• Some really interesting and exciting parts I am really looking forward to see are
• Riddle's childhood memories through which Dumbledore and Harry take a tour.
• Harry convincing Slughorn to give the particular memory of Riddle asking him about horcruxes.
  
• Ron accidentally drinking the poisonous drink and Harry giving him antidote.
  
• Draco's suspicious behavior.
  
• The final battle in which Dumbledore dies.

I believe that if these topics are covered well, the movie would be a good one.

After the return of the Dark Lord, the whole world is terrified, muggles and wizards alike must work together; but is very difficult to do when Lord Voldemort and his growing group of death eaters wants all mudbloods and muggles, dead!

Harry and Professor Dumbledore must find a way to end all of this despair by finding a way to defeat Lord Voldemort, but of course, they will need to know much more about Tom Marvollo Riddle's past, the boy whom Lord Voldemort once was...

But this movie isn't just terrifying and creepy. Harry finds love, love beyond Cho Chang, but there are traitors in whom anyone can expect.

So let's start with the movies we all know are coming:

Blending seamlessly from Batman Begins, although Rachael Dawes appears to have had plastic surgery changing from actress Katie Holmes to Maggie Gyllenhaal; The Dark Knight welcomes the return of Batman's most popular villain The Joker. Sadly the movie will have its own dark cloud in the knowledge that this was the last completed movie of Heath Ledger, who was reportedly disturbed by making the movie. But this cloud is surely only going to solidify the movie at the box office with fans coming to see Ledger at what could be his finest. Christian Bale reprises his role as Bruce Wayne AKA Batman, and fellow actors Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman also return. This could be the biggest movie of the year; it's certainly been one of the longest promoted.

Hard to believe but it's been nearly 10 years since Fox Mulder and Dana Scully finally closed the X-files, but as we learned with Indiana Jones, Rocky, and Rambo it's never too late to return. Shrouded in secrecy X-Files: I Want To Believe reunites Mulder and Scully when Mulder uncovers something sinister, will getting Scully to leave her hospital job be a big struggle? We'll see soon enough. Billy Connelly is apparently the movies villain, with the terror starting in the snow covered wilderness.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars, although an animated movie is said to have the essence of the original three movies. In this tale we follow the adventures of Mace Windu and Annakin Skywalker in a story that takes place between Attack Of The Clones and Revenge Of The Sith. Samuel L. Jackson, and Anthony Daniels are aboard adding vocals to the animated characters.

Although they have been in the same movies, getting Roabert De Niro and Al Pacino to be in the same scene has been a stumbling block. Director Jon Avnet has managed it though and delivers a sharp and compelling cop thriller entitled Righteous Kill. Police officers Turk and Rooster are near the end of their serving days and have grown more and more discontent with the crime in the country and their work, but when a serial killer strikes it causes them to question what is right and wrong.
The Love Guru sees the return of Mike Myers to physical acting rather than just adding vocals, as Pitka he returns to the US after being bought up by Guru's. On returning he sets himself a mission to restore love to the world starting by focusing on a professional Ice Hockey player who's life and romance is on the downturn. Jessica Simpson, Justin Timberlake, Jessica Alba and Kanye West also star.

November brings The Quantum Of Solace to our screens, the 22nd James Bond movie with Daniel Craig reprising his role as 007. Unlike previous Bond stories this one picks up literally where Casino Royale left of as a direct sequel. Bond finds that wealthy businessman Dominic Green is organising a deal where he will gain control of all the world's most precious resources turning the Earth into a prison planet.

Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince sees now not so young Harry begin his sixth year at Hogwarts, following on from the previous movie Harry is about to uncover something that will change the world for he and his friends forever.

Now here are some of the movies you might not know about:-

Set in 1976 Bottle Shock is the true story about a world wine contest with a surprising entrant a Californian winery, believing it to be a joke Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) a wine aficionado is sent to California to investigate but his findings shock the world. Bottle Shock is a serious intelligent movie that has been given a comedic tint, apparently. This could well be the Sideways style runaway hit of 2008, also stars Bill Pullman and Elizu Dushku.

Fernando Meirelles the director behind City Of God and The Constant Gardner brings us a very different movie in which the residents of a City awake one day blind, without explanation why; why some have been spared its very much a case of follow my leader in order to survive. This is one of the movies I am really looking forward to. The movie stars Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, and Danny Glover.

The big movie this Christmas will be David Fincher's The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, a story that follows a man on his journey from the end of his life to the beginning. This might not sound anything unusual but this is not told in flashback, Benjamin Button actually grows younger as the movie progresses. Starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett the movie looks magnificent from clipsseen so far, and could be a real epic.

Slapstick comedy gets a makeover several times as the autumn closes in first up My Best Friends Girl in which loser Dustin (Jason Biggs) hires the most offensive man he can find, Tank (Dane Cook) to help win over the heart of his girlfriend Alexis (Kate Hudson). This might sound like familiar territory but I'm informed there is something very different about this comedy offering.

Always a pleasure to see Anna Farris stars in The House Bunny, in which an ex playboy bunny heads off to university to act as house mother in a fraternity house filled with nerdy young women. The movie pokes fun at all the things that annoy those over 30 about the younger generation.

Man of the moment Shia LeBeouf appears in yet another massive budget blockbuster movie, in Eagle Eye his character Jerry finds himself a target of terrorists, or so it seems, not to become a victim but to become the perpetrator of a terrorist incident. Told for much of the movie in real time Eagle Eye is said to be the best thriller of its type for years and looks absolutely stunning.

City Of Ember looks like an interesting movie, after the fall of humanity the survivors move underground to start a new civilization. But after several centuries allowing the population to increase everything in the underground city is falling apart and the generators are failing, it's a rush for survival to make it from the city to the surface before everything is destroyed, but maybe the biggest danger yet is what is above the surface. Looking like a combination of City Of Lost Children, Beetlejuice, and The Poseidon Adventure; City Of Ember looks like a fantastic fantasy movie. With a great cast including Bill Murry, Tim Robbins, Mackenzie Crook, Martin Landau, and Heathcote Williams.

Taking a step back and returning to the roots that made Will Ferrell successful his next movie finds him starring alongside John C. Reilly as two men joined by the marriage of their parents. Stepbrothers finds two men connected by fate trouble being both are still incredibly immature, and hate each other with a passion.

Based on the bestselling novel Twilight tells the story of Isabella Swan (Kristen Stewart) a young girl who falls madly in love with a vampire.

Not for me I have to say but The Mummy series spits out yet another offering in Tomb Of The Emporor Dragon, most of the cast return with the exception of Rachael Weiz. This time our explorers find themselves battling creatures an army of martial arts trained soldiers.

Horror is on its way too first up is Midnight Meat Train in which a homicidal maniac played by Vinnie Jones stalks people on the underground tube system, Alias' Bradley Cooper is all that stands in his way, in this movie penned by the master of horror Clive Barker.

Tropic Thunder is a movie about a movie, and how a bunch of actors filming a war movie themselves walk into a real life war. Expect to hear a lot of good and bad things about Robert Downey Jr, who blacks up to play an African American actor. Jack Black and Adam Sandler also star.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona isa movie that has been shrouded in controversy but director Woody Allen is no stranger to controversy and this movie set in Spain is destined to be his most controversial movie yet. There is allegedly explicit sex between Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall and Oscar winning Javier Bardem, in this story about two friends who become besotted with the same man.

Henry Poole Is Here pokes fun at religion as Luke Wilson who plays Henry Poole discovers a strange stain on the side of his house, while all he wants to do is treat it others believe it to be the image of the Virgin Mary. But as people claim to be cured by the image is it just a stain or something else?

Nicholas Cage finds himself a hit man in a strange land in Bangkok Dangerous, a remake of a Pang Brothers movie, our hitman here finds that he must wrestle with his conscious after his target turns out to be someone he never expected it to be.

The Coen Brothers return to their comedy roots with Burn After Reading , astory about two men who find a disc that just happens to contain the diary of a CIA agent and all of his work, the Coen brothers poke fun at the lapses of security across the world as we hear weekly of similar stories. The movie stars Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Frances McDormand.

Quite familiar territory nowadays but Whiteout follows 30 Days Of Night and Insomnia in a story set in a snow ridden location where they battle the elements as well as the light. Kate Beckinsale stars as a woman hunting a vicious killer. More exciting however is the return of Tom Skerritt to big budget movie making.

Taking a nod and a wink from Arlington Road, Lakeview Terrace finds a mixed race couple played by Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington as they move to their dream home. Sadly their neighbour is a man with strict moral values who does not like mixed race couples or the public showing of affections. As he launches a hate campaign against them the couple have little choice but to call in the police, tragically however one of the leading local police is the same neighbour carrying out the campaign of mental and physical violence against them also stars Samuel L. Jackson as the neighbour from hell.

Earlier this year the Spanish movie Rec. Obliterated George Romero's Diary Of The Dead at the box office focusing on a deadly virus in a city apartment block. Quarantine is the US remake starring Jennifer Carpenter.

One of the last movies of the year is Frank Miller's The Spirit, following a similar passage to Sin City. A young cop killed in action returns from the dead to fight the forces of evil that hide in the shadows of Central City. Battling against a master villain known as The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) this movie is reported to be the best superhero style movie of the year. Also stars Scarlett Johansson and Gabriel Macht.

So that's it my brief look at some of the movies for the rest of 2008, i'm sure you'll agree the best is yet to come.

 

 

In Irish folklore, there are a couple of descriptions concerning the appearance of leprechauns. In a book called Irish Wonders (1888), D.R. McAnally describes them as standing approximately three feet high, dressed all in red. In stormy weather, they wear overcoats over their red suits, so that unless you are on the lookout for their hats (worn in the style of the 1700's) you can pass one on the road and completely overlook him.

In other folklore, leprechauns wear green in order to blend in with the trees and grass to avoid being captured by humans. The stories generally agree that if you catch a leprechaun he must give you his pot of gold. The leprechaun is very wily, and will use all sorts of tricks to evade capture or regain his freedom. If you look away from him before he gives you his gold, he will disappear and leave you with nothing.

Some stories say the leprechaun acquires his gold by stealing a little at a time from the homes of humans. Other stories attribute his wealth to finding buried pots of gold. These pots were supposedly buried by humans during wartime to prevent confiscation by invading armies.

There is a deal of confusion concerning the origin of the name “leprechaun”. Some possibilities include Lu-chorpan “The Wee Bodies”, Leith brogan “the one shoe maker”, and Luacharma'n “pigmy”. The stories pretty much agree that the leprechauns are shoe makers.

Concerning the descent of the Leprechauns, some say that leprechauns and faeries are descended from fallen angels. Another story says that Adam and Eve had many children. One day God came to visit and asked to see the children. Eve hadn't got all the children dressed yet, so she presented the children who were dressed and hid the others. God realized that some of the children had been hidden and decreed that they would remain hidden. They became known as the Hidden People. Another story states that faeries and leprechauns are the descendants of Adam and his first wife, Lilith.

Other sources state that the leprechaun is descended from a father who was an evil spirit and a mother who was a degenerate faery. He is seen as being mischievous or downright evil. Some stories, however, describe him as being helpful to those who believe in him. “He has a well-known dislike of teachers who deny his existence!” (The Leprechaun's Kingdom, pg 71).

J.K. Rowling uses many interesting images of the leprechaun within the Wizarding World. As they zoom across the Quidditch field during the World Cup they produce what they are famous for, spectacular rainbows and glittery gold. Now by the end of the match they show their vividly true colors which are closer to their folklore counterparts.

When I first started reading Harry Potter, I envisaged Hermione as a plumpish girl, not necessarily very attractive. Emma Watson changed all that, whether we or J K Rowling liked it or not. In a sense there's no going back to the picture of Hermione that I had at the beginning.

It's hard to visualize Harry himself, or Ron, without seeing Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. These people have become the characters for most of us.

This is a problem with seeing films of books we've read. It's even more of a problem when the books and the films are intermingling the way the Potter series is.

Reducing Imagination

I remember reading George Eliot's Middlemarch years ago, and having a very definite impression in my head of what the main character, Dorothea Brooke, was like. Some time later a superb television version of the book was produced, and the character was played by Juliet Aubrey. Sadly, my imagined Dorothea was gradually obliterated by her performance. I say "sadly" because I still feel that Aubrey's interpretation wasn't according to Eliot's conception.

Defining Images

The same thing has happened to the Potter stories. Who can imagine Neville Longbottom, or the Weasley twins, or Draco Malfoy (or his father Lucius, for that matter) in any other way now than the characters as portrayed by Matthew Lewis, the Phelps twins, or Tom Felton (and Jason Isaacs). Some of the older characters, particularly Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, and Robbie Coltrane were so well cast from the beginning that they seemed to match the characters in the book, but many other actors are different in subtle and sometimes not so subtle ways from their original counterparts.

Rowling's Imagination

But if we the readers have found it hard to remove the screen versions of the characters from our imaginations, what must it have been like for J K Rowling herself? Is it possible that the books that have appeared since the movies were produced have differed from the way they would have been if the films had not yet been made?

I don't thing there's any difference in Rowling's overall approach to telling her story as she originally conceived it. It remains as complex as ever (far more complex than the films). I don't think her moral vision, and her conception of the characters and what they would do has changed.

But reading the latest Potter book you have to wonder if the action scenes weren't written differently, almost with an eye to the way the filmmakers will screen them. You have to wonder if the actors' personalities and mannerisms weren't affecting her view of the characters and adding something to the way she wrote them. Could it be otherwise?

Rowling would have had to have been the strongest creative artist on earth to avoid being touched in some ways by the movies, especially considering that some of them (the third and the fifth, particularly) have had very strong directors with very personal visions behind them. (The changes to the mise-en-scene in the third movie was a shock to our visual understanding of Hogwarts, with its shifting of some strongly defined features, such as the whomping tree and Hagrid's house.)

Point of No Return

There's no going back. The movies and their view of the wizard world have both expanded and restricted our imaginations. Such a strange intermingling of books and movies hasn't been attempted before, and probably won't be attempted again.

Review:

When the first book came out, I was so skeptical of the entire series that I actually refused to pick up the first book. Then, after years of people trying, I finally picked up Sorcerer's Stone and like so many before me, became a fan. The fifth book in the series, Order of the Phoenix, is actually one of my least favorite in the series for reasons you will likely see echoed elsewhere. Harry's too whiny, and the plot moves at a slower pace than in the other books. Because of this, I went to see Order of the Phoenix with a bit of skepticism.

To my surprise, I experienced a moment similar to the one I experienced when the first time I picked up Sorcerer's Stone. The soundtrack, the effects, the cinematography and the directing all worked in harmony to really pull me in to the film. I didn't experience a feeling of drowsiness like I did with Columbus's renderings of the series. Nor did I feel like I was being ushered out of the theater like I did with Goblet of Fire's rushed plot. Instead I was delighted to find the same immersive world of the books laid out wonderfully on screen.

That being said, like all book-to-film translations, the film has its issues. Many elements of the film lack any kind of explanation. Many of what should have been the film's most dramatic moments were over-simplified. Whether these things were cut for the sake of brevity or for the sake of making the film easier to follow is hard to say, but whatever the reason there were some bad choices made in the production of the film. As always when dealing with younger actors, there's a degree of overacting, however this was significantly reduced from the previous four films, and I think Watson, Grint, and Radcliffe are all significantly improved.

All in all, Order of the Phoenix is the second Potter film that didn't leave an initial feeling of disappointment. Yates and company should be given a lot of credit for this, especially considering that Order of the Phoenix is probably the least cinematic of all the books. There are some missing scenes, and many characters don't receive as many “moments” as they should (Ron Weasely and Professor Mcgonagall especially), but considering the 2:35 running time I can't cast too much blame. Whether you're a long-time fan of the franchise, or just a casual movie-goer, there's a lot of enjoyment to be had out of this film and the special effects make it well worth seeing on the big screen.

My Overall grade: B (8/10).

People certainly have legitimate reasons to be interested in these movies because they are very well done. However, Phoenix leaves a little something to be desired.

The mood is dark in Harry's world throughout the entire film. David Yates and Company wastes no time getting into the action, and it never seems to let up. There is a continuous, uneasy sense of impending doom in this movie and it works to an extent, even if you know the real battle does not happen here.

Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has come back and he is doing so with a vengeance that is beginning to exceed in brutality compared to his last attempt at destroying good wizardry. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe - the object of many young girls' attention nowadays), along with his friends Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), have started to band together in an effort to fight back against You Know Who.

Gone are the days when Harry took every insult hurled at him, especially from that malicious Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton, although he was hardly in the film). He has grown tough and assertive, acting as the leader among his growing group of comrades at Hogwart's. The acting has matured as these young actors and actresses have gotten older, making for much stronger performances.

The film spends much of the time building up to what is ultimately an anticlimactic ending, though. For those people who read the books, the ending is no surprise. However, for people who have not gotten a chance to read Order of the Phoenix (and I am one of them), the film ends poorly.

Because the book is so long, there was no way the film could follow the story exactly. This must happen when any book is adapted for the big screen, but the plot ends up feeling choppy and rushed with this one. Plenty of important plot points were merely glazed over and a strong emphasis was placed on the visual aspects of the film (no surprise there). This Cliff's Notes version may not sit well with some fans who want to at least a little Quidditch.

What surprised me most was when they made a mention of the “prophecy” late in the film and I found myself saying: what the heck is the “prophecy?” Apparently, that was not as important as laying the groundwork for the next two films, which will undoubtedly be the most important, anticipated, and popular ones of all.

Order of the Phoenix can certainly afford to rush through plot points and give the audience a brief overview of what is important (although the movie still runs well over two hours). While many of the events in this particular story are vital to the Harry Potter experience, it does not necessarily translate better into film. The next two films alone will make this one merely a footnote.

This is by no means a terrible movie; it is just frustrating having to wade through this one to get caught up on what is going on with Harry Potter. As a fan, you should definitely see Phoenix, because it is a serviceable movie and nothing I say would stop you anyway. Just don't expect to see many familiar faces (other than the trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione) for an extended amount of time.

The latest director in the series of films, David Yates, is extremely talented as a dramatic story teller and fulfills promises of bringing engaging performances from the growing troupe of actors. When initially approached for directing the film he made it explicitly clear he had not worked much in the area of special effects. His forte is bringing the dramatic performance of the actors, which he certainly did accomplish in this production. He is the second director (the other being Chris Columbus) to have signed on for an encore production, and begun pre-production in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

A stellar entourage of cast members has joined the extended Potter family. Imelda Staunton plays an overtly sinister High Inquisitor, Dolores Umbridge. Her performance of giving cruelty and darkness a face is spot on. Evanna Lynch gives an excellent performance of the dreamy-voiced Luna Lovegood.

As the movies are pared down a good bit from their voluminous novel counterparts, most of the integrity of the story line does remain, perhaps not in the same chronological order as penned by JK Rowling, but fairly in tact. There are a number of scenes, unfortunately, that were not included from the novel, such as the quidditch scenes and the introduction of the Centaur, Firenze to the teaching staff.

Although the theme of this installment is much darker than its predecessors and it encompasses a growing political theme, the film does have its moments of humor. The always entertaining Weasley twins are at their best showing off their snack boxes in the common room and a grand finale of Weasley-style fireworks as they fly off on their broomsticks away from Hogwarts castle to begin their joke shop venture.

The film is full of adventure and maintains a good pace. Fans of the series will not be disappointed. These films seem to get even better as the story progresses.

The movie starts out very interesting, in the early scenes, and the new characters are portrayed fabulously. The quidditch scenes are wonderful and the plot is more interesting than you would ever expect.

The best part of the movie was the battle between professor Dumbledore and Lord Voldermort. In this movie, un like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, you get to see much more of Voldemort, and you can see his features, skills and his personality much more.

For those of you who haven't read the book, The Order of the Phoenix is a committee that is based on fighting the dark arts, mainly Lord Voldemort.

Also, in this movie, Harry starts having dreams, that slowly come true, and finally, his last dream shows the death of Sirius black, his godfather and his Friend.

However, some parts in the school are a little extensive, and boring. Despite this, its a good movie and its worth having a look at.