(By David Lay) Ok, let it be known… I am a Harry Potter fan. I love the books…and the movies. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the 5^th movie in the Harry Potter series, and because I’m a huge fan of the books, it is really hard for me to separate the books from the movie. But, that notwithstanding, I did like this movie. I’m not sure it was the THE best of the franchise, but it was top 2, for sure.

For starters, the acting was actually pretty good. Daniel Radcliffe is starting to come into his own, and the supporting cast was better than in the previous films. Now, don’t get me wrong, no one from this film will be nominated for an Oscar (or even a Golden Globe), but it was fairly good, especially for a “family friendly? fantasy movie. The movie was well cast, with several huge stars (Ralph Fiennes, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman) returning. As well as Helena Bonham Carter excellently cast as the purely evil Bellatrix Lestrange. The new-comer, Evanna Lynch, played Luna Lovegood well (though I think she may have been playing herself). All in all, they all got the point across, which for a movie like this is sufficient………….

Read the complete review at Cold Leftovers.