Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Rating: 8/10 (4 March 2008)

I've just finished watching all 5 of the HP movies back-to-back.....with my husband, who has not read the books.
For the entire first 4 movies, I had to provide a running commentary for him to understand what was actually happening on the screen. "Oh, Sirus, James (Harry's dad), Lupin and Pettigrew were all close friends. They actually wrote the marauder's map--that's how Lupin knew how to use it." We couldn't get through 10 minutes of ANY of the movies without that! However, for "Phoenix," the screenwriter did something amazingly intelligent---he let the film stand on its own! He TRANSLATED the book to the screen, instead of just trying to film chunks of the book exactly as they were written. Every time I thought I would have to explain something to my husband, the brilliant screenwriter did it for me. And he did it naturally, in the proper context. Nothing seemed forced or contrived.
I have to give a major "THANK YOU" to the director as well. The previous four movies were almost exercises in special effects. In #2, for example, it was, "Ooooh, let's see how scary we can make a Basilisk look!" But, they left out Ginny Weasley's ENTIRE STORY--- until she was brought in at the end, like a lousy Deus Ex Machina contraption. "Phoenix" actually focused (gasp!) on the STORY, and the effects were there to enhance it. The director is a master of visual story-telling. We could feel the love Sirius had for Harry in the first glance from Gary Oldman's amazing eyes. We felt slimy every time Umbridge walked into a room. We were SHOWN what was happening, not told the plot in these stupid little summary/exposition dialogs by the characters (which dominated the previous four movies).
The actors have grown by leaps and bounds. (thanks again to the director?) Everyone wants to whine about how much worse Michael Gambon was as Dumbledore, compared to Richard Harris. Well, with the crappy lines he was given (especially in #3) he didn't have much of a chance. But he shines in the hands of a competent writer and director. Daniel Radcliffe's range has expanded exponentially (he was amazing in Sirius' death scene) and Matthew Lewis took Neville Longbottom from gangly nerd to budding hero.
I just read that the same screenwriter from the first four movies (Steve Kloves) is being brought back for "The Half-Blood Prince." Please, please, sack him and bring back Michael Goldenberg for the final installment. The man knows how to write. Steve Kloves has shown that he knows very little about adapting these books to the screen.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, David Yates and Michael Goldenberg, for bringing such a fantastic story to the screen.