPPOSED TO WORK!

- Michael Gambon plays a Dumbledore rather different from the book. He wears his heart on his sleeve, while the book Dumbledore often gives the appearance that he's a doddering stupid old man. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. I don't know that it worked as well for him in this film, as he shows a bit too often that Umbridge is really getting to him.

- They sort of subtly work into the film that Harry's dreaming of Voldemort and Voldemort's sort of possessing him. The more I think about it, the more I think that this might be a confusing point for non-book readers, since I feel it might be TOO subtle, and too late that it's explained what's going on.

- Oh Luna Lovegood. The world just doesn't have enough love for you. Everywhere that Emma Watson and Katie Leung fail in the acting department, Evanna Lynch picks up. Luna is even more favorite here.

- Hmm, Harry and Cho's falling out in the books occurs because Harry meets up with Hermione and Rita Skeeter on Valentine's Day, and then Cho's friend gives away the DA. But Rita's plot was dropped from Goblet of Fire, and Marietta is never introduced. Easy way of solving this - Cho sells out the DA. OR DID SHE??? I love that there's movie canon that's different from book canon, and still makes sense. THIS IS HOW ADAPTATIONS ARE SUPPOSED TO WORK!

- Firenze is absent, but we learn through other means that the Ministry has been marginalizing the centaurs and stealing more and more of their land. Also, they're pissed off about Grawp. So it still works when Hermione leads Umbridge to them.

- Sirius' death always rubbed me the wrong way in the book. Wait, so there's a veil, and he just fell through it and now he's dead? Amongst all this fighting? That's a bit anticlimactic. In the film, I think it's played out a little bit better, but I still rolled my eyes when there was crying and gnashing of teeth on behalf of him.

- Dear J.K. Rowling - I know these are kids books, but seriously with the "we're stronger because of love and friendship" already. I've seen all of Sailor Moon, I understand the mighty sparkly power of love and friendship, but enough already. Please explain in Deathly Hallows that Lily Potter used the POWER of love to come up with a really awesome protective spell for Harry, and not like she just used Moon Spiral Heart Attack, kay?