Seeing OOTP

[Carol]

Jen D wrote:
> I just finished the Order of the Phoenix and it was as I expected.
If I'd not read the book, I'd never have understood the film, as 
expected. But as I said earlier, it was not tedious! <snip>
> > I missed a lot of things I didn't think were the central focus of
the film but would have been so nice. Ron and Hermione getting their 
prefect pins was a sad ommission. <snip> I know you all must have
mourned that Harry wasn't allowed to dismantle Dumbledore's office. I
know I did. <snip>

Hi, Jen. Good to have you back! Agreed about the omissions, especially
the two I didn't snip. What I missed most was an explanation of
Snape's actions. I doubt that viewers who hadn't read the books
realized that *he* sent the Order to the MoM. I also disliked having
him evidently provide Umbridge with enough Veritaserum to interrogate
all the students (how in the world could he provide that much,
anyway?) since giving her fake Veritaserum was part of the evidence of
his loyalty to DD and opposition to her. I wish she'd put him on
probation and said that he was being deliberately unhelpful, too.
Snape is an important character, and snipping his real scenes and
having him hit Ron in the back of the head instead (Book!Snape would
never be reduced to such measures) makes his depiction in the next two
films problematic. And what was with the lighting in the scene where
Umbridge (briefly) interrogates him? He looked absolutely ghoulish.

Carol, hoping that the HBP film is at least two and a half hours
because it really needs to be coherent, with no skimping on Draco or
the eponymous Snape