Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix SPOILERS!!!

[buzzard]

Lupin didn't get to talk about what he was up to for the order...i.e. infiltrating werewolves..

This actually occurs in book six, not OotP. I'm re-reading Half Blood Prince right now.

buzzard

 

[Hijinks]

I remember Lupin saying, "Hello, Harry," but did he even have any other dialogue?

Yeah he had a few lines when they were having dinner at the Order headquarters.

Regarding Dumbledore and Filch: Filch is a Squibb (i.e. born to wizard parents but without any magical talent himself) as is Mrs. Figg, the neighbor who helped Harry after the Dementor attack. That explains why they appear to be Muggles, have no powers, and yet know all about the wizarding world. They have to be employed somewhere, and Dumbledore has a history of letting "undesirables" stay at Hogwarts and/or work there (Hagrid, Professor Trelawny, etc)

Filch being a Squibb also explains why he feels hostile towards the "normal" wizards who go to school at Hogwarts. He's jealous and most of the time he's harmless - Dumbledore knows that.

It is also character building for young people to have to deal with people that they don't get along with. That's why Dumbledore never intervenes when there's 2 different factions at the school (Harryphiles versus Draco-ites)

I enjoyed the movie but I thought that they crammed too much stuff into it. It was understandable that they did, of course (and I'm probably the only person alive who was relieved to have NO QUIDDITCH, but ah well), but I know there were some things that my friends (who have not read the books) missed.

For example, when Fred and George lit their fireworks and left the school, my friends didn't realize that they were quitting school. Even though they said something along the lines of "our scholastic career is at an end" or some such, right beforehand. It just didn't come across very well.

I loved that part but was disappointed it wasn't longer. That was my favorite part from the books and I waited for it for a long time. I was really hoping that they'd have the sparkler spelling out "poo" in the sky but .. alas ..

Also no one mentioned that it was Sybil Trelawney who foretold the prophecy. The whole prophecy thing was glazed over, imho. It was like, why are they there? Well, if you read the book, you knew. But there was no exposition after the big battle that explained the prophecy at ALL. And I was really disappointed that Dumbledore didn't tell Harry about the prophecy POSSIBLY being about Neville originally, but that Voldemort attacking Harry made it about Harry.

I had to explain those things to people or else they totally had no idea. I felt like a Harry Potter snob.

 

[buzzard]

I enjoyed the movie but I thought that they crammed too much stuff into it. It was understandable that they did, of course (and I'm probably the only person alive who was relieved to have NO QUIDDITCH, but ah well), but I know there were some things that my friends (who have not read the books) missed.

I'll join the "don't miss Quidditch club". Thinking about it I realized that it was simply too preposterously stupid a game for me to bear. It seems to merely be a plot device invented so that Harry would be important to his house. Why else would a team sport be so over focused on the performance of one individual? I'm rather hoping they continue to ignore the "sport" in future movies.

buzzard

 

[Hijinks]

I'm rather hoping they continue to ignore the "sport" in future movies.

Hear, hear. Although I understand the need for it - the books *are* written with children or preteens in mind, and things like Quidditch and the Yule Ball and boys asking girls out, etc, are designed for those readers.

 

[Mistwell]

I liked it a lot, however I felt they left way too much out. They needed at least another 20 mins, if not a full hour. Stuff was left out that I think plays a role in the next two books, and it will require the next director to juggle a bit to make up for it.

 

[kingpaul]

Why else would a team sport be so over focused on the performance of one individual?

I agree that the Seeker is important because their catching of the Golden Snitch stops the game, but just catching it doesn't mean you win. Remember the World Cup where Krum caught the Snitch but his team still lost?

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

Hear, hear. Although I understand the need for it - the books *are* written with children or preteens in mind, and things like Quidditch and the Yule Ball and boys asking girls out, etc, are designed for those readers.

You'll notice that Quidditch has taken less and less of a role as the books have progressed.

Brad

 

[billd91]

You'll notice that Quidditch has taken less and less of a role as the books have progressed.

Brad

They take less of a central role, but they maintain their part in side character development (particularly Ron and Ginny as distinct characters), humor, and as a semi-realistic backdrop for other things going on. And by semi-realistic backdrop, I mean student participation in sports and other things students are typically obsessed with that don't involve just sitting around in the common room.
In this role, Quidditch is fairly dispensible from the movies, just like Dobby and SPEW, though still valuable in the books.

 

[billd91]

I'll join the "don't miss Quidditch club". Thinking about it I realized that it was simply too preposterously stupid a game for me to bear. It seems to merely be a plot device invented so that Harry would be important to his house. Why else would a team sport be so over focused on the performance of one individual? I'm rather hoping they continue to ignore the "sport" in future movies.

buzzard

Football tends to focus on the performance of the quarterback...

But I agree that Quidditch, as game design, doesn't work very well. The game is too skewed to the performance of one player. That said, having seeker able to score 6-7x the value of a regular goal wouldn't be too outlandish, particularly compared to 15x.

 

[Tetsubo]

What bugged me was that the teachers seemed to ignore the fact their students were being *tortured*. Minor children being tortured I might add... One of those teachers couldn't have taken a few pictures and called a parent? Or maybe a child welfare agency of some kind? Were they so worried about losing their teaching positions that they could ignore physical torture of minors? I was appalled and disgusted...

On another note... did Black leave the house to Harry?

Why does Black keep a slave?