Very good film but lacks humor and heart

Rating: 9/10 (13 July 2007)

After reading all the books so far and seeing all the movies, it suddenly occurred to me that Order of the Phoenix movie left out many of the little humorous touches which make the books so endearing. I thinkthe clearing out of the Black house is hilarious as is Tonks; she gotshort shrift. I missed the house elves both in this and in Goblet ;(Dobby gives Harry the seaweed in the Goblet and he also tells him about the Room of Requirement in Order), both plot devices which should have been included. Also Kreacher should have had more exposition, he just wanders in and out a few times; I think he was actually a lot more sinister. I really, really missed the scene at St. Mungos, especially Nevilles tragic situation, that's what I mean by "heart". But most of all they left out the message to Aunt Petunia and her standing up for Harry and keeping him there when his uncle wants to throw him out. This is such an major theme through out the series--the importance of Harry's mother's love and the protection this affords him thru his Aunt Petunia. It would only have taken a few minutes to include. I agree with leaving out the Quidditch as it would have taken up a great deal of time. Throughout, too much emphasis is on action and violence at the expense of humor and "heart". However, thanks to all for the books and the movies, we should be grateful we have them at all. Advice to next director: If you want to make Daniel look younger, give him back his longer mop-like hair=do, like Ruperts. His short "manly" haircut emphasizes his jaw and thicker neck (sorry, Dan)and makes him look much more mature.