Last Sunday was such a fun day as I watched Harry Potter 5 : Order of the Phoenix with all my sisters ( yes, all 5 of us! ). We enjoyed the day, as our parents dropped us off at the mall to watch the movie that we have been waiting for all week!

My sister Strawberry mused about his professor comparing which was better - to read the book before watching Harry Potter in the moviehouse, or watching the movie before reading the book.

On my end, I have just started reading Harry Potter last February, out of boredom from my post-graduate phase. I just picked it up from my sister Sarabeth’s book shelf, and started reading. With that, the addiction began and it took me just , I think, two weeks to finish everything. With that, it is clear that I have watched all four movies of Harry Potter before I read the book. In my opinion, for the past four movies, I have appreciated, and fully understood it onscreen, and it was a good thing that I have watched the movie, for when I started reading the books, the images that were retained in my mind ( the movie sequences perhaps ) helped me better grasp and imagine Harry Potter and his adventures. As for the discrepancies, at least, the inconsistencies or whatever was missing in the movie, were well-filled with my book reading.

In the first four movies, I have watched the movie first before reading it. In fairness, I was able to grasp, and understand the story by just watching the movie. Perhaps it was good fate that this time, I have read Order of the Phoenix first before watching it. It’s because my sisters who haven’t read the book before watching it got confused with the flow of the story in the movie, and had many questions in mind after watching it. I was trying to take the point of view of a person who hasn’t read the book first, and yes, if I haven’t read the book, it would have needed me to watch it twice or thrice maybe to grasp the idea.

I promised myself that I wouldn’t rant on inconsistencies because I really did appreciate on the director or writer’s screen adaptation of the story, and well, I really did enjoy the movie. Here are some of my “reviews” on the characters of the story :

Harry Potter / Daniel Radcliffe : It is indeed his best performance in all the Harry Potter movies. He really did well portraying the angry, lonely, and confused Harry Potter here. No further comments.

Hermoine and Ron : Looks like the Ron-Hermoine love team is slowly being built up! ( I’d like that! ) Emma Watson has transformed into a beautiful swan in this movie, I liked her better here than in the past movie ( Goblet of Fire ), for I felt she was overacting in there. Ron’s appeal is slowly registering on screen, as the Ron-Hermoine chemistry is being tested. Well, I certainly felt it!

The Weasley Twins : Slowly getting more screentime with their new business, eh? Plus, their appeals are starting to register onscreen as well. I’ve read some reviews that they found the twins cute!

Cho Chang : Oh no, oh no, oh no. In the last movie, I just let it go that I didn’t understand a word she said, and she was cradling her face ( a weird pose, I say ) while crying upon the death of Cedric Diggory. She didn’t do any justice to the role , and even the kiss wasn’t worth the screen time because of her bad acting! I-don’t-like! Good thing that Harry and Cho’s relationship won’t last long!

Dolores Umbridge : Imelda Staunton sure nailed this role. Her wicked laugh seemed so heartfelt, and she seemed so..close minded! Ahhh! She was effective in making me hate her. Even as a lover of the color pink, I definitely got suffocated with her all-pink ensemble. ALL her clothes, shoes, wallpaper, and ugh, even her nails! It’s pink overkill baby! Dolores Umbridge in this movie will be my constant reminder that I shouldn’t overdo my pink, that it becomes sickening. Whew.

Luna Lovegood : Evana Lynch is purrfect for the role of Loona, I mean Luna! She looked a little bit spaced out, airy, and looked like she had her own world!

Dumbledore : Is it just me or I see him running around and all energetic in this movie? He was just-okay in this movie.

Nymphadora Tonks : Gave out a minor, introductory role in this movie, I hope that she gets more screen time!

Bill Weasley : Why isn’t he here? and why isn’t Fleur in the movie, too? Or might I have mixed their appearances up that is supposedly for the next book? haha!

Bellatrix Lestrange : Acted really crazy. Which is good, because she is crazy! Hahaha!

Voldemort : As usual, the Maid-in-Manhattan dream boy morphed into a snake-man-whose-two-holes-in-the-face-are-considered-his-nose Ralph Fiennes did a great job. Heck, even if he is behind that ugly mask, I would never forget that he is Mr. Maid in Manhattan! Hahaha! ( sorry ). It’s amusing to see that he-who-must-not-be-named is clad in a stylish suit. I also like the way he waves his wand when in battle. Very cool.

In all the HP movies, the characters just keep on getting more mature as they grow up - thus, sometimes, it doesn’t seem like it deserved a General Patronage rating already. This movie is pretty dark, and is far far away from the first HP movie that I watched which was full of childhood wonder. The movie watcher is made aware that evil is definitely in the midst, and it is there to stay until it gets Harry.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie! I’ll stick to my words that I felt better that I read the book first. The editing was a little bit choppy, but the movie itself was an enjoyable flick to watch, definitely worth watching in the cinemas, with the last battle scene which effects were really awsesome!

So, who’s waiting for the Deathly Hollows, the last Harry Potter book to be released this Saturday? ( whoopee!! )