HP event #1

We went to see The Order of the Phoenix last night at Alamo. We ran late and just barely made it in before the movie started, so we weren't able to sit with the friends who had invited us, and instead had to sit way up at the front.

The movie was as good as I was expecting it to be. It was very dark, and there was only one instance of Harry ogling wide-eyed at a piece of magic, which was refreshing. The Umbridge character was excellent. She managed to catch both the ridiculousness of bureaucrats and the sadism of a true psychopath. The audience (granted it was an Alamo audience, who is usually drunk by this point in the movie) clapped wildly when she was finally dragged off into the forest. The only disappointment was, as always, all the things that had to be cut out. I realize that a movie with everything would have been four or five hours long, but I would have still gone to see it. If you liked the centaur Firenze, then too bad. If you enjoyed Harry's disastrous Valentine's date, too bad. Even the howler to Aunt Petunia is missing. Still, most of it was there. I especially loved the interior of the ministry building, with all the fireplaces for entry and the crowds of workers coming and going. And Daniel Radcliffe, although quite mature looking to play a 15 year old, does a great job of displaying adolescent angst.

Only one more week to go until book seven. I do not trust the people at the bookstores, so my book will be delivered on Saturday. Starting on Friday night, I will participate in a complete media blackout so as not to accidently find out the ending. So if you want to reach us next weekend, it will have to be by phone.