Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The fifth Harry Potter film is 'œthe darkest and most menacing by far,' said Scott Foundas in the LA Weekly. No longer are Harry and his friends goggling in wonderment or happily guzzling Butterbeer. Since a student was killed by the evil Lord Voldemort at the end of last term, ill portents have hung over Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Life is harder for Harry (Daniel Radcliffe). He's been smeared in the press for claiming that Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has come back to life, he's having terrifying nightmares, his new teacher is a sadist, and his romantic life isn't developing as he had hoped.

Director David Yates has made a film just as bleak as the novel, rendering scenes in shadowy blue and gray, said David Edelstein in New York. The movie, adapted for the screen by Michael Goldenberg, isn't meant for little kids. But it's definitely the best Harry Potter installment yet. 'œIn some ways, it improves on J.K. Rowling's novel, which is punishingly protracted and builds to a climactic wand-off better seen than read.' The filmmakers have cut out a lot of the studying and Quidditch, and the movie is better for it. Rowling's 890-page novel is pared down to a quick-and-dirty 138 minutes, making this the shortest film in the series.

With only so much screen time to go around, some brilliant actors get short shrift, said Lisa Schwarzbaum in Entertainment Weekly. It would have been nice to see more of Gary Oldman's Sirius Black or Alan Rickman's Severus Snape. But Imelda Staunton's performance as new professor Dolores Umbridge makes the other actors' absence more bearable. As a Ministry of Magic official with a girlish voice, all-pink attire, and a syrupy-sweet smile that belies her fascistic nature, Staunton brings out the best in her co-stars. 'œWhen Staunton's Umbridge goes up against Maggie Smith's professor Minerva McGonagall, it's a wonder the movie-set walls don't crumble.'

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Price: 26.95

Rating: PG-13