Okay, so the ‘more blogging’ thing isn’t going that great. Cut me some slack! I have plenty of worthwhile things so blog about, but please allow me to geek out now and then.

As I mentioned before, I started reading the Harry Potter books again before Christmas so that I could do a complete run through of them for the first time. I’m now about halfway through the last one and I’m thoroughly enjoying it since it’s only the second time I’ve read it. But allow me, if you will, to speak about the films.

Although I enjoyed all the Harry Potter films upon first viewing, I feel that I now have refined my opinions of them over repeated viewings. The first film, although a good intro to the series, follows the book too closely. Christopher’s Columbus’ envisioning of the Wizarding world is just too cookie cutter – too colorful and vibrant. It feels sterile and fake to be honest. It’s as though there is nothing left to the imagination. I can’t quite explain it, I just know it’s not up to snuff. Really, the same can be said for the second film.

The third film, directed by the amazing Alfonso Cuarón, was a breath of fresh air. The Prisoner of Azkaban is my favourite book of the series, so I went in with pretty lofty expectations. Upon first viewing I thought it was too rushed, and although I still stand by that somewhat, I think it was a vast improvement over the previous films. The whole ‘world’ developed its own character and the characters themselves developed into their own. Good stuff.

I first saw Goblet of Fire with Kayla in Banff and really liked it. Aside from feeling a little episodic, a terrible portrayal of Dumbledore, and no Sirius, it’s a faithful reproduction. It felt like a transition movie to me, but so was the book. They took a flippin’ huge book and adapted it without seriously mucking it up, so you’ve got to give them credit for that.

Now, Order of the Phoenix, that’s what I’m really here to blog about. I loved it in the theatre and I’ve watched it a bunch of times on HD DVD. In short, the movie is bloody brilliant! But the weird thing is the book is probably my least favourite of them all. It’s got a great story, but is seriously flawed in its pacing. The movie really tightens up the story and adds a lot of neat stuff I liked. The battle in the Ministry for Magic is ridiculously bad ass and my only complaint is that it’s too short. Some fans complained about certain things added like Voldemort in a muggle suit, the black/white apparating, and the way it seemed some characters could almost fly. I loved all that stuff as I really felt it gave the movies a distinct flavour.

After seeing OotP, I was pleased to hear that David Yates would direct Half-Blood Prince too. I think he did an exceptional job, and I’m confident that he’ll do great things again. Now there is a rumor that he might be directing the Deathly Hallows:

“Lois Lowry, a children's book writer, has updated her online blog with information about The Giver movie. She had hoped Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince director David Yates would be able to direct The Giver. However:

...he has just decided he wants to do the final Harry Potter first, thereby postponing The Giver by several years.”

There’s a movie adaptation of ‘The Giver’? Heck yes! Hopefully he’ll direct both, because that would be pretty swell.